Fred and Minnie Maines Library

Donated by Mrs. Colleen Gildner, daughter of the late Fred and Minnie Maines, the collection is made up of approximately 600 books, periodicals, and ephemera related to spiritualism, psychic phenomena, and alternative religious movements. The book collection complements the archival portion of the donation, the Fred and Minnie Maines fonds.

The collection includes the library maintained by the Church of Divine Revelation and the Radiant Healing Centre, established by Newton and Jenny Pincock in St. Catharines. Fred and Minnie Maines continued to add to the collection over the years.

Many rare and important titles in the field of spiritualism are represented, such as B. F. Austin's The Prophet of Nazareth and the Seer of Poughkeepsie (Los Angeles: B. F. Austin, n.d.); Albert Durrant Watson's The Twentieth Plane (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1918); Florence Marryat's There is no Death (London: Rider, 1920); Thirty Years Among the Dead, by Carl A. Wickland (Los Angeles: National Psychological Institute, 1924); and several works by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Several copies of Jenny Pincock's seance accounts, Trails of Truth (Los Angeles: Austin, 1930), are available, along with the original manuscript and notes.

Also present are numerous journals from the spiritualist community, such as Light: a Journal of Spiritualism, Psychical, Occult and Mystical Research, The Occult Digest, and Two Worlds: Monthly Magazine Featuring Spiritualism and the Supernormal. A complete run of Progression, published by the Radiant Healing Centre is present.

Other subjects represented include the Theosophical Society, psychic healing, numerology, and vegetarianism, as well as many other topics which are enjoying renewed popularity as part of the contemporary New Age movement.

Titles of Canadian literary interest include several first editions of works by E. J. Pratt (many of which are dedicated to Jenny Pincock and her husband, Newton, a childhood friend of Pratt's), a copy of Elsie Pomeroy's Sir Charles G. D. Roberts: a Biography (Toronto: Ryerson, 1943) which contains a dedication inscription to Jenny Pincock from Roberts' widow, Joan, and Jenny Pincock's own book of poetry, Hidden Springs (Privately printed, 1950), with an introduction by E. J. Pratt.

Special Collections

Fred and Minnie Maines Library