Material History Bulletin Bulletin d'histoire de la culture materielle 20

J/-
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MAN MUSEE NATIONAL DE L'HOIN'fv1I
Material History Bulletin
Bulletin d'histoire de la culture materielle 20

~ National Museums
of Canada
Board of Trustees/
Conseil d'administration
L'honorable Gerard Pelletier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . President
M . Leo A . Dorais . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vice-President
Mr . Richard M.H . Alway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., . . Member
M . Roger B . Hamel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Membre
Mrs . Geraldine Joan Goldfarb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Member
Dr . Larkin Kerwin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Member (ex officio)
Mr . Timothy Porteous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Member (ex officio)
Secretary General/
Secretaire g6neral
Dr . Leo A . Dorais
Musees nationaux
du Canada
Director National Museum of Man/
Directeur du Musee national de l'Homme
Dr . George F . MacDonald
Chief History Division/
Chef de la Division d'Histoire
Dr . F.J . Thorpe
EDITORIAL BOARD/COMITE DE REDACTION
Editor/Redacteur
Barbara Riley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . National Museum of Man
Associate Editor/
Redacteur adjoint
Robert D . Watt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vancouver Museum
Cover Illustration/Illustration de la couverture
Couple quebecois en tenue d'&6, debut du XIXr siecle .
(Francis Back, Montreal, 1984 .)
Published by/Publie par
History Division, National Museum of Man
Division d'histoire, Musee national de I'Homme
ISSN 0703-489X
Advisory Board/
Comite consultatif
Gerald L . Pocius . . . . . Memorial University of Newfoundland
T.D . MacLean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . College of Cape Breton
Kathleen A . Moggridge-Kuusisto . . . . . . Halifax, Nova Scotia
Sheila Stevenson . . . . . . . . . . ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nova Scotia Museum
Gary Hughes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Brunswick MUSCLI111
Pierre Lessard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parcs Canada, ril;ion du Q1161-)CC
Jean-Pierre Hardy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Musee national de I'f-lomme
Peter E . Rider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . National Museum of Man
Lyle Dick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prairie Region, Parks Canada
Warren Clubb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Western Development Museum
Frances Roback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glenbow Musci .im
James Wardrop . . . . . . . British Columbia Provincial Museum
© National Museums of Canada/
Musees nationaux du Canada 1984 Canaa'a

Material History Bulletin
Bulletin d'histoire de la culture materielle 20
FALL-AUTOMNE, 1984
Articles - Articles
TABLE OF CONTENTS - TABLE DES MATIERES
Le mobilier contenant : Traitement comparatif Perche-Quebec, d'apres des inventaires
de biens apres deces des XVIIe et XVIIIe siecles
Jocelyne Mathieu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
From Household to School House : The Emergence of the Teacher as
Servant of the State
Alison Prentice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Research Reports- Rapports de recherche
Advertising Canadian Pianos and Organs, 1850-1914
Frances Roback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
L'habillement traditionnel au debut du XIXe siecle
Luce Vermette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .'. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Le role de la tonnellerie dans la reglementation de la peche
au debut du XIXe siecle
Eileen Marcil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Directory of Canadian Manufacturers, Bicycle Industry, 1880-1984
Anita Rush . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Dealing with an Industrial Monument : The Borden Bridge
David Neufeld . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
The Use of Primary Documents as Computerized Collection Records
for the Study of Material Culture
Claudia Haagen and Debra McNabb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , , . . . . . . 56
Notes and Comments - Notes et commentaires
Material History and Museums : A Curatorial Perspective in Doctoral Research
Gregg Finley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Reflections of an Image Finder : Some Problems and Suggestions
for Picture Researchers
Hilary Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
19

Papers Completed in North American Decorative Arts Graduate Course,
University of Toronto, 1968-82 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 3
Tools and Trades History Society . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5
A Research Tool for Studying the Canadian Glass Industry :
Editor's Note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 6
Forum - Colloque
The Limitations of Material History : A Museological Perspective
Robert D . Turner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 7
The Concrete Clio : Definition of a Field of History
Peter E . Rider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2
Reviews - Comptes rendus
Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, "Concerning Work"
David Flem ming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 7
National Museum of Man, "Of Men and Wood"
Robert H . Babcock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Parcs Canada, region du Quebec, "Quebec port d'entree en Amerique"
David-Thiery Rudd el . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 '
Contributors - Collaborateurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Le mobilier contenant
Traitement comparatif Perche-Quebec, d'apres des inventaires
de biens apres deces des XVIIe et XVIIIe siecles
Jocelyne Mathieu
Abstract lRisumj
The functional typology of furniture developed from the teaching of Georges-Henri Riviere and set down by Suzanne Tardietr in her work
on the subject publi.rhed in 1976 divides furniture into two major categories : "containing" furniture and "supporting" furniture . Each of
these categories raises questions about their composition, with respect both to structure and to function .
As an affirmation of the need of both nomadic and sedentary peoples to own their belongings, containing furniture was logically the first
kind of furniture to become a part of daily life . First built horizontally, it met the many needs for multipurpose containers and accessories for
persons and property . As it began to be built vertically, however, it progressively affirmed a permanence in modes of living . Content is more
characteristic of containing furniture than structure, although structure determines storage capacity . Some furniture is thus distinguished by
contents consisting of things made of flexible material, or of things made of rigid material, in accordance with a more or less homogeneous
organization .
A consideration of the structural and functional characteristics of furniture leads to an analysis of ways of life . Thus, a chest may be seen
as a piece of furniture that signifies a certain mobility, whereas a wardrobe represents greater stability . Combined quantitative and qualitative
factors also reveal different organizations of domestic interiors, which depend on the social environment to which the owners of the household
belong . The evolution of material goods in the organization of daily life discloses the interplay of social modes, like the interplay between
the hidden and the apparent .
La typologie fonctionnelle du mobilier elaboree a la suite de l'en .reignement de Georges-Henri Riviere et fixee par Suzanne Tardieu dan.r
son ouvrage paru sur le .rujet en 1976 presente deux grandes catigorie.r de meubles : .les meubles contenants et les meubles supports . Chacune de
ces categories incite a s'interroger .rur leur composition meme, tant par la structure que par la fonction .
Affirmation du besoin de propriete de ses biens par le nontade comme par le sedentaire, le.r nteubles contenants teraient en toute logique le
premier type de meuble a avoir fait partie de la vie quotidienne . Construit.r d'abord sur un plan horizontal, ilr auraient repondu a de.r necessitis
multiples de contenants polyvalents et de supports des perronne.r et des biens . Leur evolution les ayant tranrfornze.r vers un plan vertical, ilr
auraient progressivement affirme une permanence des manieres d'habiter . Mais plus que par letrr structure, les nzeuble.r contenantt se caracteri.rent
par leur contenu, la structure conditiqnnant les possibilites derangement . Certains nteuble.r se distinguent donc par des contenu.r d'objet.r
a materialite souple, ou d'atrtres a materialiti rigide, selon une organisation plus ou moins homogene .
L'addition des caractere.r de.r meubles dans leur structure et leur fonction, conduit it une analyse de.r genres de vie . Le coffre pourra ainsi se
reveler un meuble significatif d'une certaine mobilite, alorr que l'armoire traduira plus de .rtabilite. Les facteurs quantitatifs et qualitatifs
combines denonceront aus.ri de.r organisations differentes de.r intirieurs domestiques, .relon l'appartenance aux divers milieux de vie de.r
communattte.c . Et la trame evolutive de.r biens matiriel.r dans l'organisation du quotidien montrera des jeux de modes sociales comnze celrri du
cache et de l'apparent .
Des interets partages entre la culture materielle et les
coutumes, tant en France qu'au Quebec, nous ont conduite
vers une etude comparative d'inventaires de biens
apres deces de la region de Quebec et de la chatellenie de
Mortagne-au-Perche, I centre primordial de recrutement
pour la colonie du Canada . Z
Bulletin d'histoire de la culture nraterielle 20
A la suite de Micheline Baulant,j nous nous sommes
interrogee sur 1'enregistrement des donnees d'un tel type
de document, tenant compte de sa richesse mats aussi de
ses limites . Une saisie mecanographiee a partir d'une
grille descriptive con~ue specialement pour les fins de
cette etude a donc permis d'etablir des frequences et des

apports de recurrence . Les tableaux ainsi obtenus presentent
donc toujours les donnees en comparaison directe
(France ou F et Quebec ou Q) selon six periodes couvrant le
regime fran~ais de la colonie .
Pour la France, notre recherche repose sur trois periodes
strategiques : la periode d'emigration (avant 1680), la
charniere des siecles (1690-1710) et la fin du Regime fran-
~ais au Canada (1740-1760) . Pour le Quebec, trois autres
periodes sont intercalees (1673-1689, 1711-1739 et
1761-1782), afin de bien suivre la continuite des generations
. Cinq cent cinq inventaires de biens apres deces
composent le corpus, soit deux cents percherons et trois
cent cinq quebecois. Ils sont inegalement repartis dans
chacune des periodes, leur nombre etant conditionne par
la disponibilite des documents (il y a respectivement 13,
57, 130 inventaires pour les trois periodes fran§aises et 5,
12, 42, 98, 93, 55 inventaires pour les six periodes
quebecoises) . La representativite des inventaires de biens
apres deces a ete maintes fois remise en cause . Mais, a
1'instar des chercheurs tant fran§ais que quebecois qui se
sont penches sur la question, nous soutenons que ce type
de document, malgre sa complexite et ses lacunes,
demeure d'une richesse indeniable et dolt etre absolument
considere dans les etudes en ethnologie .4
Les meubles contenants
Les meubles sont les premieres composantes de 1'interieur
domestique, car c'est par eux et autour d'eux que
s'organise la vie quotidienne de la famille .
Le sens premier du mot mobilier tient de son apparentement
a movere qui signifie mouvoir . En principe, un
meuble est donc un objet mobile . C'est aussi la definition
rapportee par Suzanne Tardieu se referant au code civil
fran~ais : «Sont meubles par nature les corps qui peuvent se
transporter d'un lieu a 1'autre, soit qu'ils se meuvent par
eux-memes comme les animaux, soit qu'ils ne puissent
changer de place que par 1'effet d'une force etrangere.»5
Les ouvrages sur le mobilier se sont elabores autour de ces
choses inanimees . Les dictionnaires d'Eugene-Emmanuel
Viollet-Le-Duc, d'Henry Havard et de Guillaume
Jeanneau ont d'abord profile les genres et les styles du
mobilier en general . Plusieurs etudes, comme celles de
Joseph Stany-Gauthier et de Gabriel Jeanton, ont presente
des caracteres regionaux, mais tres peu d'entre elles se sont
attardees au Perche proprement dit ; il nous faut donc nous
referer au corpus normand auquel il est rattache . La plus
recente publication sur le mobilier normand, celle de
Suzanne Tardieu-Dumont realisee en collaboration avec
Solange Cuisenier et Annie Watiez6 reprend la typologie
enoncee dans Le mobilier rural traditionnel franfai.e7 qui
s'elabore autour de deux fonctions principales : contenir et
supporter (tableau 1) .
Pour cette classification, Suzanne Tardieu s'est inspiree
de 1'enseignement de Georges-Henri Riviere .8 C'est en
TABLEAU 1
Typologie fonctionnelle du mobilier
1 . LES MEUBLES CONTENANTS
1 . Contenant la vaiselle
-a l'int¬ rieur -Buffets bas
- Buffets hauts
- a 1'interieur et a I'ext6rieur - Vaisseliers
- a I'ext6rieur - Etag&es
-&imiers
- verriers
2 . Contenant des aliments
-pour la pr6paration - Blutoirs
- P6tri ns
- pour la conservation
- du pai n - Porte-pains
- Paneti&es
- du sel - Siisges a sel
- des aliments - Garde-manger
3 . Contenant le linge, les vetementt,
les objets pricieux, let archives familiales - Coffres
-Armoires, placards
-Commodes
- Secr6taires
- Bureaux
4 . Contenant trn mecanisme pour
la meturedu temps - Horloges
Bulletin 20
11 . LES MEUBLES SUPPORTS
1 . Supports du corps
position etendue - Lits
- Berceaux
position assise -Sii'ges
- bancs
- tabourets
- chaises
- fauteuils
position debout - Meubles pour enfants
- parcs
- chevalets
- promenettes
- tourniquets
2 . Supports du materiel
tables
divers (pour les vetements, le linge) - Porte-manteaux
- Porte-serviettes
Suzanne Tardieu, Le mobilier rural traditionnel franfais, Paris,
Aubier-Flammarion, 1976, p . 48 .
effet a sa suite qu'elle a approfondi un premier classement
morphologique fonctionnel du meuble traditionnel fran-
~ais .9 La typologie qu'elle propose dans son ouvrage sur Le
mobilier rural traditionnel franfais'° rejoint trois niveaux de
fornctions : un premier niveau base sur la morphologie du
meuble (fait pour contenir, fait pour supporter) ; un
deuxieme relie a sa fonction directe qui repondrait a la
question «quoi» (contenir la vaisselle, les aliments, le
linge et supporter le corps ou le materiel) ; et un troisiiime
niveau indirect et complementaire pour repondre a la

Le mobilier contenant
question «pourquoi» (pour preparer, conserver, ou pour
s'etendre, s'asseoir, rester debout) . Ce dernier niveau, en
ce qu'il est applique aux supports, traduit une influence
notable de la theorie de Marcel Mauss sur les techniques
du corps . l'
P6riodes 1 2
Territoires F Q Q
1630 - 1672 1672-
Meubles 1689
Coffre 16 4 9
Caisse 1
Malle
Coffre-fort
Demi-coffre 6
Bahut 11
Commode
Huche 5 2 3
We
Total des meubles de la
familledescoffres 39 6 12
Armoire 2 3
Paire d'armoires 1 1
Paire de presse 1
Demi-presse
Cabinet 3
Demi-cabinet
Placard
D6pense
Garde-manger 3
Buffet 6
Total des meubles de la
famille des armoires 24 2 3
Dressoir
Pentes
Tablettes 1
TABLEAU 2
Les meubles contenants
A premiere vue, il apparait que les meubles contenants
precedaient en importance les meubles supports, tout
simplement parce que dans une perspective evolutive,
1'homme transforme progressivement sa situation de vie
de nomade a celle de sedentaire et, dans un cas comme
3 4 5 G
F Q Q F Q Q
1690 - 1710 1711- 1740 - 1760 1761-
1739 1782
31 49 103 186 88 46
53 25 1
7 4 1
11 1 3
13 2 2 23 2
4
18 3 1
37 22 70 103 50 35
1 2
153 73 176 368 144 83
5 7 36 32 18 9
34 1 11
5 44
26 58
1 25
8 11 1 1
6 7 22 15 17
85 8 43 208 34 27
Total des
rangements ouverts 1 10 61
1
9
1
2
2
22 1 2
14
25
3

dans 1'autre, il concretise ce besoin elementaire d'identifier
une appropriation de biens par un regroupement
materiel allant du bagage au complexe mobilier .
L'ensemble des meubles contenants se divise selon trois
categories structurales : les meubles contenants fermes a
l'horizontale composent la famille des coffres, les meubles
contenants fermes a la verticale appartiennent a la famille
des armoires et les meubles contenants ouverts regroupent
les rangements en tablettes decouvertes, c'est-a-dire sans
syteme de fermeture tel que des portes . Les attestations de
chacun de ces meubles ont ete additionnees par periode sur
les deux territoires, fran~ais et quebecois ; la division des
totaux par le nombre d'inventaires donne la moyenne par
periode . Ces donnees apparaissent dans la presentation
detaillee des meubles les plus courants (tableau 2) .
Les contenants fermes a 1'horizontale
Il n'y a pas de surprise a trouver les coffres en premiere
place des attestations quantitatives du mobilier . Ce
meuble, qui a su d'abord servir le nomadisme des hommes
avant leur sedentarite, repond a la definition technique
enoncee par Savary des Bruslons : « Espece de caisse de bois,
ordinairement couverte de cuir et ornee de fleurs ou de
compartiments de petits clous a tfte arl;entee . » 12
Le coffre conserve d'ailleurs parfois son appellation de
caisse ; le bahut, souvent confondu avec le coffre proprement
dit, se particularise par son couvercle bombe, tandis
que le coffre-fort se distingue par son armature de
renforcement metallique . Quant au demi-coffre, il ne se
differencie que par ses dimensions plus recluites .
Du coffre est nee la commode qui se situerait d'apres la
definition d'Henry Havard " entre le coffre et I'armoire,
tenant son nom de la nouvelle commodite d'ouverture par
tiroirs . Les effets ranges ne sont plus d'une setile venue,
sont mieux places et d'acces plus facile puisque le meuble
monte sur pieds offre une meilleure portee . Attestee pour
la premiere fois dans le dictionnaire de Trevoux en
1771, 1 ' ce n'est qu'a la cinquieme periode determinee
pour cet ouvrage qu'elle apparait (18 fois) clans les inven-
taires mortagnais, soit au milieu du XVIII' siecle . Au
Quebec, la commode est rarissime, car elle ne ressort qu'a
trois reprises durant la cinquieme periode et Line seule fois
a la periode suivante . Ceci vient confirmer les propos de
Robert-Lionel Seguin concernant la rarete de ce meuble
sous le Regime fran~ais . " Nicole Genet, Luce Vermette
et Lotuse Decarie-Audet sont d'avis que la commode
apparait en Nouvelle-France au debut du XVIII` siecle . 16
Jean Palardy se refere aux recherches de E .-7. . Massicotte
qui -declare que la commode n'apparait au Canada
qu'apres 1750, , . '' Les premiers documents qui attestent
la presence de commodes dans cette etude datent de 1742 .
11 s'agit de deux inventaires de biens apres deccs taits I'un
chez un bourgeois de Quebec, 1'autre chez tin artisan de la
meme ville . Les quatre commodes quebecoises retrouvees
Bulletin 20
Fig . 1 . Buffet, Quebec, XVIII° siecle, hauteur 123 cm,
largeur 133 cm, profondeur 55 cm . Au Quebec, le
buffet s'avere le seul meuble de rangement a la verticale
qui se distinl ;ue de I'ensemble des armoires . Dote de
tablettes et de tiroirs, il propose Line combinaison de
possibilites pour mieux repondre a sa fonction . (Photo :
Inventaire des biens culturels du Qucbec, cliche HH2 .)
en 1742 et 1768 appartiennent A des habitants urbains,
bourgeois (2) ou artisans du fer (2) .
Il est surprenant de constater qu'a aucune periode la
huche ne soit prcsente clans routes les maisons (tableau 3) .
La panification n'exigeait-elle qu'un simple plateau cle
travail, peu importe que ce plateau appartienne a la huche
ou a un autre meuble? Preferait-on remiser la farine
uniquement au grenier en allant s'y approvisionner au fur
et a mesure des besoins! N'y avait-11 pas de simples coffres
qui conservaient grains, cereales et moutures? Et 11 ne fiut
tout de meme pas oublier tous ces boulangers de village,
particulierement a Mortagne .
La famille structurale des coffres ou, selon la definition,
des caisses offre Line plus grande variete en France qu'au
Quebec . Ce sont les coffres proprement dits et ICS huches
qui dominent en terre coloniale, a moins que par manque
1'AIi1.EAU i
Nombre de huc'hes par maison
Pcriodes 1 2 1 4
France U,4 0,7 0,8
Quebec 0,4 U,3 0,5 0,7 0,5 0,6

Le mobilier contenant
TA$LEAU 4
Nombre moyen des meubles de la famille
des coffres par maison
Nriodes 1 2 3 4 5 6
France 3 2,7 2,8
Qu6bec 1,2 1 1,8 2 1,5 1,5
de precision ou de connaissances, les notaires n'aient pas
distingue les types de coffres, comme le croit aussi
Bernard Audet . 18 C'est une question tres importante,
part iculierement en ce qui regarde les bahuts . Etaient-ils
vraiment si rates en Nouvelle-France? Il semblerait que
deja au niveau du vocabulaire, les notaires fran~ais se
soient soucies de plus de precision en appelant les meubles
par leurs noms distinctifs .
Comme le montre le tableau 4, il y a presque toujours
deux fois plus de coffres en France qu'au Quebec . Les sites
etablis depuis longtemps offrent bien normalement une
plus grande quantite d'objets a ranger . Pour cette meme
raison, la courbe evolutive fran~aise accuse un peu plus de
stabilite . Si les maisons mortagnaises comptent pres de
trots coffres par maison meme a la moitie du XVIIIe siecle,
les maisons quebecoises ont augmente progressivement
leur nombre, puis regresse legerement . II faut donc soup-
~onner une accumulation de biens, mais aussi s'interroger
sur les autres modes de rangement, part iculierement
quant a 1'insertion des contenants verticaux du type de
1'armoire .
Les contenants fermes a la verticale
L'armoire est ce «meuble ferme, peu profond, haut et
large, a un ou plusieurs vantaux» 19 qui prend differentes
appellations pour signaler ses particularites .
Double et de vaste dimension, elle prend le nom de
« paire d'armoires» ou « paire de presses» . Jean Palardy
apparente la paire d'armoires au buffet a deux corps, 20
tout comme Bernard Audet2 ' et les auteures des Objets
familiers de nos ancetres .2Z Havard avait ainsi defini la
presse : «En Normandie et en Bretagne { . . .} a longtemps
designe une sorte de meuble en forme d'armoire, ayant un
tiroir au-dessous de chacune de ses deux portes . »Z3 La
presse, comme 1'armoire, etant composee de deux corps
progressivement jusqu'au XVIIIe siecle, leur appellation
de «paires» leur a valu la meme signification . Il faudra
verifier si la structure de ces meubles les confond vraiment
.
Au XVIIIe siecle, 1'armoire emprunte plusieurs appellations
. Les definitions annotees dans les dictionnaires ne
distinguent pas toujours . clairement les particularites de
chacune . Le cabinet serait a 1'origine un meuble a casters
ou a tiroirs,24 mais au XVIIIe siecle, 1'usage 1'aurait
confondu avec 1'armoire ; le placard et la depense appartiendraient
aux meubles emmures;Z5 quant au gardemanger
et au buffet, ils proposent une fonction similaire,
mais leur forme est mal definie .
De routes ces variantes, c'est la paire d'armoires, la
paire de presses et le cabinet qui ravissent les premieres
places a Mortagne . Cependant, entre la troisieme et la
cinquieme periode, un changement de vocabulaire
s'opere : la paire d'armoires diminue au profit de la paire de
presses et de la simple armoire . Encore a la cinquieme
periode, le cabinet devance les autres types d'armoires ; le
placard, le buffet et le garde-manger progressent, alors
que la depense s'installe .
Au Quebec, comme dans le cas du coffre, 1'armoire est
surtout nommee dans son appellation generique ; il n'y a
pas de vocabulaire particularisant . Seul le buffet se distingue
a partir des annees 1711, puts augmente progressivement
jusqu'a atteindre une importance qui depassera
celle de 1'armoire apres 1760 . Il faut donc temperer les
affirmations de Jean Palardy sur la frequence exageree de
ces meubles sous le Regime fran~ais canadien .Z6
Darts le cas des rangements verticaux, la difference
entre le Perche et la region de Quebec s'avere tres grande .
Il y a beaucoup plus d'armoires du cote fran~ais, mais
encore pres de deux fois plus de coffres que d'armoires
durant les troisieme et cinquieme periodes fran~aises
(tableau 2) . Au Quebec, il y a au moins trots fois plus de
coffres que d'armoires et 1'accroissement de celles-ci
n'accuse aucune importance . Or, cette constatation contredit
les affirmations voulant qu'«aux XVIIe et XVIIIe
siecles, 1'armoire s'avere le meuble type de 1'habitation car
routes et chacune en possedent au moins une» . 27 Peut-etre
que cette derniere realite peut s'appliquer au territoire
montrealais, mais elle n'est en rien significative pour la
region de Quebec .
Comme dans le cas des coffres, la variete d'armoires est
vraiment minime a Quebec . Alors que dans le Perche on
passe de cinq a dix modeles du XVIIe siecle au milieu du
siecle suivant, a Quebec on atteint un maximum de trots
variantes . En supposant que les notaires aient passe les
armoires encastrees sous silence, il aurait ete possible de
les recuperer par leur contenu . Or, la relation mobilier
emmure et architecture, comme le propose Jean
Cuisenier, Zg semble plus evidente en France qu'au Quebec
ou 1'on ne denonce ni placard, ni depense, mais seulement
quelques armoires encastrees dans la muraille (deux
durant la quatrieme periode et cinq durant la cinquieme) .
A Mortagne, ce n'est tout de meme qu'a la cinquieme
periode que les armoires emmurees prennent une certaine
importance . Alors que dans la periode precedente on ne
5

eleve qu'Lin seul placard, les vingt annees du milieu du
XVIII' siecle en comptent 25, auxquels s'ajoutent deux
depenses, deux cabinets, une paire de presses et un buffet .
L'analyse de Yvan Fortier et de Marcel Gauthier a propos
des meubles integres ou «meubles meublants» revele des
aspects d'interpretation interessante .`9 D'une part, ces
chercheurs font valoir la relation entre les materiaux de
construction des maisons et leur capacite d'encastrement
des meubles ; les maisons de pierre, aux murs plus epais,
seraient dans cc sens plus favorables clue les maisons de
bois a ce genre d'amenagement . D'autre part, 1'integration
de certains meubles mobiles dits «courants» aux
structures memes des batiments, ce qui les rend
«meublants», les fait participer a une organisation decorative
qui suppose souvent une aisance relative des
habitants . La presence des meubles meublants clans les
interieurs modestes suscite donc des interrogations .
L'espace restreint de certaines demeures aurait pu favoriser
1'installation d'un mobilier integre . Pourtant, les resultats
de cette recherche semblent afticher une autre realite .
Faudrait-il imaginer I'evolution du mobilier, du meuble
«courant» au meuble «meublant», proportionnellement a
1'accumtilation des richesses et des tacilites domestiques
que procure l'enracinement territorial et culturel? C'est ce
que suggere la reflexion de Robert-Lionel Seguin a propos
de l'armoire : -S'11 s'agit d'une maison de pierre, 11 arrive
qu'on encastre des armoires dans la muraille . Cette
pratique est courante a I'Ile d'Orleans, dans la seconde
moitic du XVIII' siecle . » jo
Les rangements ouverts
Les dressoirs, pentes et tablettes representent une
infime partie dans la composition de l'interieur domestique
. Il faut attendre le milieu du XVIIIr siecle pour
observer une augmentation appreciable de ce mode de
rangement en France et pour relever sa presence au
Quebec .
Le dressoir est un meuble en forme d'etagere, sur lequel
on range la vaisselle pour la montrer." Dans cc groupe
intervient donc une notion d'apparat : on etale les plus
beaux objets representant une certaine valeur clans le but
de les exhiber, cc qui suppose de profiter d'une quantite de
biens depassant l'essentiel . Le temps necessaire a
l'accumulation des biens, des valeurs explique alors,
malgre les doutes de Robert-Lionel Seguin, ;`' 1'apparition
tardive et rare de cc meuble .
Les tablettes, parfois nommees pentes, remplissent
relativement les memes fonctions que le dressoir . Composees
de plusieurs planches a la fa4on de cc qui sera appele
un peu plus tard une etagere, j' elles supportent differents
types d'objets souvent en ajoutant encore cet aspect
decoratif et meme ostentatoire .
Mais, la commune fonction de rangement qui caracterise
les meubles presentes renvoie au critere de base, la
Bulletin 20
structure generale, qtu correspond au premier niveau de la
typologie de Suzanne Tardieu . Les distinctions spccifiqucs
de ces types de meubles doivent donc rejoindre les autres
niveaux auxquels se rattachent les contenus . Les ditinitions
des meubles etant souvent formulces en tenant
compte des types de contenus vises pour chacun (I'eux, il
apparait d'un interet capital de completer ces definitions
en s'interrogeant sur cc qui s'y trouve vraiment .
Fig . 2 . Vaisselier deux corps, Rigaud, XVIll` siecle, hauteur
183 cm, largeur 117 cm . Collection R .-L . Seguin . Le
dressoir qui surplombe le corps inferieur de ce meuble a
pour fonction non seulement de ranger des pieces de
vaisselle, mais egalement de les etaler ; Line notion
d'apparat intervient donc ici . (Photo : Reproduction
n° 176 dans Civilisation et :de quotidienne en Nouvelle-
France, publie par Robert Lahaise chez Guerin editeur,
Montreal, 1973 .)

Le moGilier caruenarrt
Les contenants
11 est tres difficile d'etablir les pourcentages des types de
contenus relativement aux meubles . Trop d'inconnus
numeriques et qualitatifs demeurent clans les inventaires .
Cependant, grace a la composante ,relation- prevue dans
la grille descriptive des objets, il est possible de degager
les tendances par le calcul des frequences .
Les contenus se caracterisent selon deux criteres principaux
: leur materialite et leur composition . Dans ce
contexte, la materialite refere a la fois au materiau et a la
technique, comme 1'a entendu Andre Leroi-Gourhan
«posant en principe que c'est la matiere qui conditionne
route technique» .3`' La materialite s'organise autour de
deux systemes principaux : la souplesse et la rigidite . Par
souple, il faut entendre ici qui se plie, auquel on peut
dormer differentes formes pour fin de rangement; rigide
, signifie alors sans possibilitie de modifier la forme structurale
. La categorie des souples comprend surtout les
textiles (Fls, tissus, costume, lingerie) et celle des rigides,
tous les objets de bois, de terre, de verre ou de metal
(vaisselle, ustensiles et outils) . La composition renvoie au
regroupement dans un meme meuble des types d'objets
relatifs a leur materialite, autrement dit, a 1'homogeneite
ou a 1'heterogeneite du contenu .
Cette fa~on de proceder propose donc des codes pour
i 'dentif ter les contenus dont les combinaisons possibles
I
sont articulees autour des dominances . Ainsi, on pourra
obtenir :
- Souple-Homogene (S-O)
- Rigide-Homogene (R-O)
- Souple-Heterogene (S-E)
- Rigide-Heterogene (R-E)
- Heterogene (E)
Dans les deux premiers cas, il s'agit de contenus
entierement souples ou entierement rigides, donc
homogenes . Dans les deux cas suivants, le contenu souple
ou rigide domine, mais d'autres elements viennent briser
1'homogeneite ; ce sera le cas des meubles contenant
lingerie et vaisselle, 1'un 1'emportant quantitativement
sur l'autre . Lorsque les objets contenus dans un meuble
appartiennent autant a la categorie des souples qu'a celle
des rigides, le contenu est alors seulement heterogene .
TABLEAU 5
El6ments combinatoires possibles des contenus
Mat6rialit6 Composition
Souple S Homogene O
Rigide R Heterogene E
Biod6gradable B
Cette codification ne s'applique cependant qu'aux nonbiodegradables
. En ce qui concerne les aliments et les
produits du menage, ils ne peuvent appartenir ni a Fun ni
a 1'autre de ces systemes de classification par la matiere . Le
tableau 5 montre les elements combinatoires possibles des
contenus .
Les contenus de la famille des coffres
11 serait vain d'esperer identifier le contenu de tous les
coffres . Globalement, les contenus fran~ais sont connus au
tiers en ce qui concerne la troisieme periode et a 50 pour
cent pour la cinquieme qui, en general, offre davantage de
precisions . Les pourcentages quebecois sont beaucoup
plus variables . A 1'exception de la sixieme periode, qui
dans l'ensemble du travail se detache de la courbe
' normale, les contenus presentes atteignent egalement 30
pour cent .
En reprenant la codification ci-haut enoncee, il appert
que les coffres sont le plus souvent reserves aux contenus
souples . Car, nonobstant 1'epoque et le lieu, 62 pour cent
des meubles de la famille du coffre sont reserves aux
materiaux souples et 67,69 pour cent a tous les souples de
composition homogene ou heterogene (tableau 6) .
Dans 1'ensemble, d'un c6te comme de I'autre,
I'homogeneite des contenus des coffres est remarquable, ce
qui signi6e 71,84 pour cent d'une part et 90,72 pour cent
d'autre part . Le coffre et son contenu formeraient donc une
entite .
Dans le detail, chaque type de coffre comporte des particularites,
ce qui d'ailleurs precise sa definition .
Les coffres proprement dits, sur lesquels les inventaires
offrent le plus de renseignements, affirment explicitement
leur r61e de contenant destine a recevoir des objets de
materiaux souples qui, en pourcentage, totalisent 65,04
pour cent a Mortagne et 86,59 pour cent a Quebec et particulierement
de type homogene, soit 54,04 pour cent des
coffres fran~ais et 85,57 pour cent des coffres quebecois
(tableau 7) .
Ces coffres, auxquels s'ajoutent trois demi-coffres (un a
la premiere periode, deux a la cinquieme) sont remplis de
costumes ranges seuls ou avec la lingerie domestique,
composant ainsi le «souple-homogene» . Ce caractere
dominant a egalement ete releve dans les inventaires de
biens consultes par Suzanne Tardieu.35 Le costume n'est
pas toujours detaille ; cependant, il est essentiel de le considerer
globalement comme type de contenu important .
La lingerie domestique comprend d'abord les draps, les
taies d'oreillers, les serviettes, les essuie-mains et les
nappes . t1 cette lingerie usuelle s'ajoutent des textiles
decoratifs tels que des rideaux, des pavillons, des tapis de
table et differentes parures de lit . Se melent aux pieces

TABLEAU 6
REPRESENTATION GLOBALE DES CONTENUS DE LA FAMILLE DES COFFRES
Periodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total
Total des
contenus 9 30 148 187
identifies
y
8 S-0 11 S-0 75 S-0 94 S-0
(50,27%)
2 S-E 13 S-E 15 S-E
n (8,02%)
F ---- --------- ---------- ----------- ---------- --------- --------- --------
R 4 R-0 29 R-0 33 R-0
A ~
(17,65%)
4 R-E 9 R-E 13 R-E
N cY (6,95%)
C --d- ---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------
E ~ 1 E 7 E 11 E 19 E
(10,16%)
x
---- ---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------
y
+~ 2 R-0 6 8-0 13 autres
< 5 B-E (6,95%)
Total des
contenus 3 4 18 34 36 9 104
identifies
2 S-0 3 S-0 17 S-0 32 S-0 28 S-0 5 S-0 87 S-0
y (83,65%)
n
1 S-E 1 S-E
"' (0,97%)
0 --- ---------- ----------- ---------- ---------- --------- --------- --------
U 1 R-0 1 R-0 3 R-0 2 R-0 7 R-0
E
y (6,73%)
1 R-E 2 R-E 3 R-E
B (2,88%)
E --~- ---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------
.y
C j 1 E 1 E 1 E 3 E
(2,88%)
z
---- ---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------
Legend e
S-0
S-E
R-0
R-E
B-0
B-E
E
d
Souple-homogene
Souple-heterogene
Rigide-homogene
Rigide-heterogene
9iodegradable-homogene
Biodegradahle-heterogene
Heterogene
2 B-E 1 B-0 3 autres
(2,88%)
Bulletin 20

Le mobilier contenant
confectionnees des fibres (fils, laines . . .), des tissus et
meme du cuir .
L'homogeneite peut etre brisee par des objets en rapport
avec le groupe des souples, comme des boutons ou des articles
de couture clans le cas des tissus et de la lingerie, ou
comme des bijoux et objets personnels dans le cas du costume
. Ces objets personnels comprennent les biens d'un
seul individu comme les articles de devotion (chapelet,
livre d'heures . . .), les biens qui ne se partagent pas
(couteau, gobelet . . .) et quelquefois des papiers, des livres
et de 1'argent sonnant . D'une certaine fa~on, la rupture
d'homogeneite est ici partielle, puisque les petits articles
dits personnels qui sont inseres entre les objets de structure
souple, doivent repondre eux aussi a une maniabilite
facile pour s'integrer aux pieces de vetements et de lingerie
contenues dans les coffres . Avec un peu plus de precisions
des notaires, on aurait pu arriver a verifier si chaque individu
possede son coffre, ou a quel titre et de quelle maniere
posseder un coffre s'avere un privilege .
Tous les objets de cette premiere categorie sont, selon
toute vraisemblance, plies et empiles . Cette fa~on de
ranger ne s'applique evidemment pas au groupe des
rigides qui se compose presque essentiellement de vaisselle
. Meme en procedant par superposition, la perte
d'espace est inevitablement plus grande par rapport aux
possibilites des souples ; c'est probablement 1'une des principales
raisons pour lesquelles les objets rigides sont peu
nombreux et peu frequents .
La categorie des biodegradables s'applique en majorite
aux produits alimentaires secs, tels que les cereales, la
farine et les legumineuses (pois, feves . . .), qui sont deposes
TABLEAU 7
Contenus des coffres
PBriodes 1 2 3 4 5 6
16 31 186
4S-0
52S-0
2 E 12 R-O
I R-O 11 E
France 1 S-E 10 S-E
1 R-E 5B-O
3 R-E
1 vide
4 9 49 103 88 46
2 S-0 3 S-0 16 S-0 31S-0 27S-0 4S-0
Quebec 1 E I R-O 1 R-E 1 R-O 2 R-E 2 R-O
1 E 2 R.B .E . 1 E
1 R-O
1 S-E
directement dans les coffres ou renfermes au prealable dans
des poches ou dans des sacs . Cette categorie comprend
egalement les herbes conservees dans des tinettes ou des
pots, le pain, ainsi que des produits non comestibles,
comme le savon et surtout la cire . II est a noter qu'aucun
coffre n'est reserve exclusivement a des produits biodegradables
au Quebec .
Ces remarques d'ensemble valent pour les deux
territoires, les variantes residant au niveau des
composantes qui font partie de 1'une ou 1'autre des
categories, comme les peaux qui accompagnent la lingerie
et la literie dans les inventaires quebecois . 11 faut remarquer
1'importance relative de 1'homogeneite des contenus
qui est veritablement brisee lorsque le meuble range
plusieurs objets de natures differentes et sans rapport
evident, comme de la lingerie et de la vaisselle . Les coffres
presentent peu de diversite clans leur composition, particulierement
au Quebec ; mais en general, plus on avarice
clans le temps, plus la variete s'installe, multipliant ainsi
les fonctions de ce meuble elementaire .
Si le coffre repond a la definition de «caisse», on s'attendrait
a une utilisation similaire des deux contenants . Or,
dans les faits, la caisse semble etre employee un peu
differemment du coffre .
Comme 1'indique le tableau 8, le «souple-homogene»
domine encore, mais dans de moins fortes proportions . Le
coffre contient beaucoup plus de souples que la caisse,
soit, A Mortagne ou la caisse est surtout relevee, 65,04
pour cent par rapport a 8,33 pour cent . Par consequent,
les contenus rigides homogenes sont plus nombreux clans
les caisses (33,33 pour cent contre 12,75 pour cent) . Une
difference interessante reside au niveau des biodegradables-homogenes
qui ne sont releves que dans deux caisses
de la troisieme periode fran~aise comparativement a une
seule fois lots de la sixieme periode quebecoise . 11 s'agit
TABLEAU 8
Contenus des caisses
Periodes 1 2 3 4 5 6
5S-0
4S-0
3 R-O 1 R-O
France 3 E 1 R-E
Quebec
50
2 B-O
1 S-E
1 R-E
25
I B-O

