The Bank of Canada has a group of six souvenir books that they have published in addition to their many technical (economics and business) publications. One of these souvenir books, "A History of the Canadian Dollar" by James Powell was reviewed in these pages in the September 23, 2012 issue of The E-Sylum. The other series of five are also worth a look.

"The Bank of Canada: An Illustrated History" features interesting images and anecdotes about Canada's central bank and its place in Canadian society from 1935 until the present.Published to commemorate the Bank's 70th anniversary, this souvenir book depicts the history of the Bank through descriptive text, photographs, and reproductions of cartoons, newspaper clippings, posters, and other artifacts. Soft cover, 116 pages (2005).

"The Art and Design of Canadian Banknotes" offers readers a behind-the-scenes look at the demanding world of bank note design, highlighting the beauty of Canada's bank notes and celebrating the engraver's art. Soft cover, 124 pages (2006).

"More than Money: Architecture and Art at the Bank of Canada" takes you on a tour of the head office complex, highlighting interesting features of architecture, interior design, and decoration, as well as elements of restoration and preservation. It also features pieces from the Bank's art collection. Soft cover, 128 pages (2007). It is now a bit dated since a major renovation got underway in 2013.

"Beads to Bytes: Canada's National Currency Collection" explores money and the role it has played, and continues to play, in society, through the lens of Canada's National Currency Collection. The Collection is an extraordinary repository of coins, bank notes, and related paraphernalia from around the world. Soft cover, 124 pages (2008). It generally covers the history of numismatic study in Canada, making it one of the most interesting books in this series.

The fifth and final book, "By All Accounts" presents a portrait of the Bank from the perspective of outside observers, showing how Canadians have perceived the performance of their central bank over the decades through the eyes of those who monitor its work on the public's behalf. Soft cover, 128 pages (2010).

While it is bad news to bibliophiles that all of these books are no longer offered in print, they are available for download in PDF format. I have placed them on my iPad and they make for highly enjoyable reading with no loss of quality.

For download, visit http://www.bankofcanada.ca/publications/books-and-monographs/bank-canada-souvenir-books/ for English and http://www.banqueducanada.ca/publication/livres-et-monographies/serie-livres-souvenirs-banque-canada/ for French.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NEW BOOK: A HISTORY OF THE CANADIAN DOLLAR(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v15n40a05.html)