Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- [192-]-2006 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
31 boxes (4.5 metres)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Martin (aka Marty) Ahvenus, born in Toronto in 1928, was for over 30 years the proprietor of Village Books, which he first opened on Toronto’s Gerrard Street in June 1961. At the time, Gerrard St. was akin to New York’s Greenwich Village, and Ahvenus’ shop became a favoured place for young writers and poets, including Al Purdy, bp Nichol (who used the store as his mailing address), Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, Milton Acorn, Joe Rosenblatt and Gwendolyn MacEwen, among many others. Ahvenus was an early champion of contemporary Canadian poetry, and was one of only a handful of booksellers that stocked it in a serious way, including many small press imprints.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
This collection of papers from the famed Toronto bookseller includes administrative records from his shop Village Books, including invoices, correspondence, book lists, as well as individual files related to the running of the store and the publishing arm of Village Books. It also contains material related to Ahvenus’ work as an appraiser, correspondence with various Canadian authors, a travel diary from 1993-94, and books, many of them signed and inscribed by the authors.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Material may be requested in person at the Fisher Library Reference Desk, or in advance using our online stack retrieval request form: https://aeon.library.utoronto.ca
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English