10
alors respectivement de deux caisses de chandelles et d'une
caisse de pois . A l'inverse des coffres, les caisses
gagneraient donc de l'homogeneite, mais perdraient aussi
de l'importance, a cause de leur nombre moins eleve et de
l'imprecision de leurs contenus . A la suite de ces constatations,
il faut voir le sens que prendra le mot caisse qui
passera graduellement du meuble au simple contenant
pour enfin designer Line boite ou Line mesure de capacite .
Les mal les et les coffres-forts ne sont pas assez nombreux
pour faire l'objet de tableaux . Seulement quatre malles
sont rapportees a Mortagne au milieu du XVIIIr siecle,
dont deux contiennent des «souples-homogenes», soit du
linge et des guenilles et Line autre des ustensiles ; le contenu
de la derniere derneure inconnu . Une seule malle s'est
trouvee placee au grenier, deux dans un cabinet et Line
dans la cuisine . La malle ne servirait donc pas encore vraiment
au remisage .
Quant aux coffres-forts, leurs contenus sont des plus
diversifies et ne renferment pas necessairement des objets
de valeur . Sur les quatre releves a la cinquieme periode
franI;aise, l'un contient du costume, un autre des ustensiles
divers, un troisieme des ustensiles et une couverture .
Il faut donc se demander si, a cette epoque, le coffre-fort
vehiculait parfois une notion de securite . Une seule
mention caracterise la cinquieme periode quebecoise et,
malheureusement, elle n'est pas detaillee .
Les bahuts sont beaucoup plus nombreux en France
qu'au Quebec et leur fonction d'autant diversifiee .
Meme si la premiere periode fran4aise n'etait pas
parfaitement representative, a cause du petit nombre d'inventaires
qui la compose, elle accuserait tout de meme
85,71 pour cent de « souples-homogenes» par rapport aux
33,33 pour cent des troisieme et cinquieme periodes en
territoire percheron (tableau 9) .
TABLEAU 9
Contenus des bahuts
Periodes 1 2 3 4 5 6
II
6S-0 2S-0 4S-O
1 E 2 R-E 4 R-O
France 2 E I B-O
I S-E
I R-E
1 B-E
Quebec IS-0 IS-0 IS-0
Fig . 3 . Commode quebecoise, milieu du XVIII` siecle,
hauteur 66,5 cm, largeur 46 cm, profondeur 39,5 cm .
Un des avantages de la commode par rapport au coffre,
duquel elle decoule, est sa subdivision par tiroirs, qui
otfre la possibilite de creer des ensembles plus ou moins
homogenes en les organisant par compartiments .
(Photo : Inventaire des biens culturels du Qucbec,
cliche 88H .)
Cette remarque permet de poser comme hypothese que
la predominance des «souples-homogenes» dans les rares
bahuts attestes au Quebec conserve la fonction principale
indiquee lors de la p6riode d'emigration . Le XVI11` siecle
fran~ais utiliserait le bahut a des fins beaucoup plus
variees, les «rigides» etant aussi nombreux que les
souples, tant lots de la troisieme periode que lors de la
cinquieme . Comme pour le coffre, les biodegradables
apparaissent au milieu du XV111' siecle et comme eux,
1'homogene domine 1'heterogene clans 1'ensemble (total de
17 homogenes contre R heterogenes) .
Probablement A cause de leur specificite intrinseque,
rates sont les huches dont le contenu est precise (tableau
10) .
Bien que les biodegradables, principalement la farine et
le pain, mais aussi I'orge et le set tiennent la premiere
place, les rigides et les souples occupent une position assez
importante . Plusieurs ustensiles sont ranges clans la

Le ntobilier rontenant
TABLEAU 10
Contenus des huches
Nriodes 1 2 3 4 5 6
5 37 105
8 B-O
France 7 R-O
5S-0
3 B-E
3 R-E
2 3 22 70 50 35
Quebec 1 R-O IS-0
huche, part iculierement des pots et des articles concernant
non seulement le pain, mais aussi le lait . Les souples se
resument generalement a des poches et a des nappes, ou
encore a des guenilles . Les deux huches quebecoises renferment
routes deux un seul objet : dans la premiere, il s'agit
d'un sas et, dans la deuxieme, d'une nappe . Dans le coffre,
on rangerait donc les nappes de reserve avec la lingerie
domestique, alors clue dans la huche, on mettrait la nappe
en usage quotidiennement . Une particularite quebecoise
reste a souligner : la presence de six fariniers, dont un clans
la troisieme periode (1704), deux clans la cinquieme
(1752, 1755) et trois dans la sixieme (1767, 1768, 1775) .
Comme son nom 1'indique, ce meuble, «sorte de huche ou
de coffre en bois, servait a conserver la farine» .36 11 a
comme equivalent la «fariniere» non relevee clans les
inventaires ayant servi a cette etude, mais attestee une fois
par Suzanne Tardieu dans le Maconnais.37 Trevoux la definit
comme «1'endroit ou 1'on serre la farine»,38 tout
comme Havard qui ajoute «coffre» ou «boiste» .39
Enfin, les commodes, qui se situent entre les coffres et
les armoires, presentent des leur origine une homogeneite
importante, mais sans toutefois etre reservees, comme on
les connait maintenant, aux objets souples (tableau 11) .
La commode contient donc beaucoup de lingerie et de
costumes, mais aussi presque autant d'ustensiles et de
vaisselle . On y trouve meme du beurre . Un des avantages
de la commode par rapport au coffre consiste en sa subdivision
par tiroirs, qui offre la possibilite de creer des
ensembles plus ou moins homogenes en les organisant par
compartiments .
Les contenus de la famille des armoires
Les contenus des armoires sont un peu plus decrits que
ceux des coffres (tableau 12) . 11 faut dire que la cinquieme
TABLEAU l l
Contenus des commodes
Periodes 1 2 3 4 5 6
4S-0
France 4 R-O
2 S-E
1 B-E
Quebec 1 R-O
periode, ou ces meubles sont les plus nombreux, apporte
en general davantage de precisions . Les explications concerneront
d'abord le c6te fran~ais qui beneficie de plus de
variantes que le c6te quebecois. Globalement, la quantite
des «souples» s'equivaut d'un c6te comme de 1'autre . Il y a
cependant moins de «rigides» dans les armoires
'quebecoises, au profit de plus de «biodegradables» .
La categorie des «souples-homogenes» demeure la plus
importante, suivie de celles des «souples-heterogene5» et
des «rigides-homogenes» en France, puts de la categorie
des «rigides-homogenes» et immediatement de celle des
«heterogenes» au Quebec . 11 y aura donc des «souples»
egalement dans les armoires, mais plus souvent meles a
d'autres types d'objets .
Les armoires nommees comme relies rapportent plus de
la moitie de contenus heterogenes au milieu du XVIIIe
siecle en France . Au Quebec, avant d'atteindre cette
meme tendance a partir des annees 1740, elles ont surtout
contenu des «souples-homogenes» (tableau 13) .
Ce glissement serait-11 du a 1'accumulation des ustensiles
qu'on jugeait plus commode de ranger sur des tablettes
plut6t que de les entasser dans des coffres? Un fait est
certain : la fonction de 1'armoire semble evoluer plus que
celle des coffres, ce qui entraine une modification de son
contenu et peut-etre une augmentation de son importance
.
Par contre, la nature des contenus ne change pas : les
souples regroupent la lingerie et le costume, alors que les
r igi i 'des comprennent les ustensiles et la vaisselle I
.
L'armolre ayant quelques facilites de rangement, on y
trouve des corbeilles, elles-memes remplies de petits articles
comme des rubans ou des fourchettes, des boites, des
pots, des bouteilles, etc . Les biodegradables tout de meme
18
11

12 Bulletin 20
TABLEAU 12
REPRESENTATION GLOBALE DES CONTENUS OE LA FAMILLE DES ARMOIRES
Periodes 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total
Total des
contenus 3 18 94 146
identifies
F
1 S-0 9 S-0 19 S-0 29 S-0
(25,22%)
Q
0 1 S-E 5 S-E 15 S-E 21 S-E
`n (18,26%)
---- ---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------
R
A
1 R-0 1 R-0 38 R-0 40 R-0
(34,78%)
N ~ 5 R-E 5 R-E
C
(4,35%)
E
--a-
r ---------- ----------- ----------- ---------- ----------- ----------- ----------
3E 14E 17E
(14,78%)
,
-~°- ---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ---------
d
3 8-E 3 autres
(2,61%)
Total des
contenus 1 1 14 9 4 29
identifies
1 S-0 1 S-0 9 S-0 2 S-0 1 S-0 14 S-0
(48,28%)
1 S-E 2 S-E 3 S-E
(10,34%)
---- ---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------
Q
2 R-0 1 R-0 2 R-0 5 R-0
U ~,
(17,24%)
E
B
1 R-E 1 R-E
(3,45%)
---- ---------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------- ----------
E r
m 3 E 1 F 4 E
C
2 +1
(13,79%)
--------- ---------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------
Legende
S-0
S-E
R-0
R-E
B-0
B-E
E
Souple-homogene
Souple-heterogene
Rigide-homogene
Rigide-heterogene
Biodegradable-homogene
Biodegradable-heterogene
Heterogene
1 B-E 1 8-E 2 autres
(6,90%)

Le mobilier contenant
TABLEAU 13
Contenus des armoires
Nriodes 1 2 3 4 5 6
5 32
7S-0
France 7 E
5 S-E
3 R-O
1 R-B-E
3 7 36 18 9
IS-0 IS-0 8S-0 3 E 1 S-P
Qu6bec 2 R-O 2S-0
1 S-E 2 S-E 1 R-O
1 R-E 1 R-O 1 E
1 R-B-E 1 B-E
relativement rates se limitent au beurre, au fromage et aux
bougies . Au Quebec, un peu de vaisselle (soit quelques
assiettes, quelques plats et quelques bouteilles et pots)
s'ajoute a la lingerie domestique . Du sucre, du cafe, des
chandelles et du savon font a 1'occasion partie de contenus
heteroclites .
II est difficile de percevoir 1'organisation veritable des
armoires . Les tablettes ne sont pas toujours mentionnees;
les haut et bas d'armoires ainsi que les tiroirs ne sont pas
toujours precises .
Par definition, la paire d'armoires ou paire de presses
comprend des tiroirs . Elle est plus importante en France
lots des premiere et troisieme periodes, avant de diminuer
au profit de la simple armoire a la cinquieme . La seule
mention de paire d'armoires qui figure au Quebec, a la
troisieme periode, n'a pas suscite un interet suffisant pour
que le notaire en precise le contenu .
Les paires d'armoires sont plus nombreuses que les
paires de presses jusqu'au milieu du XVIIIe siecle, periode
a laquelle cette majorite bascule ; les presses deviennent
alors les plus importantes de toutes les armoires proprement
dites . Employes generalement comme synonymes,
les deux termes designent une meme realite et font reference
en Principe aux memes contenus .
En pratique, les souples dominent toujours dans 1'une
comme dans 1'autre, mais la tendance relevee pour les
armoires s'applique a la meme cinquieme periode aux
paires de presses qui evoluent vets des contenus plus
heteroclites (tableau 14) . Une seule demi-presse s'ajoute a
ce moment-la ; son contenu est alors dans la ligne de la tendance,
soit «souple-heterogene» .
Beaucoup de lingerie occupe ces types d'armoires . En
plus de la vaisselle et des ustensiles, on y trouve aussi des
articles relatifs a 1'eclairage, comme des chandeliers, des
flambeaux, des lanternes et quelques objets divers tels un
ecritoire et du papier . Parmi le contenu heteroclite des
deux paires de presses de la cinquieme periode, on releve
dans la premiere des petits sacs de pots blancs et des lentilles
et, dans une des fenetres de la deuxieme, deux pots
de beurre sale . Cette precision supposerait que les parties
du meuble seraient consacrees a des types d'objets differents
. Par exemple, le souple se trouverait dans le bas de
1'armoire ou dans un tiroir et le rigide, dans le haut a
fenetres .
La mince presence des biodegradables dans ce type
d'armoire au milieu du XVIIIe siecle laisse entrevoir la
possibilite de specialisation des fonctions . En effet, c'est a
cette meme periode que les types d'armoires se multiplient
.
Les cabinets suivent une courbe progressive, doublant
leur nombre seulement pendant la premiere moitie du
XVIIIe siecle . Comme les placards, les depenses et les
garde-manger, ils sont completement absents au Quebec .
Les cabinets suivent eux aussi la tendance evolutive des
armoires ; leur contenu d'abord relativement homogene se
modifie vets le milieu du XVIIIe siecle pour gagner en
heterogeneite . Ce sont toujours les memes elements qui
composent les « souples» et les «rigides» et les biodegradables
referent encore au beurre, au fromage et aux bougies .
On mentionne deux demi-cabinets a la cinquieme
periode, mais leur contenu n'est pas precise .
Les placards qui font partie des meubles emmures sont,
avec les depenses, des rangements dont la fonction est
clairement precisee . A 1'exception du seul placard de la
TABLEAU 14
Contenus des paires d'armoires et des paires
de presses a Mortagne
Periodes 1 3 5
11 34 11
IS-0 5S-0 4S-0
Paires d'armoires 1 S-E 5 S-E 1 S-E
1 R-O 1 E
2E
1 illisible
1 5 44
IS-0 14 S-E
Paire de presses 12S-0
2E
13

14
TABLEAU 15
Contenus des armoires retrouvees seulement en
France, a l'exception de la paire de presses
Periodes l 3 5
3 26 58
1 R-O 3S-0 7S-0
Cabinets 6 R-0
6 S-E
6E
4 R-E
2 R-B-E
1 25
Placards 1 E 20 R-O
0epense 2 R-O
3 8 11
Garde-manger 1 R-0
troisieme periode qui rassemble un contenu heterogene,
les placards et les depenses sont reserves a la vaisselle et aux
ustensiles (tableau 15) .
Le sens du mot depense, «lieu ou 1'on conserve les provisions),,
40 pourtant atteste des le XVIIe siecle, ne se
per~oit pas ici car, mis a part un pot de confitures, les deux
seules mentions ne reunissent que de la vaisselle et des
ustensiles, en 1'occurrence des plats, des assiettes, un
etuvoir . . .et Line lanterne .
Le cas du garde-manger est similaire. Comme son nom
1'indique, on devrait y trouver des aliments ; or, le seul
dont on connaisse le contenu rapporte du «rigidehomogene»,
avec ses quatre bouteilles et ses deux boites .
Tres peu de nourriture est inventoriee ; considerait-on
cette derniere de valeur trop negligeable pour la
souligner? Plus de vingt autres garde-manger ont ete
attestes dans les documents percherons, mais dans aucun
cas, a Line epoque ou a Line autre, a-t-on pris la peine d'en
detailler le contenu . Peut-etre s'agissait-il alors de nourriture
courante qui n'ayant pas la valeur des reserves, elles
inventoriees, etait tout simplement ignoree clans 1'inventaire
des biens .
Le buffet n'a pas vraiment de fonction clairement definie
comme la depense . Sur les 11 buffets de la cinquieme
periode fran§aise (tableau 16), les seuls des 34 releves sur
le territoire percheron, 63,33 pour cent rapportent des
2
Bulletin 20
contenus rigides, soit de la vaisselle de consommation et
de service (assiettes, ecuelles, plats, salieres, huiliers,
etc.) . Les «souples» sont cependant encore presents, bien
que dans Line moins forte proportion ; ils consistent en
draps, nappes, essuie-mains et meme en pieces de costume
. Le seul element biodegradable trouve clairernent
dans un buffet est un pot de sel, sinon il est facile de
supposer que les huiliers contenaient de l'huile et les
salieres du sel, en somme les assaisonnements usuels de la
table .
Au Quebec, le buffet apparait dans le deuxieme quart du
XVIIIe siecle et progresse de fa~on assez importante, considerant
les proportions de sa presence avec le nombre des
inventaires par periode (7,14 pour cent, 16,1 .2 pour cent,
30,90 pour cent) . Cependant, son contenu est encore
moins bien defini puisqu'on n'en connait que deux sur 39 .
De plus, ces deux contenus sont completement differents,
Fun appartenant aux souples, 1'autre aux rigides, leur seul
lien etant 1'homogeneite (tableau 16) .
En somme, le tableau d'ensemble de la fonction des
meubles contenants fermes (tableau 17) n'a de ressemblance
veritable sur les deux territoires qu'au niveau des
tendances .
La categorie des «souples» s'avere le principal contenu
de tous ces meubles, mais selon des distributions variables
dans la composition, le Quebec ayant d'ailleurs tendance 1
privilegier davantage cette categorie .
Les coffres sont generalement utilises pour Line SeLde
categorie d'objet . Au Quebec particulierement, ils contiennent
uniquement des «souples», soit du costume, des
textiles et de la lingerie domestique . Les armoires sont
beaucoup moins specialisees . Leurs contenus sont presque
autant heterogenes qu'homogenes, mais le Quebec rev6le
encore un peu plus d'homogeneite que le Perche .
TABLEAU 16
Contenus des buffets
P6riodes 1 2 3 4 5 6
6 6 22
6 R-0
France 3 S-E
IS-0
1 R-E
7 15 17
Qu6bec IS-0 1 R-O

l .e ruoGilier iorllenarlt
TABLEAU 17
LES CONTENUS DES r£UBLES COVENANTS FERMES
S R Total
S-0 S-E R-0 R-E E AUTRES
(B . . .) 100°
F Coffres 50,27% 8,02% 17,65% 6,955 10,16: 6,95% lOfYi
R
A
4
C Armoires 25,12% 19,26'i 34,18'L 4,35% 14,78% 2,61% 100%
E
0 Coffres 83,65% 0,97% 6,73% 2,88% 2,88Z 2,88t 100%
U
E
8
E Armoires 48,28% 10,34% 17,24% 3,45% 13,79% 6,90°L 100%
t
S
C
0 FRANCE 58,29% = S 24,60% R
F
F
R
E QUEBEC 84,62% = S 9,61% R
S
R FRANCE 43,48% = S 39,13% R
M
0
I
R QUEBEC 58,62% = S 20,69% R
E
S
0 E
C
0 FRANCE 67,92% = 0 25,13% = E
F
F
R
E OIIEBEC 90,38% = 0 6,73% = E
S
N
R FRANCE 60% = 0 37,39% = E
M
0
I
R QUEBEC 65,52% = 0 27,58% = E
E
S
R
Les contenus des rangements ouverts
Les notaires ont detaille 60 pour cent des contenus des
dressoirs et des tablettes . En accord avec sa definition, le
dressoir supporte de la vaisselle, des pots et des bouteilles
dans 76,92 pour cent de ces enumerations . Ce pourcentage
est assez important pour confirmer de nouveau la
fonction principale de cet element mobilier . Quelques
autres dressoirs, de meme que des pentes et des tablettes
servent a ranger des livres et des outils . A Quebec, le contenu
d'aucun des trois dressoirs n'est specifie ; cependant,
l'un d'entre eux accompagne un buffet, ce qui pourrait
supposer qu'il supportait de la vaisselle . La structure et
l'emplacement de ces rangements ouverts pourront permettre
de mesurer la place plus ou moms importante de
1'etalement des objets .
L'apport comparat
Parmi les meul
.~ . - ~
MOK ~~
Fig . 4 . Armoirette, Rigaud, XVIII'siecle, hauteur 119,5 cm,
largeur 114,5 cm, profondeur 35,5 cm . Collection
R .-L . Seguin . L'armoire ayant quelques facilites de
rangement, surtout par la presence de tablettes, elle
peut accueillir differents types d'objets qui composent
meme parfois un contenu heteroclite . Il est cependant
souvent difficile d'en percevoir I'organisation veritable
. (Photo : Reproduction n' 192 clans Civilisation et vie
quotidienne en Nouvelle-France, publie par Robert
Lahaise chez Guerin editeur . Montreal, 197 i .)
---
.I
i
15

16
specifiques aux differentes communautes territoriales qui
renvoient a 1'integration de chaque element dans les
maisons . Ce sont donc ces caracteres qui devoilent des
priorites culturelles et des facettes d'organisation de vie
quotidienne.
Dans la chatellenie de Mortagne comme dans la region
de Quebec, le coffre tient la premiere place des meubles
contenants . C'est en effet le meuble le plus elementaire,
car il peut repondre a plusieurs fonctions par sa structure
meme ; compose d'une caisse et d'un plateau, le coffre sert
non seulement a contenir mais aussi a supporter les
hommes et les choses . Le coffre represente Line entit6 de
biens : on se depla~ait avec son coffre, comme le souligne
Henry Havard .41 On peut alors supposer que les immigrants
percherons ont pu arriver avec leurs coffres . « I1
apparait que le coffre etait, de loin, le meuble le plus
important et le plus repandu . Dans bien des cas, le coffre
qui est mentionne dans les inventaires etait probablement
celui dans lequel 1'immigrant avant range tous ses effets
personnels a son depart de France .,, 42
11 faut cependant noter Line distinction interessante : la
variabilite du nombre de coffres proprement dits par
rapport a la comptabilisation des coffres comme type ou
famille de meubles . En effet, si on examine les coffres
proprement dits, attestes aux periodes trois et cinq a
Mortagne et a Quebec, on observe qu'il y en a deux fois
plus a Quebec qu'a Mortagne entre les annees 1690 et
1710, alors que cinquante ans plus tard c'est presque 1'inverse
qui se produit, Mortagne ayant plus que doubler ses
effectifs par rapport a Quebec (tableau 18) .
Par contre, le nombre de meubles du type ou de la
famille du coffre demeure relativement stable sur les deux
terrains . t1 Mortagne, il appert que les caisses, coffresforts
et demi-coffres ont diminue au profit des coffres
apparemment plus massifs [il y a six fois plus de coffres
(186) a la cinquieme periode qu'a la troisieme (31) ; deux
fois moins de caisses (53,25) et de coffres-forts (7,4) et
trois fois moins de demi-coffres (11,3) toujours pour les
memes periodes}, en meme temps que certains coffres
specialises, comme la huche, augmentent [pres de trois
fois plus a la cinquieme periode (105) qu'a la troisieme
(3,8)} . A Quebec, c'est a la quatrieme periode, entre les
annees 1711 et 1739, que le coffre proprement dit atteint
son apogee, juste apres 1'apparition timide du bahut (les
deux premiers bahuts sont releves a la troisieme periode,
entre 1690 et 1710) .
Cette apparition tardive coincide avec Line augmentation
progressive du bahut percheron ; faut-11 croire a Line
legere croissance de popularite? Pourtant, selon les attestations
dans les dictionnaires, ce meuble est tres ancien ;
mais comme il partage certains caracteres avec le coffre,
par exemple un recouvrement de cuir et un decor cloute, il
a entraine Line certaine confusion . Que Quebec en
rapporte si peu s'explique de deux manieres : soit par
TABLEAU 18
Bulletin 20
Compilation comparative des coffres (en nombre absolu)
Periodes 3 5
Coffres France 0,54 1,43
(meuble) Quebec 1,20 0,95
Coffres France 2,70 2,80
(famille) Quebec 1,80 1,50
1'absence reelle du meuble, soit par le non-emploi de son
appellation specifique . En supposant que les interieurs
quebecois n'aient compte que de rates bahuts, on pourrait
en attribuer la cause a sa particularite structurale, soit son
couvercle bombe, qui ne permet pas de remplir la fonction
de support, si pratique pour des communautes qui ont peu
de tables (de 1690 a 1782, on en compte 0,59, ce qui
represente moins d'une table multifonctionnelle par
famille) . Cette question ne se pose pas pour Mortagne .
L'autre hypothese, d'ordre linguistique, rejoindrait certaines
preoccupations de chercheurs travaillant sur les
modes de langage quebecois (par exemple les groupes de
recherches rattaches au Centre d'etudes sur la langue, les
arts et les traditions populaires des francophones de
1'Amerique du Nord a 1'universite Laval), entre autres autour
du phenomene des generalismes . En effet, plusieurs
termes utilises au Quebec expriment d'abord les objets
selon leur type, auquel on ajoute des particularites
materielles ; ainsi, un coffre a couvercle bomb6 serait
synonyme d'un bahut . Seuls des meubles a fonction trc's
specialisee, telle la huche, font parfois exception.
La huche a toujours ete presentee comme un meuble
consacre, symbole d'une reponse a un besoin elementaire
qu'est le pain quotidien . La compilation des donn6es
demontre pourtant que, d'une part, la huche n'est pas
vraiment indispensable puisqu'elle ne pen~tre jamais dans
routes les maisons et que, d'autre part, la regle d'autosuffisance,
appliquee surtout chez les agriculteurs, n'est pas
absolue, etant donne que les villes beneficient de plus de
services exterieurs que les campagnes . A Mortagne, il y
avait au moins les boulangers rapportes dans les inventaires
: a Quebec, il y avait ceux presentes par Joseph-Noel
Fauteux dans son Essui sur l'indu.rtrie au Canada sous le
Regime fran~ais .
Avec le temps, [deuxieme moitie du XV II` siMe},
les habitants des villes durent compter sur des gens
de metier pour obtenir le pain necessaire a leur
consommation . Le Il mai 1676, I'intendant
Duchesneau edictait des reglements de police dont
un article enjoignait aux boulangers de Quebec de
tenir leurs boutiques . . . . 43

Le mnhifier cnntenant
Fig . 5 . Coffre, Quebec, Voutes Jean Talon, milieu du XVIII°
siecle, hauteur 33 cm, largeur 105 cm, profondeur
46,5 cm . Le coffre tient la premiere place des meubles
contenants, plus encore, il represente Line entit6 de
biens a caractere personnel . (Photo : Collection iconographique
Jean-Claude Dupont -451, deposee aux
Archives de Folklore de I'universite Laval .)
Mais les coffres, dont on peut prejuger que le nombre
s'accroit avec la quantite de biens, ne sont pas les seuls a
signaler une progression materielle, car un autre meuble
vient leur faire la lutte :44 1'armoire . D'origine bourgeoise,
1'armoire subit ce qui est convenu d'appeler le decalage,
d'une part A l'interieur d'une meme societe, d'autre part
entre deux societes . Les auteurs fran~ai ; et quebecois qui se
sont interesses au mobilier sont d'accord pour affirmer que
1'armoire s'est progressivement repandue parmi le peuple
au cours du XVIII` siecle et plus part iculierement durant
sa deuxieme moitie . C'est ce qui ressort egalement des
corpus etudies . Si un tel decalage peut se verifier A I'interieur
d'une meme societe, A plus forte raison se degage-t-il
entre une metropole et sa colonie, alors que s'ajoute Line
distance spatio-temporelle a des conditions de vie relativement
precaires .
Mais ce decalage voile Line autre dimension en regard du
type de contenu . Georges-Henri Riviere note a ce propos
le rapport direct qu'on peut etablir entre 1'augmentation
des ustensiles et l'apparition de I'armoire .''5 En effet, les
tableaux compilatifs des donnees montrent un accroissement
du nombre des ustensiles aux memes periodes que se
multiplient les armoires . 11 fiut se rappeler que les
armoires presentent en majorite des contenus rigides et
que les modes de disposition qu'elles proposent s'averent
plus adequats en raison de leur organisation structurale
(tablettes) . A Qucbec, 1'armoire ne reussit pas vraiment a
detroner le coffre, car meme a la quatrieme periode (171 1-
plus nombreux, il y a encore une difference de 1'ordre de
2,86 coffres pour une armoire .
Mais si durant la deuxieme moitie du XVIII` siecle,
l'armoire fran~aise devient symbole du menage,46 le coffre
quebecois ne permettra pas A 1'armoire de lui enlever son
privilege facilement . C'est du moins ce qu'on peut penser
en constarant qu'en 1969, les futures mariees pouvaient
encore se procurer un «coffre d'esperance» garni, grace a la
publicite d'un grand quotidien montrealais .'" L'armoire
aurait-elle conservee chez les Quebecois son caractere
luxueux du a ses origines, laissant au coffre le premier role
symbolique du menage, ou la maison quebecoise aurait-
elle evolue de fa~on a integrer les armoires a 1'architecture
les excluant de ce fait du mobilier? Un fait est certain : au
Quebec comme en France, l'allure imposante de l'armoire
qui s'eleve a hauteur d'homme, combinee a la tixite inevi-
table de ses emplacements clans la maison, suggere Line
installation plus marquee clue le coffre, meuble absolu-
ment mobile .
Dans un contexte qui lui est favorable, l'armoire
devient meme chef de file, car c'est a sa suite qu'apparais-
sent de nouveaux meubles, telle la commode . Au milieu
du XVIII' siecle, il y avait presque autant de commodes
que de buffets a Mortagne (18-22), ce qui laisse entrevoir
Line ascension rapide de la commode en milieu fran~ais,
contrairement a Quebec qui accentue nettement davantage
la place du buffet . C'est d'ailleurs un meuble qui
marque Line progression continue a partir du premier
quart du XVIII'siecle .
Parallelement a I'evolution quantitative du mobilier,
s'opere un changement clans l'organisation de I'interieur,
entre autres par la place accordee aux objets qui ne sont
plus necessairement caches clans un meuble de rangement
ferme . L'arrivee du dressoir vient apporter un souci
d'organisation de l'apparent : on choisit certains objets
pour les etaler, ce qui suppose Line quantite suffisante de
biens pour permettre cette selection . Aussi, les dressoirs
apparaissent d'abord chez les mieux nantis ou, deja, on
peut trouver des armoires a fenetres vitrees . A partir de
cette epoque et ce jusqu'a nos jours, on assistera au jeu du
cache et de 1'apparent, aux organisations d'ordre et de
desordre proposees par les modes et les moyens de diffusion
. On deplacera les objets en les regroupant selon leurs
fonctions communes, leurs materiaux semblables ou leurs
formes compatibles, en specialisant certains meubles
comme le garde-manger et en en subdivisant d'autres de
fa~on a constituer plusieurs groupes homogenes clans les
differentes parties d'un meme meuble (tiroirs, tablettes,
fenetres d'une meme armoire) . Le coffre n'offrait pas ce
choix ; il proposait 1'homogeneite ou Line h6te'rog&n6lte
sans possibilite d'organisation . Aujourd'hui, les ensembles
mobiliers constitues par modules compriment routes
les possibilites de rangement (a I'horizontale comme a la
verricale) favorisant ainsi I'alliance du cache et de I'appa-
17

18
1 . These de doctorat de troisieme cycle en Ethnologie a l'Ecole des
hautes etudes en sciences sociales (EHESS), sous la direction de
Jean Cuisenier, Paris, janvier 1984 .
2 . Hubert Charbonneau, Tourouvre-au-Perche aux XVII' et XVlll`
tiecles . bude de demographie hirtorique, Paris, Institut National
3 .
d'etudes demographiques, travaux et documents, cahier r' 55,
Presses universitaires de France, 1970, p . 11 .
«L'analyse par ordinateur des inventaires apres deces de la region
de Meaux», dans Les actet notaries, .
.
.
source de Chistoire sociale, XV-
XlX'tiecles, Strasbourg, ISTRA, 1979, pp . 197-204 .
4 . A propos de la critique des inventaires de biens apres d&6, il faut
consulter d'abord : Adeline Daumard et Frangois Furet, aMethodes
de I'histoire sociale : les archives notariales et la mecanographie»,
Annales E.S .C ., vol . 14, n 4 (octobre-decembre 1959) : 676-693 ;
Gilles Paquet et Jean-Pierre Wallot, «Les inventaires apres deces a
Montreal au tournant du XIX` siecle» , Revue d'hittoire de 1'Amerique
franfaite{RHAF}, vol . 30, r' 2 (septembre 1976) : 176-179 ; Louis
Lavallee, «Les archives notariales et I'histoire sociale de la
Nouvelle-France», RHAF, vol . 28, t' 3 (decembre 1974) : 385-
403 ; Yvan Morin, «La representativite de I'inventaire apres d&6
- l'etude d'un cas : Quebec au debut du XIX` siecle», RHAF, vol .
34, ti 4 (mars 1981) : 518 ; Bernard Audet, -La maison de File
d'Orleans : Aspects etequipementinterieur, 1647-1715», these de
maitrise en Arts et Traditions populaires, Universite Laval, 1981,
pp . 4-5 ; Louise Dechene, Habitants et marchand,r de Montreal au
XVII` siecle, Montreal, Plon, 1974 (Coll . Civilisations et mentalites)
; Jocelyne Mathieu, «Les interieurs domestiques compares,
Perche-Quebec, XVII'-XVIII` siecles», these de doctorat de
troisieme cycle en ethnologie, EHESS, 1983 (1984), pp . 9-12 .
5 . Le mobilier rural traditionnel franfait, Paris, Aubier-Flammarion,
1976 (La tradition et le quotidien), p . 7, note 3 referant a I'article
528 du code civil fran~ais .
6 . Le mobilier regional franfait, Normandie, Paris, Reunion des Musees
nationaux et Berger-Levrault, 1980, 243p .
7 . Suzanne Tardieu, p . 48 .
8 . «Cours professes a I'Ecole du Louvre { . . .} dans le cadre de la chaire
d'ethnographie fran~aise, 1965 . Il voudra bien reconnaitre dans
ces lignes la substance de son enseignement auquel nous fumes
associee durant de tongues annees », Le mobilier rural traditionnel
franfait, note 5, p . 207
9 «Reflexions sur le mobilier rural traditionnel en France-, Art et
Industrie, III (avril 1946) : 11-16 .
10 . P . 48 .
11 . Sociologie et Anthropologie, Paris, P.U .F ., 1950, 1980 (Sociologie
d'aujourd'hui), «Les techniques du corps-, pp . 365-386 .
12 . Dictionnaire universel du commerce . . .,
1730, sub verbum coffre .
Paris, J . Estienne, 1723-
13 . Dictionnaire de 1'ameublement et de la decoration, Paris, Maison
Quantin, 4 vol., sub verbum commode .
14 . Dictionnaire univertel franfair et latin, vulgairement appele dictionnaire
de Trevoux, Paris, compagnie des Libraires associes, 1771,
sub verbum commode .
15 . La civilisation traditionnelle de 1'habitant aux XVII` et XVlll` siecle.r,
Montr6al, Fides, 1967, p . 368 .
16 . Le.r objets familiert de nor ancetres, Montr6al, les Editions de
I'Homme, 1974, p . 86 .
17 . Ler meublet ancien.r au Canada franfait, Paris, Arts et metiers
graphiques, 1963, p . 295 .
NOTES
Bulletin 20
18 . -La maison de I'ile d'Orleans : Aspects et equipement int6rieur» ,
p . 64 .
19 . Eugene-Emmanuel Viollet-Le-Duc, Dictionnaire raisatnrct du
ntobilier franfais de 1'epoque carolingienne a la Renaissance, Paris,
Librairie centrale d'architecture, vol . 1, sub verburn armoire .
20 . Les meubles anciens du Canada franfais, p . 103, en r(ftrence a
I'inventaire de biens des 3 et 4 mai 1703 dress6 par le notaire
Adhemar .
21 . «La maison de I'Ile d'Orl6ans . . . », p . 65 .
22 . Nicole Genec, Louise Decarie-Audet et Luce Vermette, p . 63 .
23 . Dictionnaire de l'ametrblement . . ., sub verbrmt presse .
24 . Dictionnaire ttnivertel franfait et latin . . ., dit de Tr6voux, sub verbtun
cabinet .
25 . Henry Havard, Dictionnaire de l'arnettblement . . ., sub verbum placard
et depense .
26 . Les meubles ancient . . . , p . 103 .
27 . Nicole Genet, Louise D6carie-Audet et Luce Vermette, Le.t objets
farniliert de not ancetret, p . 25 .
28 . Preface du Syttetne detcriptif der objets dorrte.rtiques fran.fctis, (de Jean
Cuisenier) sous la direction de M . de Verville, avec la collaboration
de D. Gliick, M . Hamon, J . Nicourt, S . Tardieu, Paris,
Musee des arts et traditions populaires et centre d'ethnologie fran-
~aise ; ouvrage publie avec le concours du CNRS, Ministere de la
culture et de 1'environnement, Editions des MusEes nationaux,
1977, p . 11 .
29 . aLes meubles meublants dans le r6pertoire du mobilier ancien au
Quebec,,, Bulletin d'histoire de la culture rneWrielle 1 I (automne
1980) : 1-18 .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
30 . La maison en Nouvelle-France, Ottawa, Secr6tariat d'Etat, 1968
(Bulletin n 226 du Musee national du Canada), p . 65 .
31 . D'apres E.-E . Viollet-Le-Duc, Dictionrtaire raironni du mobilier. . .,
sub verbtrnr dressoir .
32 . La civilisation traditionnelle de 1'habitant aux XVII` et XVlll'siPcles,
p . 368 .
33 . D'apres Jacques Savary des Bruslons, Dictiattnaire turiversel du
commerce . . . . sub verbum tablette
34 . L'homme et la matiere . trvolution et techniques, Paris, Editions Albin
Michel, 1943, 1971 (Coll . Sciences d'aujourd'hui), p . 19 .
35 La viedomettiquedantleMaconnaitruralltriinduttriel, Paris, Institut
d'ethnologie, 1964 .
36 Atteste par Nicole Genet, Louise D6carie-Audet et
Vermette, dans Let objett familiert de not ancetres, p . 119 .
Luce
37 La vie domertique dans le Maconnait rural priindtutriel, p . 314 .
38 Dictionnaire universel franfais et latin . . ., 1771, sub verbtuu f".irinitsre .
39 . Dictionnaire de l'ameubletnent . . ., sub verbtnn farini&e .
40 . Oscar Bloch et Walther Von Wartburg, Dictionnaire itymologique
de la languefranfaite, Paris, P.U .F ., 5` 6dition, 1968, sub verbum
depense .
41 . Dictionnaire de l'ameublement . . . , sub verbum coffre .
42 . Bernard Audet, «La maison de l'lle d'Orl6ans . . . .. . p 62 .
43 . Volume II, chapitre sur les boulangeries, Qu6bec, Imprim6 par
Ls-A . Proulx, 1927, p . 367 .
44 . Selon 1'expression de Georges-Henri Rivi~re, «It6flexions sur le
mobilier rural traditionnel en France ., Art et induttrie, n03, 1946,
P . 14 .
45 . «Reflexions sur le mobilier . . .», p . 14 .
46 . Suzanne Tardieu, Le mobilier rural traditionnel franfai,r, p 38 .
47 . La Pre.rte, Montreal, 8 mars 1969 .

