A selection of over 200 volumes from the library of the Canadian collector, John Leslie Sanderson, of Ontario (1923-1986). This is one of the most complete collections known of the works of the Austrian-born writer Norman Douglas (1868-1952), who had noble Scottish ancestry. It includes copies signed by Douglas and also books owned by him, and a few privately-printed works by Sanderson himself. The collection contains one of 25 printed copies of Douglas's 'An almanac,' (Lisbon, 1941), gifted in 1943 by Douglas to the London hostess and socialite Viva King (1893-1978), the 'Queen of Bohemia', in which there are over 250 signatures of famous people in the book, written in at the given birthdays of the signatories.

Organisation

The books have been catalogued individually and have the shelfmark ' Douglas.'.

Acquisition

The collection was bequeathed to the Library in 1996 by the late Mrs Marjorie Alderman, of Toronto, in accordance with the wishes of her first husband, John Leslie Sanderson.

Related collections

Included in the donation were papers of and concerning Norman Douglas. The manuscripts are held at Acc.11365.