Library acquires a coat of many authors

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/Coatofmanyauthors08.jpg” caption=”Publisher Jack McClelland’s coat of many authors. Photo by Ron Scheffler.”]The Book of Genesis tells the story of a coat of many colours that Jacob gave to his son Joseph in recognition of Joseph's family leadership. In popular culture the Biblical story has received modern treatment in the musical entitled Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. McMaster University Library has recently acquired an important coat, although admittedly, it has no Biblical import. Donated by the McClelland family, the coat belonged to the publisher Jack McClelland (1922-2004).

McClelland was arguably the greatest publisher and literary impresario in Canadian culture during the 20th century. In the 1960s he transformed Canadian publishing by relinquishing his company's interests in foreign publishing and concentrating on the publication of Canadian authors. “I publish authors, not books,” McClelland once quipped. It became his motto and credo. His coat is not of many colours but of many authors.

Designed by Maggy Reeves (1924-2008), a high-fashion couturier in Toronto, the coat is cream-coloured, featuring covers in black-and-white of authors' books published by McClelland & Stewart: Pierre Berton, Matt Cohen, Margaret Laurence, Farley Mowat, Mordecai Richler, and many other Canadian authors.

In the 1970s and 1980s McClelland travelled extensively across Canada in the tireless promotion of authors and their books. On these occasions, when he often gave free paperbacks to passersby, he was smartly dressed and wore a series of flamboyant coats-a raccoon coat, a top coat, and “the coat of many authors.”

McMaster University Library houses the largest collection of Canadian publishers' archives in the world, including the archives of McClelland & Stewart and Jack McClelland. In digital partnership with the Fisher Library at the University of Toronto and Queen's University Archives, the William Ready Division of Archives and Research Collections has recently been awarded a substantial grant to develop a thematic, interactive website on Historical Perspectives on Canadian Publishing. McClelland's coat of many authors is emblematic of the extraordinary significance of this vast, historical treasure trove of literary material. The coat of many authors will be the centerpiece in the University Library's holiday card this year.

For more information on the coat or on the Historical Perspectives on Canadian Publishing project, please contact Carl Spadoni at spadon@mcmaster.ca.