From Household to School House :
The Emergence of the Teacher as Servant of the State*
Alison Prentice
Resume lAbstract
Cet article explore les rapports qui existent entre l'en .reignement .rcolaire et les changement.r qui .re produi.rent dans le milieu materiel et social
oh il est dispense, compte tenu de 1'evolution de la structure sociale du corps en.reignant . L'auteur analyse d'abord la pedagogie et les conditions
de travail des enseignants (principalement dans le Haut-Canada et en Ontario) en fonction de.r innovations introduites par l'bat et de questions
litigieu.re.r cornme la frequentation scolaire, la construction des batiments scolaires et la conception des classes, le materiel pedagogique et
la responsabilite de l'entretien de 1'ecole . En s'in.rpirant de.r ouvrages de Marta Danylewycz sur le Quebec, ainsi que d'Ali.ron Prentice et de
Beth Light ster l'Ontario, l'auteur expose brievement la structure rociale de 1'en .reignement et montre comment les changetnentr qui r'y produisent
peuvent se rapporter au milieu de travail et au materiel dont dispo.rent les en.reignants . En conclusion, on pre.rente un essai de
chronologie .rur l'histoire de 1'enseignement .
This paper explores the relationships between school teaching and changes in the material and social environment in which the work of
teaching occurred, and between both of these and the changing social structure of the teaching force . First, nineteenth-century pedagogy and
working conditions for teachers (chiefly in Upper Canada and Ontario) are analyzed in terms of state -promoted innovations and debates
affecting attendance, school building and classroom design, teaching tools and who should clean the school. This is followed by a brief di.rcu.rsion,
drawing on the work of Marta Danylewycz on Quebec and Alison Prentice and Beth Light on Ontario, of the social structure of teaching
and how changes in this structure might be related to the material environment and tools of teachers' work in schools ., The paper concludes
with a suggested periodization for the history of teachers .
Mary O'Brien and Anne Langton were early Upper
Canadians who "kept school ." During one period of her
life in Canada, Anne Langton, a spinster who devoted her
life chiefly to housekeeping for brothers in Canada and
England, took in neighbours' children to teach a few days
a week . Not all that enamoured of her "untutored children
of the forest," she nevertheless believed it her duty to
spread British culture to the inhabitants of the Canadian
backwoods . Mary O'Brien's motives were rather different .
She took in a pupil in order to have, in exchange, the
young woman's help with her own children and the housework
. Mary's pupil lived with her teacher's family and she
and the O'Brien daughters were taught together . '
' Originally presented in January 1983 at "Industrious in Their
Habits : Rediscovering the World of Work," a Heritage Conference
jointly sponsored by the Ontario Museum Association and the
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education . The Ontario research reported
in this paper has been sponsored by the Ontario Institute for
Studies in Education, while the research on teachers in Quebec was
supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council
grant to my colleague in the study of teachers, Marta Danylewycz . I
am grateful for this support and as well to Beth Light, who assisted
with the study of teachers' characteristics using the manuscript
census . My thanks also to John Abbott and Marta Danylewycz for
careful and extremely helpful critical readings of earlier versions of
the paper .
Material History Bulletin 20
19
Domestic schools of the sort run by Mary O'Brien and
Anne Langton were not uncommon in British North
America . They clearly had long roots in a past which did
not distinguish very sharply between pupils and servants
or between the mistresses and masters of households and
the mistresses and masters of schools . To examine the shift
from the kind of teacher represented by Langton and
O'Brien to the modern teacher is to explore a major shift in
the nature of work in schools : a transition encompassing
not only the work itself, but the work-place and the social
characteristics of the workers .
North American studies in the history of teaching have
unveiled many aspects of the shift . Studies of the ideology
surrounding the movement of women from domestic or
private into public school teaching followed earlier work
which focused on the quest for professionalism in an occupation
that was relatively poorly paid and tended to attract
large numbers of transient or temporary workers . z More
recently, research and writing in the history of teachers
has focused on the teachers themselves : on the organization
of teacher associations, sexual divisions of labour in
the occupation, and cultural and regional variations in its
history . 3 What follows is in part a summary of some Canadian
findings in this research . In part it is also an attempt
to open up a new approach to this history of teaching, one

)
which focuses on the relationships that can be traced
between the teachers - who they were, where they came
from, and how they were seen in the community - and
the work that they did in and out of schools .
To begin with the work is to consider the work-place .
One of the most significant transitions that has occurred
between Mary O'Brien and Anne Langton's time and our
own clearly has been the shift from the private or family
school, conducted in the household of its teacher or
teachers, to the non-domestic or public institution, conducted
in a building now formally identified as a school
house or, eventually, simply as a school . In terms of their
own numbers, the vast majority of schools continued to be
carried on in the rooms of private dwellings or in the transitional
one-room schools that dotted the Canadian landscape
for most of the nineteenth century . In terms of numbers
of pupils and teachers, however, by the end of that
century and certainly by the first quarter of the twentieth,
more and more of those involved in schooling were spending
their working days in larger structures : the two- or
three-room schools of villages or the even more grand,
graded institutions of towns and cities . The latter, of
course, were the prototypes of the future . By the midtwentieth
century it is certain that the majority of teachers
and pupils alike were to be found in such institutions, despite
the persistence in some locations and the continuing
mystique of the one-room rural school .
On the grounds that the physical environment in which
schooling took place necessarily affected (and was affected
by) the teacher's work, it is worth examining in some
detail . In traditional domestic or family schools, pupils
were instructed in kitchens, in parlours, or in upstairs
rooms set aside for the purpose . Somewhat untypically,
perhaps, an Ancaster, Upper Canada, schoolmistress even
proposed in 1828 to conduct her school in a neighbour's
ballroom . The furnishings in such schools were essentially
the chairs and tables or, in more simple surroundings, the
stools and benches that the household possessed, multiplied
according to the number of scholars to be accommodated
. In the early one-room school house, benches or
"forms" provided the most common seating for pupils,
while the teacher was usually provided with a chair or a
stool . Although writing desks were increasingly thought
necessary, they were often placed along the walls and were
rarely sufficient to accommodate all the scholars at any one
time . Nor did every teacher enjoy the privilege of a desk in
the first school houses .'
It is interesting to speculate on the probable relation-
ship between these physical surroundings and the
teacher's work . Chairs and the ordinary furnishings of
houses suggest the possibility of a mobile, fairly flexible
atmosphere . With benches we are already moving toward
the immobilization of the pupils who typically now would
Rnllelin
Fig . l . Entitled "March of Intellect," this 1845 sketch of a
common school in Adelaide Township, Upper Canada,
was the work of school superintendent William
Elliott . The open fire, single window, and low ceilings
- even the relaxed posture of the schoolmaster - were
all features of mid-nineteenth-century common
schooling that critics like Elliott ultimately
condemned . (Metropolitan Toronto Library, JRR
33it3 .)
be lined up in rows facing the teacher . Yet the bench was
still a potentially flexible piece of furniture compared with
what was to come, as an elderly schoolmaster from the
District of Gore, Canada West, proved to the school
superintendent of that district in the late 1840s . The
superintendent, Patrick Thornton, reported to the pro-
vince's Chief Superintendent of Schools that he had found
the teacher using the school bench to relax . Comfortably
lying on it, the aged pedagogue had permitted the chil-
dren to read to him as they gradually drifted into the
school house during the course of the morning . This was
an old-fashioned and far too grandfitherly approach for
Thornton . When all of the scholars were assembled, he
gave both the old man and the pupils a lecture on punctu-
ality . Later he saw to it that the government grant was
denied to this teacher . 5
The casual approach that Thornton so deplored begins
to suggest not only the relationship between the physical
environment of the school and the character of the
teacher's work, but the importance of the social environ-
ment as well . In the early household and family schools
and even in the first one-room community schools, the
attendance of the pupils was not only extremely unpunc-
tual by modern standards, but also highly sporadic . No
teacher knew which of his or her registered pupils would
be in attendance on any given day or for what period of
time they might stay once they (lid come to school . As late
as 1882 schoolmaster D . Farquhar Mcl.ennan of Charlot-
tenburgh, Ontario, noted in his diary the pupils who left
at recess or noon and did not return . The deli0htful diarv

From Household to School House
of Maggie Beattie, who taught near Morrisburg, Ontario,
in 1898, records a constantly fluctuating number of scholars
in attendance and, as well, the changeable weather
conditions that could prevent school trustees from meeting
in the same way that they often kept children at
home . t'
Of course weather was only one of the factors affecting
school attendance . Both enrolment and daily attendance'
were also dictated by the length and character of the journey
to school, by the numbers of children in a family, and
by their parents' or guardians' ability to clothe them .
Most importantly, they were dictated by the other work
that children and young people had to do . Thus, on a particular
September day in 1852, the teacher of a small
country school in West Gwillimbury, Canada West, had
no doubts whatsoever about why some of his pupils had
stayed away . They were involved in the potato harvest ."
As Canadians were increasingly sold on the idea of regular
schooling for their children and as more and more
people left farm or bush to take up residence in towns,
these material conditions of the teacher's work gradually
changed . Although poor urban families continued to need
the labour of their children and resisted regular and extended
bouts of schooling for them, the general trend was
toward increasing school attendance, both in terms of a
lengthening school year and in terms of a growing number
of days and years that any given child might continue in
school . The promoters of increased and more regular
Fig . 2 . The work of a Toronto firm enjoying the sanction of the
Upper Canadian Department of Education, these desks
were nevertheless held by Deputy Superintendent of
Schools John George Hodgins to be less than ideal .The
hinged lids caused unnecessary noise when they were
being opened and shut . Pupils could also hide behind
them and thus perform "acts . . . which would not be
openly attempted ." (John George Hodgins, The School
House : Its Architecture, External and Internal Arran,Qetraent.r,
trith Additional Papers . . . . (Toronto : Department
of Public Instruction for Utioer Canada . 18571 . o. 75 .)
Plf".14,-19Tr.YU+II Pi:dil~t: or A tifIiUU411!4b6:.
EmNonntl0n :-A. A. Firat rosre of d,.vkn ; R . T3. 0 mreapun4in4 n~aLa : Q C. &~c
D . I). fbpsre4: partiuuns : t. 'P- .here desk 1 n. a. Ceal.fron desk xt
Fig . 3 . The author of The School House believed that thi
arrangement of desks was well designed for th,
purposes of school government . Pupils seated diago
nally could not see each others' faces and were pre
vented from "playing and whispering .` Furthermore
in a space that normally seated only 36, this arrange
ment permitted the accommodation of as many as 4(
children . (John George Hodgins, The School House: It
Architecture . External and Internal Arrqq(eIRfYlLf, t

)7
even if this was frequently harsh, was the order of the day .
But as teaching moved out of the household and into the
public school, problems of control often developed . Numbers
in any given school were larger . Indeed classes were
frequently huge by modern standards . There were older
children in attendance who had never experienced confinement
in a school before ; occasionally pupils were even
older than the teacher . In these circumstances questions
were increasingly raised about how best to keep order and
systems developed for doing so . Students filed in and out
of classrooms ; individual seats, screwed to the floor, replaced
benches and made it easier to keep pupils apart
(figs . 2, 3) ; teachers introduced government-produced
merit cards and other rewards to encourage orderly
behaviour in their pupils . 1°
Other shifts occurred in the tools of the teacher's trade .
Instead of allowing pupils to bring their own books, often
hV" m"h 14il~tt ~ur1,e ., .N .111
Ime--lu lorh wn . Iv4 Ivhr . ~ :a
tr~q-It I..h e.u . .ely i.rhw . . as
IY~ : N 1.eb 1471 .10r, inehw . 14-00
Fig . 4 .
E . N MOYER COMPANY . LIMITED, TORONTO . ONT
l2-inch
Globes
Recnmmended
con.m,.uo~ e! r"r"r.
nh.e..
TIIR P.\L1. b 111^n
\Lrh. F-d1 r. . M u. . .J " .
lnnlull lbout Fr~hll .~
.; .p,...^.M "
T11. MM'
F.pral'Fol i FnRFI,
hAnt e~.lnn. u 11 " ~sub.J
"n fh ~1 IM~IIU M ~h"Md
.nr.
TIIE KTA]U u ~nWlml
"j- 6-6N .
.nd nJl em IunIY,
Pig . 10
WA X"
W. ~ov"oW W nnoJ " a M r
rplY.ut.d , , C"laup
b ., a v ,~n ~ut Ih
Yeut
. .
. .aIto
r.~r w_ ~
hrt v. ~
11 . "
lv-Pan a rh 7411 ..~ .IN mbn. . vF4-IS,r.J
4Nk1--315 In Inrh 9.II ., .L.) u.hn. . In4-,I
- Vs 1_ inrh 1411 . : In .b . I
IBN-7J,n0 Ih nep N.11 ., ..79 is .hw . 1 .-20-
Catalogues like that of the E.N . Moyer Company,
"Canada's School Furnishers," urged boards of trustees
to provide their schools with the best and the latest in
school furnishings and teaching aids . Along with their
products, they promoted less tangible items as well :
the virtues of competition and the thrill of
consumerism . (E.N . Moyer Company, Catalogue
[Toronto 1912], p. 10 . Hodgins Rare Book Room,
Ontario Institute for Studics in l:(iu(ation .)
I i /I 11a It,
texts which had been handed down from child to child in
the family, provincial and local school authorities began
to insist on uniform classroom sets of books . They also
insisted that schools acquire blackboards, globes, and
other technologies unknown to the traditional domestic or
even the early one-room school teacher (figs . 4, 5) . From a
pedagogy which focused on individual, if rote, recitations
from the pupil's own book, teachers were urged to move to
the "simultaneous" method of teaching . In this method,
whole classes were instructed at the same time, a pedagogy
that was suited to the larger, graded schools and also
to more regular attendance, for it depended on entire
classes of children being kept at the same place in the same
book at the same tirne . The desire to create this kind of
learning environment, indeed, was behind the building of
larger schools and the intense campaigns to promote regular
attendance among pupils . Simultaneous teaching, the
method school reformers believed to be the most efficient,
was impossible if students came irregularly or were unpunctual,
or if children of all ages and stages of learning
were mixed together and used a great variety of different
books . Simultaneous teaching was also supposed to be
more stimulating to children and, according to the
reformed pedagogy, teachers were not only to instruct and
control their pupils but to interest them . No longer w i nding
their individual ways through their own books and
lessons, whole classes were now expected to rivet their
attention on the teacher, or on the increasingly ubiquitous
blackboard, and to work together . The ideal, according to
one late-nineteenth-century American school superintendent,
was that at any given time any given grade of
children throughout the school in his city should be on the
same page of the same book at the same time . I I
Thus the more structured learning environments that
gradually developed in the course of the nineteenth cen-
tury both dictated and made possible more formal and dis-
tanced approaches to the teacher's work . Early nineteenth-
century teachers and many who followed them probably
maintained whatever distance they could from their
pupils with the use of the birch rod . In the 1860s, Toronto
Normal School students were still learning when and
when not to "flog," according to the notes of one of them,
while in 1882 D . Farquhar McClennan reported the need
to "whip" his pupils with amazing frequency .'-' But
formal pedagogies, larger schools and, perhaps, the
presence of growing numbers of women teachers created a
new kind of distance between teachers and taught . And as
teachers were increasingly urged to strive for a professional
status superior to that of their scholars, social class factors
were involved as well . The ideal teacher by 1900 was
hardly an old gentleman lying on a bench as the pupils
read to him or a gentlewoman quietly going about her
business in her own household and instructing the young
at the same time . The new teacher was a person who stood
at the front of the room, actively pursuing the attention
and allegiance of his or her pupils . The latter were, in
theory and increasingly in practice, fixed in individual

Front Household to School House
Changing Pedagogies : The Spread of
Blackboard Use in Upper Canada,
IS56-1R6G
Percentage of
23
Elementary Schools
with Blackboards
" '_ 90.0
70.0-79.9
a 60.0-69.9
50.0-59.9
171 L 50.0
Fig . 5 . Upper Canadian teachers and trustees appear to have responded with amazing speed to Education Department pressure favouring
blackboards in the 1850s and 1860s . By fixing pupils' attention collectively on an object and on the written rather than the
spoken word, blackboards must have assisted teachers in the shift to the highly regarded "simultaneous" mode of teaching and
altered schoolroom relations in the direction of greater silence, collectivity, and control . (Courtesy of The Historical Atl.zr of
Canadcr, Vol . 2 . Research for the maps was carried out by Susan Laskin and funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities

24
Fig . 6 .
hl
00~ oot=t~ooooo0
a00 0 OOF~ r~ool~oooo= o
oooaoa
969009
0000000
L~ ; 1
°oooooooo°
I=1 ooooo= or-~o
OOOCIO tZ3 0OO0
OOOO000000
c3 C3 C3 ol~oo=3 =1 o L
- 0
li8o1 " S11 l'L.\\ ; ;,CSiriY \P . 1 "
1 Girl,' Rchlrrl . R Ilunk or 1 " itn'nt'y R~im .
B C:IIIr~rv 12+wm . F (7 CIn- It'. in. .
C Cloak ltlwm . 11 Slnlren.c tu $uy.v' Rchral .
L Eutlancl" Halt . 1. N l'ovl'rtwl lrlay Shed .
P Platform .
The ground floor of a two-storey brick school house,
designed by Toronto architects for the town of Simcoe,
Norfolk County, Upper Canada, to hold from 500 to
600 pupils . Schoolroom "A" alone was intended to
accommodate 160 . (John George Hodgins, The School
House: Its Architecture, External and Internal Arrangements,
with Additional Papers . . . [Toronto : Department
Public Instruction for Upper Canada,
1857}, p . 211 .)
seats that were firmly screwed to the floor and were organized
according to age and academic level in classrooms
that were inside large buildings containing many other
classrooms similarly organized (fig . 6) .
Over both teachers and taught loomed the authority of
a whole new set of educators whose presence gradually
altered the conditions of work for the ordinary classroom
teacher : principals, school board trustees, superin-
tendents and inspectors and, ultimately, the provincial
officials who ran the ever-growing bureaucracies known as
provincial departments of education . Much that was new
in nineteenth-century teachers' work was promoted by
these authorities and the new often was hotly debated .
Parents and trustees objected to the new subjects as they
were introduced or to the new pedagogies . Some had no
use for grammar ; others had no intention of supplying the
local teacher with a blackboard . In some rural Ontario
communities at least, grammar and blackboards appear to
have symbolized an alien culture, the unnecessary and
offensive trappings of an all-too-distant metropolitan
power .
Another vigorously debated question involved what
might best be described as the housework of the school,
the laying of fires and the cleaning of the schoolroom . In
1848, the Chief Superintendent of Schools for Canada
West, Egerton Ryerson, wrote that these matters were
subject to negotiation between teachers and the trustees
who employed them, the law not specifying who was
responsible for the work of school maintenance . But argu-
ments on the subject continued . One gathers that most
L
n
Sweeping tt 6o Desk Room in 8 Minutes
thin .,r .ee 1. nnt a'r .dhle with e%II
,I1 n.1 .0 uur.A,\ Il
Io Ilokl'. N \Illx In nl "kIV.l .I
"r11Is MAN h.. .wepr
drd . m Inv s~on~ ", . 11r r " Lrnudnt on ,h.. pnh
Fig . 7.
with aur New Uuatluo. Floor Ilru .h
r:,. In . u In.b xl«t . ._ ._ .aar
Vn . 46 I~ lerh x1avY . . r.ld
\u. :. . Id Ineb 1norY . . . . . 7.OU
Ridlleltn .'o
TIIK Ilxl'nll nu .l In O,. ri" lun 1. . In i .rY "IM
In" " Irmh, -lv Ihe dr+h wrJlh i . lhlb raos b hul III
In " h.+ IMewr"rn " uly .nrn Wn. p.itm. r. 1 . ueh Iwwh
hu rl,i. wmt .nd .~ mdl . Aru.h . . 12 brb, be,
. In io .h, nbJr r"yulrb4 m~nrdlll lo b." dA rrdl, den, tla
In"1v " t .rnrY
ME,\TM Inr\1'3 N'hJ" rl.r" n evldny 1 .
nhn ir lh . ..an . . .,I, ~ r pnu .r. n r bnlnn
.Lnnr~rdNnN " 'rh.rdmte "uhln Ihrm lothe
qwnl wlthnul IcFInN It. vnuhln .
No Dnet Yo ".U.
sw" .n .n uo. In t.W .nd rlaaronr
1 .rh .r. da ooY eb1M In "Ing tenth,
in lM I-
TX) SW UP. APxAIh r4 ' -r u 11n11KH' "xTItKAKIS0"
TUX 1'hU1~11.
Kvnwro" , rrhlnh i. lAn onlr 1h1 .K rou 0-id ,
vwr~nnl.. In n A.ur ~n .nd I .vvw w~ lavn. A fr I
n. h~u br ..l, ~Ir.. b .rlrr 4-In rwwpln, .na I..
r hvlvrwoor Ihu rM~N Ilnw bro rlnwlv Whe .u r
Am" h M la, /rnrrN~ w w ,Inxe IM rq~ ~ .r "wv .p . IIIW
fn "Inr.
An aspect of the schoolroom environment much disliked
by turn-of-the-century teachers was the dust and
dirt, particularly associated with oily school floors .
The transition to janitors meant that urban teachers at
least, no longer had to clean their own schools . E.N .
Moyer's "New Dustless Floor Brush" was designed to
take the irritation away even from being present while
the janitor was doing his work . School boards were
responding, in this period, to the efficiency movement
in industry and Moyer's description of schoolroom
cleaning also attempted to capitalize on this trend .
(E . N . Moyer Company, Catalogue [Toronto 19 121,
p . 31 . Hodgins Rare Book Room, Ontario Institute for
Studies in Education .)
local school trustees thought that the housework of the
school was part of the teacher's job, while a good many
teachers increasingly objected to doing it . Finally, in
1861, the Journal of Education for Upper Canada
pronounced on the subject . The question was no longer
one to be settled locally, at least in theory . According to
the Department of Education, teachers were not required
to make fires or to clean, much less repair, the school
house . Teachers were employed only to teach school . "
With the development of larger schools and more
sophisticated methods of cleaning and heating, a separate
category of caretakers evolved who specialized in the
maintenance of schools and these debates eventually came
to an end . Yet defining the boundaries of the teacher's
work has continued to be a problem to this day . If teachers
trying to establish themselves in nineteenth-century
communities felt undermined or overworked if asked to
perform the housekeeping tasks of the school, many
contemporary teachers have felt the supervision of
lunchrooms equally beneath their dignity as educators or,
more mundanely, simply beyond their capacities in terms
of time and energy .

From Hourehold to School House
Perhaps nowadays, however, it is the ever-increasing
mountains of paperwork that most irritate the people who
work in schools . This condition too can be traced to the
nineteenth century . From the ubiquitous school register,
which had to be filled in at least twice a day, to the growing
numbers of tests and exams to mark, forms to fill out
and reports to make, teachers even in one-room rural
schools were more and more involved in written work, as
were their pupils . 15 Gradually spelling bees, mental
arithmetic contests, and public examinations, and the oral
culture which sustained these activities, gave way to the
culture of the written word, once again substantially altering
the conditions of the teacher's work . The hard work of
keeping fires going and cleaning school houses may have
s
,1A- -
~.'_ 1:~. `"
//l-t~- f'.J!~C "
~~
.,
Fig . 8 .
-7
.
A~~y,...~,_ -A-A, ..:, 411.,
-
~*..~.-.~.
f Al . .- I
ii' , . 1
A
Normal School students learned the importance of
school government both by the example of their own
training and by precept . Maria Payne's notes, made at
the Normal School in Toronto in the late 1860s, record
her reaction to instruction in the keeping of school
registers . "In these squares," she notes with apparent
mystification, "you must put certain marks ."
Although she could not keep up with the speed of the
lecture, she attempted to get down, at the very least,
what was done at the model school attached to Toronto
Normal . In the "model," marks were given not only for
punctual attendance (evidently four times a day) but
for "perfect recitations" and "good conduct ." The keeping
of such records marked the beginning of a trend toward
ever-increasing amounts of paperwork for
teachers . (Maria Payne Notebooks, Toronto Normal
School, Education Records, General Collection, 1860-
69, Mu 975, Box 5, no . 6, Archives of Ontario .)
-
--
disappeared, but only to be replaced by what many
teachers would see as a different sort of drudgery .
11
One can imagine public examinations conducted by
gentlemen teachers who, by virtue of their age, status,
and gender, had the potential to exercise the kind of
authority and showmanship appropriate to such occa-
sions . Christmas recitals, on the other hand, may have
seemed more suitable tasks for the young women who in-
creasingly came to staff Canada's one-room rural, as well
as larger urban, schools . This is only one of many possible
illustrations of the relationships that may exist between
the perceived characteristics of workers and the nature of
the work they perform . When it came to the manual work
associated with nineteenth-century rural schools, it may
have seemed proper for male teachers to split the firewood
for the school but not quite right for them to take on the
cleaning . For young women, the opposite likely would
have been the case, although one must beware of applying
modern stereotypes to a pioneer society . Nevertheless it is
clear that this reasoning applied to the use of the birch
rod, which was gradually replaced, as teaching forces
feminized, by the "strap" which, in its turn, was recom-
mended for sparing use and, eventually, only by principals
. In the large, graded schools where these same principals
held sway, it was assumed that kindergarten and early
grade school teachers would be women . The principals
~k/2
---+--- ~ --
J1~ t~
/ZX/6
i
i
L~~>
~~ X 2 ~

26 Rullerir
Page 13 Z. N, MOYEB OOMPANY, LIIIIQTED, TORONTO, ONT .
WARRANTY - We guarantee all goods to be as represented
in our catalog*. Your money back ht you want ht .
We assert without fear of successful contradi," tion . that Ml)1'F.K'8 30i.111 SLATR BLACKBOARDS
manufactured from N(). 1 I'FNNS1'1.1'ANIA SLATE, and Hand Shaved as we finish them, are moro satisfnetorY
to use in the S,"hool Room, last longer and are cheaper by one-half in the long run than any other
Slate lilnekl mrd on thw market .
The quarrying and finishing of Slate Blackboards is a most interesting process to those who have never
seen slate worked .
Slate Rock for Blackboards is first cut out of the quarry in large blocks, hoisted out. by steam hoists,
placed on cars . and conveyed to the factory, where the block is transferred to one, of the large steam saws,
and rut to as large a size as wilt permit, we will say t z 6 feet . It is then turned over to the "Splitter,"
who) with hammer and chisel . splits the blocks up into slaby of the required thickness for Blackboards . The
splitting of blocks of this dimension must be very even, and in our rock it is always so .
The pieces after being split are placed on a revolving Rubbing lied, and rubbed until the surface is per
fectly smooth, after which thev are placed on the Shaving Tal,le, and the entire surface is carefully and
thoroughly shaved with a knife,, by hand, until it has n surfaeP smooth as a mirn,r.
The board is then jointed at such ends as are to be Joined to other boards, so as to make a perfect joint,
after which they are properly crated and ready for shipment .
11'e guarantee all our boards to arrive at purvchnser's freight station in good order, and will rel,lare
free of charge any board broken in transit, providing a written eertilGvate of such breakage is furnished us,
signed by the freight agent at receiving point, and setting forth size of board or boards broken .
36 in . wide, per square foot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 cents .
4° in . wide, per square foot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 cents .
49 in . wide, per square foot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 cents .
Freight paid to any station in Ontario south of North Bay
LIQUID SLATING
Can be applied to any wall-either wood or
plaster.
Per pint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .E0 60
Per quart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 04)
Per gallon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 7 :5
SLATED CLOTH
Stretch this material over your old board, and
fasten cither with tacks or gluc .
36 inches wide, one eide . . . . . . per lineal vard El 0A
49 invhes wide, one side . . . . . . ler lineal * yard 1 30
36 inch" wide, two sides . . . . .per lineal yard 1 54)
49 inches wide . two sides . . . . .per liueal yard 1 75
Fig . 10 . Hodgins' 1857 school manual had described the construction of a modest blackboard that could be accommodated on an easel .
Not so the school supplier of 1912, who imagined school room walls almost entirely covered with boards . (E . N . Moyer Company,
Catalogue {Toronto 1912], p . li . Hodgins Rare Book Room, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education .)

From Household to School House
themselves and the teachers of the higher grades, on the
other hand, seemed more appropriately male . 1 6
Yet that the social structure of teaching has been a more
complex and changeable phenomenon than such statements
would imply is revealed when we examine questions
such as gender more minutely . Statistical profiles of
nineteenth-century teachers compiled from manuscript
census returns currently available to researchers for the
years 1851, 1861, 1871, and 1881, make such detailed
examination possible for at least one brief but important
period of Canadian history . Marta Danylewycz, Beth
Light, and I have analyzed the changing characteristics of
teachers during the third quarter of the nineteenth century
for selected rural counties of Quebec and Ontario and
for the cities of Montreal and Toronto, using these sources
in conjunction with the records of local school boards and
the provincial departments of education . 17
If we begin with the two cities, we find that in Toronto
feminization proceeded rapidly, especially in the schools
controlled by the Public School Board until, by 1881,
over 80 per cent of the teachers were women . In Montreal,
the opposite occurred . Gradually, among the lay teachers
employed by the Roman Catholic School Commission in
the city, the men increased in proportion to the women
until, by the end of our period, they were in the majority .
In Montreal, in fact, large numbers of Roman Catholic
women teachers continued in private or domestic teaching
well beyond the period when most other Canadian
teachers were abandoning this traditional form of educational
work . An alternative, of course, was to join a
teaching order and this was the path that many Quebec
Catholic women chose. Convent schools multiplied
rapidly in the second half of the nineteenth century and
became preferred work-places for many middle-class and
urban Francophone women teachers .' $
Young lay women, however, continued to staff the
poorer schools of rural districts in Quebec . Indeed, they
did so in far greater proportions and from an earlier date
than was the case for most parts of rural Ontario . In
Quebec as a whole women were already the majority of
teachers by the 1850s . Although certain eastern counties
of Ontario followed the Quebec pattern of early female
majorities among teachers, in rural Ontario as a whole
male teachers continued to be numerically dominant for
several decades longer .
We believe that the different rates and patterns of
feminization in the two provinces can be explained by a
combination of factors . Ontario, first of all, seems to have
had a larger and more persistent pool of cash-hungry
immigrant men who wanted teaching jobs than was the
case in Quebec . The fact that young women were hired in
disproportionate numbers in the poorer primary resource
frontier regions of both provinces, where men were likely
to be employed at least part of the time in industries such
U4
THE EDVOATIONIAL REVIEW.
TO TCAC[-1FRS .
The Subscriber be-s to call the attontion of Teacher, to his
caretiill~- assortml sto~~k ot'
BOOKS and S'1'A"1'I()N h:l~l',
and would solicit correspondouco from thoso intending Joll-chm"' .
ing, t'eeling Sure they will find it to their interesi
to do so botore -ning idvc%vhore .
Soh .ool anrl . Collage Text Boo'lsr3 a Spuoi alty .
, ALFRED MORRISEY. - 104 King Street, Saint John, N. B .
Fig . 11 . Teachers as well as school boards were seen as eager
consumers of new educational products . Potential
customers for books and stationery in New Brunswick
were urged to correspond with this company concerning
their requirements . (The Educational Review [New
Brunwick] 2 [May 1888], p . 244 .)
as lumbering and the fishery and where spare cash for
teachers' salaries was in short supply, suggests that local
economic conditions also played an important role .
Finally, the persistence of the sexual segregation of pupils
in the schools of Montreal - and its gradual disappearance
in Toronto - may explain at least in part the different
patterns which developed in these two cities . In
Montreal, the Catholic School Commission was able to
focus not only on boys' schooling to the almost virtual
exclusion of girls', but also on the professional advancement
of male teachers by choosing not to support many
women's schools . The Public School Board in Toronto, on
the other hand, paid more attention to the education of
girls and also hired far more women ; in Toronto, male
career patterns and professional interests were nevertheless
promoted, but through the creation of gender-based
hierarchies within a rapidly growing and increasingly coeducational
system .
If larger proportions of non-Canadian-born individuals
among the male teachers of Ontario suggests a possible
correlation between ethnicity and the sexual division of
labour in teaching, the average ages and household positions
of teachers also prove to have explanatory power .
Men teachers were older than women on the average, in
both Quebec and Ontario, and were far more likely to be
either boarders or heads of their own households in all four
census years . In Ontario the growing number of rural
schoolmistresses meant not only an increase in the proportion
of Canadian-born teachers but an increase in the
proportion who were dependent young people living in
the households of their parents . EviderStly as rural trustees
found that they were less and less able, to afford the salaries
of male teachers or that fewer immigrant men were available
for hire, they increasingly turned to the girls of their
own communities in their search for teachers . In Quebec,
where country districts adopted this pattern even earlier,
an even greater need for economy evidently dictated that
27

28
some 25 per cent of rural schoolmistresses not only had to
teach but to live in the frequently inadequate school
houses that were also the locations of their daily work .
From the social characteristics of the teachers we thus
come full circle to be confronted once again with the
character of the work-place and the work . Where boarding
with different families in the community, being head
of one's household or living in the school house were
actually requirements of the job - and all of these at
different times and places evidently were - such living
arrangements must be treated as aspects of the teachers'
work as well as of their private lives . In the nineteenth
century, indeed, when public and private lives may have
been more integrated than is the case today, household
and employment status may well have seemed all of a
piece . Women teachers, who tended to be young and dependent
members of families, understandably had less
status and earned lower salaries than male teachers, who
tended to be older and heads of their households . Only
those women who stayed in teaching for more than a few
years and were making careers in the occupation began to
feel the injustice of their admitted and, in some cases,
growing inequality . 1 9
III
Three overlapping periods can be discerned in the history
of Canadian teachers, periods whose boundaries shift
as one moves away from central places to thinly settled or
remote regions where traditional forms have tended to
persist . The first was the period of the domestic or private
teacher, who predominated in most parts of Canada until
at least the middle of the nineteenth century. During the
second period, one-room public school teachers were
probably the majority . Again, in most regions of the
country this condition prevailed until at least World War
I when one-room teachers, if no longer numerically
dominant, were still often symbolically so . The vast
majority of such teachers by the turn of the century were
women and whether women or men, like their domestic
1 . A.S . Miller, ed ., The Journals of Mary O'Brien (Toronto : Macmillan,
1968) and H .H . Langton, ed ., A Gentlewoman in Upper
Canada : The Journals of Anne Langton (Toronto : Clarke, Irwin,
1950), especially p . 143 .
2 . The words "private" and "public" when applied to schools in the
early nineteenth century generally referred to whether they were
conducted in private (that is domestic) or in public places . The
more modern meaning, referring to the sources of funding,
developed only gradually in the course of the nineteenth century .
Studies dealing with the ideology which promoted the employment
of women teachers include : Glenda Riley, "Origin of the
Argument for Improved Female Education," History of Education
Quarterly 9, no . 4 (Winter 1969) ; Keith Melder, "Women's High
NOTES
Bulletin 20
predecessors, they often seem to have combined school
teaching with other work . Male teachers were most often
farmers, but they were also clergymen, surveyors,
storekeepers, and clerks, while a late nineteenth-century
Quebec woman teacher recorded in her diary long sessions
of weaving in addition to her work in the school .20 For
many teachers of this period, whether female or male, the
one-room school was not only a part-time job, but a temporary
one as well, to be abandoned to other schoolmasters
and mistresses at marriage or when other occupations
beckoned .
Already evident in the latter part of the nineteenth century
was the beginning of a new era and a third type of
teacher, a person more likely than his or her predecessors
to be engaged in teaching full-time and as a life-long
career . No longer either inhabiting or working in oneroom
schools, these teachers were increasingly urban
dwellers and the employees of large, bureaucratically
organized school systems .
While this sketch of the transition from the keepers of
private or domestic schools, through one-room school-
mistresses and masters to the career teachers of the
twentieth century can be suggestive only of the relation-
ships between the characteristics of teachers and the
character of their work, it has tried at least to raise some of
the key questions that such a study should probe . From
the domestic and literary skills that Mary O'Brien and
Anne Langton imparted to their pupils to the grade school
work of today may not seem an enormous leap . What has
clearly changed, however, are both the work-place and the
larger social environment within which teaching takes
place . More subtle to trace or assess in its effects, perhaps,
is the shifting character of the teaching force, as old men
lying on benches, housekeepers working at home, and
teenage boys and girls have gradually been ruled out as
appropriate instructors of the young, at least as far as
public, tax-supported schooling is concerned . One need
not idealize these teachers of the past to recognize that a
great change has occurred between their time and our
own .
Calling : The Teaching Profession in America, 1830-1860,"
American Quarterly 13 (Fall 1972) ; Joan N. Burstyn, "Catharine
Beecher and the Education of American Women," New England
Quarterly 47 (September 1974) ; Kathryn Kish Sklar, Catharine
Beecher: A Study in American Domesticity (New Haven : Yale University
Press, 1972) ; Alison Prentice, "The Feminization of Teaching
in British North America and Canada, 1845-1875," Hi.rtoire
socialelSocial History 8 (May 1975) . Canadian studies in the history
of teacher professionalism are J.G . Althouse, The Ontario Teacher :
A Historical Account of Progress, 1800-1910 (Toronto : Ontario
Teachers' Federation, 1967) and Andre Labarre're-Paul(, l.es
Inrtituteurr lafclues au Canada fran_fais, 1836-1900 (Qutbec : Les
Presses de I'universite Laval, 1965) .

From Household to School House
3 . Myra H . Strober and David Tyack, "Why Do Women Teach and
Men Manage?" Signs 5, no . 3 (Spring 1980) ; David B . Tyack and
Myra H . Strober, "Jobs and Gender : A History of the Structuring
of Educational Employment by Sex," in Patricia Schmuck and
W. W. Charles, eds., Educational Policy and Management : Sex Differentialt
(San Diego : Academic Press, 1981) ; Myra H . Strober and
Laura Best, "The Female/Male Salary Differential in Public
Schools : Some Lessons from San Francisco, 1879," Economic Inquiry
17, no . 2 (April 1979) ; Marta Danylewycz, Beth Light, and
Alison Prentice, "The Evolution of the Sexual Division of Labour
in Teaching : A Nineteenth Century Ontario and Quebec Case
Study," Histoire tocialelSocial History 15, no . 30 (Spring 1983) ;
Marta Danylewycz and Alison Prentice, "Teachers, Gender and
Bureaucratizing School Systems in Nineteenth Century Montreal
and Toronto," History of Education Quarterly 24, no . 1 (Spring
1984) : 75-100 ; Myra H. Strober and Audri Gordon Lanford, "The
Percentages of Women in Public School Teaching : A Cross-
Section Analysis, 1850-1880," paper presented at the annual
meeting of the Social Science History Association, Nashville,
Tennessee, October 1981 ; Wayne J . Urban, Why Teachers
Organized (Detroit : Wayne State University Press, 1982) .
4 . Gore Gazette, 12 July 1828 . Descriptions of early Canadian
common and parish schools may be found in Charles E . Phillips,
The Development of Education in Canada (Toronto : W.J . Gage & Co .
Ltd., 1957) .
5 . Patrick Thornton to Egerton Ryerson, 22 January 1849, RG 2
(Education Records) C-6-C, Archives of Ontario .
6 . D. Farquhar McLennan Diary, 1882, Diaries Collection, Mu
1962, Archives of Ontario ; Maggie Beattie Diary, 1898, courtesy
of her daughter, Mrs . Harvey Barkley, Morrisburg, Ontario, and
now in the Archives of Ontario .
7 . The importance of distinguishing between enrolment and attendance
becomes clear on the examination of attendance records for
almost any constituency in the nineteenth century . The vast
majority of children who enrolled attended far fewer than the
number of days that schools were open . On school attendance and
enrolment, see Michael B. Katz, "Who Went to School?," Ian E .
Davey, "School Reform and School Attendance : The Hamilton
Central School, 1853-1861," and Haley P . Bamman, "Patterns of
School Attendance in Toronto, 1844-1878 : Some Spatial Considerations,"
in Michael B. Katz and Paul H . Mattingly, eds.,
Education and Social Change: Themes from Ontario's Past (New York :
New York University Press, 1975) ; Ian E . Davey, "The Rhythm of
Work and the Rhythm of School," in Neil McDonald and Alf
Chaiton, eds ., Egerton Ryerton and His Timet (Toronto : Macmillan,
1978) ; Chad Gaffield and David Levine, "Dependency and Adolescence
on the Canadian Frontier : Orillia, Ontario in the Mid-
Nineteenth Century," History of Education Quarterly 18 (Spring
1978) .
8 . West Gwillimbury School Register, 1844-49, Mu 972, Archives
of Ontario, entry dated Saturday, 28 September 1844 .
9 . On the question of compulsory schooling, see Susan E . Houston,
"Social Reform and Education : The Issue of Compulsory Schooling,"
in McDonald and Chaiton, eds ., Egerton Ryerson and His
Times .
10 . Alison Prentice, The School Promoters: Education and Social Class in
Mid-Nineteenth Century Upper Canada (Toronto : McClelland &
Stewart, 1977), especially chapters 5 and 6 . On the question of
women teachers or very young teachers and order in the schoolroom,
see Prentice, "The Feminization of Teaching," and "Difficulties
of Young Teachers, "Journal of Education for Upper Canada
18 (October 1865), p . 156 .
11 . Prentice, The School Promoters ; David B. Tyack, The One Best System:
A History of American Urban Education (Cambridge, Mass . :
Harvard University Press, 1974), p . 48 .
12 . Maria Payne Notebooks, Toronto Normal School, Box 5, Mu
975, Education : General Collection, 1860-69, no . 6, Archives of
Ontario ; D. Farquhar McLennan Diary, 1882, Diaries Collection,
Mu 1962, Archives of Ontario .
13 . For a discussion of the movement to teach English grammar in
nineteenth-century Ontario schools and some reactions against it,
see Prentice, The School Promoters, pp . 75-81 .
14 . Egerton Ryerson to Mr . John Monger, 26 December 1848, RG 2
C 1 Letterbook D, p . 360, Archives of Ontario . For enquiries to
the Department of Education on the subject, see C.W .D . de
L'Armitage to Ryerson, 27 June 1849 ; Meade N. Wright to
Ryerson, 26 June 1859 ; and Teacher to Ryerson, 1 April 1859,
RG 2 C-6-C . The Education Department policy statement
appeared in "Official Replies of the Chief Superintendent of
Schools to Local School Authorities in Upper Canada, "Journal of
Education for Upper Canada 14, no . 3 (March 1861), p . 40 .
15 . The proliferation of paperwork generated by the Ontario Department
of Education under Ryerson is described in my article "The
Public Instructor : Ryerson and the Role of the Public School
Administrator," in McDonald and Chairon, eds ., Egerton Ryertorr
and His Times, pp . 144-47 .
16 . Prentice, "The Feminization of Teaching," pp . 52-56 and 61-62 .
17 . Marta Danylewycz, Beth Light, and Alison Prenrice, "The Evolution
of the Sexual Division of Labour in Teaching : A Nineteenth
Century Ontario and Quebec Case Study," Hittoire tocialelSocial
History 15, no . 30 (Spring 1983) ; Marta Danylewycz and Alison
Prentice, "Teachers, Gender and Bureaucratizing School Systems
in Nineteenth Century Montreal and Toronto," History of Education
Quarterly 24, no . 1 (Spring 1984) : 75-100 .
18 . Marta Danylewycz, "Taking the Veil in Montreal : An Alternative
to Marriage, Motherhood and Spinsterhood" (Ph .D . thesis,
University of Toronto, 1981).
19 . Prentice, "The Feminization of Teaching," pp . 62-64 .
20 . "Bell and Laing School Papers," Lennox and Addington History
Society, Papers, vols . 5-9 (1914-17), pp . 29-37, describe an early
Upper Canadian schoolmaster who combined teaching with
surveying and clerical work . The schoolmistress/weaver was Ruth
Pearson . Ruth Pearson Diary, 1881, courtesy of Althea Douglas .
29

