Preface With the issue of this fifth volume of Fontanus: from the collections of McGill University it becomes quite evident that the journal fills a void as it was indeed intended to do when created in 1988. The goal then and now is to have a vehicle for the publication of articles that describe and interpret the large and very rich collections at this university. Although these collections are in constant use, many parts of them are yet relatively unknown, and the potential for wider use and

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... e discovery of new and interesting items is enormous. This volume of Fontanus features a number of such new and unique pieces, which have long been in McGill's possession but which have only recently been discovered and properly described. The very existence of the journal invites research and study. Volume five also illustrates the fact that contributions come not only from the libraries but also from its museums and archives. The contributors include scholars from inside McGill as well as from several other Canadian universities.