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ARCHIVED - Early Images of Canada: Illustrations from Rare Books
Archived Content
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Search Help
What is Early Images of Canada?
Early Images of Canada is a database that includes approximately 550 records of Canadian images from pre-1800 books.
What fields are included in the database?
Field Name
Description
Artist
Artist of the image, as recorded in the image. Note: not all images name artists and so not all entries contain this field
Book Author
Author of the book from which the image is taken
Book Title
The title of the book from which the image is taken
Date (year)
Four-digit year in which the book, from which the image is taken, was published
Engraver
Engraver of the image, as recorded in the image. Note: not all images name engravers and so not all entries contain this field
Publication Place
City in which the book from which the image is taken, was published
Publisher
Name of the publisher of the book from which the image is taken
Subject
The Library of Congress Subject Heading(s) assigned to the image
How does searching work?
There are three different ways to search Early Images of Canada: browsing lists of books and subjects, simple keyword searching and advanced searching.
Browse lists
To browse through the database, select either "Browse Subjects" or "Browse Books" from the menu at the top of the screen.
"Browse Subjects" includes a complete list of the subjects found in the database. Choosing a subject will generate a list of images for you to browse.
"Browse Books" includes all the books from which images in the database were taken. They are listed alphabetically by author. For some authors there are several books, sometimes multiple editions of the same work. Be sure to look at publication data to differentiate editions. Choosing a book from the list will generate a list of all the images from that book. NOTE: Where later editions of a work include both restrike and variant images from an earlier edition, only the variants will display. Read more about restrikes and variants in About This Site.
Simple keyword searchingSimple keyword searching is available everywhere on this website. Type your keyword(s) in the search box and click "GO". When you enter more than one keyword, the database will automatically enter the Boolean operator "and" between your terms.
This option searches across all of the fields in the database: AMICUS Number, Artist, Book Author, Book Title, Date, Engraver, Publication Place, Publisher and Subject.
Advanced searching
Advanced searching allows you to refine your search in two ways : by combining search terms with the Boolean operators "and", "or" and "not"; and by providing you with the ability to search within specific fields.
"AND": Narrows your search. Use the "and" operator between your keywords to find only records that have both of your search terms. For example,
- 1. Select the first field as "Subject" and type "Hudson"
- 2. Click the "AND" box
- 3. Select the second field as "Date" and type "1774"
This search will find images related to Hudson Bay, the Hudson River, or Henry Hudson, but only from books published in 1774.
"OR": Expands your search. Use the "or" operator between your keywords to find records with either of your search terms. For example,
- 1. Select the first field as "Book Author" and type in "Champlain"
- 2. Click the "OR" box
- 3. Select the second field as "Subject" and type in "Champlain"
This search will find images from books by or about Samuel de Champlain.
"NOT": Narrows your search. Use the "not" operator between keywords to find all records containing your first search term but excluding your second. For example,
- 1. Select the first field as "Subject" and type in "waterfall"
- 2. Click the "NOT" box
- 3. Select the second field as "Subject" and type in "niagara"
This search will find images of waterfalls other than Niagara Falls.