Introduction
Research Reports/Rapports de recherche
Advertising Canadian Pianos and Organs, 1850-1914
This preliminary report on advertising is part of a much
larger study of social and economic aspects in the
Canadian manufacturing and marketing industry in
pianos, organs, and other domestic musical instruments
from 1850 to 1914 . In the course of the research, a directory
of manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers is being
compiled, and data on production, sales, and advertising
are being recorded from a wide variety of sources . The progressive
impact of these leisure goods on the market-place
and the consumer household is being traced from region to
region . It is hoped that ultimately these investigations
will shed some light on the manufacturing and marketing
of consumer or household goods in Canada for the new
consumer society of the latter nineteenth century .
The study grew out of a long-standing interest in
developments in the consumer goods industry during the
period of tremendous social and economic change which
accompanied industrialization and settlement in Canada
in the last half of the nineteenth century . In step with the
industry was a consumer-minded public, their urge to buy
keeping pace with the push to produce . This reciprocal
link between the production of domestic goods and the
buying and living habits of householders seemed central .
The desire to further investigate this relationship led to
the selection of one consumer goods industry to serve as a
research base .
The musical instrument industry appeared to be a good
choice for a number of reasons . In the first place, it was an
important consumer goods industry, with manufacturing
coast to coast . Second, its performance during this period
seemed fairly representative of the consumer goods industry
as a whole . From workshop production by individual
tradesmen for a select, local market, it emerged fully
industrialized and mass-marketed for mass consumption .
Third, its development can be linked to the intensive
development of distinct socio-economic regions in Canada
during this period . This offers the challenging opportunity
to analyze regional patterns in manufacturing,
marketing, and consumer demand for the domestic musical
instruments . Fourth, it raises a number ofquestions on
nineteenth- and early twentieth-century society's
attitudes toward these costly instruments, and on the
effectiveness of marketing strategies, including advertising,
on consumer behaviour . Research on pianos and
organs, unlike many other luxury commodities, has the
added advantage of extensive advertising to draw upon .
The wealth of data can be quantified for analysis of such
influential variables as company size, circulation, readership,
time, and place, and the composition of the advertising
message itself.
There were other considerations as well . To my knowledge
the Canadian musical instrument manufacturing
industry has not been studied before as a whole, with the
exception of Helmut Kallmann's pioneering work (see, for
example, notes 6 and 7) . Information on individual
makers, retailers, and the industry as a whole is being
pieced together from such wide-ranging sources as census
records, business directories, local histories, newspapers,
and other periodicals, labour records, trade periodicals,
commercial summaries, biographical collections, exhibition
accounts, and historical county atlases . Through the
good graces of microform and the excellent local historical
repositories such as the Glenbow Library and Archives,
many of these sources are available locally -an important
consideration for this evenings-and-weekends research
project . On the other hand, trade catalogues, industrial
exhibition catalogues, and primary sources such as
company records, photographs, fire insurance, and other
maps, transportation records, and patent, trademark, and
labour records are more distant and difficult to access, and
to date have scarcely been tapped . In addition, as the
investigations have strayed into the domain of historical
and economic geography, transportation history,
economic and labour history, and marketing and advertising,
my education has become woefully inadequate to the
task . It is becoming increasingly clear that the research
should not continue without a better grounding in these
areas, in order to interpret the patterns and processes
emerging from the study . This, then, is the next step .
One final consideration . After over five years of research,
the study has lost none of its savour or sense ofexcitement .
It only gets better .
Background
Material History BulletinlBulletin d'hittoire de la culture materielle 20
31
The spectacular rise and fall of the Canadian piano and
organ industry is a phenomenon matched by few other
luxury consumer goods produced for the domestic
market . The years following its rise in the 1850s unfolded
like pages in a success story until the turn of the century .
It was then faced with a triple challenge imposed in rapid

32
succession during the next twenty years . First, the rising
phonograph industry became a strong contender for the
home market . The industry then suffered staggering
production losses during World War I, and immediately
afterward was confronted by a new and even more serious
competitor - the radio receiver . These reversals left a permanent
mark on the industry, and it never regained its
leading position in the home entertainment market .
During their heyday, however, the domestic organs
and pianos found unprecedented numbers of customers in
Canada, and doubled as a major export commodity in the
manufactured goods class . The industry succeeded despite
a competitive disadvantage on its own turf against
numbers, prices, and tariff rates for imported, chiefly
American-made instruments ; despite a thinly scattered
population base, weak transportation network, and farflung
trading centres ; and despite a predominantly
agricultural economy with all the uncertainties of the
harvest .
To a certain extent, the growth of the industry was
stimulated by sweeping changes in economic, demographic,
and social conditions during the last half of the
nineteenth century, and up to the outbreak of World War
I . The industrialization of the east and the settlement of
the west together provided a fertile ground .
In the 1850s, piano and organ-building cottage trades
were distributed fairly evenly through the forest and
woodworking industrial belts in Nova Scotia, New
Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec . The two Atlantic provinces
in particular enjoyed a cosy competitive advantage
over imports from the Canadas and Boston . Confederation
in 1867 eroded that edge, and was followed in quick
succession by a series of natural and economic disasters . ~
The National Policy of 1879, which raised tariffs on
imports to protect domestic manufacturers, came too late
to save the industry in the Atlantic provinces . From that
time on, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick's once flourishing
industry was reduced to a few surviving companies
serving local trading areas .
Meanwhile, in the major population centres of southern
Ontario and Quebec, the fortunes of the industry mirrored
the economic swings, decade by decade, between prosperity
and depression . While the great depression of the
1870s trapped many of the smaller piano and organ
manufacturing firms, the survivors found business booming
in the 1880s . The home market had been bolstered by
the protective tariff policies of the National Policy, with
Ontario reaping the most benefit . During the industrial
boom and general prosperity of the period, improved rail
transportation linkages between industrial centres and
smaller communities expedited delivery of orders and raw
materials to the factories and the finished products to
agents, dealers, and the public . A broadened population
base in Ontario and Quebec supported an expanding
Bulletin 20
manufacturing industry and its retail network of
branches, agents, and dealers . The west was opening up,
and the heavy bulky instruments moved westward among
settlers' effects and mail orders . In the fifteen years before
the war broke out, the urban population in the prairie provinces
and British Columbia, with new wealth gained
from grain, beef, real estate, mineral, and shipping interests
were demanding luxury commodities . Local agencies
sprang up like weeds to meet the demand . Industrialization
in southern Ontario was concentrating the population,
and increasing cash flow, the purchasing power of
the dollar, and the earning power of the worker . It was
putting more money in consumers' pockets, and bringing
luxury commodities - the sewing machine, the piano,
and the organ - within their reach .
The piano and organ industry also grew up in a rapidly
changing social order . Traditional class structures defined
by wealth, work, and educational opportunities were
taking on new parameters . The popular tastes of the
majority were taking a greater role in the market-place .
But sweeping economic, demographic, and social
changes cannot alone account for the phenomenal success
of the Canadian piano and organ industry during this
period . For production to succeed, there must be demand .
The growth and development of the Canadian musical
instrument industry takes us to the nineteenth-century
Canadian wage earner . What moved him to spend, in the
1880s, slightly less than a year's wage 2 or the price of a
threshing machine on a piano, or of a farm wagon for an
organ ?3 His consumer habits, his personal economics, his
social and cultural environment, and how he exercised his
tastes and spending options to make lifetime additions to
his household must all be taken into account. Even his
relationship with the women in his life, since the major
appeal of the instruments was for the women with little or
no purchasing power of their own, must be examined .
These factors must remain subjects for a future study .
What must also be reckoned with are those forces which
influenced his consumer-spending, fueled his decisionmaking,
and separated him from his money. These forces
lay behind the advertising strategies adopted by the
industry, and this will be the subject of this discussion .
Advertising Pianos and Organs
Since the birth of the industry in the 1850s, piano and
organ manufacturers were among the first in the luxury
commodity class to embrace the new mass salesmanship
plan, known as advertising . 4 Originally a simple information
device calculated to reach remote audiences, advertising
in the 1880s in the hands of the professional ad
agencies had become an instrument of persuasive
communication by remote control . Advertising methods
developed and matured with the growing newspaper and
popular magazine trade to reach mass markets during the

Rure.crth Reportt/Roprort .r de recGerchE
~` ]I 'id ,~
, ~"
J y ~~'~ ~~ J ' l~
OF
CHURCH
ANT)
.l; .tltiM©US
ORGANS
Or ALL SIZES
AND DESCRIPTIONS .
No* 10 St. Joseph Streetq
~1 11
I]AILJi0\IUJI
011U ANS,
SERAPHINES,
IN DIVIDUALS and Societies who are desirous of suPplyiu~ themselves with Instrumrntv
of the above character, warranted to be of superior construction, anti beauty of
fle.i2n, will find it to their advantage to call at his Establishment and examine, and
juol,;e for themselves . Twenty-nine years of experience and careful study in his Pro-
I1-ion have enabled him to successfully contribute to the various imliroventents already
roa4le in the construction of the Organ and Piano Forte . IIis extensive anti long
Aianufactory, is now supplied with the best materials, and ntost experienced
n(irkmen ; and he is thereby enabled to compete with siiuilar estnbliA htile tits in this
Comilry or in Europe .
I(e would call the atteption of musical people in small Towns and Villag".
in the Country, where they are not prepared to purcliaso largo Organs, to his Harmonium
nrz-ins, Ceraphines, and )Eolophon's, of all sizes, at very low prices ; and well adapted
for their usc, being less liable to get out of order and tune, (in tlte Periection they are
now brou?ht to,) than either the Organ or Piano Forte. The larger ,izes of these In-
"rnmcnts, having from four to nine registers, hive a Rrrat variety ant[ combination o`
I-,nra ; and there are but few churches in the couiitrv that they are not capable of
fillinq, while the kmallcr sizes make an excellent anti Plra "ing Parlour Instrument .
Orders from the United States, and from all parts of Canada will be promptly attended
to . Iustruments repaired and tuned at the shortest notice .
Fig . 1 . Established as an organ builder in Montreal in 1836 (Canada, Department of Finance, 1885, Reports . . ., p . 9), Samuel Warren
later specialized in church pipe organs . At this early date, however, he was producing and marketing a full range of organ and
piano models . (Photo : Robert W .S . MacKay, The Canada Directory Brought Down to NovetrrGer 1857 [Montreal : John Lovell,
18511, p . 231 .)

34 Bulletin 20
TO PURCHASERS OF PIANO-FORTES .
SILVER MEDAL' Hamilton . IBM lst t 2nd rRT2ES' Hamilton. 1860 .
CIO*
1 ;E, : rerpectfully to invite public attention to their PtA.ro-Fonrss . Their Instrument, are all ma" le with a
full U,lu!'ic FrK,nr, Ithe invention or Mr . Teox~s, nul n~w in genertl uye throu;!rtut thc wurl,11, and art!
.M .utut'actttre "1 hy Antericrn an I Germ to W.irkmeu, under the supminten4ence of Mr. T 1{rt!fT:xtv, who
rec~~iv . : the First Prise at the Now T.trk State Agricultural Soroiety. dRo7, and h te hn "1 thirty year .' experience
in the business, and was Principal of the Jtecltauic .ll 1)cpartmeuL .If the late 1P .»tern l'o,opnty of
Butitlo, whose Pianos are well known throughout the Province . They therefore feel atn6dent in saying,
their Pianos will be found equal to any manufactured on this continettt, an] will, on inspection, eatirfy
the yrreate+t critic that their workmanship . qnality of tone, touch, and 6uieh, are ouch, that taking into
coneideration their low range or prices, wi!1 defy competition .
Amonfrat the many TErttrnxtALs received for their Piauos, they have much pleasure in calling your
otteution to the following :-
FIRST AND SECOND PRIZES,
AT THE PRttV1\CI .1L ~lIoN1' _1T HAMILTON, lit;,).
.
.
.
.
Dram RFa- TIP , atct'AL'L Pnndpel .d Coiverdt7 Collede. I hn"+ tnu~~h pi,"wsur» In t,"vrlvq tealmenv to "ho : nperlw
^ ; . **V STItATHS . F'.,q_ Duet.or of )tunc, end Profrwor of tone and 6nirh nf to, vin. F',urb-~ ma,le t,y J. TwvxAe 1 Co ., ot
, Al usic at Trluwty Cullega, ; U" w t'aue.ls Ptenn F',wte )lahufaei~1 y.
" ,1 IfN (' .i1:TF:R" Ew7 . .(knnfetandDitoeloroft6ef'hoir,
Turunto, lla :ch _'~. 18d1 -l W . ?TILATIIY .
; _
~! .lamea' Cathedr,t, Alw, r hare no hrsaali~n In rpawklu¢ rety h,ghiy or the Iliac,
"" .1_ U IIUMPIIRF:Yi, A.ODVTIlF'.R, FAQ ; AUG. i 3'cvtrnlhat'swsuw"oofacturwlb: J.Tu:aay .tt'u. ., .fthi" Cit,r
~:.IFF'EItT, Fiy. ; and ]t . IIAHBRNTtlCB, bat, Tnrouto, ltu,h _J . 1961 . JUIt% , t! .CSJt .
.
.
.
.
. .
- I Th " unArrsl¢nrd . Prof- of Hudr hare ¢nvvt PI, eenre In
rerommi"udinm to lh " pul "Ile genPraily the 1'bnoF-r- mauu-
I hnr. .semit:r .l enma Piano-Portee made by J TItM11F ! Co , fncturwl hv J . Ttu)aae A 1'0 .. a. hlnv """ r v ?utK~rt r I n-trn"urnt~
and ran beat 4"at'mouy lo the e:eulteow ot th .lr toue and Bnf,h end equnl in evrry rerp-t it) any manulL .:tutnl un thi-t bntVoent
TQroatu, April 4 1861.
JVII\ 61cCACL. ~ J. D !tl'91PNIlF.Yy.
H. UAIIkR ."'TJCK .
A. W'\ftllal .
Alai . 1+F:1RF'F:1cT
A f3TJAFtqNTDD C3IVHlq WITH AZ.L TH£IR PIANOB .
OLD PIANOS TAKEN rdi HxrtIASUF:.
TUNING AND REPAIRING PROJII "T1 .1 :1'PTl":\DEU T0 .
TORONTO .
Fig . 2 . This most informative ad contains clues to an important episode in Canadian piano-making history . Pioneering Canadian piano
maker John Morgan Thomas was in operation in Montreal and Toronto from 1832 until his death in 1875 . He was credited with
the invention of the metallic frame which he and Alexander Smith patented in Toronto in I}t4U . Five sons, among them Edward
G ., a Woodstock organ manufacturer, and Charles L ., a Hamilton piano manufacturer, were also major contributors to the
industry (Helmut Kallmann et al ., Encyclopedia of lllu.fir in Canada [Toronto : University of Toronto Press, 198 11, p . 912) . Two
years after this ad appeared, in May 1866, Theodore Heintzman named in the ad, opened his own factory in Toronto and founded
one of Canada's most successful and longest-running piano-making firms . (Photo : IVlitthell's Canada Guzetteerurrd Bn.firre.fr 1)irettory
jor 1864-65, no . 1 [Toronto : J . W. Mitchell, 18641, p . 1230 .)

Retearth ReportslRapports de recherche
last two decades of the nineteenth century. 5 The piano and
organ industry was launched into the mainstream of popular
culture in Canadian society .
Potential vehicles for advertising Canadian pianos and
organs were many, and manufacturers chose their marketing
targets well . The middle and upper income newspaper
readers were first on the list . Newspapers were profusely
decorated with local advertisements ranging from brief
trade notices to lengthy copy with eye-popping typeface
comhinxrions .
The industry was more selective when it came to
periodicals . Instruments were heavily advertised in
periodicals with specialized readerships, notably the
wealthy classes' "society" magazines such as The Bury
Man'.r Magazine (Toronto, forerunner to Maclean's), and
The Canadian Magazine (Toronto, 1893+) . Farmer's
magazines, such as The Farmer's Advocate (London, Ont .,
1866+), Farm and Ranch Review (Calgary, 1905+), or
Nor'-West Farmer and Manitoba Miller (Winnipeg, 1886)
were targeted to sell costly luxury and labour-saving
commodities . Pianos and organs, sewing machines, wash-
ing machines, cream separators, and the like were heavily
advertised . Music periodicals for the music professions,
music lovers, and the trade flourished in Quebec and
Ontario since the first issue of Canadian Musical Review
appeared in Toronto in 1856 .6 The music and instrument
trade itself published a journal, Canadian Music Trades
Journal (Toronto) from 1900 to 1933 . 7 The trade was also
well represented in various industrial and manufacturing
journals such as Industrial Canada (published in Toronto
by the Canadian Manufacturers' Association since 1900) .
City and region business and commercial directories,
issued in vast numbers since the mid-nineteenth century,
performed a promotional and information service to their
readers and subscribers much like the telephone directory
today . The directories also carried a prodigious amount of
advertising . Other commercial reviews and annuals, such
as The Canadian Almanac series (Toronto, 1847+) were
similarly well stocked with advertisements . The commercial
interests of farmers, businessmen, and tradesmen in
rural areas of Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes were
represented in county and regional atlases, while the industrial,
trade, and commercial interests of municipalities
were served in souvenir albums and promotional collecx
tions .
The larger the manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer,
the more visible was his public profile . The larger firms
availed themselves of every opportunity for self-promo-
tion . Theirs were the periodicals with the largest cIrCLlIbl-
tion, the classified listings in the directories, and the
greatest coverage, while the smaller companies contented
themselves with the limited readerships in local newspapers
and alphabetical listings in the commercial
ESTABLISHED 1840 .
:'DAUUNR U, REWAXYz
EVGLISII
,, t,
A >IrlurA N
Pi an ofories,
ANT) DEALIVIt IN
'
MELODEONS
,1-
Millet Runs,
1'_'fl German ~Street, mlc door .tionth t j !lltl-e .%~eet,
St . John, N . B .
Pituiaka"te-, 1(eb .lcou~, Acr,mlcon+, and Flntinu?, tatnt`I arnl relmir," I .
I'iauudi,rtr-s takeu in Exolinnrel, Re--ilk,,l :uid P~Ji>havl .
Pian,~G-rtee an,l Nrb .lr .m- l, nt u hir .
N .B.- PIANOS CAREFULLY REMOVED.
Fig . 3 . Like so many others of his day, Kennay could not
support himself at his trade, and relied on importing
the competition as a sideline . Ads are often riddled
with pitfalls for the historian . The founding date cannot
be verified at present, nor can the square piano in
the cut be attributed to Kennay . Early ads often used
cuts of instruments without regard to maker . (Photo :
Hutchi>r-ron's Neu~ Brunswick Directory fior 1865-G6 . . .
[Saint John : Thomas Hutchinson, 1865-661, p . HR7 .)
Advertisements often directed readers to write for free
catalogues and price lists . Profusely illustrated and
appealingly presented, these mail order catalogues were
used by manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers alike to
help the purchaser toward his decision .
One advertising vehicle common during the period was
not used . This was the general retailer or "department
store" catalogue . Manufacturers generally chose instead to
market their instruments through specialty music houses,
dealerships, branches, and their own salesrooms, rather
than in department stores . The few pianos and organs in
the general retailer's mail order catalogue were unidentitied,
or appeared under the name of the house brand .`' In
a rare exception, the Goderich Organ Company of
Goderich, Ontario, chose to advertise itself in the pages of
the T. Eaton Company Ltd . mail order catalogue, "' and
that of the Hamilton retailer, Stanley Mills & Company
. ll The same company's products appeared in the
pages of a school supply wholesaler's catalogue .
12 We
shall be seeing more of their unconventional advertising
moves later .
To be effective, advertising had to arouse or intensify
the buying and patronage motives on the public's part,
whether on an emotional or a rational level, or both . A
35

,WABrRF~
Rullcnr
Fig . 4 . At the height of a severe economic depression, Henry J . Shaw's elegant piano and furniture auction establishment in Montreal
covered 6,000 square feet and was claimed to be the largest salesroom in the Dominion . (Photo : Canadian Illustrated Neus, 1 May
1875, n .p .)
appeals to emotional buying motives, and ten appeals to
rational ones . " Few such messages were missed in the
advertisements of the piano and organ manufacturing
industry .
In the early decades of the piano and organ industry,
with few wholesalers or retailers willing or prepared to
take their trade, Canadian manufacturers promoted their
own products . By the 1880s, advertising their products
had become the job of an extensive network of agencies,
dealers, and branches .
A surprising number of communities, large and small,
in the settled areas of Canada supported specialty music
houses since the mid-nineteenth century . In general,
dealers such as A . Grossman of Hamilton stocked and
advertised keyboard instruments along with brass instruments
for military and amateur bands, stringed instruments
including violins and guitars, accordions, drums,
sheet music, music supplies, and sundries for the
wholesale and retail trade . "j But brass band requirements
were often their stock in trade, and the proprietor often
doubled as bandmaster . For example, George Anderson, a
St . John, New Brunswick, piano manufacturer, while
"constantly manufacturing Pianos of first class" and
"prepared to fill all orders that the public may ftvour him
with," was also repairing brass instruments and accepting
orders for the "City Brass Band for Pic-Nics, Parades,
. . I 5
Processions, etc .
In smaller communities or in less populated areas,
pianos and organs frequently shared floor and advertising
space with sewing machines and other luxury commodities
. In 1880, importers and dealers Miller Brothers,
of Charlottetown, Moncton, New Brunswick, and
Middleton, Nova Scotia, stocked twenty different kinds
of sewing machines, organs by three American and one
Canadian manufacturer, and an all-American cast of
iG
pianos .
In the less settled west, pianos and organs' salesroom
partners ranged from the conventional to the unexpected .
In Macleod, Alberta, for example, pianos by the Stanley
Piano Company of Toronto could be had along with an ice

Research ReportslRapports de recherche
cream soda, 17 while the W . Doherty & Company
(Clinton, Ontario) organ and piano agency suffered the
somewhat dampening effect of having to share the local
undertaking parlour . 1s
Garnering Support for Home Industry
Until the 1860s, specialty music houses and musical
instrument importers and dealers did not serve Canadian
manufacturing interests overly well, even when, as was so
often the case, the importer and the manufacturer were
one and the same . John Bagnall of Victoria, British
Columbia, was one such example . Formerly with the
highly reputed London piano manufacturing firm of
Collard and Collard, Bagnall advertised himself as a piano
manufacturer early in 1863,19 immediately upon his
arrival in Victoria . In 1864 he announced the opening of
his piano factory, 20 and in 1881, he expanded into organ
building .z1 Yet in 1885, shortly before his death, he was
still taking pains to point out that his company was "Sole
Importers of English, French, German and American
Pianos, Organs, and all kinds of Musical Instruments
. . . . .. zz
These ads were timid about naming their own
products . They often tacked them to the end of a list of
named imported instruments, almost as an afterthought .
A . Laurilliard of St . John, New Brunswick, for example,
devoted fully 229 words of copy to his agency for the
American Chickering & Sons, W.P . Emerson and G.M .
Guild pianos, and Mason & Hamlin cabinet organs,
adding at the end : "Mr . L . has a large stock of Piano-Forte
Material on hand, and is fully prepared to manufacture
and repair Pianos in the most approved manner ." 23
The one concession granted in these early advertisements
by music houses was the special provision for local
climatic conditions . 24 It was later to become an important
argument used by domestic manufacturers for supporting
home industry .
The reason for this indifferent serving of Canadian
manufacturing interests was clear . Music houses
recognized a fundamental and deep-rooted preference of
the buying public for foreign-made luxury commodities,
including instruments, over domestic products .
In face of this benign neglect on the part of the retailers,
Canadian manufacturers campaigned for consumer
support of domestic products in varied and innovative
ways . In pre-Confederation Nova Scotia, for example, the
issue was frequently editorialized in newspapers . Readers
of the Halifax piano-manufacturing firm Brockley &
Company trade article were reminded that manufacturers
were acting in the best public interests, by working to
build up the wealth and prosperity of the province . "It is
suicidal policy," the article went on, "for our people to
send to England and the U . States for Pianofortes when
the article can be manufactured equally as well and at less
cost at home ." 25 The same newspaper laboured to
convince its readers of the rational issues at stake in purchasing
a piano from Wm . Fraser & Sons of Halifax . Their
money would be plowed back into the local economy
rather than fall into foreign hands ; the purchase of a warranted
instrument would be of no risk to the purchaser ;
the local manufacturer had his reputation at stake, while
the pianos of foreign make would have been made for the
forei~n market, and, by inference, of indifferent quality
.Z
With Confederation behind them, advertisers turned
to the economic motive of the savings-minded consumer .
John Nitschke's piano manufactory of London, Ontario,
used this appeal to good advantage in his advertisement :
"Parties favoring this establishment with their patronage
will find it greatly to their advantage ; as they can obtain a
first class Instrument at a moderate price, not having to
pay all the expenses connected with the Trade which
import - Duty, commission to Agents, and the
enormous Store Expenses, amounting to nearly fifty per
cent on the original cost . "z7 Heintzman & Company of
Toronto's message was more blunt : "We claim for our
Pianos that they are equal to Any important instrument in
every respect . We claim that our Pianos are at least $100
or $150 Cheaper than any Imported Pianos of the same
class . We hold, therefore, that it is worth affording our
Home Enterprise a large support ." 28
The Toronto piano manufacturing firm Mason & Risch
followed up a series of testimonials with a challenging
note : "The reputation of the Mason & Risch Pianos has
been established by the fact that these instruments not
only overcame a well-merited prejudice against Canadian
pianos, because of their indifferent quality, but have also
commanded the unqualified approval of the best musicians
in Germany, England, United States, and Our Own
Country . "29
Rural/Urban Marketing Targets
From the very beginning, Canadian rural and urban
marketing targets could be distinguished in the tone and
pitch of the advertisements in periodicals serving the two
populations . To some extent, pianos and organs were
separately destined for these two markets .
In the mid-nineteenth century, pianos were the exclusive
trademark of refinement and culture of the privileged
classes, with an elitist advertising campaign to match .
The hard-core economics of the situation were simply the
cost : $400 for a medium-priced piano - more than a
skilled tradesman's annual earnings - as compared to
$75 for a parlour organ or melodeon . The price differential
between piano and organ and the prices themselves were
to remain fairly constant for the next sixty-five years .
With increased purchasing power of the consumer and
37

38
new markets in the expanding economy, however, the
piano gradually outgrew its confining image, to become,
at the turn of the century, a popular instrument for the
masses . In an ad entitled "The Growth of Culture," the
Williams Piano Company of Oshawa, Ontario, reflects on
the democratization of the piano's image :
The day is past when culture and true social enjoyment
were confined to the few - to the privileged
classes . We live in a day of enlightenment and
democracy . Equal educational advantages, equal
opportunities for culture and enjoyment of those
things in life that are best worth while . The
luxuries of yesterday are the necessities of today,
and in the musical world nothing is more noticeable
than the demand of all classes for the highest
possible grade of piano . '('
Then - 1781 Now - 1871
Farmer at the plow Farmer gone to see the show
Wife milking cow Daughter at the piano
Daughter spinning Madame gaily dressed
yarn in satin
Son thrashing in All the boys learning
the barn latin
AI I happy to a charm With a mortgage on
the farm . ;'
According to this anonymous poet, life on the farm had
come to a pretty pass by 1871, and the parlour organ or
piano was part of the farmer's general undoing . Farmers'
journals carried a message to their readers as impassioned
and as forceful as those for the urban customers . Indeed,
possibly more so, in view of the fact that the advertising
message had to carry its force of conviction over greater
distances than city newspapers, and the mail orders had to
compete with shipments of agricultural machinery and
labour-saving devices so popular on farmsteads .
Ironically enough for the disgruntled critic, economic
considerations were to underly much of the rural adver-
tising for the trade . An example of the economic force of
argument was a trade article for William Bell & Company
of Guelph which appeared soon after the poet made his
complaint . Entitled "Music for Farmers," it is a lengthy
exposition outlining reasons why farmers should bring
"the comforts and luxuries of civilization" to their homes :
We by no means advise any of you that have but 50
or 100 acres of land in a remote situation, and that
so badly managed or of such inferior quality that
you cannot pay your debts, to buy an expensive
instrument, but there should be a medium in all
things . We know of farmers that . . .are wealthy as
far as cash and property are concerned, but . . .they
may or may not be found to be a shade above the
animals in their outbuildings . . . . There are
comparatively very few who can affort a piano, but
all may have a flute or concertina . But by far the
greater majority of well-to-do farmers can afford a
melodeon .
Bulletin ?Il
"While speaking of music . . ."-the writer finally came to
the point, which was to buy melodeons (an early variety of
parlour organ) from Messrs . Bell & Company's factory .
"Perhaps we are wandering," the writer wrote apologetically,
"but we will say briefly what we mean by this long
rigmarole . . . . Give the girls a musical instrument ." 32
Thirty years later, in 1901, the secretary of the powerful
Canadian Manufacturers' Association returned from a
Fig . 5 .
Evans Bros,
Pianos
ARE LEADERS
IN THE
NORTHWEST
TERRITORIES,
Lu1 It . b..et, I
150 of these PIANOS recently SOLD in the
TERRITORIES by the UNDERSIGNED .
This s pe aks loudly for their worth . KI :VYIRI'tIH k CO. buy
DIRECT and for l' :1`1It . Thus, if you purchase through them
you save middlemen's profits . Unsurpassed for
QUALITY of ACTION, PURITY of TONE, and for
GENERAL EXCELLENCE yet unbeaten .
The compao y io strong and reliable . Horses, cattle and real estate
taken in ezchange.
Latest SHEET MUSIC and MUSICAL SUPPLIES
always on hand .
C. KINNIBURGH & CO .,
CALCARY, ALTA .
4111 .1
tha'HF:Vh:SI'ATI\'ES
This Calgary agency's ad for Evans Brothers Piano and
Manufacturing Company of Ingersoll, Ontario, was
characteristically direct . Kinniburgh's avowal to accept
horses, cattle and real estate in exchange was not as
bizarre as it may have appeared . Horse trading and the
acquisition of large real estate holdings were among his
chief interests (Calgary . . . Merchanti and Manufacturers'
Record [Calgary : Jennings Publishing Co ., 1911), p.
G6) . (Photo : Farmer's Advocate and Home Magazine 38,
no . 587, 5 December 1903, p . 1152 .)

Research Report.rlRapport.r de recherche
tour of western Canada with encouraging news for eastern
manufacturers anxious to extend their market . The western
Canadian market, he reported in the association's
Industrial Canada, was a fertile field, ripe for harvesting .
Although the population size was small,
it is no 250,000 people of Ontario who are to buy .
They (of Western Canada) . . .have yet, generally
speaking, few of the luxuries, and, in many cases,
few of the comforts of life . . . . Hence, while in
Ontario the general class of people have purchased
or acquired all they need in the way of permanent
equipment, and have to purchase only to replace
losses or add some new feature, in Manitoba and
the Northwest the reverse is the case . For 20 years
they will count on spending all they make in the
purchase of improvements to their surroundings . j ;
To manufacturers of such lifetime investments as pianos,
this must have been welcome news indeed . With the
demand for pianos rapidly drying up in the east,
manufacturers redoubled their efforts to unseat the
parlour organ and stimulate new markets in the western
provinces .
In their ad for their New Scale Williams piano, the
Williams Piano Company Ltd . of Oshawa reminded farm
readers : "The day is past when culture and social enjoyment
were confined to the larger cities and towns, when
tile farmer was cut off from the musical world . The day of
the parlour organ has passed - or is rapidly passing away .
Every farm-house in Western Canada regards a piano . . .a
necessity and not a luxury ." 14
Despite their assertion, the parlour organ continued to
linger on in rural homes, long after demand had dropped
in the cities . The organ's lighter weight, attractive price
to the cost-conscious farmer, 35 and farmers' generally conservative
attitudes continued to make it a popular choice
in rural districts . That the same organ could be rotated
around a school district, and made to perform its duty in
church, school, and parlour with equal credibility, tripled
its serviceability and heightened its desirability . Toward
the end of the nineteenth century, while pianos were
being mass-produced for sale in the industrial belts of
central Canada, organs still played an important part in
small-scale cottage industry and home workshops especially
in the less populated districts of Quebec, Ontario,
and Nova Scotia . The reed organ was thus assured a longer
patronage in rural districts of Canada, decades after it was
retired from the urban market, and it had found a healthy
export market as well .
By the 1910s, the day of the reed organ in Canada was
fading . As evidence of this, the ever-innovative Goderich
Organ Company Ltd . made an impressive effort to combine
their organs with their "fine tonal qualities," with
their "sanitary woodwork" (toilet tanks and Neversplit
seats) in the same ad, 16 with less than impressive results .
Fig . G . Parlour reed organ with eleven stops, in a walnut and
mahogany case with painted front and side panels,
manufactured ca . 1888 by "W . Bell & Co ., Guelph,
(Ont .) Canada/(two bells) TRADE MARK" (painted
above keyboard) ; serial no . 43327 . Theorgan began its
life conventionally enough . It was purchased from the
Bell agent in St . Mary's, Ontario, in 1892 by local
farmer _John Howard for the use of his two sisters, one a
local organist, the other a choir leader . In 18)~4 the
organ travelled to Alberta in the family's carload of
settler's effects, and from then on followed Howard's
checkered career around the territory . It served up
Sunday recreation in the Lone Pine "stopping house" or
inn on the Calgary and Edmonton Trail, and graced the
family homestead near Bowden . It accompanied
Howard to a lumber camp in the Porcupine Hills in
southwestern Alberta, and brought cheer to a sawmill
camp on the Big Red Deer River near Bowden . The
organ was Finally turned over to the Bowden chapter of
the Canadian Girls in Training service club . (Collec-
tion : Glenbow Museum, cat . no . Pl-1205 ; photo : Ron
Marsh, neK . no . P 2R22-2 .)
Other strategies were developed to reflect economic and
regional differences and the general state of the nation's
pocketbook during the swings between good times and
bad .
Emotional Buying Motives
The copywriters' tactics, whatever their strategy, were
unabashedly direct . Threats and promises were resorted to

i(1
in turn . Perhaps the single most used words were
"culture" and "refinement," and these were used lavishly .
Gerhard Heintzman Ltd . of Toronto, Saskatoon branch,
ran this ad in the Sa.rkatoore Phoenix in 1914 :
Culture and refinement have taken their place in
the homes of modern day citizens of the Canadian
West, transforming the shack of the plains to a
comfortable home equipped with the necessities
which make the fireside attractive . The modern
inventions which . . . instill a spirit of repose and
refinement in the residence, the electric light,
telephone . . . these have played their part in the uplifting
of citizenship to its present lofty plane . Yet
there is one influence which has done more perhaps
than any of the rest in instilling the refining influences
- the piano . . . . 37
A fine point was drawn by D . W. Karn & Company of
Woodstock, Ontario, on the distinctiveness to which
their customers might aspire : "The chasm of difference
Fig . 7 . Upright piano in a mahogany case, manufactured ca .
1887 by the "Mendelssohn/PIANO CO ./
TORONTO" (decal on inside lid) ; serial no . 2001 ;
finish not original . In 1887 this piano arrived at the
G.C . Ives ranch in the Alberta foothills in a load of
freight ordered from Lethbridge, a coal-mining and
cattle-ranching town of approximately 800 people on
the main CPR line . The piano had made the 67-
kilometre journey from town by wagon, river ferry,
and narrow-gauge coal railroad . Piano lessons were
provided at the home of a music teacher ten
kilometres and a horseback-ride away distant . and a
piano tuner would pay a call from Calgary, 217
kilometres distant . It was one of three Mendelssohn
pianos bought in the district that year, less than five
years after the company was established and one year
after the first piano was brought or southwestern
Alberta . (Collection : Glenbow Museum, cat . no . PI-
5712 ; photo : Ron Marsh, neg . no . P 2822-1 .)
wh- 7h- i . - . .h1n .m,h . .,mPl.7. . .m- .1 m. v , .L . . .I . .,
- PIANOS . PIANOLA PIANOS 71 PIANOI .AS -' _- .
lfullrlin .'i
Jvec\ In.m th, lac\orY, anY ol whirh - Iw" _,hnwJ nn VENY IIA1Y IE17MS iq I AYh\I HI
PIANOS o-- .\, Ssu \\p . ORGANS tr,\H, azn \,1,. PIANU1 .AS 1\, .7 xns \y\ .
Fig . 8 . Truth in advertising, or just wishful thinking? It
seems that all the world converged at the door of Mason
& Risch Piano Company, Winnipeg, during the 1906
exhibition season . (Photo : Farmer's Advocate and Home
Journal 41, no . 721, 18 July 1906, p . 1087 . )
between the average piano and the Karn merely creates
distinction, not regality, which is inherent .
,18
Many remarks underline home pride . "All tile work in
the world is directly and immediately undertaken for the
maintenance and betterment of the home," Gerhard
Heintzman Ltd . reported flatly . "Musically, no refined
home is complete without Canada's best piano." W
Securing home comfort was the message of the Saska-
toon Piano Company Ltd ., the agent for Bell Piano &
Organ Company of Guelph, Ontario . It also delivered a
warning :
Music in the modern home has come to be a reyuisite
of first importance to the cultured and refined,
the magnet which attracts the son and daughter to
the fireside of the parents and the charm which
makes home a haven to the tired mind and body
after the day's toil and commercial strife . Musicless
homes, according to the results of investigation,
are in the majority of circumstances those forgotten
by the son and daughter after a few years in the
business world . I°
The admonishing tone taken toward parental attitudes
occurs again and again . "Don't corrupt an otherwise good
musical ear by giving your children an inferior piano,"
warned the Dominion Organ and Piano Company Ltd . of

Rea'earf 1~ ReporttlRapQortt de ref herf he
Bowmanville, Ontario.`'t D.W . Karn Company Ltd . of
Woodstock, Ontario, adopted a more positive tone : "The
Pupil should learn on a perfect instrument, or in other
words - there being only one - the Karn Piano -,
otherwise the faults of the imperfect piano will permanently
affect the technique of the PUP 1 1.,,42
The copy writers knew the powerful stimulant of social
emulation of the "refined classes" : "Mason & Risch Pianos
are the Instruments of the Cultured . . . . They are found in
the homes of the most refined and cultured people
throughout the land . . . . The president of nearly every
university or large institution in Canada has bought a
Mason & Risch Piano for his own use . . . . Mason & Risch
Pianos have been supplied to more clergymen and doctors
than all other makes combined ." The Mason & Risch
Piano Company Ltd . of Toronto capped their appeal by
publishing a book of the professional names and addresses,
which they mailed out on request!"
On the same theme, Heintzman & Company put out "a
new piano to be known as The 'Duchess of Cornwall &
York' style, modelled along the same lines as the Vano
used by Her Royal Highness on the Royal Train .-' Not
to be outdone, a Williams Piano Company ad listed as its
celebrities, Queen Victoria, North West Territories
Premier E .W .G . Haultain, and the bandmaster of the
42nd Regiment (Black Watch) . f5
The ads flattered the reader's musical abilities and exercise
of artistic taste : "Despite the variety of. . .good
pianos . . .(available), The Gerhard Heintzman Piano remains
the ultimate hope and ambition of nearly every
piano player in Canada . `6
Copy writers did not lack for ammunition in advertising
vocabulary, and frequently resorted to extravagant
self-praise in rhapsodic, eloquent terms : "Jewels in the
piano firmanent" (Bell Organ & Piano Company Ltd.,
Guelph) ;" "The piano with a soul" (Mason & Risch Piano
Company Ltd ., Toronto) ;418 "Best in the World" (Dominion
Piano and Organ Company, Bowmanville, Ontario)
;"9 "Upon no other pedestal can be reared that work
of art, 'The Perfect Piano.' Upon this pedestal the Gerhard
Heintzman Piano looks down upon competition . ",)o just
as extravagantly, the Dominion Piano and Organ Company
Ltd . promised plain talk : "No extravagant claims to
mislead intending purchasers . No extravagant testimonials
from artists, who are bribed for their opinions . No
extravagant prices to inflate values . "51
"Every woman's world has a piano in it," a Palmer
Piano Company Ltd . (Toronto) ad claimed . 52 Indeed, ad
writers were not averse to injecting their ads with sex
appeal . Women piano players are featured in nearly every
illustration, nearly always young, attractive, appearing in
admirable decolletage, and often playing to an appreciative
male audience .
Rational Buying Motives
Trade fairs and competitions, ranging from local events
to those on a regional, provincial, national, or interna-
tional scale, provided manufacturers with ways to
promote their products through both exhibition and com-
petition . Manufacturers fully exploited past successes won
at exhibitions by revealing their competition histories to
support their claims to excellence . The Newcombe Piano
Company (Toronto), for example, claimed to have won
the gold medal in competition with 300 of the world's
piano manufacturers at the Paris international exhibition
in 1900 .5 ; "Ten Years Triumphal March!" exclaimed
Toronto agent Joseph H . Ruse for Dominion Piano and
Organ Company, "Highest Awards Wherever Exhibited!
Our Record : - Medals and Diplomas of Honor at all the
Principal Universal Exhibitions!" The ad goes on to list
awards received at no less than eleven exhibitions from
Philadelphia in 1876 to Antwer~ in 1885, "and over 100
first prizes in 1883 and 1884 ."5
Are You Handicapped With a Piano
You Cannot Play ?
, ,f
~ i
.
TIIF1fi "" o u'la'pLn; " ~pmvdemo If~tJm rnll .rrl .nmllu" n~~ "" un)r
hel ".1~111i1 - nJ K ellunp " N.IL u .rFil ~s
Nn
ar Yre,u~ u.cle"" . .... .. . . u lee home nlr riuu,.l ., pl
. ~ 1j.,L-I i-ea . ., . . n--h .-,- ~.'J', h.~ll adl .
, YOU CAN EXCHANGE IT FOR THE
PIANOLA PIANO
U"c are -- 1-11, lul.~ug
.
.
,n~h.mge 6o. iL . 1', .~~-L I, .,, ~, :dl
p
.!
1`~ .ui .~ ,\o
THE MASON & RISCti PIANO C0.
Lnm .d
32 West King Street, Toronto 1 . ,
Fig . 9.
MAION
.nd RL~SCH
PIaND 'U .
~.. ,N ., . )
I~i 'o~~l~li , h,
Tln"u xn11u0he~6,.
b Purd~~, no
Despite convincing ads such as this, the demand for the
piano companies' automatic musical instruments was
soon overshadowed by the popularity of the phonograph
. The "Pianola Piano" was made by Weber of
New York . (Photo : Canadian Magazine 30, no . 2,
December 1907, p . 5/4 .)

