We invite everyone to visit, explore and browse through our fine archive and collection of marine books, our art gallery, ship models and displays. We hold very extensive collections on yachting, the mercantile marine, navies, aeronautics, military subjects, the Arctic and First Nations, biographies, and local and Great Lakes history at the Naval Marine Archive The Canadian Collection™.

Exhibition of Marine Art

Now in the Victory gallery, some of the art from 2020 show of the 37th Annual Exhibition of the Canadian Society of Marine Artists. This art by signature members using the mediums of watercolour, acrylic, oil and scrimshaw to portray historical events, merchant and fishing scenes, Royal Canadian Navy, yachting and moods of the sea and coasts. Yours to enjoy. Also new slide shows of the artists artwork for sale are found here...

Research: Canadian ships

Our ships database is now online; developed by us in-house to assist researchers, it contains mostly Canadian ships, but also many ships that were foreign built but traded regularly with Canada, or were sold to Canadian owners. Where available, further details of owners, masters, builders and voyages are also included. The database has been compiled from multiple sources – including Tom Tumilty's shipwreck research and the Canadian Heritage Information Network's previous heritage list. We wish to thank all contributors, and look forward to improving and expanding it.

Nelsonian Display

HMS Victory ia a centrepiece of our gallery. A number of models of the 'Victory' including a half model and a cross section highlight Admiral Lord Nelson's flagship. Displays of memorabilia compliment our Nelson book and art collection. Show details ...

Many of our books concerning Admiral Lord Nelson are located in our ground floor reading room, and you may browse them in our library catalogue here.

Books for Sale

Specialized books are available for sale for your enjoyment. Visit our newly updated listing featuring: yachting, navy, modelling, biography, aviation, military, art, novels and Canadiana. New pages illustrating selections have been added for your viewing.

While most of our books are in the reference library, we do have many duplicates that we make available for sale. These include some fairly rare titles such as a 1st edition of F.W. Wallace's Record of Canadian Shipping, 1786 - 1920 and several volumes in the Anatomy of the Ship series, down to very affordable, fun reading – such as Hornblower's adventures – at less than a dollar each. Please browse our used books.

Thank you for your continuing support. Any financial donations will receive a charitable donation receipt for taxation purposes. Please join us in celebrating and preserving our history, and support us with any help you are able to give.

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