Fonds 2 - Andrew James Bell fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Andrew James Bell fonds

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    Level of description

    Fonds

    Reference code

    CA ON00399 2

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    Edition statement of responsibility

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    Statement of scale (cartographic)

    Statement of projection (cartographic)

    Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

    Statement of scale (architectural)

    Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

    Dates of creation area

    Date(s)

    • 1874-1976, predominant 1874-1936 (Creation)

    Physical description area

    Physical description

    62.5 cm of textual records
    1 album of photographs : b&w
    Oversized textual material
    1 photograph : b&w
    1 print

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    Archival description area

    Name of creator

    (1856-1932)

    Biographical history

    Andrew James Bell was an academic and a book collector. He was born in Jamesville, near Ottawa, Ontario, the son of George Bell and Jessie Fleming. He married Martha Whitwam in 1882. She died in 1900. He married Martha Anne Sneath in 1903. He died in Toronto, Ontario.

    Bell was educated at Ottawa Collegiate Institute. He received a B.A. from University College, University of Toronto in 1878. He then taught for three years at St. Thomas Collegiate Institute in Toronto. In 1881 he was appointed Latin instructor at Victoria College, Cobourg, Ontario, but upon joining the faculty he was given a leave of absence to complete a doctorate at the University of Breslau in Germany. He completed his thesis De Locativi in Prisea Latinitate Vi et Usu, concerning the force and use of the locative case in early Latin, in 1889. In the same year he returned to Victoria College, which had been renamed Victoria University (in 1884) and was preparing for federation with the University of Toronto in 1892. In 1900 Bell was cross-appointed Professor of Comparative Philology at the University of Toronto becoming the first professor to be appointed at the University of Toronto. To prepare for his position he returned to Germany (Leipzig) to study several languages (Gothic, Lithuanian, Old Irish, Old Persian, Oscan, Sanskrit, Umbrium, Zend). Bell served as Professor of Latin at Victoria College until 1921 and as Professor of Comparative Philology at the University of Toronto until 1922. He taught at Victoria College until 1927. He was a member of the American Philological Association and the Archaeological Institute of America.

    Bell was the author of The Latin Dual and Poetic Diction (a philological study) published in 1923 by Victoria College and Oxford University Press. He started to collect books as a student in Germany and bequeathed his collection of more than 30,000 items, including works by Desiderius Erasmus, Walt Whitman and Virginia Woolf, to Victoria University.

    Custodial history

    The correspondence contained in box 6 (files 1-3), including the correspondence between Pelham Edgar and Charles G.D. Roberts, was probably purchased by A.J. Bell. The custodial history of the material transferred from Victoria University Archives is unknown.

    The Latin poetry books which originally belonged to Bell were donated by Larry Pfaff.

    The portraits of Theodor Mommsen were originally owned by Bell and hung on the walls of his office in Victoria College. They were eventually acquired by Professor John R. Grant who gave them to Larry Pfaff, who then donated them to Victoria University Library.

    Scope and content

    The fonds consists of Bell's records pertaining to his activities as an academic, book collector and to his personal life. The fonds includes correspondence, academic and professional records, including Bell's university degrees and diploma's, his thesis, essays, (lecture) notes, and offprints and manuscripts of articles. Personal files include photographs, memorabilia, a diary, three volumes of Latin poetry, portraits of Theodor Mommsen, and correspondence between Pelham Edgar and Charles G.D. Roberts (potentially purchased by Bell). The fonds also includes personal material, including articles about Bell, correspondence about a portrait of Bell, a memorial address and obituary.

    The fonds also contains the catalogue of his book collection, and lists of books.

    The fonds is divided into 5 series:

    Series 1: Correspondence
    Series 2: Academic and Professional Records
    Series 3: Personal records and memorabilia
    Series 4: Records related to the Bell library and book collection
    Series 5: Material about A.J. Bell

    Notes area

    Physical condition

    Immediate source of acquisition

    Acquired from Martha Bell in 1933; from Victoria University Archives in 1988 (box 5 and 6, file 1-5); and from unknown sources in 1996 and at unknown dates (box 6, file 6-8).

    The Latin poetry books were received from Larry Pfaff in November 2023. The books were originally given to the Centre for Renaissance and Reformation Studies before being offered to Victoria University Library for inclusion in the A.J. Bell fonds.

    The portraits of Theodor Mommsen were received from Larry Pfaff in February 2025.

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        Restrictions on access

        No restrictions on access.

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        Accruals

        No further accruals are expected.

        General note

        The fonds is stored in 7 boxes and 1 oversized folder.

        Alternative identifier(s)

        Category

        Literary and Film Resources

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        Dates of creation, revision and deletion

        Added by MO: April 5, 2016
        Added by SH: September 25, 2017
        Revised by BC: January 24, 2018
        Revised by BC: November 23, 2023
        Revised by BC: February 14, 2025

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            Accession area