42
Affordability ("Every family in moderate circumstances
can own a Williams piano")," backed by assertions of
popular or universal appeal, became an important buying
motive . These advertising messages were often sparked
with offers of cash discounts, easy credit terms, or savings
on agents' commissions by ordering directly from the
manufacturer . Other manufacturers delicately reminded
purchasers that when the perfect musical instrument or
the crowning success of the age was being contemplated,
the "price is not a first, nor yet a second consideration . "56
Ads nudged hesitant purchasers into taking action by
alluding to shortages, or the fact that demand had outstripped
production : "Shipments are slow, are stopped
practically for days at a time . . . . We know we'll run short
on many styles . Orders now can be filled . . . . Later - no
promises . . ..Ads prodded, shamed, and galvanized
Rrilte~tin ?n
readers to act . The dealer at Winnipeg Piano Company,
offering forty styles of pianos by five American and four
Canadian makers, urged : "People of the West - Act!"
Stressing year-end piano discount sales due to overstocking,
at savings of $100 to $150 per piano and terms
of one to three years, he added : "Don't Read This and then
wonder if it is really genuine . Men have let fortunes slip
through their fingers wondering, while Mr . Wideawake
investiRate.r immediately and acts, while others continue to
wonder and consider . Remember you have promised to
buy a piano for Christmas . "5"
Conversely, manufacturers flattered their readers by
crediting them with judicious decisionmaking abilities :
"When you have made up your mind to buy a good piano
after months of serious consideration . . . try to choose the
best . We prefer your good opinion to your money"
Fig . 10 . An interior view of R .J . Timmins and Company piano showroom, Calgary, 1911, showing five pianos and three player pianos in
stock . Timmins was the Alberta agent for the Ottawa firm, Martin-Orme Piano Company . At the time of this promotional view,
he had just ordered his fourth carload since opening his doors for business in March 191 1 (Culkrry . . .Nler~bau~r~nnl hl~rrrnJa~lurert'
Record ICalgary : Jennings Publishing Co ., 191 11, p . 201) . (Photo : Courtesy of the Glenbow Museum Archives, Calgary, neg .
no . NC-24-158 .)

Research Reporttl Rapports de recherche
(Stanley Piano Company Ltd., Toronto) .59 Gerhard
Heintzman Ltd . of Toronto took the matter a step further
with this persuasive ad :
You are trying to decide even now which piano to
buy . Little wonder you are confused, for the best of
claims can so easily be made for the worst of instruments-the
English language is free to all . . . . That
definite, persistent impression back in your mind,
behind all your indecision, that the Gerhard
Heintzman is really the best of the good pianos, is
right . If you will call or write us before making
your decision we will be very glad to talk the
problem over with you . 60
Advertising in farmers' journals developed the
economic buying motive to a high art . Emphasizing
savings above all else, these brash ads hinted at price slashing,
price wars, and undercutting in their bids for the
consumer's dollar : "The eleven lucky people who secure
these instruments will receive the greatest bargains ever
offered by the music trade in Winnipeg . . . . We have no
room for anything but our new stock . Rather than store,
we sacrifice, and as we have only seven short days to get rid
of them, we have set down the ridiculous prices shown." A
closer look reveals that the organs offered in the sale are all
antiquated, and the pianos are all of the obsolete square
variety . 61
Novel, attractive piano-buying schemes were introduced
. The Masters Piano Company of Edmonton introduced
a new wrinkle in the easy terms plan : "To introduce
our High Grade Masters Piano quickly, without the aid of
travelling salesmen, and the expensive method of newspaper
advertising, and to make the name a household
word throughout Western Canada, we have decided on
the following plan ." The plan was to offer their new
Masters piano at $295 (regular price, $550) to the first
five people who sent in their order within fifteen days from
the date of the paper . "Pay us no money until the piano is
in your home ." A $25 deposit with the purchaser's banker
sent the piano to his home . If satisfactory, the banker
would be instructed to forward the down payment to the
company. Monthly payments amounted to $10.62 This
manufacturing venture proved to be short-lived .
The shrill tone in these ads was being echoed all over
the industry . With the new century the competitive
fervour among the giant companies had reached feverish
levels and bidding for the customer's dollar was fierce . A
new note had crept into marketing pianos ; automatic
pianos were now de rigueur, and more and more
companies were producing them in order to stay in the
running . A general advertising campaign shamed
inexpert piano players into giving up their musicmaking
attempts and buying an automatic entertainment device
instead . This Mason & Risch Piano Company Ltd .
(Toronto) ad advised its readers rather tartly : "Your
friends don't ask you to play through mere courtesy if your
piano is a Pianola Piano - You can give them real pleasure
with this instrument . You can play what they like to
hear . You do not need to make excuses for your playing .
You are never out of practice . "63 In 1908, when this ad
had appeared, the demand for the keyboard instruments
in Canada was long past its peak, and on the downslide .
The piano was outmatched and overtaken in the race for
the home entertainment dollar by new developments
during the first two decades of the twentieth century . The
fully automatic player piano was a rather lame solution to
the growing appeal of the phonograph . Finally, in the
1920s, the industry was overshadowed by the overwhelming
popularity of the radio .
NOTES
1 . For example, the disastrous fire in Saint John in 1877 .
2 . In 1885, skilled tradesmen were earning about $9 per week .
Canada, Department of Finance, Reports Relative to Manufacturing
Interests in Existence in Canada, Sessional Papers, Vol . 10,
Third Session of the Fifth Parliament of the Dominion of Canada,
Session 1885, Vol . XVII1, Sessional Paper 37, 37a .
3 . In 1885, a pianoaveraged $350, whilea threshing machine ranged
from $225 to $350 . A farm wagon cost around $50 . Emerson
Biggar, ed ., Canada : A Memorial Volume . General Reference Book for
Canada . . . (Montreal : E.B . Biggar, 1889), pp . 184, 189 . Advertised
organs during the same period ranged from $50 to $75 .
4 . H . E . Stephenson and Carlron McNaught, The Story of Advertising
in Canada : A Chronicle of Fifty )ears (Toronto : Ryerson Press,
1940), p . 187 .
5 . Ibid ., pp . 6-14 .
6 . Helmut Kallmann, Gilles Potvin, and Kenneth Winters, eds .,
Encyclopedia of Music in Canada (Toronto : University of Toronto
Press, 1981), p . 741 .
7 . The dedicated efforts of the National Library's Music Division,
headed by Helmut Kallmann, have led to the recovery and
safekeeping of these and other valuable Canadian music periodicals
.
8 . For example, the Industries of Canada series published in Toronto
and Montreal by various publishers for a number of municipalities
during the 1880s .
9 . For example, the Hudson's Bay Company (Winnipeg), Fall and
Winter Catalogue no . 65 (1912-13), pp . 116-17 advertised two
piano styles under the name of "Donalda ." Reference in the ad to
the "Illimitable Repeating Action" suggests that the manufacturer
was the Bell Piano and Organ Company, Guelph .
10 . Spring and Summer Catalogue no . 44 (1900), p . 223 .
ll . Our Silent Traveller (Fall & Winter 1899-1900), p . 5 . I am
indebted to the Glenbow Museum Library, Calgary, for much of
the material used in this study, including the trade and store
catalogues, almanacs, and many of the commercial directories and
periodicals, particularly the Canadian Magazine and the western
farm magazines .
.
. .
.
:
12 . Western School Supply Company (Regina), School Apparatus and
Equipment Catalogue no . 15 (1919), p . 105
13 . Melvin Copeland, Principles of Merchandising (Chicago :
Shaw Co ., 1924), pp . 178, 185 .
A. W.
14 . Mitchell fi Co't County of Wentworth & Hamilton City Directory for
1865-66 (Toronto : Mitchell & Co ., 1864), p. 102 .
15 . Hutchinron't Ne:u Brtrnauick Directory for 1865-66 .
Thomas Hutchinson, 1865), p 887 .
(Saint John :
16 . A4cAlpine's Maritime Provinces Business Directory for 1880-81 (Saint
John D. McAlpine & Co ., 1880), p . 81 .
43

44
:
. .
.
.
.
. :
.
17 . The enterprising J .A . Virtue sold confectionery, cigars, tobacco,
stationery, postcards, toys, novelties, magazines, and newspapers
. He had a circulating library of 400 volumes, a soda fountain
and ice cream parlour, and the twin agencies for Stanley
pianos and Standard sewing machines . Macleod Advertiser, Midsummer
Number, August 1911, n.p .
18 . The Pioneer Furniture Story, J .M . Callie proprietor, had "Everything
to Furnish the Home Complete . Stoves, Furniture, Paints
and Oils . Doherty Pianos and Organs . Undertaking." Macleod
Advertiser, August 1911, n .p .
19 . Colonist (Victoria), 15 January 1863, p . 2, cited in Robert
McIntosh, A Documentary History of Music in Victoria, British
Columbia, Vol. l : I850-1899 (Victoria : University of Victoria
20 .
Press, 1981), p . 28 .
Colonist, 17 August 1864, p. 2, cited in McIntosh, Documentary
History, pp . 36-37 .
21 . Colonist, 15 June 1881, n .p ., cited in McIntosh, Documentary
History, p . 95 .
22 . William Wolz, The British Colnmhia Directory for /884-85 . . .
(Victoria : R .T . Williams, 1885), facing p . 145 .
23 . Htuchinson't Nova Scotia Directory for /864-65 (Halifax : Thomas
Hutchinson, 1864), p . 731 .
24 . For example, "J . W . Herbert & Co .'s Pianoforte, Harp and Music
Warehouse" stocked "Grand Cabinet, Grand Square, Patent
Square, Cottage, Boudoir and Piccolo Pianofortes made expressly
for this climate," along with brass, woodwind, and stringed
instruments and supplies . Robert MacKay, Supplement to the
25 .
Canada Directory . . .Brought Down to April 1853 (Montreal Robert
W. Stuart, 1853), p . 302 .
The Nova Scotian (Halifax) 23, no . 32, 10 August 1863, p . 2 .
26 . Ibid ., p 23, no . 34, 24 August 1863, p 4 .
27 . Farrner's Advocate (London, Ontario) 5, no . 12, December 1870,
P . 187
28 . Canadian Almanac . .for the Year 1872 (Toronto: Copp, Clark &
Co ., 1872) p . 141 (emphasis in original) .
29 . Saturday Night 1, no . 42, 15 September 1888, p . 11 .
30 . Canadian Magazine 28, no . 2, December 1906, p . 10 1 .
31 . Farnter's Advocate 6, no . 1, 187 l, p . 11 .
32 . Ibid ., 7, no . 2, February 1872, p 18 .
33 . T.A Russell, "Greater Canada A Trip to the Industries of the
West," Industrial Canada 2, no 2, 24 September 1901, p . 28 .
Bulletin 20
34 . Farmer's Advocateand Homefournal, 41, no . 713, 23 May 1906, p .
790 .
35 . Butcher and Publow of Calgary, the Alberta representatives for
the Bell Organ and Piano Company (Guelph), were advertising
pianos at $350 to $500 and organs from $75 to $160 . Farrn and
Ranch Review 1, no . 1, February 1905, p . 36 .
36 . Industrial Canada 14, no . 4, November 1913, p . 551 .
37 . Sarkatoon Phoenix, Exhibition - Harvest Edition, August 1914,
P. 51 .
38 . Canadian Magazine 12, no . 1, November 1898, p . xxxii .
39 . Ibid ., 25, no . 6, October 1905, p . 58 .
40 . Saskatoon Phoenix, August 1914, p . 35 .
41 . Canadian Magazine 21, no . 1, May 1903, p . 43 .
42 . Ibid ., 11, no . 5, September 1898, p . xxxiii .
43 . Ibid ., 8, no. 1, November 1896, p . xlvi .
44 . Ibid ., 18, no . 1, November 1901, p . 26 .
45 . Ibid ., 23, no . 6, October 1904, back cover ; 24, no . 1, November
1904, back cover ; 24, no . 5, March 1905, back cover .
46 . Ibid ., 19, no . 4, August 1902, p . 72 .
47 . Ibid ., 19, no . 4, August 1902, back cover .
48 . Ibid ., 34, no . 6, April 1910, p . 41 .
49 . Saturday Night 1, no . 4, 24 December 1887, p . 16 .
.
.
. .
.
.
.
.
50 . Canadian Magazine 25, no . 3, July 1905, p 33 .
51 . Ibid ., 28, no . 4, February 1907, p 44 .
52 . Ibid ., 22, no . 5, March 1904, p . 32 .
53 . Ibid ., 22, no . 2, December 1903, p . 50 .
54 . Canadian Almanac, 1886, p. 155 .
55 . Canadian Magazine 23, no . 1, May 1904, back cover .
56 . The Mason & Risch Piano Company Ltd., Toronto I bid ., 14, no
3, January 1900, p . xxxiii .
57 . Gourlay, Winter & Leeming, Toronto . Ibid ., 20, no
1903, p . 72 .
6, April
58 . Farmer's Advocate and Home journal 45, no . 899, 15 December
1909, p . 1725 (emphasis in original) .
59 . Canadian Magazine 13, no . 6, October 1899, p xxxviii .
60 . Busy Alan's Magazine 2 I, no . 1, November 1910, p . 15 I
61 . Mason & Risch Piano Co ., (Toronto), Winnipeg Branch . Farnrer's
Advocate and Honte Magazine 38, no . 574, 20 May 1903, p . 570 .
62 Farm 6 Ranch Review 6, no . 9, 20 May 1910, p . 348 .
63 . Canadian Magazine 31, no . I, May 1908, p . 49 .
L'habillement traditionnel au debut du X1Xe siecle 1
En culture materielle, il existe plusieurs types de
documents qui contiennent des renseignements sur
1'habillement : 1'inventaire apres deces, le contrat de
mariage, 1'engagement et, non le moindre, la donation .
Comparativement aux trois premiers, la donation offre un
complement d'informations car, en plus de renseigner sur
le costume d'une personne, sur ses besoins vestimentaires
essentiels ou ideaux, elle permet de connaitre la qualite et
la quantite des vetements propres aux differentes saisons et
aux differents jours (jours de semaine et dimanches), le
rythme de renouvellement de ces vetements ainsi que la
part de la confection domestique et de 1'acquisition en
magasin .
Une etude de quelque trois cent trente donations
insinuees dans les regions de Montreal et de Quebec nous
Frances Roback
permet de constater que plus de la moitie des donateurs,
lorsqu'ils se donnent a Fun de leurs enfants, exigent, en
retour, le gite et le vivre ainsi clue l'entretien, soit ce qui
est necessaire a leur habillement. A cet effet, plusieurs
choix s'offrent a eux . Certains donateurs chargent les
donataires de les «entretenir de linges et hardes, coiffures
et chaussures convenablement et selon leur etat» (14,6%
des donateurs de la region quebecoise et 11% de ceux de la
region montrealaise s'en remettent ainsi a leurs
donataires) . Un plus grand nombre pr&re exiger un
habillement dont les pieces sont detaillees une a une, selon
la quantite et la qualite desirees (55% des donateurs de la
region quebecoise et 19% de ceux de la r6gion
montrealaise optent pour ce choix) . Cette mesure protcge
les donateurs en cas d'incompatibilite d'humeur entre les
parties . Enfin, il existe aussi la possibilite de demander

Rerearrb RejrorttlRafportt de reiherahc
Line allocation vestimentaire annuelle (15% des donateurs
de la region montrealaise y recourent contre 1,3% des
autres regions) .
Quels vetements requierent les donateurs? 11 est facile
d'imaginer qu'il s'agit souvent d'un habillement de pied
en cap, comme on le dlsalt a I'epoque . Ainsi, le donateur
exi) ;e presque toujours pour lui-meme un habillement
(parfois deux), generalement en etoffe du pays, com-
prenant un gilet, une veste et une paire de culottes .
L'habillement complet comprend de plus un capot ou une
cloque .` L'habillement peut aussi etre en droguet et
parfois en drap ; dans ce dernier cas, celui-ci dolt provenir
du magasin . 11 demande egalement une ou deux chemises
en etoffe, en toile et parfois en flanelle ou en coton . Deux
paires de bas et deux paires de chaussons generalement de
laine sont de mise . Quant aux chaussures, on est etonne de
constater 1'exigence de deux ou trois paires de souliers en
boeuf tanne, parfois en vache, en mouton ou meme en
loup-marin par annee ; on complete 1'assortiment par une
paire de souliers en ccur achetes au magasin . Les coiffures
sont aussi toujours presentes clans les demandes des
donateurs : un ou deux bonnets drapes, parfois rouges, er
un chapeau font la norme . Quant aux accessoires, its sont
varies mais ne fi);urent que de fa4on inconstante, excep-
tion fute des mitaines qui sont mentionnees a nombreuses
reprises : mitaines d'etoffe, mitaines de cuir doublees
d'etoffe et parfois mitaines de pelleterie . Les autres
accessoires concernent les mouchoirs de poche et de col, le
fichu de sole noire ou rouge et quelquefois la ceinture de
laine . Le rythme de renouvellement des vetements varie
selon les donateurs . Plusieurs elements tels les gouts, les
habitudes, les moyens financiers ainsi que les contraintes
de temps que represente la fabrication domestique des
tissus et des vetements entrent ici en consideration . On
peut cependant fournir les approximations suivantes :
l'habillement d'etoffe du pays est remplace tous les deux
ans, 1'habillement de drap tous les trois ou quatre ans,
parfois meme ~

16
Fig . 2 . Trois personnakes en tenue d'hiver . (Francis Back, Montreal, 1984 .)
suffisance au niveau des vetements, car leur confection et
meme celle des tissus dans lesquels ils sont tailles remplissent
les besoins des donateurs de fa~on satisfaisante . Ceci
est encore plus juste en ce qui concerne les vftements de
tous les jours . 11 en est autrement des chaussures . Car si
tous les donateurs reclament des souliers en beeuf tanne
fabriques a la maison, tous se reservent le droit d'exiger
une paire de souliers en cuir provenant du magasin .
Le recours au marchand revele donc un trait de coquetterie,
un luxe plutot qu'une necessite chez les donateurs . 11
est dicte par le desir de s'offrir un habillement en drap
pour les hommes, en drap ou en mazamet pour les dames,
un chapeau, un fichu de sole, des gants, des souliers en
cuir, beaux atours des louts speciaux, somme toute .
Whim ?()
L'importance de I'industrie domestique est manifeste
dans toutes les demandes vestimentaires des donateurs,
non seulement chez ceux qui reclament des pieces de tissus
en regard de leur entretien, mais aussi chez ceux qui
exigent des vetements tout faits . En effet, chez ces
derniers, les mentions de vetements requis s'accompagnent
souvent de specifications telles que «prets a
mettre», «faits», «taits par les donataires» ; il en est de
meme pour les tissus pour lesquels on precise : «tel qu'il
sera fait dans la maison», ~~tel que le donataire en fera pour
lui-meme» et meme «tel que le dit donataire le fera faire
pour les gens de la maison» .
11 est impossible de quantifier le nombre de maisons ou
I'on fabrique tissus et vetements par rapport a celles ou il

Research ReportslRapports de recherche
ne s'exerce aucune de ces activites . Ainsi, dans la region
montrealaise, la moitie des donateurs qui exigent 1'entretien
vestimentaire semblent preferer etre pourvus de
vetements tout faits . Or, parmi ces donateurs et parmi
ceux qui ne reclament aucun entretien, plusieurs s'assurent
Line pi~ce de terre ou its semeront ou feront semer du
lin et se r6servent la laine des moutons donnes . C'est donc
par le biais des demandes des uns et des autres que 1'on
peut deviner 1'importance de ces activites domestiques .
Les demandes de pieces de tissus fournissent egalement
des preuves encore plus eloquentes . Les tissus domestiques
les plus frequemment mentionnes sont la toile ou toile de
brin du pays, la petite etoffe, le droguet et 1'etoffe du pays .
La toile de brin et la petite etoffe, qui est en somme de la
flanelle, servent principalement a la confection des
chemises ; le droguet et 1'etoffe croisee et foul6e, dire du
pays, sont utilises pour 1'habillement : veste, gilet,
culottes et capot ainsi que jupe, mantelet et manteau . On
demande souvent un droguet raye au choix du donataire
ou au gout de la donatrice a moins que, plus rarement, 1'on
exige des couleurs precises, comme «barre bleu et noir» .
Quant a 1'etoffe du pays, on specifie a quelques reprises ses
preferences pour le gris ou le noir et parfois pour le blanc
ou le bleu .
Au niveau des quantites de pieces de tissus exigees, on a
pu etablir des moyennes . Ainsi, on reclame en moyenne
cinq aunes de toile de brin ; cette quantite n'est pas etonnante
car elle est surtout destinee, comme nous l'avons
dit, a la confection des chemises . Or, clans les donations,
route proportion gardee, on exige peu souvent de chemises
toutes faites, et elles constituent un vetement indispensable,
il va s'en dire . Quant au droguet et a 1'etoffe du pays,
quatre ou cinq aunes sont generalement requises ; c'est la
quantite necessaire a la fabrication de 1'habillement . Fait
interessant et tres significatif, les tissus domestiques sont
mentionnes en aunes alors que les tissus provenant du
magasin le sont en verges . Enfin, tout porte a croire que
les donateurs fqui exigent des pieces de tissus pour leur
entretien confectionnent eux-memes leurs vetements .
Dans quelques cas, cependant, its en remettent la fabrication
aux donataires .
Quant aux tissus que Yon doit se procurer chez le
marchand, les plus demandes sont, par ordre d'importance,
l'indienne, la mousseline, le coton, le drap et
exception nellement le basin ainsi que la toile de Russie .
L'indienne est destinee principalement a confectionner les
calines et egalement le mantelet, la jupe et meme la
pelisse . La mousseline est tres populaire pour faire les
coiffes que 1'on garnit de dentelle . Quant au drap et au
basin, its sont choisis pour 1'habillement . Au niveau des
quantites des pieces de tissus exigees, on reclame en
moyenne quatre ou cinq verges de drap ou de basin . Le
coton et l'indienne, utilises pour les vetements feminins,
ne sont exiges qu'en quantite moyenne de deux verges .
Enfin, la mousseline n'est requise qu'a la demi-verge .
Quant aux bas et aux chaussons, its sont fairs en laine du
pays, tricotes par les donateurs eux-memes a moins qu'ils
en soient incapables ; its en chargent alors les donataires .
Quelques donateurs exigent de plus le «rempietage» des
bas, ce qui consiste a remplacer le pied du bas lorsque
celui-ci est use, de fa~on a en prolonger la duree .
Les chaussures sont aussi fabriquees a la maison . Les
mentions qu'on en trouve precisent qu'elles sont en peau
de boeuf ou de vache tannee ainsi qu'en mouton ou en
loup-marin . On reclame en outre des pieces pour les
raccommoder au besoin . Quelques donateurs manient
eux-memes 1'alene et le ligneul dans Line peau de boeuf, de
vache, de mouton ou de loup-marin qu'ils ont soin de
demander pour executer leurs chaussures .
Le costume exige par les donateurs trouve son echo dans
les recits des voya~eurs tels que ceux de John Lambert, 5 et
de John Palmer ainsi que dans les illustrations 7 de
Sempronius Stretton, de John Lambert et de James Patterson
Cockburn . Les dessins de Francis Back qui accompagnent
cet article offrent Line synthese de ces diverses
sources .
La figure 1 represente un couple en tenue d'ete . L'habitant,
manifestement pret pour la chasse au petit gibier,
porte Line chemise aux manches retroussees, Line veste sans
manche et Line culotte a pont-levis . ll est interessant de
noter que la culotte, largement mentionnee dans les donations,
est encore en vogue en milieu rural et sans aucun
doute chez les gens plus ages . L'homme a de plus un
mouchoir de cot, it est coiffe d'un chapeau de paille orne de
plumes et chausse de souliers de boeuf . Sa compagne porte
Line jupe a mi-jambe et un mantelet a longs pans, le tout
protege par un tablier ; elle a aussi un joli mouchoir de cot .
Sa tete est recouverte d'une coiffe et ses pieds sont chausses
de bas et de souliers de bceuf .
La figure 2 regroupe trois personnages en tenue d'hiver,
surpris en pleine conversation . Les hommes portent un
capot garni d'une ceinture de laine . Le personnage de
gauche est coiffe du capuchon du capot et chausse de
mitasses et de bottes de boeuf. Son compagnon est coiffe
d'un bonnet de laine ; il porte un pantalon et est chausse de
bottes de boeuf et de grappins . Leur compagne porte Line
grande mante et est coiffee d'un chapeau recouvrant sa
coiffe . Ses mains sont protegees du froid grace a un
manchon et ses pieds sont chausses de bottes de boeuf.
NOTES
I . Cet article tire sa source d'une etude inedite portant sur Les donations
1800-1820: activites donrettiqtrer et genre de vie, Ottawa, parts
Canada, Rapport sur microfiches, 1980, 174 p .
2 . Narcisse-Eutrope Dionne, Le parler populaire des Canadiens
fral7fa1J . . ., Quebec, Laflamme et Proulx, 1909, p . 159 . Cloque :
pardessus d'hiver . Ce mot n'est pas un anglicisme ; c'etait alors une
47

48
espece d'habillement arrondi comme Line cloche et qu'on appelait
cloche ou cloque .
3 . Bescherelle, Dictionnaire rnrivertel de la langxe franfaite, Paris,
Garnier freres, s .d ., t . 3, p . 392 . Mazamet : molleton de laine .
4 . Dionne, Le parler populaire det Canadient franfait, p . 115 . C51ine :
espece de bonnet rond, noue sous le menton, dont nos Canadiennes
se servaient beaucoup clans le temps passe .
5 . John Lambert, Travels through Canada and the United States of North
America in the Years /806, 1807 and 1808, 3` 6d ., London,
C . Cradock and W . Jog, 1816 (2 tomes), t . l, pp . 158-159,
160 ; t . 2, p . 52 .
6 . John Palmer, .Journal of Travels in the United States of North America
Depuis plus d'un siecle, les pecheurs europeens avaient
exploite le golfe du Saint-Laurent et les mers avoisinantes,
y soutirant une riche moisson,' lorsqu'en 1618
Champlain fit recit de ses voyages au Canada . Le fondateur
de Quebec fut a tel point impressionne par 1'abondance du
poisson qu'il estima que la colonie pourrait y retirer un
revenu annuel d'au moins deux millions de Iivres .2
En 1666, un an apres avoir ete nomme intendant de la
Nouvelle-France, Jean Talon ecrivit au ministre Colbert:
«J'ay fait commencer la pesche de la morue dans le fleuve
et j'ay reconn6 qu'elle s'y pouvait faire abondamment et
avec benefice .»3 Malheureusement, son intendance prit
fin en 1672 et ce ne fut qu'un autre de ses projets qui
essuya un echec . Une ordonnance de 1686, de 1'intendant
Jacques Demeulles, qui proclama «les vaisseaux venus de
France auront les graves, galets et vignaux preferablement
aux habitants qui demeurent sur les lieux», demontre
['attitude officielle de ses successeurs . Malgre 1'optimisme
de Champlain et la conviction de Talon, ce ne sont pas les
colons mais plut6t les pecheurs fran~ais metropolitains qui
continuerent, presque exclusivement, a profiter de la
peche.4
Neanmoins, les Canadiens entreprirent de faire, sur une
modeste echelle, la chasse au loup-marin, la peche au
marsouin, aux anguilles, au saumon, a la morue et aux
autres poissons,5 mais en restant toujours tributaires de la
France pour 1'approvisionnement en set, denree indispensable
a la conservation . 6 Des contrats dans les greffes des
notaires aux Archives nationales du Quebec nous donnent
un aper~u du genre de commerce qui s'effectuait . Ces
documents traitent des petites entreprises, des marches ou
des societes formees entre marchands et autres, surtout des
Canadiens mais parfois avec des Fran~ais, pour acheter et
exploiter des bateaux de peche.7 On y trouve aussi des
engagements de commandants, d'equipages et de
pecheurs parmi lesquels figurent des tonneliers, engages
pour travailler de leur metier mais aussi pour faire la
Le r61e de la tonnellerie dans la reglementation
de la peche au debut du XIXe siecle
Bulletin 20
and in Lower Canada Performed in the Year 1817, London, 18 18,
pp . 210, 216 .
7 . A Canadian Alan and Woman in their Winter Dress, Quehec, Canada,
Novenrher 21, 1805, dessin du Lieutenant Sempronius Strc:tton
(Archives publiques du Canada, C-14818) ; John Lambert, Travels
through Canada . . ., t . 2, (APC, C-6655) ; Clothing of Canadians,
dessin annexe a Line lettre d'un emigrant allemand a un comte
bavarois, vets 1780 (Royal Ontario Museum, 969.37 .2,
70CAN305) ; James Patterson Cockburn, Quebec vu du pont de glrrce
de 1830 (Royal Ontario Museum, 952 .69 .2) .
Luce Vermette
peche.8 De toute evidence, it y aurait eu au moins deux de
ces tonneliers qui devinrent commandants de barque .9
Durant le deuxieme quart du XVIIIr sikle, I'industrie
de la peche, ayant pris de l'ampleur, donna des indices
d'un potentiel future . Le rendement laissait tout de tneme
a desirer, n'approchant nullement celui de la flotte rivale
de la Nouvelle-Angleterre . En plus des limites imposees
par le manque de capital et de main-d'eeuvre qualifi6e, les
installations de peche sedentaire et les flottes subissaient
les ravages des corsaires anglais dans le golfe, qui
decimaient leur modeste production .
10
A la suite du Regime fran~ais, malgre les activites des
commer~ants de fourrures don t les engages faisaient la
peche aussi bien que la chasse," et malgre les efforts des
pecheurs-commeri;ants qui, en 1770, venus de I'isle de
Jersey, adopterent la p6ninsule gaspesienne comme
demeure et structurerent 1'industrie de la morue, l'industrie
de la peche clans 1'ensemble fut lente a profiter de la
moisson tres feconde qui etait a sa portee .'Z En 1823,
1'Assemblee legislative decida que le temps etait venu
d'accorder a 1'industrie non pas 1'aide financi6re que
d'aucuns reclamaient,'3 mais I'appui d'une loi regissant
1'exportation du poisson afin d'assurer que le produit
exporte serait d'une bonne qualite et que les normes
seraient maintenues . Pour exercer ce contr6le, un inspecteur
devait etre nomme . On s'adressa au tonnelier.'4
La tonnellerie avait toujours fait partie integrante de
1'industrie de la peche, car on triait le poisson dans de
larges cuves fabriquees par le tonnelier et on encaquait et
transportait le poisson en baril . Les pecheurs eux-memes
se tenaient souvent debout dans de grands tonneaux pour
s'abriter des elements lorsqu'ils pkhaient en met, et it
arrivait frequemment au tonnelier de faire partie de
1'equipage d'un bateau de peche pour veiller au bon 6tat
des recipients, pour monter ceux qu'on apportait en bottes15
et pour faire le fon~age, c'est-a-dire fermer les barils

Research ReportslRapportt de recherche
au fur et a mesure de la salaison et de 1'empaquetage .
Meme si la loi n'exigeait pas que 1'inspecteur de poisson et
d'huile soit tonnelier, it lui fallait une bonne connaissance
du metier a cause de la nature de son travail . Le tarif
d'inspection stipulait clairement que les taux couvraient
et comprenaient o la peine et les frais de tonnellerie que
1'inspecteur pourra encourir dans 1'execution du
devoir . . . . »
Selon la loi de 1823, regissant 1'exportation du poisson
sortant des ports de Quebec et de Montreal, le produit
devait etre en parfait etat et adequatement saumure ou
sale . On devait encaquer le saumon dans des quarts ou des
demi-quarts renfermant 200 et 100 livres de poisson ou
dans des tierces ou des demi-tierces en contenant 300 et
150 livres . Tout petit poisson ordinairement embarille
entier avec du set serait «encaque, serre et de champ» .
Saumure ou sale, le hareng devait etre mis dans des quarts,
des demi-quarts, des barils ou des caisses . Toute autre
variete, sauf la morue seche, serait empaquetee dans des
bards de 28 gallons ou des demi-barils de 14 gallons,
mesure de vin .
A 1'aide d'un fer a etamper, 1'inspecteur devait indiquer
la nature du contenu, que ce soit saumon, maquereau ou
hareng et la provenance, c'est-a-dire Quebec ou Montreal .
II indiquait aussi que le produit avait subi 1'inspection et
s'averait vendable . Finalement, il ajoutait les initiates de
son nom de bapteme, son nom de famille en entier et la
date de 1'inspection . Si, par contre, le poisson etait de
qualite inferieure ou mal embarille, le baril etait rejete et
etampe en consequence . On etampait de la meme fa~on les
futailles renfermant 1'huile, signalant la nature du contenu,
soit huile de phoque ou de baleine, ou simplement
du poisson .
Une reglementation particuliere s'appliquait A la morue
s6che . 11 etait stipule que celle-ci serait embarillee sous la
direction et en presence de 1'inspecteur, dans des
boucaults ou des quarts de chene ayant des fonds de pin,
d'epinette ou autre bois mou. La morue seche de premiere
qualite etait designee Madere et celle de qualite inferieure,
Inde occidentale . On doit noter que les normes differaient
a 1'egard de la morue sechee au soled et la morue saumuree
et salee .
On comptait trois classes de barils servant a 1'exportation
de la morue seche . Les barils de la premiere classe
mesuraient 42 pouces de longueur de douves, les fonds, 32
pouces de diametre entre les extremites, et ces recipients
devaient contenir au moins huit quintaux de poisson .
Ceux des deuxieme et troisieme classes mesuraient egalement
42 pouces de longueur mais les diametres des extremites
comptaient 28 et 22 pouces . Its renfermaient
respectivement au moins six et quatre quintaux . Cependant,
la morue seche pouvait etre empaquetee dans des
quarts de dimensions moindres ou dans des caisses, ou
meme etre exportee «en grenier», soit en vrac, pourvu
qu'elle air ete triee par 1'inspecteur qui remettrait ensuite
au proprietaire ou a 1'expediteur un certificat attestant la
qualite et la quantite .
On peut juger du merite de ce statut par le fait que,
durant les annees subsequentes, on mit en vigueur
d'autres lots visant cette fois la mise en marche du poisson
destine a la consommation domestique aussi bien que 1'exportation
. 16 Ces nouvelles lois, plus elaborees, etablissaient
non seulement les dimensions des barils appropries
aux differentes sortes de poisson, mais les essences
proscrites ou propres a leur confection . Elles preciserent
1'epaisseur des douves, des fonds et des cercles, en stipulant
meme le nombre de cercles requis . En outre, la
standardisation des barils rendait le negoce d'autant plus
facile et les commer~ants pouvaient de confiance placer
leurs commandes .
Jusqu'a la premiere moitie du XXe siecle, 1'industrie de
la peche comptait toujours sur la tonnellerie . En effet,
dans plusieurs cas, les pecheurs eux-memes etaient
tonneliers a leurs heures, fabricant des barils durant les
mois d'hiver, soit pour leur propre usage ou a 1'intention
des industries locales . 17 Nous connaissons au moins un cas
ou une entreprise de peche etablit elle-meme sa propre
tonnellerie sur la plage . 18 De nos jours, la tonnellerie n'a
plus sa place au sein de cette industrie ou, comme dans les
erablieres, la technique moderne 1'a remplacee . Le poisson
frais est expedie en recipients de plastique, mais le poisson
est en majeure partie congele et vendu en boites de carton .
Toutefois, sur la c6te Nord, ou les anciennes coutumes
n'ont pas routes disparu, on vend encore le poisson en baril
a 1'occasion .
NOTES
. .
.
.
1 . Jacques Mathieu, «L'heritage d'Adam, (1000-1600)>,, dans
Histoire du Quebec, red . Jean Hamelin, St-Hyacinthe, Quebec,
Edisem, 1976, pp . 63-69 .
2 . H P Biggar, red ., The Works of Samuel de Champlain, 6 vols .,
3 .
Toronto, The Champlain Society, 1925, vol . 2 : 340-341 .
Rapport de l'archiviste de la Province de Quebec, 1930-31, p . 60 .
4 . Jean Hamelin, Econoruie et societe en Nouvelle-France, Quebec, Presse
universite Laval, 1970, p . 34 . '
5 . Greffes des notaires, Archives nationales du Quebec [ANQ] . Voir,
comme exemples, les engagements des pecheurs, gr . Barolet, 10
fevrier 1733 ; gr
1749 .
Pinguet, 17 avril 1737 ; gr . J.C . Panet, 13 mai
6 . Jean Hamelin, Economie et tociete . ., p . 29 .
7 . Voir l'acte de societe entre Marie Couillard, femme de Jacques de
LaLande-Gayon, seigneur en partie de Sept Isles et Mingan, et
Fran~ois Viennay-Pachot, marchand de Quebec, gr . Genaple, 31
mars 1688 et de nouveau, gr . Chambalon, 31 mars 1696 . Aussi, le
marche entre Denis Riverin, marchand de Quebec, et Guillaume
Maret, marchand de Bordeaux et commandant du navire Scrinte-
Anne, gr . Chambalon, 3 aout 1693 .
8 . Voir gr . Gilles Rageor, 5 et 30 septembre 1689 .
9 . Gr . Chambalon, 20 mars 1699 et 27 octobre 1701 .
49

5(1
10 . Jean Hamelin, Economie et rociite . . . , p. 34 .
11 . Le greffe de Jacques Voyer, 1802-1812, est une riche source de ces
engagements .
12 . Fernand Ouellet, Histoire economique et tociale da Quebec, 1760-
1N50, Montreal, Fides, 1971, p . 304 .
13 . Ouellet ecrit ainsi

Re.rearch ReportslRapports de rerherche
and cyrling pcriodicals constitutes the largest resource of
its kind in Canacl .{ .
The sporting goods magazines had the major disadvantage
of not distinguishing between distributors and
manufacturers . Lists of exhibitors at recent Canadian
Sporting Goods Association trade shows, published in
Sporting Goodr Newt, typically noted only company name
and product . When data accumulated during the project
was amassed and sorted, several but not all of these possible
distributors were isolated and omitted from the
research files . The advertisements and articles in the
magazines also did not always state whether products were
Canadian-made (or assembled) or foreign-made .
Incorporation information was also of limited value in
determining when companies were active . For example,
the Comet Cycle Company, Toronto, was registered as an
Ontario partnership in 1897, but contemporary periodical
advertisements for the company predate the incorporation
by two years . (Figure 1 is a Comet bicycle held in the
N.M .S.T . collection .) Dissolution dates were more
meaningful than dates of partnership registration or incorporation,
but they were more difficult to locate .
The information gathered through the research project
was organized into several distinct units . A historical
essay outlining the history of bicycle manufacturing in
Canada and two discrete groups of factual data were
generated . The first of these listings was a directory of
approximately 400 Canadian manufacturers of bicycles,
bicycle parts and accessories, and bicycle clothing . Entries
consisted of manufacturer's name, parent company or
subsidiary, dates of appearance in sources, date of incorporation
and dissolution, products made, brand names,
other products or services offered, president or owner,
number of employees, names of foreign agents, illustrations
of products and sources, and related material in
N.M .S.T . collections . If additional information was
available, a brief historical note was added . In many cases,
entries do not contain information in all categories . The
second listing identifies foreign-made bicycles, bicycle
parts, and bicycle accessories sold in Canada . It is based on
material found in The Bicycle (1882-8i), Canadian Il''heelmart
(1883-87, 1895-99), and Matrey's Magazine (1896-
97) . Names of products and manufacturers and dates of
appearance in the sources were supplemented with information
from secondarv sources .
Although these sources provided a great deal of information,
they had a number of limitations . The data culled
was disparate and at times contradictory . Years of appearance
of companies in 7'.C.D . and C .7'.I . did not always
coincide . Within directories, particularly T.C.D ., inconsistencies
existed . Periodically a company or individual
would be listed as bicycle retailer in the business index,
but as a manufacturer in the alphabetical entry . As a
result, every reference had to be checked in both listings, a
Fig . 2 . Comet bicycle, T . Fane & Company, Toronto, ca .
1887 . This brassplated high-wheeler is the earliest
example of a Canadian-manufactured bicycle in the
N.M .S .T . collection . Facie also sold imported British
bicvcles . (Photo : N .M .S .T . . cat . no . 810208 .)
time-consuming process . Errors were also found over a
series of volumes of T.C . D . The Planet Bicycle Company,
Toronto, produced bicycles in the 1920s, but several
times throughout the decade the city directories failed to
identify the company as a manufacturer . C.T.I . listed
only major bicycle manufacturers ; some of the specialized
directories identified significant smaller companies that
the larger directory omitted . C.T .I . entries were some-
times too vague to be useful . Manufacturers of pneumatic
tires for all types of vehicles were grouped together in the
business indexes, making it impossible to determine
which companies produced bicycle tires . The alphabetical
listings were often too general to be of help .
Research indicated that Canadian manufacturing began
early in the history of cycling . Bicycles were reportedly
built to order in the 1860s and 1870s; in the late 1860s, a
homemade bicycle is said to have existed in Fredericton
and, in 1878, seventeen-year-old Perry Doolittle, who
was to become an avid cyclist and a founder of the Canadian
Wheelman's Association, had a wooden bicycle built
to his specifications .' The first, or one of the first, Canadian
manufacturers was Sernmens, Ghent & Company, in
Burlington, Ontario . As early as 1882, the company was
producing nickel-plated or painted bicycles (presumably
high-wheelers or ordinaries) .2 Another early manufacturer
was T. Fane & Company of Toronto . (Figure 2 is a
Fane Comet ca . 1887 .) By the late 1890s, at the peak of
the boom, the industry mushroomed . Canadian companies
(both Canadian-owned and American branch
plants) and numerous individual bicyclemakers were producing
the popular vehicles . After the boom subsided,
51

52
Fig . 3 . Massey-Harris Model C bicycle, Massey-Harris Company
Limited, Toronto, 1898 . A ladies' drop frame
bicycle, fitted with Dunlop Detachable Tires made in
Toronto . (Photo : N.M .S .T ., cat . no . 83036C .)
manufacturing continued, generally of racing bicycles
and, toward the middle of the twentieth century, of children's
bicycles and tricycles . In the 1970s, the second
boom occurred, sparking another expansion in manufacniring
. Mass-produced racing, touring, BMX (bicycle
rnotorcross), and mountain bicycles co-existed with
sophisticated custom-made bicycles built by specialized
workshops .
The bicycle industry in Canada consistently emerged as
a consumer of foreign technology . For example, Massey-
Harris bicycles, produced from 1895 to 1899, used
patents for the Columbia bicycle held by the Pope
Manufacturing Company of Hartford, Connecticut . ; (See
Figure 3 for an 1898 Massey-Harris lady's bicycle .)
Arthur Pequegnat, a Berlin, Ontario, clock- and
bicyclemaker, studied bicycle manufacturing techniques
at the Middletown, Ohio, factory of the Miami Cycle and
Manufacturing Company.4 (Figure 4 is a Pequegnat Berlin
bicycle .) In the 1970s, Quebec custom bicyclemaker
Giuseppe Marinoni travelled to Italy to observe master
craftsmen at work .5 Branch plants, established by American
companies to circumvent high Canadian tariff
barriers, were significant producers in the turn-of-thecentury
Canadian industry . H.A . Lozier & Company,
Toronto Junction, E .C . Stearns & Company, Toronto,
and the National Cycle and Automobile Company,
Hamilton, were among the better known late-nineteenthcentury
companies with heavy foreign ties . More recently,
the now defunct Sekine Canada Ltd . was initially threequarters
Japanese-owned . ~' Raw materials have also been
imported . English-made steel tubing, like the modern
Reynolds 531, has consistently been regarded as an industrial
leader . Components, such as hubs, saddles, and
brakes, have traditionally been produced abroad in large
quantities by cost-efficient foreign companies . The CCM
RIlIIe1JJJ 20
Fig . 4 . Berlin bicycle, Arthur Pequegnat, Berlin, Ontario, ca .
1897 . A men's diamond frame bicycle, also with
Toronto-made Dunlop Detachable Tires . (Photo :
N .M .S .T ., cat . no . S273 .)
bicycle in Figure 5 features a number of Italian-made
parts, including the world-famous Campagnolo compo-
nrnts .
To a far lesser degree, Canada has been an exporter . In
the early 1900s, Indulh-rdl Canada periodically contained
trade enquiries from British firms seeking suhplies of
wooden bicycle rims . The Bowmanville Wood Rim Company,
Bowmanville, Ontario, claimed to be producing
600 rims each day in 1897 in order to meet English
orders .' Canada Cycle and Motor Company (later CCM)
Fig . 5 . Tour du Canada bicycle, CCM, Toronto, ca . 1975 . A
men's ten-speed model produced by the now dissolved
Canadian bicycle manufacturing giant . The Tour du
Canada included Campagnolo components, a 3ttt
Record handlebar, an Italian-made saddle, and Universal
brake components . (Photo : N.M .S .T ., cat . no .
750686 . )

Research ReportslRapports de recherche
sold its bicycles abroad soon after its formation in 1899 .
Australia and South Africa were important markets ; for a
time, the company also maintained agents in Europe .
Participants in the industry have ranged from smallscale
owner-operated businesses to industrial giants like
CCM, which had over 1,000 employees in its bicycle and
sporting goods divisions by the late 1970s . This variety in
size of businesses has been a persistent feature of the
industry . It characterized the turn of the century, when
individual machinists and large companies like Massey-
Harris produced bicycles, and was typical of the 1970s,
with custom-made bicycles being produced by individual
entrepreneurs at the same time that CCM produced its
bicycles in large volumes .
Research also revealed that systems of manufacturers
exist, based on the raw materials used in production .
Bicycles were produced by machinists, agricultural
implement manufacturers, a safe manufacturer, and a
clock manufacturer, all of whom used metal extensively in
their original lines of production . C .T .1 . tended to note
manufacturers of metal bicycle components in its bicycle
parts listings to the virtual exclusion of rubber products,
especially bicycle tires . To identify manufacturers of
bicycle clothing or items used in bicycle maintenance,
different sections of trade directories must be consulted, if
indeed data are finely defined enough to uncover bicyclerelated
products . To some extent, the fragmentation of
Introduction
The Borden Bridge is a concrete bowstring arch bridge
spanning the North Saskatchewan River fifty kilometres
northwest of Saskatoon . Built during 1935-36, the bridge
has both engineering features and local importance that
make it a significant industrial heritage site .
The concrete bowstring arch bridge was a structural
form widely used on Canadian highways from about 1909
until World War II . Most of the spans were less than 150
feet . Possibly the last of this type constructed in Canada,
the Borden Bridge with its 213-foot centre span has the
distinction of being one of the longest concrete bowstring
arch bridges on floating foundations in the world . Designed
under the supervision of Chalmers Jack Mackenzie,
then Dean of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan
and later President of the National Research Council
and Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, the bridge repre-
Dealing with an Industrial Monument :
The Borden Bridge
information about manufacturers in cycling and related
industries in C .T .1 . is a function of specialized production
by use of specific raw materials .
This project is part of ongoing research on cycles at
N.M .S.T . For further information on the material
accumulated in this study, contact Geoff Rider, Curatorial,
Conservation and Research Division, National
Museum of Science and Technology, 2380 Lancaster
Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1A OM8, (613) 998-4566 .
NOTES
.
:
:
.
1 David Goss, "Cycling through Atlantic Canada," Atlantic Advocate
69 (September 1978) 12 ; Lyman Hotchkiss Bagg (pseud . Karl
Kron), Ten Thousand Miles -on a Bicycle (New York
1887), p . 319 .
Karl Kron,
2 . The Bicycle 1, no . 2 (November 1882) : 6 ; The Bicycle 1, no . 3
3 .
(December 1882) : 8 .
Massey-Harris Company Ltd., The Mattey-Harris Wheel for 1896
(Toronto : [ 18961)
4 . Jane and Costas Varkaris, The Pequegnat Story : The Family and the
Clocks (Dubuque, Iowa : Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company,
1982), p . 18 .
5 . Lucien Bailly, "Pour la premiere fois au Canada!!!," Canadian
CyclistlCycliste canadien 3, no . 1 (March 1975), p . 12 .
6 . Roger Newman, "Tariff Seen Necessary for Cycle Manufacturers,"
Globe and Mail (13 February 1975) .
7 . N.a ., n .t ., Canadian Wheelman 14, no . 22 (4 October 1897) : n.p .
53
Anita Rush
sents an important achievement by this famous Canadian
engineer . Since the bridge design was undertaken at the
university it became the subject of additional research by
students ; this work included photoelastic stress testing,
an early application of this technology to structures
testing .
On a more local level, the bridge is significant for the
people of the area . The bridge site was originally known as
the Ceepee ferry and the contract documents issued by the
Department of Public Works listed the project as the
Ceepee Bridge . However, N.S . Smith, then the
enthusiastic mayor of Borden and a prominent local
Liberal, managed to convince federal politicians that the
bridge should be renamed for the town . (The town itself
had been named after Sir Frederick Borden, Minister of
Militia in Sir Wilfrid Laurier's cabinet .) Built during the
Depression, the bridge was one of many construction projects
initiated by the federal and provincial governments

54
Fig . 1 . The Borden Bridge, a structure that blends with the
landscape . (Photo by the author .)
to provide unemployment relief. Many people in the area
participated in construction of the bridge and it has always
had local importance, reflecting the pride of its builders .
Finally, and perhaps the most pressing reason for
initiating study of the bridge, is the construction of a new
crossing at the site and the planned abandonment of the
original bridge . The bridge's future is uncertain and re-
search work is needed to preserve the story of its design,
construction, and contribution . A local group is currently
soliciting support for designation of the bridge as a pro-
vincial heritage site . A report describing its historical and
engineering significance is in preparation and will support
the submission to the provincial Minister of Culture and
Recreation . Copies were made available to interested
Fig . 2 . As a relief project the bridge employed many men from
the district as a manual labour force . This 19
September 1936 photo shows workers pouring concrete
for the road slab . Note that two vibrators are
being used to assist in spreading the concrete . (Photo :
Private (ollection . )
Bulletin
groups in the autumn of 1984 . A more comprehensive
article is planned for the spring of 1985 .
The Project
The researching of a unique in-place engineering
artifact presents the historian with work in a relatively
new discipline - industrial archaeology - and with a
different approach to an historical object . The artifact cannot
be easily adapted to interpretation ; it is impossible to
move it to a central location for display, and neither
museums nor architectural preservation groups have a
tradition of working with such items .
R.A . Buchanan, an early promoter of industrial
archaeology, summarizes the main purposes of the discipline
as follows : "Industrial archaeology is a field of study
concerned with investigating, surveying, recording and,
in some cases, with preserving industrial monuments . It
aims, moreover, at assessing the significance of these
monuments in the context of social and technological history
. "I
The investigation of an "industrial monument" is
necessary to learn its history and thus allow assessment of
its contribution and significance to the development of
the region and technology . The site survey records the
artifact's nature and remains and ensures that a record of
its existence is created . The recording of the site consists of
presentation of findings on the artifact to those audiences
with an interest in the site and can provide some incentive
for its eventual preservation, if this is warranted . With
these purposes in mind it is possible to approach the
subject with a planned strategy .
Investigating the history of the Borden Bridge was an
interesting subject which covered a broad range of resources
including technical literature, departmental files,
archival materials, and personal interviews . Each source
contributed different but complementary information to
the researcher .
The Engtneeringforrrnul, the journal of the Engineering
Institute of Canada, and Canadian Engineer, a weekly summary
of engineering work in the country, were the major
technical periodicals studied . They provided the basic
technical information on the bridge and its construction .
The major article about the bridge supplied a schedule of
the construction process and noted the special conditions
found at the site .- With this information it was possible to
analyze the bridge's design . What was unusual about it~
What was typical? This type of assessment is critical in
any artifact evaluation . In addition to this site-specific
data, a review of the journals placed the project in the con-
text of other major construction and relief projects under-
taken in western Canada during the mid-thirties . This
approach also assisted in evaluation of the structure . The
review of the technical literature was a valuable starting-

Research ReportalRapports de recherche
point for investigation of the bridge . By providing a
calendar of events and specific technical information and
by placing the project in the larger context of the Depression,
the review allowed further research to focus on the
artifact's special character .
The second major source used to investigate the bridge
was the correspondence files of the Saskatchewan Department
of Highways and Transportation, Bridge Division .
The files are organized by structure and contain all correspondence
relating to a particular river crossing . The
Borden Bridge file included material back to 1917 when
the Saskatoon Board of Trade first requested construction
of a bridge to encourage trade and development . Calls for a
bridge and complaints about the ferry service continued
through the twenties . The design of a steel bridge and its
shelving due to the financial constraints of the Depression
is also revealed . Correspondence relating to construction
of the bridge under the Relief Act by the Federal Department
of Public Works reflects the acrimonious relations
between the federal and Saskatchewan governments that
characterized the period . Especially important is information
showing how contemporary relief requirements
affected the design and led to construction of the concrete
arch bridge .
As the work was a labour-intensive relief project, there
is a rich oral tradition in the surrounding area dealing with
its construction . Interviews with a number of people
involved with the bridge erection revealed a great deal
about life at the isolated construction site . Participants
gave information on meals, wages, buildings on the site,
and amusements available to workers . Another important
matter was to determine the economic and social effects of
the relief project . Did the construction provide relief and
to whom? What effect was felt in surrounding communities?
A great deal of information on manual and
horse-drawn building methods was also collected . The
relief projects of the Depression were probably the last
construction works done using these techniques . Perhaps
the most important aspect of the oral investigation was
access to private photo collections . Photos supplied useful
details on the construction camp and erection of the
bridge . They were also very helpful in refreshing
memories during oral interviews . The oral investigation
provided valuable data about site features that have either
disappeared or been altered and helped establish the local
significance of the artifact .
Archival research played only a small part in the site
investigation . However, it did supply some gems . In the
University of Saskatchewan Archives, a Master of
Engineering thesis describing the design of the Borden
Bridge was found . This piece highlighted the design
process .
With the historical investigation largely complete, the
researcher has created a comprehensive background
WE
Fig . 3 . Photos taken during construction of the bridge are a
valuable tool in researching its history and in recording
the site . These show the bridge in October 1936 .
(Photo : Private collection .)
against which to place the artifact . The Borden Bridge
emerges as an important engineering achievement,
perhaps the ultimate example of the large concrete bow-
string arch type . The bridge also reflects the region's
history . It indicates the growth of the prairie road
transportation network and adds to the history of the De-
pression . With this information the bridge's historical
and engineering significance can be established .
The site survey had two parts : measurement of
.,
p1,
.
Fig . 4 . The local community has become vitally interested in
the bridge's future . These drawings by schoolchildren
resulted from the 1983 National Library Week
program in Borden The theme, "Crossing the North
Saskatchewan : Past, Present and Future," included
school activities as well as a public presentation on the
construction of the old bridge and an information
session on the new bridge . (Photo by the author .)
55

56
longer extant construction camp . The bridge is very well
documented . The Bridge Branch of the Saskatchewan
Department of Highways and Transportation maintains a
permanent copy of the building plans and has complete
files noting the limited modifications and additions that
have affected it . The transient nature of the construction
camp, which existed for only about one year, has meant
that little has been found to document its layout . It
included engineers' quarters, blacksmithing facilities, a
small power plant, and dining and sleeping accommodation
for a crew of about 100 . Only a few photos showing
the camp have been collected, while the few surface traces
remaining have been obliterated by construction of the
new bridge .
Recording of the artifact has begun . Presentation of the
historical data to a local audience has prompted interest in
the structure as a heritage piece . A more extensive article
is in preparation to bring the artifact to a larger professional
audience . Finally, it is hoped that both the preceding
activities and the present article will encourage
interest in the heritage of our country, perhaps the most
important function that any artifact can perform .
The final responsibility of industrial archaeology is preservation
of the significant artifact . The fate of the Borden
Bridge is still unknown . The historical data make a good
case for its preservation as an important artifact . However,
large in-place engineering structures such as a bridge are
impossible to treat as usual museum acquisitions . In
Summary of the Project
Bulletin 20
Ontario, the Ministries of Transportation and Communications
and Citizenship and Culture have addressed this
problem and created heritage criteria and a scale of options
to minimize the loss of heritage bridges . The heritage
criteria include items such as the age and construction
material of the structure, information on the designer, the
typicality of the design, and the visual and historical
importance of the structure to the local environment . The
preservation options run from "maintenance and/or
strengthening of a bridge without significant material
change to its visual appearance" to "a graphic and verbal
display of the former structure utilizing information
collected in the recording and detailed documentation
mitigation measure ." 3 The possibilities for the Borden
Bridge are only beginning to be explored at this time, but
some form of recognition for the structure appears to be
appropriate .
NOTES
1 . Quoted in Theodore A . Sande, Industrial Archeology : A New Look at
the American Heritage (New York : Penguin Books Ltd., 1978), p .
vii .
2 . C .J . Mackenzie and B .A . Evans, "The Borden Bridge, Saskatchewan."
Engineering journal 20, no . 5 (May 1937), pp . 229-G2 and
"The Borden Bridge, Saskatchewan, Discussion," Engineeringfournal
20, no . 10 (October 1937), pp . 777-80 .
3 . David J . Cuming, Bridges and Environmental Assessment (Toronto :
Ontario Ministry of Culture and Recreation, 1981), pp . 26-27 .
The Use of Primary Documents as Computerized Collection Records
for the Study of Material Culture*
During the summers of 1983-84, the Nova Scotia Museum
undertook a newspaper research project which originated with the
Newfoundland Museum in 1979 . The original project set out to
index advertisements for commodities found in nineteenth-century
newspapers by way of systematically classifying and structuring
the information for data entry into a computer retrieval system
` Editorial Note : The project described in this paper forms part of the
Atlantic Canada Newspaper Survey, various elements of which have
been the subject of previous communications in Material History
Bulletin . Original plans anticipated a third summer's work in 1985,
taking advantage of the federal government's Career Oriented
Summer Employment Programme for university students . The
pressure of regular activities, however, will prevent the Nova Scotia
Museum from participating as expected, and the work will be put on
hold . It is hoped that work in other provinces will continue insofar as
the National Museum of Man is, itself, able to sponsor the
programme or as resources in various provinces permit .
David Neufeld
which would provide an inventory of goods and services available
in Newfoundland for that period and which would thereby
augment the documentation for the museum collections . The
project was later taken up by the National Museum of Man and
initiated at the New Brunswick Museum in 1982 and at the
Nova Scotia Museum in 1983 . Work began at the Prince
Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation in 1984 .
While the original focus and method for structuring the data
were retained, the Nova Scotia Project was expanded in order
that the treatment of the newspaper material would reflect the
broad interpretation of "material culture" appropriate to the
nature and distribution of the large and decentralized provincial
collections of artifacts and sites . The project also took into con-
.rideration the enhanced capabilities of the national retrieval
system presently used for artifact and specimen records . The sense
of an increasing necessity to develop an integrated information
matrix which makes use of this sophisticated technology to bridge
some large gaps in the museum documentation of material culture

Rerrarrh ReportrlRapports tie rerJ.rercEH
was central to development of the methodology for this project . The
concept of this matrix is based on an extended vieu~ of the "collec-
tion record" where "subject '" within the conceptual framework of
material culture is the organizing principle and where the appro-
priate structuring of the data for computer cross-rejerence and
retrieval is the integrating mechanism . The follou~ing discussion
outlines the basis for the approach taken in light of traditional
approaches to documenting collections and the potential demand
/Or information .
Introduction and Rationale : Expectations for the
Documentation of Collections
!n recent years the Canadian museum community has
acquired an uneasy self-consciousness, shaped by the
growing articulation of public and professional expecta-
tions ot museums . This, at least in part, is an outcome of
the rapid growth of the heritage industry and the concen-
trated "collecting" of the past two decades . The state of
unease has been productive insofar as the development of
management strategies for these typically large and varied
collections has been given particular attention and
support . This development of "collections management"
has not only been made possible but has been accelerated
through a relatively systematic, though not untroubled,
application of computer technology unique to Canada .'
As well, a certain edge has been added with the growing
public demand for access to collections and with increased
consideration for the legal and ethical implications for
"public trust ." However, where "documentation" has
been emphasized as a means by which collections can be
accounted for and access established, expectations for
documenting collections remain unclear and the actual
records for individual artifacts (which constitute the
present documentation system for collections), have not as
yet been sufficiently used for research or subjected to
appraisal to further agitate concern . The acid test is on the
horizon with the growing development of the study and
presentation of "material culture" and the increasing
sophistication of related research requirements .
The present artifact or collection records in fact reflect
what has up to this point been a necessary preoccupation
with the physical management or basic accounting for
collections . The resulting skeletal record system provides
a level of documentation which is largely descriptive and
reflects "inventory" considerations for objects (identification,
classification, and descriptions of physical attributes
which are variable in length and complexity) . To a small
extent contextual information is included in reference to
provenance and maker/artist biographic information .
This tenacious notion of "documentation," albeit veiled
by variable and indefinite expectations, presents certain
and central questions : What purpose do we ultimately
want the information we gather about our "collections" to
serve and to what extent does it anticipate the breadth of
material culture studies which museums hope to serve?
GARDEN SEEDS .
I .`v1 P U I< 1 ;,' , 1), From L

58
tion of certain aspects of context (depending of course on
the extent to which they are "complete") . In fact, in order
to guarantee the reliability of the indication of context
provided by artifact records, a thorough contextual
framework which draws on all appropriate and available
sources of information must be constructed .
Presently, collections of objects are documented almost
exclusively through the "artifact record" - the complement
of traits specific to a single object or closely related
group of objects . In referring to the limitations of this
type of record within the overall spectrum of information
useful to the study of history and culture, it should be
made clear that the inherent value of "artifact data" is not
in question ; rather, that the present records for collections
of artifacts are limited by traditions determining their
content and by the logistics of organizing information in
the form of "record" for the purposes of access and management
.
The tradition of "explaining" artifacts through their
physical attributes has been aptly named the "fallacy of
reductionism" z and very much reflects a historical pattern
of collecting and connoisseurship from which museums
are only beginning to emerge . Here, the limitation is one
of vision and institutional objective . The resulting record
systems for these collections are characterized by a certain
starkness which can sometimes seem exaggerated when recalled
from computer files .
HA 1.IFAX,Sth tiLay,t ; .al .
RAN Away a finart Well-looking
N;gro BOY, name .i Petar, about Seventeen Years
or Ag~ ; had On tsh~~n he wtn: a way a blue Jacket ;
rotut 1 .it, New 1'rouicrs of'1Yj11tC Duck ; nctiv Shees and
laigc hi .t :d H.icklcr. ; he is rr,un l fdeCd, fl:cakcs bro~ea
Enb;iJli, an,l whcn fpnke m has , rctn~rkabic Smi con his
Counicnanec, (hort and flout mdirl ; has bccn u(cd to the
Carpenters bufincfs, and may at:empt to ,p,ls tor a free
Man ; thic is to warn al : Mailers of Veffele and Others not
to harbourorCarryof faid NcGro,';as he is tile propertyof the
Sublcribcr ; an? one that will apprchend the fai .3 Negro
fr. that his Mailer may receive him, Shall receive FiSht
Dollars Reward from .
HUGH KIRFiHA1.1 .
N. B. If he is {lript he has his Country marks on his
back in the fortn of a Square, thus .
Any Perfon harboaring or Concealing faid Boy will be
piofecuted to the utmoR rugoir of the Law . if he returns
uf his Own Accord there will be nothing done to
him .
Fig . 2 . Advertisement for a runaway slave . (Source : The
authors .)
Bulletin 20
The limitations imposed by the process of generating
"information"3 from so-called "unstructured" data (in this
case textual data), for the purpose of creating a systematic
information system, are easily outweighed by the acceleration
of possibilities if the information is appropriately
"structured ." The process of structuring information for
computer management must refer to both the way in
which people actually process information (or impose
organizational patterns on the seemingly random "information
environment" by way of categorizing strategies)
and the capability of the particular computer system used
for organizing the "chunks" of information . 4
Structuring information necessarily involves a process
of interpretation and distillation where meaning is
abstracted by identifying and grouping "significant
elements ." Where manual information systems traditionally
corralled significant information components
through the arbitrary structure of a "record," computers
have, in a sense, undone and reassembled the traditional
idea of "record," whereby the components of information
are kept in a more fluid form . The initial record which
organizes and structures the "raw" data can in fact be quite
complex without (ideally) inhibiting the shuffling and
reassembly process - resulting in a potentially vast
complex of "records ."
Back to the artifact record . While the basic documentation
of artifact collections has certainly benefited from the
application of computer technology (where a greater spectrum
of attribute distinctions has been built into the
initial record, allowing far greater possibilities for inventory
comparisons and physical analysis), the possibilities
for documenting and retrieving contextual associations
have barely been tapped, leaving the artifact records, individually
and collectively, largely incomplete .
Information Matrix Aligning Collection Records
on the Basis of Subject and Context
The traditional approach to organizing information on
the basis of the physical attributes of the "collections" has
been appropriate for the practical and necessary considerations
of preservation, storage, and rudimentary access
(visible or physical access) . This seems to be universally
true for archival, fine art, and museum collections and is
unavoidable given the specialized nature of these collections
and the variety of material with which to contend .
This approach has had a rather overpowering effect on the
content of the artifact record and consequently on the
balance of the resulting information system, particularly
for museums where minute details of descriptive
attributes have served as a kind of surrogate for "documenting"
collections . The outcome of this pattern has
been a polarization of information in museums, with
artifact records at one side and the highly-focused, specific
results of research at the other with little between . The

Re.rearch ReportslRapports de recherche
potential for knitting this gap together by way of an information
matrix which incorporates and augments the
artifact record and provides prepared ground for research
is now within the realm of necessity .
Previous treatment of this area has proved both elusive
and difficult, not only because the process requires sophisticated
and multi-level indexing (which would overburden
any manual system and defy maintenance), but
because the process or method of approach ultimately has
to be rooted in a conceptual model or system of ideas
which treats the notion of material manifestations of
culture and refers to the principles directing the study of
culture .
Museums have tended to generate a variety of "records"
or information files to a greater or lesser extent, as the need
arises and depending on the nature and intention of the
institution . These generally include an array of "raw" data
collected through research (e .g ., archival records, oral history
transcripts, field records, pictorial files, and artifact/
specimen-related data) . These records have generally not
been treated with the same rigour required for the automated
retrieval of artifact/specimen records or, in any
case, a different system generally exists for each different
set of files . This is in part due to the aforementioned
indexing complexities and in part because they have not
been consciously treated as "collection records" per se .
The assumption central to the archival project undertaken
in Nova Scotia was that the principles governing the
formulation of a record, conceptually and for the practical
purposes of retrieval, could be consistently and systematically
applied to any type of information . The project was
as much an exploration in developing a method based on a
comprehensive definition of material culture 5 which
would ensure a useful and thorough treatment of subject/
content as it was an incorporation of the original intent
and an adaptation of previous methods . The feeling that
the museum was already attempting to maintain a large
number of information files broadly related to the
documentation of the collections directed the approach at
the outset . The necessity of developing a method which
would be useful for integrating "content" across the spectrum
of files influenced the undertaking of what appeared
to be another useful and potentially large and specialized
harvest of information . The previous development of the
project was incorporated and a broader treatment of
"subject" contained by the newspaper material was
emphasized .
Background : The Newfoundland Newspaper
Project 6
In 1979 the Newfoundland Museum developed a newspaper
research project that attempted to deal with a
number of stated problems : the underdeveloped state of
material culture studies in Newfoundland, the insuffi-
cient documentation of the museum collections, and the
continuous re-examination of the same archival material
by a parade of researchers over a period of time . At the
most pragmatic level, the need for background information
relating to artifacts was seen to be most apparent in
the preparation of exhibits . However, the organization of
archival material, invaluable to the study of material
culture, precludes ready access . Again, archival material
is organized on the basis of the physical considerations of
"collection" or record groups (e .g ., business records,
government papers, newspapers, family papers, photographs,
maps) . The existing manual index systems have
been largely unable to accommodate research which
requires access across these groups by way of an integrated
subject index . To index and cross-reference all of the
material on this basis, under a manual system, in any case
would be virtually impossible . The Newfoundland
Museum made significant inroads to previously inaccessible
material by developing a transcription methodology
and applying existing computer technology to a complex
subject area in nineteenth-century newspapers .
The Newfoundland project chose to focus on extant
nineteenth-century newspapers because of the large
proportion of obviously material-related content. To
satisfy basic questions concerning the introduction and
use of imported goods as well as locally-produced goods
and services, advertisements for commodities and services
were selected as the focus . The project enlisted the services
of the National Inventory Programme (now the Canadian
Heritage Information Network/CHIN), and a recording
methodology was developed to reflect primary retrieval
needs as well as the nature of the technology available at
the time . The museum employed students through a
federal employment programme to transcribe and enter
the information . Much of this material was entered and
used on a previous data base and has recently been transferred
to a new data base established in May 1984 by
CHIN for the National Museum of Man . The data base
uses the same information management system (BASIS)
which has up to now been used primarily for the management
of artifact data (PARIS : Pictorial and Artifact
Retrieval Information System) .
The wider application of the original project and the
updating of the original data base was made possible with
the adoption of this project by the National Museum of
Man as part of the research programme in Atlantic history
. Presently, all four provinces have contributed to the
preparation of similar data for retrieval on the shared data
base (Prince Edward Island Museum and Heritage Foundation,
the Newfoundland Museum, the Nova Scotia
Museum, and the New Brunswick Museum) .
When the Nova Scotia Museum undertook this project,
it was with the aforementioned considerations in mind .
Previous experience with newspaper research suggested
that the focus could be expanded readily given the wealth
59

GO
and diversity of information in newspapers for the broad
domain of the study of material culture with the development
of a slightly expanded recording format . Similarly,
experience with the evolution of the on-line computer system
(PARIS), in the five years since the inception of the
project, suggested possibilities for a more comprehensive
approach, specifically, the capacity for extensive indexing
which has resulted in a highly flexible and multi-level
cross-reference potential . In the end, the prospect of
employing six students for a concentrated period of time
determined the feasibility of taking a comprehensive
approach .
Methodology for Indexing Eighteenth-Century
Newspapers in Nova Scotia
The methodology incorporated three considerations :
the nature of the information and its anticipated use, the
capabilities of the computer system to be applied, and the
characteristics of the human resource, the student
employees . It took its direction from a broad definition of
material culture which suggests the range of information
as well as themes guiding the organization of the information
. The computer system further determined procedures
for transcribing/preparing the information as well as the
physical organization of the information . The practical
aspects of the methodology were set out in the form of
specific, written guidelines for organizing, transcribing,
and interpreting (editing and indexing) the "raw" data .
These were formulated and revised as the project evolved .
This project resulted in the recent redefinition of the data
base with some rudimentary rules for data entry and
guidelines for retrieval . The methodology attempted to
ensure the reliability and internal consistency of the data
by way of some basic management strategies which also,
in the end, have helped in monitoring the course of the
project for long-term planning .
N O T ICE .
N Thurfday the t tth inft . Richard
0 LYoodrooffe, Breeches-Maker, of this
Town, was fined in the fum of 51. fur purchaGnd
uf DZvid Brock, a foldier in the 2 ift
Regiment, a Regimental Great Coat for
three,P5illilrgs, on che depoGtion of ~!erjeane
,?lackay, That the faid lVood~~ooffe did a6iually
know tiie laid b'rcck to be a foldier in
the aaove-rtientioned Regiment .
I

Research ReportslRapports de recherche
of social and economic information for that period makes
these newspapers particularly valuable (fig . 4) .
Three newspapers were published in Halifax between
1752 and 1800 . These newspapers were published weekly
and to some extent their issues overlapped . There were
also three newspapers published in Shelburne between
1783 and 1796 during the initial settlement of the
Loyalist town . The total number of extant issues for the
eighteenth century, including all six papers, is 1,828 .
The only major gap for this period appears to be between
1756 and 1764 .
Content of Eighteenth-Century Nova Scotia Newspapers
The content of these newspapers, each four pages in
length, is almost equally divided between foreign news
and local advertisements and announcements ; less than
half a column is devoted to domestic news (e .g ., shipping
news, the occasional announcement of a death sentence,
the celebration of a royal birthday, and letters at the post
office) . As almost all the local information to be found in
these newspapers is contained in the advertisements and
announcements, virtually all local information was
included within the scope of this project .
The analysis of the distribution of the content of these
eighteenth-century newspapers, across rough subject
categories, is based on the 1, 396 records completed in the
course of the summer of 1983 (see Appendix 2) . This
represents about 16 per cent of the estimated total (288
issues) but, as the records span the entirety of the period,
the following summary of the distribution of the content
should give a reasonable indication of the concentration of
the type of information included in the eighteenth-
century newspapers .
The majority of the content (70 per cent), related to
aspects of "exchange" or commodities for sale, including
products (42 per cent), land (20 per cent), and services
(business enterprises, crafts, servants, education : 8 per
cent) . The remaining 30 per cent related to financial
concerns (debt settlement, probate administration, distribution
of prize money, poor relief: 9 per cent), public
events (elections, entertainment, clubs, religion : 5 per
cent), transportation and communication (shipping,
highway construction, post office : 4 per cent), other
government activities (taxation, regulations : 3 per cent),
runaways (wives, apprentices, slaves : 2 per cent), crime (2
per cent), and lost property (2 per cent) .
A Systematic Treatment of "Subject" for the Study of
Material Culture
Organizing information on the basis of "subject" is an
age-old problem, one which has been tackled countless
times and one which was certainly central to the development
of the methodology for this project . Although there
are precedents for subject classification provided by
library approaches to vast collections of information, the
subject distinctions are of a relatively general nature,
providing an intermediate classification system where
hierarchical distinctions (which attempt to group information
on the basis of related concepts by way of
"categories" and "sub-categories") are not used . Again,
this reflects, to some extent, the manual approach to
cataloguing and managing information which libraries
have developed to an optimum level . However, library
systems do not readily accommodate "special collections"
(pictorial, oral transcripts, objects, and primary documents),
partly because these collections also require a level
of physical and functional classification (which books do
not), as well as a consideration of the rather specific nature
of the subject-matter and the extent to which it is of
special interest to the study of history and culture .
Hence the classification of subject has been reinvented
many times, indicating, if nothing else, the importance of
this process to institutions which cannot readily apply the
model proposed by the library system . The differences
between the classification systems generated by institutions,
large and small, which care for special collections,
seems to depend more on the nature of the collection and/
or the subject-biases of the respective caretakers . Again,
the systems tend to evolve for practical reasons rather than
with a view to an overall scheme for extensive "public"
use . It is not uncommon for an institution to invent more
than one subject classification system, depending on the
number and types of collections at hand . The reason these
systems "work" for the most part is that our shared culture
guarantees that the overlap of conceptual distinctions and
TO BE SOLD,
A Fi(>USE, STORE, WHARF, CAR-
DEN and LOTS, in the town of Lu-
neaburg, the P~operty of the Subfcriber .
'1 he Houfe is new, and in .eumplete order,
4Z by 36 feet, encircled with a pale
fence . It contnins three rooms with fire
_~ _~ Places, three h°d-roomc, and an cxcell~nt
" - - kitchen on the firflHoor, a fpacious ganct,
th .rt will admit a number of additional rooms, and 3 cellar un
der the whole, which has proved impedctrable to the f~verelt
fro ft .
A pleafant garden adjoins tlto houfe, with s flable fufflcient
for two or three cows or horfes. The (tore is qs by rs feet,
conveniently placed in the rear of the garden on the wharf,
where boats conRantly load and unload, and renders the above
a moft advantageous fituation for a merchant, or a private
gent1eman.
'I-en TOWN-LOTS, inclofed in a board fence, within a
quarter of a mile of the houfc, are laid ~ down in brafs, and may
be con verte,l into a produfhlve p,arden .
An inditj;utahle title will be given, and Iht payinent made
safy to the purOhaf r .
For patt :cul~trscnquircc.f hlajurCOaTt.Axn at Halifax, or
file ft:bf,a ;a :r, cti the Nremifes, at Luncnburfth.
:7obn Slteals .
Fig . 5 . Advertisement of property for sale . (Source : The
authors .)
61

62
"categories" with an array of relatively consistent
elements .
Since its original preparation in 1937 the Outline has
been widely used, scrutinized, and refined, particularly
through government projects in the course of World War
II, where its application to modern, complex societies
required some expansion and modification . Several
references to its application in a museum context have
been found, both for classifying textual data and amplifying
artifact records . 8
Basically, the Outline proposes an open-ended system
for classifying the consistent components of culture
within seven broad categories which, to paraphrase the
authors, have come to represent (through trial and error),
a sort of common denominator of the ways in which social
scientists and recorders of cultural data habitually
organize their data . The terms used for the classification of
subject for this project were the specific subject terms contained
with the eighty sub-categories proposed for the distinctive
components of culture . These terms were
grouped, for the purpose of this project, into the very
broad categories which distinguish social, economic, and
political associations in order to facilitate the process of
editing large quantities of data . They do not, however,
function as a basis for retrieval at that level as they are too
broad to be "useful" (see Appendix 3) .
The Retrieval System and the Indexing of Subject
The system presently used for the management and
retrieval of artifact data for Canadian museum and fine art
collections was readily adapted for the management of
archival data with the addition of "fields" or specific information
files . These additional fields allow further distinction
between specific areas of subject concentration
(Appendix 1) .
The principle for retrieval of information is the same for
both systems . Retrieval is governed by the and/or/not rules
of Boolean (set) Logic, which merge or isolate records
through a process of combination or elimination of the
particular elements pertaining to the question phrased by
the user ; the more specific the question, the smaller the
document set (e .g . "find all records referring to product"
will pull together about half the records on the entire data
base, whereas "find all records referring to product and merchant
and date 1785 to 1791 " will greatly limit the relevant
records) .
Indexing
The BASIS retrieval system has a remarkable indexing
capacity which allows the recording and retrieval of up to
thirty-one key subject terms for any one field . The terms
are recorded as a standard string of characters where
unique terms are separated by a break-character (usually a
Bulletin 20
semi-colon, which is added in the process of transcription
and preparation of the "raw" data) . The system "slots"
each term into an alphabetic index for retrieval while retaining
the integrity of the original string of terms within
the initial record . This mechanism or system capability
essentially allows a much more fluid treatment of subject .
As the system sorts and indexes data for retrieval on the
arbitrary basis of alphabetic form, careful consideration
was given to the choice of primary terms as these terms
appear as isolated terms in the indexes for each field or
subject-area file . Primary terms were also "pluralized" for
the same reason . Modifications to Murdock's Outline were
made only so far as to make the alphabetic retrieval more
consistent with the demands of the system .
It is important for the user to be aware that this index
can be browsed in much the same way as any manual index
(either on-line or in printed form) . The index for general
subject (alphabetic), merges categories, sub-categories,
and other cross-reference terms . This allows for maximum
retrieval flexibility where all records for "barns" can be
pulled together as readily as all records for "buildings"
(the latter being the greater set, "including" barns) .
A large part of the process of refining this kind of
methodology is in the building of authority lists, which
function to maintain the integrity of the index (and of the
research), by defining the margins for interpretation and
thereby establishing the level of consistency (see Appendix
3 for the authority list for the primary subject crossreference
structure, Appendix 6 for its application to
actual records, and appendix 4 for samples of primary
commodity terms) .
Detail and Indexing for Subject
Given the capacity for accommodating a relatively large
number of terms for any one record, a certain balance is
required for the level or extent of detail which can be
included for the purpose of the various indexes . For the
general subject cross-reference index, the law of diminishing
returns can apply after a point, though to a certain
extent the level of detail is ultimately determined by the
nature of the information . While including a large degree
of detail does not compromise the efficiency of retrieval (if
the data are properly structured), there comes a point
where "too much" detail obscures the "usefulness" of the
subject distinctions . Therefore, for any indexing task a
balance must be established between the descriptive freetext
data and the primary subject terms structured for
index-retrieval . Establishing the balance in this case
requires the essential combination of experience with
historical/cultural material and an intuitive grasp of the
"significant" elements of information/content for research
eventualities . Too, there must be a willingness to see this
process as both exploratory and developmental where
decision-making is adaptive to the task of "finding what

Research ReportrlRapportu de recherche
TABLE 1
Field table for the Atlantic Canada Newspaper Survey . (Source: CHIN .)
Field Fields used by
No . Label Mnemonic Indexing NSM NBM PEI NFM
01 Paris number PAR range X X X X
03 user ID UID full field X X X X
04 date of birth DOB range X X X X
05 date ofchange DOC range X X X X
11 institution INS phrase X X X X
20 title CTI phrase X X X 1
21 cataloguer CAT phrase X X X 24
22 transcription date CDTR phrase X X X 4
23 record number CRN full field X X X 25
30 newspaper name NPNAM full field X X X 3
31 new . volume no . NPVOL full field X - - -
32 new . issue no . NPISS full field X - - -
33 new . page no . NPPAG full field X - - -
34 new . column NPCOL full field X - - -
35 date first appear . NPDFA phrase X - - -
36 date contin . appear . NPDCA phrase X - - -
37 illustration NPILL phrase X X X 23
45 subject, gen . context SUB phrase X - - -
47 group, announc . type SGRP phrase X - - -
48 product category SCAT phrase X - - -
49 product sub-category SSCAT phrase X - - -
52 product transaction SPROD phrase X X X 11
54 land transaction SLTR phrase X - - -
55 land type SLTY phrase X - - -
56 land acreage SLAC phrase X - - -
57 land features SLFE phrase X - - -
59 place-country/prov/st SPCRY phrase X - - -
60 place-municipality SPMUN phrase X - - -
61 place-county SPCTY phrase X - - -
62 place-street/address SPAD phrase X X X 7
65 person/business SPER phrase X - - -
66 advertiser name SADV phrase - X X 5
67 type of business SBUSTY phrase - X X 6
68 proprietor SPROP phrase - X X 8
71 vessel name SVNAM full field X X X 9
72 vessel type SVTY full field X - - -
73 vessel provenance SVPROV full field X X X 10
80 description DE no index X - - -
81 live animals DELA phrase X X X 12
82 food/feed/bev ./tobacco DEFFBT phrase "" X X X 13
83 crude materials DECM phrase ** X X X 14
84 fabricated materials DEFM phrase "* X X X 15
85 machinery DEMACH phrase "' X X X 16
86 transportation equip . DETCE phrase *" X X X 17
87 other equip ./tools DEOET phrase'* X X X 18
88 pers . household goods DEPHG phrase *`" X X X 19
89 misc ./end prod ./other DEMEP phrase"* X X X 20
95 services DESERV phrase - X X 21
99 cataloguer remarks CREM no index X X X 22
100 DEAPID CDPID no index - - - 99
** Fields DELA through DEMEP are phrase-indexed, but each phrase is only indexed up to the first comma (,) within the phrase .
63

64
vocabulary for identifying significant components of
subject-matter is relatively great .
The temptation to reinvent the wheel (made all the
more feasible by the large retrieval capacity for subjectindex
terms of the available computer system), was stalled
by the realization that a complex of arbitrary crossreference
terms, no matter how well considered, would
only compound the problem of retrieval .
The Subject Cross-Reference Framework
The framework for the subject cross-reference system
developed for this project was based on the Outline for Cultural
Materialr,7 originally developed under the direction
of George P . Murdock . The Outline facilitates interdisciplinary
research in the social sciences by way of providing
a classification tool which can be applied to the contextual
data assembled for the Cross-Cultural Survey Files (later
the Human Relations Area File) . Although the classification
system was originally developed from a sample of
widely varying cultures, it was based on the assumption
that all information about culture falls into universal
works" rather than compelled by original "rules ." One of
the great advantages of computer applications to this
whole area of "subject-indexing" is the ease with which
11 corrections" or refinements can be incorporated (if consistency
has been firmly established at the outset) .
"Field" Distinctions for Subject within the Archival Data
Base
In order to simplify retrieval and at the same time allow
the most comprehensive indexing of the content of the
newspapers, the following fields for subject were
established (Table 1 ; see also Appendix 1) .
SUBJECT, GENERAL CROSS-REFERENCE (SUB)
This field contains the general subject cross-reference
terms provided by Murdock's Outline (Appendix 3), as
well as specific primary or "key" subject terms . It does not
include the commodity terms or categories, the land type
or feature terms, or the place or people names . These all
form distinct and fairly large concentrations of information
and have therefore been given their own files or
"fields ." The general subject field does, however, include
the following three distinct clusters of information : occupations,
events, and business ; the consistent use of these
terms (followed by " :" and the specific terms), allows a sort
of "sub-field" distinction without further fragmenting the
field structure of the data base .
SUBJECT, GROUP/ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE
(SGRP)
This field contains the index terms for general type distinctions
which allow a rudimentary physical grouping of
Bulletin 20
records for initial classification . The terms are assigned
from a limited authority list based on the most obvious
aspect of the content of the various types of announcements
(Appendix 2) . They have been used primarily as a
convenient sorting mechanism for the interim manual
system and have been retained to pull together the larger
document sets where this single-level distinction is
useful .
SUBJECT, PRODUCT TRANSACTION (SPROD)
This field provides for the distinction between products
offered for sale and requests for the purchase of goods and
whether, in the case of goods for sale, they are stated as
"imported" or whether an assumption is being made . The
distinction is also made between local goods for sale or
purchase, although advertisements for these appear much
less frequently . The authority list for these retrieval terms
is limited and all terms are included in the samples
provided in Appendix 1 .
SUBJECT, PRODUCT CATEGORY (SCAT) ;
SUBJECT, PRODUCT SUB-CATEGORY (SSCAT)
These categories and sub-categories were adopted from
the Statistics Canada Trade of Canada Commodity Classi-
fication system at the outset of the original Newfoundland
newspaper project (Appendix 4) . The nine broad
categories cluster the very dense and lengthy lists of com-
modities and the sub-categories allow the necessary finer
distinctions which are ultimately more "useful" for
retrieval .
SUBJECT, LAND TRANSACTION (SLTR)
As with product transaction, this field indexes the type
of transaction for the land advertised, allowing distinctions
to be made for land sold by individuals or by auction,
property for rent or requests for purchase .
SUBJECT, LAND TYPE (SLTY)
The terms chosen here form a limited authority list and
are contemporary to the eighteenth century (dykeland,
farms, intervales, islands, island lots, marshes, outlands,
town lots, undivided lands, unimproved lands, uplands,
wildlands, and woodlots).
SUBJECT, LAND ACREAGE (SLAC)
This is a numeric field and includes the total number of
acres referred to in any given announcement .
SUBJECT, LAND FEATURES (SLFE)
All references to building types and other features
described in the advertisements are listed for this field .

Research ReportslRapports de recherche
Where there is a reference to a building both the term
"building" and the specific name are used . Some examples
of the types of terms to be found are : bake ovens, barns,
blacksmiths' shops, buildings, fences, gardens, gristmills,
houses, house interiors, orchards, outbuildings,
outhouses, sawmills, stables, stores, taverns, warehouses,
and wharves .
SUBJECT, PLACE : COUNTRY/PROVINCE STATE
(SPCRY) ; COUNTY/TOWN (SPCTY) ;
STREET/LANDMARK (SPADL)
Place data are added to all three fields where possible .
Twentieth-century names have been used with the hope of
serving a broader use and on the assumption that histo-
rians would be familiar with both the historic and modern
names . Where "landmarks" are referred to, both the
modern and the original term are used (if known) . Place
remarks included in the text are often rich in nuance and
detail and, other than using the concept of "landmark,"
are difficult to index . Abstracts of this type of free text
have been included in the general description field (DE) .
SUBJECT, PERSON/BUSINESS (SPER)
All names included in any given announcement are
recorded, followed by the occupation and an indication of
whether these associations are stated or assumed (e .g .,
Smith, Adam - carpenter ; or Smith, Adam -
carpenter?) . References to any or all occupations can
readily be pulled together through the general subject
index (occupations : carpenters) . Note : for the eighteenth
century, "occupation" tends to be a more useful term than
business, although "business" is used where a safe assumption
can be made . A person advertising goods for sale was
not necessarily a merchant, nor, if the goods were dry
goods for example, did this person have an established dry
goods business . This situation, of course, changed as the
town became more established and certainly the occurrence
of established businesses in the nineteenth century is
more frequent .
SUBJECT, VESSEL NAME (SVNAM)/TYPE (SVTY)/
PROVENANCE (SVPROV)
Most of the goods are listed with reference to the name
of the ship and her provenance . This information becomes
particularly useful for establishing trading patterns over
time .
The Commodity Index
The bulk of the information recorded (40 per cent) for
the eighteenth-century newspapers is in the form of long
lists of "goods" or products advertised for sale . The focus
of the original project in Newfoundland and later New
Brunswick was concerned with classifying and transcribing
these lists into a retrievable format ; that is, it had to be
structured into manageable components where secondary
terms followed primary terms, broken with appropriate
punctuation. This trade-off, where the recording
sequence isolated the primary term from the nuances of
context, resulted in a certain disfiguration of context,
albeit unavoidable . The decision-making process becomes
rather complex when the "descriptor" actually modifies
the meaning of the primary term or where it is unclear
which term the descriptor is modifying (e .g ., "French
cambricks and long lawns," "men's black and colored
worsted hose") . As a result, an exacting sequence for recording
the commodity terms was developed in order to
establish a level of consistency and minimize the margin of
interpretation (Appendix 6) .
Management Mechanisms for Ensuring the Reliability of
the Data
Central to the methodology for this project was the task
of ensuring the reliability of the data . This meant the
establishment of mechanisms to ensure as much as possible
the accurate and consistent preparation of the data .
These primarily took the form of written guidelines which
were refined in the course of the project and resulted in
part from the lack of documented reference points at the
outset of the project . Awareness that the preparation of
the data was to be done by university students with relatively
little experience with archival material, let alone
long hours on microfilm readers, directed the form the
guidelines took . The "rules" set out, above all, to ensure a
standard approach to the information by way of transcription
procedures and classification parameters . As well, in
order to ensure that all the material was covered, students
were required to keep track of the number of ads contained
in each issue and the number of ads recorded in the course
of the day. This also served as an indication of the overall
volume and the time that could be expected to completion
.
Conclusion
This paper has described in some detail a specific
organizing approach to a body of raw research data . This
information, derived from newspapers and not usually
considered as part of the contextual information directly
relevant to artifact record, is important in the larger arena
of material cultural studies . The ultimate value of this information
depends both on completion of the project and
upon testing of the usefulness of the structure of the data
through actual research demands . In the meantime we
note that this project has emphasized the necessity of
clearly examining the assumptions and methods used in
the past to document our collections . Through this
process we have extended the concept of collection records
to include and to structure systematically an enlarged
range of research data that will result in a broader interpretation
of material culture and enhance the study of our
museum collections .
65

66
Bulletin 20
C . C " HALL lI7
"
1I A RT
: l.41 S .rlr11
114, 14t'-\TIn
Y :r tttc I)r.a Aii~ .`,
Jirca Rum
A c,Eplt .ll .-11i'sutltirnt of 'Good .,,
La,we w,. felt, ,.,kk on NanJ,wmyl

Research ReportslRapports de recherche
ORDER NUMBER 840920-134449-MART2 -001-001
USER ID
DATE OF BIRTH
DATE OF CHANGE
INSTITUTION
TITLE
CATALOGUER
TRANSCRIPTION DATE
RECORD NUMBER
NEWSPAPER NAME
NEW. VOLUME NO .
NEW. ISSUE NO .
NEW . PAGE NO .
NEW . COLUMN
DATE FIRST APPEAR .
DATE CONTIN . APPEAR .
SUBJECT, GEN . CONTEXT
PRODUCT CATEGORY
PRODUCT SUB-CATEGORY
PRODUCT TRANSACTION
PLACE-COUNTY
PL-STR/ADDR/LANDMARK
PERSON / BUSINESS
FOOD/FEED/BEV/TOBACCO
FABRICATED MATERIALS
OTHER EQUIP . /TOOLS
PERS . HOUSEHOLD GOODS
I . The Canadian Heritage Information Network began in 1972 as the
2 .
National Inventory Programme . It was implemented in response to
the Secretary of Stare policy : "to create a comprehensive computer
listing of the holdings of Canadian museums in order to facilitate
access to these collections ." By 1976 the system was being used by
35 museums and funds to accelerate the documentation of collections
were administered through a National Museums Registration
Assistance Programme . Despite growing pains, museums made
tremendous steps toward the systematic documentation of their
collections . The evaluation report of 1980 (Hawes : Policy, Planning
and Evaluation, Executive Summary), defined a number of
problems through an intensive survey and was used as the basis for a
dramatic restructuring which resulted in the present service .
S . M. Beckow, "On the Nature of an Artifact," Canadian Museums
Association Gazette 9 (Winter 1976), p . 26 : "explaining artifacts
exclusively by their composition and form has been termed by
anthropologists the fallacy of reductionism . In committing it, we
are saying that higher level reality (in this case, the cultural) can be
explained simply and fully in terms of lower-level reality (the
physical) . But this is clearly not so . A watch cannot be explained
without references to ideas of time, converted motion, scheduling
and so on . . . . The function of a museum scholar or curator is to re-
TABLE 2
Print-Out for a Typical Product Advertisement
PAGE 2 SET 1 WITH 5 OF 5 DOCUMENTS
NOVA1
840816
840816
NSM
NOVA SCOTIA MUSEUM 18TH CENTURY NEWSPAPER INDEX
LANDRY
19830516
83-1001
NOVA SCOTIA GAZETTE, THE
1
28
3
1
17670219
17670226
MARKETING, RETAIL ; PROPERTY, MOVEABLE ; OCCUPATIONS : MERCHANTS,
DRYGOODS ; RECEIVER
DEFM ; DEOET ; DEPHG; DEFFBT
TFAB ; CORD ; TOOL ; ARM; HG ; CL ; SPC
FOR SALE, IMPORTED?
HALIFAX COUNTY?
HALIFAX?
SLATER AND WATSON-MERCHANT-ADVERTISER ; BRIDGE,
THOMAS-ADVERTISER-RECEIVER
CINNAMON
BROADCLOTH, SUPERFINE, GREY, SCARLET ; LACE ; STAYS ; ARMS, CADET,
BARBER, INSETS ; THICKSETS
INSTRUMENTS, SURGEON'S ; BUCK-SHOT ; THEODELITE ; COMPASS, AZIMUTH
LOOKING GLASSES ; CORDS, GOLD, SILVER
NOTES
3 .
4 .
cover the ideas used by men to understand their world by preserving
human artifacts and then by unlocking their meaning within its
original context and with its original associations ."
Richard Weisbrod, "Human Information Processing and the
Design of Computer Information Systems" in David Blundell and
Lisabeth Ryder, eds ., Systems Analysis in the Human Sciences : Writings
by Richard L . Weitbrod, A Commemorative Issue, Anthropology,
U.C .L .A ., 12 (1982) : 1G0-G1 . The term "information," for the
purposes of this discussion, is used in a broad sense . Weisbrod provides
a useful discussion of the necessary distinction between the
most general and inclusive sense in which this ubiquitous term is
used (with reference to content/meaning) and the specific conception
of "information" put forward by "information theory" (which
refers to the measure of amount of information) . He also suggests
that the ambiguity of the terms in the context of common usage
makes it somewhat inappropriate in the latter context .
Weisbrod, "Human Information Processing," p . 71 . Weisbrod's
thesis outlines a direction for developing computer information
systems based on theories of human information processing . He
notes that the success of a "user oriented" data base depends on the
extent to which the way people organize and use information is
taken into account : "there is often a large gap between the logical
67

structure of the data base and the cognitive structure of the user ."
He also discusses the categorizing process, of central importance to
much cognitive behaviour, where structure is imposed through
attribute grouping .
A large number of definitions of material culture have been put
forward . T.J . Schlereth, in his extensive consideration of the
subject, has included the one offered by archaeologist and
anthropologist, James Deetz, as one of the most comprehensive
contemporary definitions : "Culture" is socially transmitted rules
for behaviour, ways of thinking about and doing things . We inherit
our culture from the teachings and examples of our elders and our
peers rather than from genes, whether it is the language we speak,
the religious beliefs that we subscribe to, or the laws that govern
our society . All such behaviour is reflected in subtle and important
ways in the manner in which we shape our physical world . Material
culture is usually considered to be roughly synonymous with
artifacts, the vast universe of objects used by mankind to cope with
the physical world, to facilitate social intercourse, and to benefit
our state of mind . A somewhat broader definition of material
culture is useful in emphasizing how profoundly our world is the
product of our thoughts, as that sector of our physical environment
that we modify through culturally determined behaviour . This
definition includes all artifacts, from the simplest, such as a
common pin, to the most complex, such as an interplanetary space
vehicle . But the physical environment includes more than what
most definitions of material culture recognize . We can also consider
cuts of meat as material culture, since there are many ways to dress
an animal, likewise plowed fields and even the horse that pulls the
Bulletin 20
plow, since scientific breeding of livestock involves the conscious
modification of an animal's form according to culturally derived
ideals . Our body itself is a part of our physical environment, so that
such things as parades, dancing, and all aspects of kinesics -
human motion- fit within our definition . (James Deetz, In Small
Things Forgotten : The Archaeology of Early North American Life [New
York : Doubleday, 1977}, pp . 24-25, cited in Thomas J . Schlereth,
Material Culture Studies in America [Nashville, Term . : American
Association for State and Local History, 1982), pp . 356-57 .)
6 . Victoria Dickenson and Valerie Kolonel, "Special Report .
Computer-Based Archival Research Project : A Preliminary
Report," Material History Bulletin 10 (Spring 1980), pp . 3 I-61 .
7 . George P . Murdock et al ., Outline of Cultural Materials 4th rev . ed .
(New Haven : Human Relations Area Piles Incorporated, 1971) .
8 . Robert R. MacDonald, "Toward a More Accessible Collection :
Cataloguing at the Mercer Museum," Museum News (February
1969), pp . 23-26 . MacDonald describes the application of the
Outline to a large collection of examples of American material aalture
held by the Mercer museum . He also refers to the use of this
system for classifying the primary data of Puritan Boston (the Index
of American Cultures, at the University of Pennsylvania, under the
direction of Anthony Garvan) and for classifying archaeological
finds (John Cotter, Philadelphia Service Center/National Park
Service) .
Claudia Haagen
Debra McNabb

Research ReportslRapports de recherche 69
DATA BASE DEFINITION : ARCHIVAL DATA BASE FOR HISTORIC NEWSPAPER ANNOUNCEMENTS
APPENDIX 1
6

CONTENT SUMMARY AND GENERAL SUBJECT GROUPS
lhie. Index represents a MANUAL CLASSIFICATION SYST EM of the
CONTENT of the advertisements and announcements in 10th century Nova Scotia
newspapers . The type designations are based exclusively on content
considerations . Basically, similar types of ad/announcements are qrouped
together . The terms chosen attempt to concisely identify the most
characteristic aspect of the content .
These groupings, listed in a frequency sequence, give a relatively
cumplr".te overview of the type of information that can be expected from the
18th century newspapers . The MANUAL INDEX, based on these Types, includes
all of the record numbers which relate to each topic .
CONTENT SUMMAR Y :
+ indicates frequenty occurrence ; * indicates occasional occurrence)
PRODUCT : lists of goods, generally imported ; listed by merchants or by
individuals holding goods for sale ; include merchant's specific
location, (Halifax and Shelburne merchants only) ; occupation, if not merchant . ;
type of transaction, if not retail sale (i .e . auction, etc .) ; name and type
of vessel which brought the imported goods to port and its provenance+ ; include
descriptive adjectives+ . (Note : index of product terms exists in the form of
the ANY FILES (e .g . "any" term for FOOD, etc .) ; products are classified primarily
br function/material . SEE ALSO : INDEX to the ANY FILES .
LAND : Nome of landowner, ; occupation* ; name and occupation or person(s) selling
the land, if not the owner (e .g . sheriff, agent, auctioneer, etc .)+ ; type
of sale (e .g . private, auction)+ ; location of auction+ ; legal reason for sale
(e .g . grant foreiture, probate, etc .)+ ; general location of land, ; specific lot
boundaries' ; type(s) of land+ ; acreage of each type* ; total acreage+ ; features
(e .g. house, fencing, outbuildings)+ ;
building rentals* ; rental terms* .
urban lot and building sales and rentals+ ;
DEBT SETTLEMENT : Announcement for debtors and creditors to come
forward and settle all accounts* ; name(s)+ ;
occupation- of advertiser ; "leaving the province"+ ; "dissolution of
:i partnership"+ ; threatens to sue+ .
GOVERNMEN T ACTIVIT S : Government regulations (announcements)+ ;
regulating agency+ ; taxation/assessment
notices* ; land sales due to delinquent dyke rates+ (giving names of
landowners+ ; location and names of lots+ ; amount owing+ ; commissioners
nf sewers+ ; locations outside Halifax+) ; reminders of government
regulations* ; government activities (e .g . shipping blacks to Sierra
Leone)'.
BUSINE SS ANNOUNCEMENTS : "acquaints the public of a business" name
of businessman+ ; type of business or + ; craft+ ;
lucaiiun of business (specific)+ ; prices for services* ; a newly-opened
business (same type of information)+ ; re-location of a business* .
hj, lI)_ TARY : Desertion notices+ (name(s) of deserters(s)+ ; rank+ ; name
of military company+ ; age of deserter(s)* ; physical
description of deserter* ; place of origin* ; alleged present location- ;
other occupations of deserter(s)* ; reward offered* ; pardoned* ;
warning to harbourers of fugitives* ;)military references not for Nova
Scotia' ; call for tenders* (items requested* ; branch of the military* ;
type of military installation*) ; miscellaneous* .
P OPERTY : Lost and found livestock (includes description of the
animal)+ ; lost miscellaneous articles+ ; amount of :award
given+ ; auctions* (reason ; property, real, moveable, auction location,) ;
names+ .
{;$,b [~ : Description of a crime with an unknown perpetrator ; warning
against repeating the act ; offer of a reward for information
leadinq to arrests ; in the case of stolen goods, description of goods ;
names of the victims of the crimes .
TRANSPORTATION : Miscellaneous references to transportation services,
including : vehicles for hire .; type of vehicle and
rate+ ; coaches and their routes*; stabling services* ; breeding
snrvices* .
SHIPPING : Vessels leaving for port5outside Nova Scotia will take on
freight and passengers+ ; name of the master of the vessel+ ;
location (wharf)+ ; type of vessel* ; date of departure* ; name of ship's
contact+ ; location of contact (inn, etc .)* ; regulations re : vessels* .
DOMESTIC_ SERVANTS : Renuests for domestic servant .- including wor,
nurses ., man servants*, maids+, cooks* ; character
references requested+ ; domestics advertising their services* ; "enquire
oF the printer" (name of advertiser not given)+ ; "Negro servants
wanted"* .
EDUCATION: Announcements of schools of various types+ ; teacher's
name+ ; type of school (e .g . night school, academic subjects
taught)+ ; skills" ; fees for subjects* ; location of the school
(specific)+ ; school to be constructed* .
PROBATE ADMINISTRATION : Settling of accounts of deceased
individuals ; creditors are to meet with
"Estate Commissioners" (Executor)+ ; estate sales (auctions)* ;
appointment of Estate Commissioners (usually 3 men)* ; location of
mceting+ ; name of deceased+ ; includinq individuals from places other
than Halifax* .
APPENDIX 2
_-
TYPE INDEX RECORDS i
PRODUCT 581
I LAND 273 I
I DEBT SETTLEMENTS 81
GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES 39
I BUSINESS ANNOUNCEMENTS 39
i MILITARY 35
PROPERTY (lost 8 found) 32
I CRIME 28
TRANSPORTATION, MISC . 27
I SHIPPING 27
DOMESTIC SERVANTS 27
EDUCATION 25
PROBATE ADMINISTRATION 24
ELECTIONS 18
SODALITIES 16
ENTERTAINMENT
16
RUNAWAYS 15
HIGHWAYS 13
RELIGION 13
CRAFTSMEN 11
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS 11
DRINKING ESTABLISHMENTS 10
DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZE MONEY 10
PERSONAL NOTICES 9
POOR RELIEF
B
POST OFFICE B
(1,396)
ELECTIONS : Candidates appealing for support in
upcoming elections ; name of candi-
date . ; date of election+ ; type of election+ ;
open letters reminding citizens, of voting
responsibilities* .
SODALITIES : Club meetings : name of club+ ;
meeting to plan a celebration* ;
location of meeting+ ; names of executive(s)
of the society (advertiser)+ .
ENTERTAINMENT : Announcements of theatre
productions+ ; name of produc-
tions+ ; prices for various seats+ ; theater
names, locations (specific)+ ; charity performances*
; dates or performance+ ; names of
performers* .
RUNAWAYS : Runaway slaves+ and apprentices* ;
physical description . ; costume
descriptions ("lest seen wearing . . .")+ ; reword
offered (amount)* ; name of owner+ ; warning of
prosecution against anyone harbouring fugitive,.' .
HIGHWAYS : Regulations regarding construction,
maintenance ; requests For labour+ ;
Overseers of Highways* ; notice to land
proprietors+ ; locations outside Halifax-
RELIGION : Parish meetings to discuss parish
finances ; name of church (St . Poul's) "
name of officials+ ; details, pew rental and
arrears+ .
CRAFTSMEN : craftsmen advertising services . ;
name of craftsman+ ; type of service, ;
request for craftsmen* ; advertiser+ ; type of
skill required+ ;
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS : Spouse relinquishing
financial responsibility
for runaway spouse (named)+ ; missing persons,
last known whereabouts (places) "will leaon
something to their benefit"" .
DRINKING ESTABLISHMENTS : A "House of Entertainioent"+
; inri or tavern-
keeper's name+ ; occupation+ ; location+ ; services
offered there+ .
DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZEMONF__Y : Announcement that
crew involved in
the capture of a vessel can claim "Prize Monies"
(privateering) : name and commander of capturing
vessel+ ; type of vessel captured+ ; date of capturr
where prizes can be claimed+ ; name of distribution
agent-
PERSONAL NOTICES : Requests for public apologies ;
notices refuting derrogatory
comments
POOR RELIEF : I1cetings:to vote sum for poor
relief ; to discuss condition of'
the poor ; names of Overseers of the Poor+ ;
meetinq location+ ;
Bulletin 20

Research ReportslRapportt de recherche 71
AUTHORITY LIST FOR GENERAL
economic - SETTLEMENTS
SUBJECT CROSS-REFERENCE TERMS APPENDIX 3
social : EDUCATION
Facilities Mi :ic . Ilrhan Educational Systems
Land Use
Skills, Transmission of
Conservation
Mining
RECREATION
ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
Animal Science, Applied
Pastoral Activities
PROCESSING INDUSTRIES
FINE ARTS
Gamblinq
Recreational fncilities
Dancinq
PROPERTY
Drama
Property Exchange Transactions
Literature
Property Relinquishment .
Renting
Musir
Leasinq I:NTERIAINMENI
Slavery
Property Survey
Entertainment Spectacles
Lectures
BUILDING 8 CONSTRUCTION
Construction
Musical Productions
Theatrical Productions
Masonry Ce,peairy
COMMUNITY
7Building Trades, Misc .
Building Supplies Industries
Structures, Community
Social Control
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES
Poverty
Congregations
Skins, Work in
Dependency
Textile Manufacture Disasters
Hardware Manufacture Sodalities
Clothing Manufacture Population Compostion
Jewellry Manufacture Family Relationships
Woodworking Structures, Religious
Stone Industries
Smiths
Vehicle Manufacture
Structures, Educational
SERVICE INDUSTRIES
TRADE
MARKETING
r INANCE
LABOUR
COMMUNICATION
Publishing
Food Preservation
Meat Packing Industry
Food Preparation
Food Service Industries
Drinking Establishments
Domestic Service
Medical Care
Garment Care
Legal Personnel
Trade, Foreign
Trade, Domestic
Marketing, Wholesale
Marketing, Retail
Property, Real
Property, Moveable
Commissariat 6 Supply
Accounting
Savings
Investment
Speculation
Individual Enterprise
Labour Supply
Press
"a6 Sys.ec .
Public Opinion
politfcal : GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES
Administrative Agencies
Taxation
Public Works
Government Enterprise
Public Assistance
Government Regulation
POLITICAL BEHAVIOUR
LAW
OFFENSES
JUSTICE
MILITARY
WAR
Elections
Crime
Contracts
Inheritance
Administration
Probate
Agency
Property Offenses
Offenses Against the Person
Nonfulfillment of Obligations
Offenses Against the State
Litigation
Justice, Execution of
Military Installations
Military Organizations
War, Instigation of
":a : , ,j* .-e
TRANSPORTATION
NOTE : FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY .
Migration, Internal These terms have been extracted from George P. Murdock et . al .,
Immigration OUTLINE OF CULTURAL MATERIALS , 4th revised edition, New Haven, 1971 .
Emigration
Some adaptation has occurred where primary terms are followed by
Travel secondary terms for computer indexing and retrieval . The terms and
Travel Services categories included here represent the actual information indexed
Highway Construction for the 1983 material . The list does not include the entire index
Highway Maintenance as outlined by Murdock .
Highway Transport
Highway Services, Auxillary
Water Transport
Do not use without reference to the SUBJECT CROSS-REFERENCE GLOSSARY
(for definitions) ond to the selected examples showing APPL ICATIONS
OF SUBJEC T CROSS-REFERENCE TERMS . For date entry, refer to the
sequencinq rules and punctuation standards for system indexing .

CUMMODII Y CATEGORIES, SUl3-CATEGORIES AND INDIVIDUAL TERMS
L,\ LIVE ANIMALS
LIVESTOCK
fFBI FOOD, FEED, BEVERAGES, TOBACCO
ALCOHOL-SPIRITS
BEVERAGE
CEREAL-GRAIN
DAIRY
FISH
FOOD
iRUII-VEGETABLE
SPICE
SUGAR
TOBACCO
FM CRUUE MATERIALS
MINERAL
SKIN-CRUDE
WOOD-CRUDE
IM FABRICATED MATERIALS
CERAMIC
CHEMICAL
CORDAGE
METAL-FABRICATED
ORNAMENTS
PAPER
rl :\CH MACHINERY
SKIN-FABRICATED
STONE-FABRICATED
TEXTILE
IEXTILE-FABRICATED
WOOD-FABRICATED
MACHINERY
TCf TRANSPORTATION COMMUNICATION EQUIPIAENT
MARINE
TRANSPORTATION-COMMUNICATION
OCT OTHER EQUIPMENT, TOOLS
AGRICULTURE
ARMAMENTS
HARDWARE
TUOLS
1'lIG PERSONAL HOUSEHOLD GOODS
BEDDING
CLOTHING
COSMETIC-TOILETRIES
CUTLERY
FASHION-ACCESSORY
FOOTWEAR
FURNITURE
GAMES-TOYS
HOUSEHOLD GOODS
JEWELLERY
KITCHENWARE
LIGHTING
MEDICAL AIDS
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
NOTIONS
OUTERWEAR
MLP MISCELLANEOUS END PRODUCTS
CONTAINERS
PAPER
STATIONARY
NOIF : These product categories and
sub-categories were adopted from the
Statistics Canada TRADE OF CANADA
COMMODITY CLASSIFICATION system at
the outset of the Newfoundland Newspaper
project (1979) .
The "ANY FILES" were
originally developed as a way of
pulling together "any" term which
related to the above categories
and sub-catagories, allowing
retrieval at three levels, from
most general to most specific .
("ANY" CLOTHING . . . .
APPAREL
APRON
ARMSLEEVES
ARTICLES
BAND
BANDANNAS
BANDANNO
BANDANNOES
BARVELS
BARVILS
BASILS
BAZILS
ACCORDEON
ACCORDIANS
ACCORDIONS
ACCOUNT BOOKS
ACCOUNT _BOOKS
ACRYLIC
ADZES
AERATED-WATERS
AFTER-GRASS
ALAMODE
ALARUMS
ALBUMS
ALE
ALES
ALLSPICE
ALLUM
ALMANAC
ALMANACK
ALMOND
ALPACA
ALPACCAS
ALPACHAS
ALSPICE
ALUMINUM
ALUM
AMONTILLADO
AMUNITION
ANCHDIVES
ANCHOR
ANCHOR-PALMS
ANCHORS
ANCHOR-STOCKS
ANCHOVIES
ANDIRONS
ANGORA
ANIMALS
APAULETS
APPAREL
APPLE-POTATOES
APPLES
APPOINTMENTS
APPURTENANCES
APRICOTS
APRON
APRONS
ARCHITRAVES
ARGOL
ARMCHAIRS
ARMS
AMSLEEVES
ARROW-ROOT
ARROWROOT
ARTICLES
ARTICLES
ARTICLES
ARTICLES
ASHLARS
ASPARAGUS
ASTRAGALS
ATLAS
ATTACHMENTS
ATTORNEY
ATTORNIES
AU-BOUQUET
AUGURS
AU-VEVITIVER
AWLS
AXELTREES
AXES
BACKGAMMON
BACKGAMMON BOARDS
BACKS
BACKS
BACON
BACON-HAM
Musical Instruments
PHG
Musical Instruments
PHG
Musical Instruments
PHG
Stationary
MEP
Stationary
MEP
Textile
FM
Tool BET
Chemical rm
Agriculture BET
Textile FM
Household Goods fit IG
Stationary MEP
Alcohol-Spirits FFBT
Beverage FFBT
rood FFUT
Spice FFBT
Stationary MEP
Marine TEE
Food FFBT
Textile-Fabricated FM
Textile-Fabricated FM
Textile-Fabricated FM
Spice FFBT
Metal-Fabricated FM
Chemical FM
Alcohol-Spirits FFBT
Armaments BET
Food FFBT
Marine TCE
Marine TCE
Marine ICE
Marine TCE
Food FFBT
Household Goods PHG
Textile FM
Games-lays PHG
Jewellery PHG
Marine ICE
Food FFBT
Fruit-Vegetable FFBT
Stationary MEP
Marine TCE
Fruit-Vegetable FFBT
Clothing PHG
Textile-Fabricated FM
Wood-Fabricated FM
Food FFBT
Furniture PHG
Textile-Fabricated FM
Clothing PFIG
Food FFBT
Food FFBT
Clothing PHG
Games-Toys PHG
Household Goods PHG
Marine TCF:
Skin-Fabricated FM
Fruit-Vegetable FFBT
Tool OCT
Stationary MEP
Stationary MEP
Stationary MEP
Stationary MEP
Cosmetics-Toiletries PHG
Hardware BET
Cosmetics-Toiletries PHG
Tool BET
Transportation-Communication TCE
Tool BET
Games-Toys PHG
Games-Toys PHG
Footwear PHG
Household Goods PHG
Food FFBT
Meat FFBT
APPENDIX 4
These terms are "primary" terms and are
actually recorded with the desciptors and/or
modifiers following each term in the process
of transcription ; a retrieval report for all
"armsleevea", for example, would appear as
a list where armsleeves would appear first,
followed by the descriptive string . Similarly,
retrieval for any clothing would also appear as
an alphabetical list, in order of the primary
term, followed by the descriptive string :
e .g . "any" PORK :
PORK ; BEEF, 90 BARR(jS PRIME ; FLOUR, 1000 BARRELS BEST
PORK ; BUTTER ; HAMS, SMOKED ; PORTER ; ALE
PORK, IRISH MESS ; BREAD ; PEASE ; OATMEAL ; ALE
PORK, 10 BARRELS QUEBEC ; APPLES, 10 BARRELS AMERICAN
Bulletin 20

Research ReporttlRapports de recherche
(TI ) .
DATA ENTRY GUIDE : ARCHIVAL DATA BASE FOR HISTORIC NEWSPAPER ANNOUNCEMENTS APPENDIX 5
S_ EE ALSO : DATA BASE DEFINITION, WITH EXAMPLES SHOWING DATA FORMAT FOR EACH FIELD
CAl -
CDTR- - ~:~--------
CRN_ : "
NPNAM- "NPVOL--"~---
NPISS--;NPPAG~~
NPCOL% NPDF.A .- -- -
NPDCA--NffILL------~
; SUO -- - - - -
SPROD---
SLTR---
- F
SL1Y--.-SLAC---~~
SLFC j
SUB-------
EVENTS :FIRE
SPCRY---'---"
SPCTY--- - --- --
SPADL- -------
°~ SUB -------- - -
OCCUPATIONS :
MERCHANT
SVNAM------_
SVTY-- -- ~ , --
SJPROV!-`-
DELA
DEFFBT__
DECM -' - _
DEFM _ -
DEMACH ' - - - - -
DEiCE
DEOET
DEPHG --->.C
NOTE : WHERE "LISTS" APPEAR, ENTRY OF TERMS IS IN A "PHRASE" WITH " :" AS BREAK
18th CEN TURY NOVA SCOTIA NEWSPAPERS :
CATALOGUER r"roMosoN, ll
NE WSPAPE R
_ 1aN4F'gX b'AZ.sI1t
PAIL, first appearance / Z Z following
t99S0215 ; 1795001, /'795"0309
EDITORIA : SUBJECT
LOSS-R F R N
2 LAND
TRANSACTION
3 EVENT
4 PLACE
5 PERSON/
BUSINESS
6 SHIPPING
REFERENCE
CM-M] TV CATCCMv
4e 518-r17rfAll!
ADVERTISEMENTS AND
ANNOUNCEMENTS
CATALOGUE DATE 19930721 Page 1 of I RECORD 0 A3-50D1
Economic ~ Sociel 13
_Vo1 .4-i- Issue 0 .1L7 Page _iL Column 3
appearances 17-9111161,' Y /?91D//7, : !793o20R "
__ Illustrated
Political lJ
ZWi1NCSSCS :NfJi[NANDI ;IIJG.-GDNE72AL! RARI(lTM4~ rAI I Ai07Gt7~1 3LE~R£(J.L3
fXfNA rR A A" VSPoRfA1kLJ : .fMIGIfATIGU : JR,01/CbI &W4 r. ,ICiw, inAJt .
i .VD/rIDfIRL LN7CRA7JJL " (pklAlfyA1/ryi tlldqb7EKQ ,f19 I (b,"' c " I
ANNOUNCEMENT TYPE PRODUCT O LAND Qv' OTHER 2 DEf31 rnr~uaur
(DIf011i4 ~11
1 PRODUCT For saleO Imported, [a
stated
Imported, Q For sale, O To buy
assumed Local
in buy ~ For sale LJ For rent Individual U Auction
Land Type T0uow 4or5
- Total Acres
Features 3LIOIN6Se HOteQE1 " i16use INIORIaRS " GtiRl)ENS
Social 0 Political [] Religious
Specify
Other Q t'IRE
Country/Prov/State 90VA SCOTIA
County/Town .4AUFAY (buNN ; IIAUrAx /51R[ar
Street/Landmark
Hotue
Name AJsRY . 00m N
Stated
Occupation N0011RUi
Indicate Advertiser ~
Carrier Name Rgr, Type BRIG
DESCRIPTION ABSTRACT and CATALOGUER REMARKS
CD G) R . AV ~90 S W y D B F A
HE 1 a9laS
LbqVE M ( " pcD
le mKE . ArJli SenlE D68Tf . E " INS , E GMRER " Ew1R5 "
I
'f11 RFI F 6RAt5 s 9&D GAR eT
A FM-R= '
`
.!RA AND A R N Ftt I I
- -
cFBrSUS1
roA wNl W Dru,/ ,
MAP
"
u4AR " f-bA OoH IIC " INE A 7 1
FM _ " rAS- R Pr c " PLAN S E IR 11 " ('M
--Ti'AB .~ut,uN S,nT L "
I
_ KM-NA " bdL NDI4o " H~AaINC-IIAU .S " AD165 " VIA MMFAs RE - " ubaLls
PH OUT, KQCH " I NNCS N0Ry-WAW0.E , tES DELPg E- eD . ATC F= e& I
. . . .r.TF.IJL " MED"F 7 M NS " ~1 .SAN T f 4 HOE fA1HER E S
EP .SYAT PAP6R I3LOTfING " U L 7k1 H " cLgrg SuALL " GENS FI 1
~CREN SEeAISO~RECnRD'~j-3009~ADDInowa- fk~DUaS system0
SUB : (ignore the (J) boxes) : entry for this field requires
including FOUR areas of the form, in the sequence indicated .
Insert the term EVENTS :(followed by the term indicated on the form,
in this case FIRE) and OCCUPATIONS :(term indicated ; this term will
often appear with a (?) ; leave a space and enter the question mark
in those cases) ; also include OTHER KEY-WORDS FOR SUBJECT in this
Field as they appear in the lower right part of the form . NOTE :
be sure to use the ( ;) between terms (but not at the end of the
string) .
SCAT : enter all PRODUCT CATEGORY mnemonics in this field,
separated by a ( ;) . NOTE : these have been circled to
aid data entry and to distinguish them from the sub-category fields .
They aluo indicate the beginning of the DE field for each .
SCCAT : the same rule applies for the PROUUCT SUB-CATEGORY field
-Provenance - LON
mIlolta USE .
DO( ~ Crr-WIIDS
ra Y6=1
. . . . . . . "
.
. . . .. . . .~ ..-. ..-. 7 .. : . ..-. . .- . . ._ . .-. . . .-. . .-. .-. . . ------------ . . . . - . .. . . . .--- -------- - - - .7_77 "- -
-
(PAR) : enter the PARIS NUMBER (assigned
DATES : examples of dates included above indicate how they should
when a new record is enterd into
be entered (year month day, with no space between) ; for
the purposes of facilitating transcription and editing, they have
been recorded in a shortened form and have been separated with
(/) slashes. All months and days appearing in short form refer to
the systeq, onto the TRANSCRIPTION FORM
at the time of data entry .
_ .. " ..r .:arA ; i :+ .`.he .`irct par: of the ~cqc-.ac~ .
Ail data entry is to be done in UPPER CLSE .
Carefull attention must be paid to the
"punctuation" or field "break characters".
The semi-colon ( ;) is used to separate
terms . This functions as the programme
indication to file terms identified as
INDEX TERMS into the index as individual
terms . The comma (,) is used as a "subfield"
break character .
COPY RECORD : The data entry operator can
group records together on the
basis of the greatest number of shared fields
and enter the common data into a "copy" record .
Be sure . when using a copy record, to delete
the fields when the information changes!
I

textual
data
THE PROCESS OF INTERPRETATION AND ORGANIZATION FOR RETRIEVAL APPENDIX 6
To be Sold, By v7illia, Allan, An Assortment of
Iron Mongery, GROCERIES
Cutlery, Wines,
Subject Gn.oup : Product
;eneAnC Subject : Marketing Retail ;Property, Moveable ;
Occupations : Merchant
Place : Halifax County ? ;
Halifax ?
_
~ Woolendrapery, Jamaica Spirits,
Linendrapery, French 8 British Brandy .
Haberdashery, Gin,
Mercery English Shrub,
Sadlery, Ditto Cinnamon,
Stationary, Ditto Clove, per 3 Gallons
Pewter, dozen or more,
PrtoducL Ca"tegony : Fabricated Materials ;Other Equipment
and Tools ;Transportation Communication Equipment ;
Personal Household Goods ;Miscellaneous End Products ;
Food, Feed, Beverages, Tobacco
Prtoduct Sub-Categony : Alcohol-Spirits ;Beverages ;Textile-
Fabricated ;Tools ;Hardware ;Transport~
~i mea 17820603
Peopie : Allan, William - Merchant ?
P.loduc.t: We APPFNDIX 5 bort
example o5 Zertm eequenc.ing
and ca.tegony/ .sub-caJ-egeny ctae6i6ication
.l
A Variety of Curtain's Lines 8 Tosels,
ation Comnunication ;Household Goods ;Jewellry ;Cutlery ;
Green 6 Yellow Canvarse for Window Blinds,
Japan'd Cloak Pins very neat, different Paterns,
Pulleys with Iron Pins,
Fine Brass Wier Flower Sieve Bottoms
3d June, 1782
Stationary
For Sale, a new house, 42 x 36 feet, in Lunenburgh,
encircled by a pale fence, 3 rooms with fireplaces,
3 bed-rooms, a kitchen on the first floor, a garret
Subject Grtoup : Land
Genenat Subject : Property ; Property Exchange Transactions ;
Time : 17910611
People : Cortland, Major -Soldier,
and a frost-free cellar . A GARDEN adjoins the house .
Also, a STABLE large e. .ough for 2 or 3 cows or horses .
Marketing, Real Property ;Law, Agency ;
Agricultural Practices ;Occupations : Soldier
Advertiser ;Shoals, John -
Advertiser
Also . a WHARF and a STONE 42 X 15 feet, placed in the
rear of the garden on e:aid Wharf . Also ten town lots,
inclosed by a board fer ce one-quarter mile from the
house, laid with grass and is suitable for a garden .
Land Type : Farms ? ;Town Lots
Land FeafiuAe,6 : Buildings ;Houses ;House Interiors ;Stables ;
Gardens ;Wharves ;Stores ;Fences
Indisputable title wil : be given to the purchaser .
For particulars Enquire of Major Cortland, Halifax
or John Shoals on the premises in Lunenburgh .
(Weekly Chronicle Vo1 .V,U257 1791 06 11)
Place : Lunenburg County ? ;Lunenburg ? ;Halifax County ? ;
Halifax
Stolen from the House of Ensign Owen, of the 59th Subject G4oup: Crime
Regiment, Five SILVER TEA SPOONS, mark'd with a
Crest, a Hand and Wheat.sheaf . Whoever will give
Information of the above Spoons to Lieutenant
Huson of Said Regiment, so that the Thief may be
brought to Justice, shsll receive a Reward of
Four Dollars .
Genenat Subject : Law ;Crime ;Offenses ;Property Offenses ;
Militarv ;Military Organization ;Co~mnunity ;
Social Control ;Property ;Property Exchange Transactions ;
Theft ;Regiment,59th ;Occupations : Soldier ;Household Goods ;
rut) ery ;Hallmark Motifs ;Reward
N .B . If the above Spoons should be offer'd for Pence : Halifax County ? ;Halfifax ?
sale it is requested tl " oy may be stopped .
People : Owen, Ensign - Soldier ;Huson, Lieutenant - Soldier
Deserted . From his Majesty's 59th Regiment of Foot,
the 10th Instant . Rub,n Richardson, Soldier, Aged
Subject Grtoup : Military
Genenn.l Subject : Military Organization ;Offenses ; Offenses
19 Years, five Feet one Inch high, short Black hair, Against the State;Connunity ; Social
black Complexion, dark hazel eyes, a Labourer, born
in New-England, had on a Regimental Jacket, plad
Waistcoat . and gray Drc-rers . Suppposed he is gone
Control ;Justice ;Litigation ;Desertion ;Regiment of Foot,59th ;
Occupations : Soldier ;Occcupations : Labourer ;Physical
Description ;Clothing ;Punishment ;Reward .
to TRURO, where he was apprehended for Desertion
a few weeks ago, brought to the Regiment, tried and
sentenced five hundred Lashes, but at the request of
several people was par~'~.a".ed . Whoever therefore
Place : Colchester County ;Truro ;Halifax County ;Halifax ;
New England
Time ; 17731119
secures the above Deserter, so that he may be brought
to the Regiment shall receive from the Commanding
Officer Three Pounds R-ard
Halifax, Nov .19th, 1773
People : Richardson, Ruben - Soldier, Labourer
~ ~-
Structuring
for
Multi-
faceted
retrieval
possibilities

Notes and Comments/Notes et commentaires
In September 1983, I began an extended leave of
absence from my position as Chief Curator of History at
the New Brunswick Museum . My objective was to have an
opportunity to explore a particular research problem, one
that has haunted the work of history curators for some
time now . The problem, transposed into a series of ques-
tions, can be stated as follows : How does one actually
interpret the meaning of an artifact? What theoretical
approaches, methodological procedures, and creative in-
sights can be brought to bear on the artifact so that it will
reveal its message? What is the precise nature of that
message? In the quest for historical understanding, what
is the relationship between the archival document - the
traditional primary source material - and the artifactual
document? As the repositories of our material heritage,
are museums able to realize the full potential of their
artifact collections in relation to their research programmes,
publications, interpretation activities, and
perhaps most importantly in relation to their exhibitions?
Is it possible to establish new and innovative terms
of reference at the point where the disciplines of history
and museum studies intersect, so as to substantially im-
prove our museums' capacity to interpret Canada's rich
material heritage?
It will be evident from the preceding questions that the
research problem can be separated into two complementary
components : the fact that further work is required on
the process of analyzing and interpreting artifacts ; and the
fact that a comprehensive methodological approach to
artifact study does not presently exist within the body of
literature of museum studies .
In an attempt to address these questions bearing on the
nature of curatorship and the role of curatorial research in
today's museums, I enrolled in a doctoral programme in
history at the University of New Brunswick . I
commenced my studies with the endorsement of the New
Brunswick Museum and the financial assistance of the
National Museums of Canada, through a Museums Assistance
Programmes Fellowship . My programme of studies
has been carefully designed to allow detailed focus on the
possibilities for expanding and refining the theoretical
and practical potential of material history . Consequently,
with particular reference to the Canadian museum community,
I hope to develop, a solid conceptual framework ;
an adaptable research methodology; and practical inter-
Material History and Museums :
A Curatorial Perspective in Doctoral Research
pretative procedures for analyzing and understanding the
meaning of historical objects, all within the broad
parameters offered by the discipline of history .
The Problem Restated
Material History Bulletinl8ulletin d'hittoire de la culture materielle 20
75
To date, museum professionals have neither been the
first, nor indeed, the most active group of specialists to
confront the compelling research and interpretative issues
posed by historical objects . In the past two decades, especially,
scholars from a wide variety of academic disciplines
have grappled with what the American historian William
Hesseltine has termed "the challenge of the artifact ."
Substantial progress has been made by social scientists and
a small number of historians in at least clarifying some of
the theoretical aspects of the research problem . Yet for the
most part, this work has been carried on in the United
States and in western Europe . Canadians have been rather
unimaginative in breaking new ground in this field, a
lamentable situation which must not be allowed to
continue .
To return to the work of museum professionals for a
moment - it is most appropriate that they, as custodians
of a vast data bank of material evidence, should assume the
initiative and begin to make substantive contributions to
scholarship in the field of material history . Curators are
afforded special opportunities, particularly through the
medium of the exhibition, but also in other kinds of
museum programming, to unlock the inherent meaning
of their collections . They have the opportunity to evolve a
new generation of museum presentation ; one that goes
well beyond descriptive and often lifeless exhibition
labels, well beyond static and predictable displays and
programming . They have the opportunity to discover and
then communicate the real meaning of their collections,
and thus establish a central role for artifactual evidence
within various historical and social scientific research
paradigms . The contributions of university-based scholars
will, no doubt, continue to break new ground, and in the
process, enrich and enliven the growing body of knowledge
generally known as material culture studies . It is
very important, however, that museum scholars, those
who are particularly sensitive to the complexion and the
complexity of the three-dimensional document, rise to the
occasion and meet "the challenge of the artifact ."

76
The Possibilities
I have argued elsewhere that material history research
has direct implications for expanding the body of knowledge
in museum studies . Indeed, I believe the two fields
are intimately related . Expanding and refining our understanding
of the documentary value of artifacts is the best
means of improving the quality and integrity of museum
exhibitions . Moreover, there are other benefits that would
follow from a more fully developed intellectual link
between material history studies and museum studies . For
instance, collections management procedures would
necessarily be improved and become more sophisticated
- a most worthy goal . Collections acquisitions policies
would be .framed in the light of material history research
priorities . The documentation of collections would evolve
from the level of elementary cataloguing (the case in most
of our museums) to a more comprehensive, researchoriented
system based on a widely accepted material history
methodology for artifact analysis . It is an interesting
comment on the relative lack of maturity of our profession
to note that most history curators passionately adhere to
what D.H . Fischer, in Historians' Fallacies, calls the "cult
of flexibility" in their curatorial procedures . Many
curators look with suspicion, even hostility, at any move
toward methodological standardization in artifact research
. Yet I am convinced that this is the direction in
which we must move . Once a workable and acceptable
material history methodology has been developed, its
ultimate test will be the degree to which it is put into
practice by history curators in museums across Canada,
and elsewhere . The long-range goal, then, is to have
curators operating within one versatile, comprehensive
methodological framework; one that is consistently
applied in museums throughout Canada ; one that does not
limit the scope of the curator, but rather extends the creative
and scholarly foundation of curatorship . This goal is
an essential step in the development of museum scholarship
and therefore of the profession . The goal will be
achieved at the point where material history method and
museological practice coalesce .
The antithesis of this goal characterizes the present
situation, where history curators share virtually nothing
in common in terms of a generally accepted system for
artifact analysis and interpretation . This unhappy fact
would become abundantly clear if ten of the nation's history
curators were invited to examine the same artifact -
for example, a tall-case (grandfather) clock, ca . 1840 .
Assuming the piece has an adequate provenance, the
curators would be asked to inspect the clock, to scrutinize
its accession record, to conduct any additional research
they deemed necessary, and then be prepared to discuss its
meaning as an artifact and its significance as an historical
document . I suspect their individual responses to this
particular exercise would vary considerably and would be
rather revealing . No doubt the comments would be interesting,
even imaginative . Some of the responses might
Bulletin 20
even be similar in certain respects . The combined results
of the ten responses would certainly provide a stimulating
profile of the artifact in question . But when the curators
were asked exactly how and why each analyzed the tallcase
clock as they did, the idiosyncrasies, the individual
biases, the contrasting perspectives, and the diversity of
approaches would immediately become abundantly clear .
While it would be a serious mistake to attempt to discourage
creative individuality among curators, in the best
sense of that phrase, it is time we faced up to the need for
greater intellectual consistency within our ranks . How
can specialists who do not adopt even the most basic
methodological and procedural principles in reference to
their research consider that they belong to the same
profession?
Material History : A Definition
My "working" definition for this field of enquiry is as
follows : material history refers to both the artifacts under
investigation - material ; and the disciplinary basis of the
investigation - history . The word "material" refers to the
broad range of historical objects which exist as concrete
evidence of the human mind in operation at the time of
construction and/or use . The word "history" refers to the
scholarly preoccupation with the human past that is implicit
in the practice of history . Moreover, it is understood
that the practice of history can be informed and enriched
by conceptual and methodological insights adapted from
related disciplines .
In recent years a great many definitions have been put
forward in an attempt to articulate the essence of artifact
studies . Thomas J . Schlereth's Material Culture Studies in
America (1982) is particularly helpful in this context, in
that it exists as an anthology of readings in this field and
reflects the current American thinking on what its author
maintains is a new and promising field of historical investigation
.
Nevertheless, I have decided to use the term "material
history" rather than "Material Culture," a phrase which
has clearly received acceptance south of the border . It
should be noted that "material history" has been used by
the National Museum of Man's History Division in its
journal, the Material History Bulletin . The first, and to
date, only national conference focusing on this field, again
sponsored by the History Division of the National
Museum of Man, held in Ottawa in 1979, was entitled :
"Canada's Material History : A Forum ." The term
"material history" is preferable to "material culture" principally
because of the ambiguity associated with the term-
"culture" in the English language . A review of social
scientific literature confirms that there is little agreement
among scholars as to the definition of "culture ." There is a
distinct advantage, therefore, to anchoring artifact studies
to a clear disciplinary foundation, such as history . Despite
the breadth of research interests and the diversity of

Notes and ConrneetJtslNote.t et commerrtairet
research procedures encompassed by the discipline of history,
all professional historians, no matter how dissimilar
their research topics may be, share a common intellectual
tradition and a generally accepted approach to interpreting
source materials, known as the historical method . It is
obvious, on the other hand, that interdisciplinary studies
are an essential aspect of modern historical scholarship .
Conceptually, then, material history studies grow out of
and are nourished by the discipline of history . In terms of
method, the analysis and interpretation of three-dimensional
evidence will be most fruitful when the insights of
an interdisciplinary paradigm inform the study process .
Different Approaches to Material History Research
At this early stage in the development of material his-
tory research, it is instructive to note some of the ways in
which artifacts may be used in historical scholarship . The
history curator or university historian could attempt to
examine a particular theme by making use of artifactual
evidence with one or more of the following procedures .
l . A broad selection of diverse material evidence can be
used to illuminate certain ideas or demonstrate certain
aspects of a question . This approach lends itself most often
to themes in socio-economic or socio-cultural history, and
has particular relevance to studies of the family or community
in the past .
2 . A specific category of similar material evidence can
be investigated in order to reach conclusions on historical
questions that deal with developmental themes over time .
For example, a selection of horse-drawn vehicles could be
examined to reach a detailed understanding of the evolution
of transportation technology in a given time and
place ; or a selection of women's hats could be studied to
understand the social history of fashion trends in a given
time and place . This type of artifact research can easily
degenerate into a form of antiquarianism if the focus on
carriages or hats becomes an end in itself, rather than a
means to something greater . This, like all types of artifact
research coming under the material history umbrella,
must be conceived as an integral component of a larger research
strategy, one designed to interpret and explain
events, issues, personalities, and process in the past .
3 . Archival sources such as probate records, personal
correspondence, business records, architectural plans,
craftsmen's sketches, photographs, and oral history can be
employed to assist in reconstructing a particular material
environment . This technique is especially valuable when
the research interest is a physical setting that has not survived,
but was influential in terms of larger historical
questions .
4 . Artifacts can be used to illustrate an idea or argument
that has been developed primarily as a result of
researching verbal sources . This is a rather limited use of
artifactual evidence . It is typically employed by historians
to illustrate their publications, and even by history
curators in exhibitions which exist as three-dimensional
books . I have certainly made use of artifacts in this
fashion, that is, simply to illustrate an historical concept
that is based on traditional archival research . For example,
in a maritime history exhibition, I displayed a large
collection of late-nineteenth-century, hand-held wooden
shipbuilding tools to confirm the fact that, decades after
the impact of the Industrial Revolution had transformed
the shipping technology of western Europe and America,
the shipbuilders of Atlantic Canada were still involved in
an essentially handicraft, pre-industrial enterprise .
Although the use of artifacts as illustrative material may
be valid in certain circumstances, care must be taken not
to adopt this approach on all occasions . The artifactual
evidence will not always be central to the historical question(s)
being studied . Nevertheless, there is usually the
potential for the investigator to establish a reciprocal research
relationship between the traditional primary and
secondary sources on the one hand and selected artifactual
sources on the other . The total effect of this two-way relationship
is, or should be, cumulative . The study of one
kind of source material informs the study of the other, and
vice versa, so the result is a far-reaching and refined
appreciation of the particular theme(s) under consideration
.
The four approaches to material history research noted
above have been sketched in rough outline form only . The
interplay among these and other procedures for artifact
study deserves more detailed examination if the scholarly
potential of material history is to be fully appreciated and
acted upon . In the same way, the nature of non-verbal
evidence poses serious limitations to the researcher trained
to interpret only written and printed sources . These limitations
must be thoroughly explored and clearly articulated
so that material history is never mistakenly seen as
the great panacea, whose impact on the discipline of history
will transform the historiography of tomorrow . Only
when we appreciate the far-reaching research implications
of artifacts, including their strengths and limitations as a
form of primary source material, can we consider material
history techniques as a legitimate instrument of the larger
enterprise of history .
A Programme of Study
As mentioned earlier, I am a doctoral candidate in the
History Department of the University of New Brunswick .
My choice of U.N .B . was not entirely a matter of convenience
or coincidence . I decided to pursue studies at this
university because of a progressive new graduate programme
in material history that has been established by
U.N.B .'s History Department . Although my own studies
do not fall within the specific terms of reference of
U.N.B .'s masters programme in material history, I am
able to take advantage of the high-spirited scholarly
77

78
atmosphere generated by a small but committed community
of professors and students . There is a recognition of
the exciting potential of material history and an intense
desire to pursue questions of theory and method at an
advanced level . Moreover, the programme is enhanced by
frequent visits to Fredericton by experts in the field of
material history, for special lecture and seminar events .
U.N.B .'s graduate programme in material history is
the first of its kind in Canada . It is a promising initiative .
One of its greatest strengths is a fundamental recognition
of the advantages of a scholarly partnership between the
university and the regional museum community . Some of
the students currently in the programme have extensive
museum experience and I anticipate a growing number of
publications being generated over the next few years as a
result of seminar work and individual student research on
various material history themes . It is within this setting,
then, that I have been pursuing my studies in material
history .
1 . A matter of first priority has been the development of
a comprehensive theoretical framework for artifact
studies . I have come to realize that an intelligent research
design should inform all serious attempts at artifact study .
The research design should be anchored solidly to a conceptual
foundation, one that is explicitly understood and
expressed by the researcher .
There is a substantial body of secondary literature on
aspects of man's physical environment . This work has
been conducted by scholars in a variety of disciplines, both
in North America and in Europe, and some of it has important
implications for material history studies . Those
disciplines or fields of enquiry of major interest to material
history are historical archaeology, art and architectural
history, and American material culture studies . In addition,
published work in other areas must also be consulted
and evaluated in light of the clear advantages of interdisciplinary
borrowing . Often it is the obscure links, those
relationships that are not always obvious at first glance,
that can be critical in the development of new fields of
study . Occasionally such fields begin to crystallize precisely
at the point where two or more previously unrelated
disciplines meet . Of particular relevance in the context of
an evolving theoretical framework for material history are
studies in socio-economic and cultural history, historical
and cultural geography, folk-life studies, technological
history, cultural anthropology, social psychology, the
psychology of perception, aesthetics, phenomenology,
and decorative arts studies .
2 . Having established an acceptable theoretical context
for material history, I hope to proceed to the point where a
comprehensive methodology can be formulated for the
analysis and interpretation of artifacts . At this preliminary
stage I feel the methodology will probably benefit
from a blend of existing procedures practiced by historical
Bulletin 20
archaeologists and art historians . For instance, I am impressed
by the writings of archaeologists James Deetz and
Stanley South and art historians Jules David Prown and
George Kubler . Rather than attempt to reinvent the
wheel, I expect to be able to selectively adapt, and where
necessary, readjust conceptual procedures and specific
techniques to meet the requirements of a model for artifact
study, one that is appropriate for curators and historians .
3 . The methodology or model for artifact study must
next be tested and subsequently refined . At this stage of
the study a specific group of artifacts will be subjected to
detailed analysis . I plan to focus attention on ecclesiastical
architecture and furnishings as a category of material
evidence . I will work with a sample of church artifacts,
(including structures), from existing examples in the
Maritime provinces . The time-frame for the study will be
the late eighteenth and the early nineteenth centuries . It
will be necessary to limit the sample to only one or two denominational
traditions . It should be emphasized that I
am not setting out to conduct an exhaustive investigation
into church history . Rather I will make use of a select
group of artifacts in an effort to formulate and then refine a
material history methodology . The methodology, as a
valuable research tool, will be used together with other
more traditional historical research procedures to develop
an interpretation of particular social and cultural themes
in the light of existing Canadian historiography . Underlying
all of this is a fundamental objective - the desire to
relate this work to the practical exigencies ofartifact interpretation
in the world of Canadian museology .
I believe there are a number of advantages in selecting
ecclesiastical artifacts :
- I wanted a category of objects not already catalogued
by a particular museum . Regrettably, existing cataloguing
procedures in many museums limit the potential
of museum collections for material history analysis .
- I hope to emphasize, through this study, that
museum curators must be able and willing to focus at least
some of their attention on artifacts outside the four walls
of their museums . The history curator must become
conscious of the material history environment in its
broadest sense if he/she is to place his/her collections in
their proper perspective and at the same time be on the
"cutting edge" of material history scholarship . Whether
or not these artifacts are considered potential acquisitions
is not really the point .
- With a few notable exceptions, such as the work of
David Goa, Curator of Ethno-Cultural Heritage at the
Provincial Museum of Alberta, many museums, particularly
those in English Canada, have been uninterested in
documenting church history . This bias against religious
artifacts can inhibit the museums' capacity to portray
accurately themes related to social and cultural history .

Notes and CommenttlNotes et commentaires
Religious belief was a dominant factor in energizing the
thought and the activities of previous generations . This
historical truth should be expressed in and through
museum collections . Perhaps by concentrating on
ecclesiastical artifacts, my study will, in some small way,
help to increase museological interest in the religious
heritage of Canada .
- I wanted to work with a category of objects that included
items with enough individual variety to really test
the methodology . Ecclesiastical artifacts are characterized
by a strong unifying theme, yet are quite diverse in terms
of form and function .
The Merits of a Research Model
The advantages of a material history methodology or
research model should be obvious . In the first place, a
comprehensive, systematic means of approaching the
artifact will assist curators and historians in coming to
terms with the nature of verbal and non-verbal evidence .
Innovative avenues for interplay between archival and
artifactual sources will be suggested . Such an approach to
the artifact will inform particular kinds of historical
problems by serving to confirm, refine, modify, or even
contradict, an existing interpretation . The use of a material
history methodology will encourage a higher level of
intellectual discipline within artifact studies by helping
the researcher distinguish between deductive (reading
things into objects) and inductive (reading things out of
objects) reasoning . Without a logical plan designed to
encourage the researcher to understand the artifact in a
comprehensive sense, it becomes very easy to confuse deductive
and inductive reasoning in reference to artifact
analysis . A research model will allow for a consistent, predictable,
step-by-step approach to the artifact . If the
research is to be verifiable, it must be repeatable . The
original research process should not be "hidden," rather it
should be clearly understood by anyone who may wish to
pursue a similar line of enquiry in an effort to evaluate the
findings of the initial study . This arrangement would help
Reflections of an Image Finder : Some Problems
Suggestions for Picture Researchers
This note offers general observations on picture and
photograph collections in certain Canadian archives and
libraries, along with a few thoughts on the subject of
indexing historical photographs and other illustrations . It
has resulted from a number of sporadic field trips over a
two-year period to provincial archives and other major
repositories of photographs, prints, and drawings' in
order to find historical illustrations of domestic life in
Canada, ca . 1840-1920 . Forming a research collection,
to overcome the present situation in many museums
where the tendency in curatorial research is toward total
flexibility, procedurally speaking, and insufficient
accountability, intellectually and professionally . The use
of a model seems to be the only consistent means of addressing
the various characteristics of the artifact . The
object's material, construction, provenance, style, function,
authenticity, and value or significance, deserve
detailed and sensitive consideration . This can be realized
through a methodical approach to artifact analysis .
As my study continues I will be expanding on all of
these ideas . I would be grateful for comments and suggestions
from the readers of the Material History Bulletin .
There are a great many questions to be resolved in the
months ahead . Fortunately there is a growing number of
people - students, curators and academic specialists -
who are turning their energies to confront "the challenge
of the artifact ." I look forward to sharing ideas with many
of these people .
Somebody once asked Thomas Edison about his rules of
procedure and received a rude reply : "Rules!" said Edison,
"Hell! There ain't no rules around here! We're tryin' to
accomplish sump'n ."' I for one, and I suspect many of my
curatorial colleagues, perhaps unknowingly, have been
adopting Edison's philosophy in relation to our curatorial
research . With all due respect to Edison's view, there may
be a better way to proceed . The remarkable didactic
potential of the collections we curate, the scholarly
responsibility we have to our museums and the leadership
we owe to our profession all suggest that it is high time we
give serious consideration to a more sophisticated method
of curatorial research .
NOTE
l . Quoted by David Hackett Fischer, Historians' Fallacies : Toiuard a
Logic of Historical Thought (New York : Harper and Row, 1970), p .
xviii .
and
79
Gregg Finley
these are intended to support curatorial, interpretive, and
restoration needs at National Historic Sites and to serve
other scholarly purposes . Most of this collection consists
of historical photographs, the vast majority taken after
1870, of Canadian homes and home life .2 (It includes such
ancillary views as the interiors of commercial establishments
containing domestic goods .) So far the collection
amounts to about 5,000 reproductions-prints, photocopies,
a few slides, and two reels of microfilm .

80
This note is based on a cross-section of archival research
in every province and is a very general guide to major
collections of historical photographs, prints, and drawings
. 3 It is written for researchers new to such collections
who are interested in broad themes in Canadian social and
material history .
Like most textual collections, most picture collections
are not organized or indexed with these research interests
in mind . This is not really surprising, nor does it mean
that these are the only interests that matter . I am not
implying that Canadian picture collections are alike . They
are enormously varied, not just in size, scope, and budget,
but in cataloguing and storage methods and facilities,
policies toward researchers' access to originals, making of
reproductions, the level of subject indexing, and degree of
captions attempted . Another important variable for the
researcher is the quality (more significant, sometimes,
than the number) of the staff in each institution .
If one is engaged in material and social history research,
one must abandon thoughts of a trouble- and tedium-free
search for a representative sample of the visual document
being sought . Such a sample is likely to require an itemby-item
search of collections, drawers of index cards,
catalogues, inventories, and lists of subject headings . The
reason for this is that not only do most picture collections
lack systematic or satisfactory subject indexes, but a
significant number possess a preponderance of
uncatalogued material .
Researcher access to uncatalogued material varies by
institution . To give some examples : in the Provincial
Archives of British Columbia there is (apparently) no
access . At the Public Archives of Canada the Guide to
Canadian Photographic Archives, now in a new edition,
offers brief descriptions, item counts, and outside dates of
uncatalogued collections . This can be supplemented by
looking up the Division's "guide files," some of which
contain more detailed finding aids, but there is no itemlevel
access to uncatalogued photographs . The researcher
can request cartons of some of the Division's (roughly) 9
million uncatalogued items, representing 95 per cent of
its holdings . 4 By contrast, researchers at the Vancouver
Public Library's Historical Photographs Division have
item-level access by subject to some 40,000
"uncatalogued" photographs . Its index and approach are
seemingly unique and inexpensive and have application to
uncatalogued collections of a manageable size .
In many collections, for uncatalogued as well as
catalogued pictures, the researcher must rely on the
archivist as a major finding aid . It is then crucial to determine
in advance of a field trip the names of those most
familiar with the picture collection - it might be a
cataloguer as well as an archivist - and to give detailed
notice of the research topic and the projected visit . Even
so, item-by-item searches of collections, inventories, and
Bulletin 20
catalogues might be unavoidable. Of course, item-byitem
searches of collections that number in the tens of
thousands (or in the millions) can hardly be expected or
recommended .
Item-by-item searches may be more productive than
would at first appear . This is especially so when catalogue
cards are not image-bearing, or when a subject index, in
the end, refers one to the bulk of a particular collection .
When catalogue cards are not image-bearing, the research
time required will be at least doubled, and time will be
wasted copying references to pictures discovered to be of
no special interest . It is less mind-numbing, in my experience,
to flip through often fascinating historical images
than to wade through and transcribe such captions and
indexes . This all depends on how large, and how accessible
and physically easy to flip through, the picture collections
are . If one is required to handle glass negatives, a
great deal more care and time will be required .
Item-by-item searches may be the only recourse for
material or social history researchers in certain picture
libraries such as that of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the
National Gallery of Canada, or the Metropolitan Museum
in New York where images are filed by name of artist
only . One cannot complain, as this system serves their
own research purposes . This is not the case in public research
institutions, such as the Picture Division of the
Public Archives of Canada, which maintains a reasonably
impressive subject index in its public service catalogue .
Most public archives and libraries offer some level of
subject indexing and content analyses of their picture
collections . The sophistication of these offerings varies
widely from one institution to another . As an Archivaria
article noted :
there exists at present no theoretical base for the
analysis of photographs to reveal subject content
. . . .There is neither a national list of subject
headings for historical photograph collections, nor
a current list of subject headings applicable to
Canadian history and culture, and no code for the
construction of subject headings exists . 5
Because there is no consistency or predictability from one
picture archive to another, it is often worthwhile to peruse
all the subject headings indexed .
Furthermore, within each institution, the nomenclature
selected may not be rigorously applied in its index .
For example, pictures of domestic edifices might be listed
simultaneously under several categories, such as
"residence," "house," "farm house," "homestead," "buildings,"
"architecture," "pioneer life," and soon . (Adequate
cross-references cannot be taken for granted.)
Where subject entries are retained exclusively in
drawers and on cards, reviewing all these terms used is

Notes and ContmenttlNote.r et cornmentairet
very fatiguing . This is especially so where subject entries
are the same size and colour as the references and crossreference
cards in the drawers . Researchers should encourage
these archives and libraries to provide bound listings
of the subject entries they employ .
Such a listing is the National Photography Collection's
spiral-bound notes produced in 1983, "Descriptive and
Subject Cataloguing at the National Photography Collection,
Public Archives of Canada ." It is a roster of all headings
and "see also" references used, but does not represent
an "official" publication or policy .
Other tools for picture archivists devising a subject list
include Elizabeth W . Betz, Subject Headings Used in the
Library of Congress Print and Photographs Division (prelimi-
nary edition, 1980) . Many references are also listed in
John Maounis, compiler, "Cataloguing Historical Photographs
: A Select Bibliography," Pictterescope, 28, no . 4
(Winter 1980), p . 21 .7
Should the New York Public Library's Picture Collection
publish the list of subjects it indexes, it would probably
be a boon to picture archivists and librarians interested
in a comprehensive system . It encompasses an astonishing
wealth of detail and cross-references, and a very wide scope
of historical data . The predictability of the system and
ease of access to the pictures are all a researcher's dream .
The heavy demands on it testify to this . It accommodates
an average of 150 to 200 researchers a day, and about twothirds
of its collection of 2'/2 million images, gleaned
from some 20,000 books and about 1,500 periodicals, is
out on loan at any one time .
Of course, this feature cannot be applied to collections
of original material . A small percentage of the New York
Public Library's picture collection is non-circulating
because the images are rare or expensive . In the circulating
portion, a researcher has no way of knowing whether pictures
that would be of vital interest are out on loan . In any
event, in no other institution does a researcher have free
and easy access to such a quantity of material so
thoroughly subject-indexed .
Another comprehensively indexed collection of historical
images is contained at the Bettmann Archive in New
York . Unlike the New York Public Library, researchers
have access to it by correspondence, and for a research and
publication fee . In 1966 Otto Bettmann published the
Bettmann Portable Archive, an "invitation to come in and
see." It offers a glimpse of the Archive's visual index,
which attempts "to extend cross references beyond the
obvious, to search out associative values . "g In spite of this
welcoming and inspirational tone, a visit to this commercial
institution demonstrated that its subject heading list
was not readily available as a model, and that the institution
has not extended the frontiers of subject indexing
since 1966 .
The subject indexing of visual material is recognized as
a difficult and demanding task . Notwithstanding copious
entries, there is always a chance that the minutiae of a
researcher's special area of interest will be overlooked,
evoking consternation and disbelief. This is compounded
when the archives or library has obviously spent most of its
time indexing details of no real consequence to the
researcher or anyone he or she knows .
Whether at all justified, this is how I felt about the
special attention now being paid to the indexing of photographs
by the name of the photographer or studio in
archives with no clear mandate to collect visual material
relating to the fine and decorative arts . Presumably this
development has been influenced by the organization of
collections in fine art galleries and museums, and by the
International Museum of Photography at George Eastman
House in Rochester, New York . This concern is relatively
new . As the former chief curator of the National Photography
Collection wrote :
Only recently have Canadian repositories collected
on the basis of works by particular photographers,
by type of photograph, or in the light of photographic
trends and practices . The National Gallery
of Canada and the Public Archives of Canada's
National Photography Collection do include these
criteria in their acquisition policies . On the whole,
there is inadequate representation of the skills and
abilities of Canadian photographers because of a
prevailing preoccupation with content . 9
Across the country, this archival interest in the oeuvre
of Canadian photographers and the technical development
of photography seems quite pervasive. There is no harm in
this situation unless the content of historical photographs
comes to be considered, in acquisition and indexing policies
of archives and libraries, to be entirely secondary to
the technical expertise and artistic vision exhibited by the
photographer in question . I recognize that there can be
compensations, such as in the happy circumstance where a
particular photographer made a point of recording the
type of information being sought . Thus, I was pleased to
find some indexed listings and concerted acquisitions of
the work of a few persons who were passionate about
photographing domestic life in Canada .
The indexing of such proper names is, of course, standard
library and archives practice, and the simplest kind
of indexing to do . But researchers should be aware of the
possibility that pictures may be indexed under the proper
name, rather than the subject, even where a reasonably
substantial subject index exists . Thus, for example, even
though the subject category "interiors - domestic"
appears in the index, a view of one might be entered only
under its geographical location or the name of its owners .
Similarly, captions provided for historical pictures
often focus only on biographical and geographical details .
81

82
This is especially frustrating when captions and images are
separated . In my research, information on the picture's
setting and content is crucial . A caption might read, for
example, "Mr . and Mrs . J.S . Robertson, Peterborough,
Ont ., 1885 ." Are they inside or outside their home, are
they in a photographer's studio, or elsewhere? Is it a headand-shoulders
portrait, or are they engaged in any activity
or posed with or near any household objects? Is there anything
special about the way they are dressed? Can any
information be included on their ages, occupations, or
status as settlers?
Certainly, providing such information is a terrible
chore for archivists and librarians, most of whom face
huge backlogs of uncatalogued material, some of which
has been unceremoniously dumped on them . But in the
long run such scrupulous attention will increase the usefulness
and prestige of picture collections . They will be
more widely understood to contain historical documents
which do not rank below any other kind . Such documents
are not mere illustrations to be looked up after all other
research is done .
Among the picture collections visited, the Glenbow-
Alberta Institute best exemplifies this conscientious and
scrupulous archival treatment . It has produced the most
rigorous and reliable subject index and system of cross-
references . This painstaking task of cataloguing and
indexing visual images has been accomplished in a manner
wholly sympathetic to actual research concerns, and with-
out a large staff or budget . The captions provided, nearly
always seen with the image, are extensive . In many cases
they go beyond the call of duty in drawing attention to
elements in a picture that might otherwise be overlooked .
There is easy physical access to the Glenbow Collection
numbering well over 300,000 items, about 70 per cent of
which have been individually indexed . The file numbers
assigned to each picture provide information to the researcher
and archivist . These codes serve to designate the
dimensions of the negative available, and can be used
further to discern the name and size of the collection from
which the item derives (fig . 1) .
The Glenbow-Alberta Institute provides photocopies
(including photo captions) at very low cost and at short
order, and the staff is even receptive to research inquiries
by telephone or letter .
Still, patrons should not expect picture collection staff
to do all the research on their behalf. Though an archivist,
librarian, or cataloguer can either provide a map or a compass
or can nonchalantly watch researchers lose their way
in an uncharted morass, research success in picture collections
will still be commensurate with one's own effort .
With this in mind, the following is a series of questions
that might productively be asked, by telephone or letter,
before etnbarkii
collections .
Bull
1 . Does the picture collection observe the same hours as
the rest of the archives or library? Who is responsible for
the pictures or knows them best? Is the person there five
days a week? Will he or she be on vacation during your
Fig . l . "Laundry day on Wyman's farm, near Bon Accord,
Alta . c . late teens . Mrs . John P.ryzant, washing clothes
outside . Sod-roofed shack to the rear . Grind stone on
right with can suspended above from which water
dropped on stone for sharpening axes, mower knives,
etc ." GlertGow-Alberta ln.cuitule, NA-?04 I- I .
This is an example of the Glenbow-Alberta Institute's
captions . "NA" indicates that the negative of
this picture is 4" x 5" or smaller . NB refers to acetate 5"
x 7" negatives, NC 5" x 7" glass negatives, and ND H"
x 10" negatives . Prints for which no negatives are held
have PA, PB, PC, PD, and PE designations . The
collection number of this photograph is 204 I . Collections
are numbered chronologically as acquire(] . The
number of photographs in the collection can he determined
by discovering the highest numeral which
follows the collection number and hyphen .

Notes and Comment.rlNotet et commentairet
visit? (Forgetting to ask these obvious questions may lead
to immense research frustration .)
2 . How are the collections organized? What is the
physical arrangement with which you will be dealing and
in what format is catalogued material? Is there access to
originals and is special permission required to obtain such
access?
3 . What percentage of holdings are uncatalogued? If
accessible, how long will it take to retrieve uncatalogued
material? Might it be worth retrieving, or is it in a disorganized
state?
4 . What level of subject indexing or finding aids has
been attempted? Are captions and pictures separated or
are the caption cards image-bearing?
5 . Will captions be provided with reproductions you
order? What are other policies and costs regarding reproductions?
Can photocopies be provided? What is the
minimum length of time required to process the order?
It may still be difficult to determine how much time is
adequate for the task at hand for those engaged in picture
research on broad themes and in material history . It may
be as well to allow more than seems necessary or is advised
by an archivist or librarian, given the quantity of uncatalogued
material, and the state of subject indexes,
cross-references, and captions in so many picture collec-
tions .
This situation might be improved if patrons of picture
collections expressed clearly (and in advance) their
research interests to the archivist or librarian, and later
offered a few constructive suggestions on indexing,
captions, and other matters which seem to be of general
concern . Thereby, they would be helping one another in a
scholarly community and contributing to the increasing
importance of pictures in the historical record .
NOTES
1 . The institutions visited to date were the following : Newfoundland :
Provincial Archives ; Provincial Reference Library ; Department of
Folklore, Memorial University . New Brunswick : Provincial
Archives ; New Brunswick Museum . Prince Edward Island : Provincial
Archives ; P.E .I . Heritage Foundation . Nova Scotia : Provincial
Archives ; Nova Scotia Museum . Quebec : Norman Photographic
Archives . Ontario : Provincial Archives ; Art Gallery of Ontario;
Public Archives of Canada ; National Gallery of Canada ; Ottawa
City Archives ; City of Toronto Archives ; Metro Toronto Library;
Multicultural History Society of Ontario . Manitoba : Provincial
Archives . Saskatchewan : Saskatchewan Archives Board, Regina .
Alberta : Provincial Archives ; Glenbow-Alberta Institute . British
Columbia : Provincial Archives ; Vancouver Public Library;
Vancouver City Archives . New York : Bettmann Archive ; New
York Public Library; Metropolitan Museum of Art .
.
:
.
2 . The project was announced and described more fully in Research
Bulletin no . 170, "Annotated Illustrations of Domestic Activities in
Canada, ca . 1840-1920 : A Description of the Project and aClassification
Scheme," by Hilary Russell, Parks Canada, December 1981 .
3 . These will be called "pictures" in this note, notwithstanding that
the term is imprecise . Collections of maps, architectural drawings,
moving pictures, and so on are not included or considered here .
4 . A reproduction print ordered by the researcher will result in the
item being catalogued .
5 . David Mattison and Saundra Sherman, "Cataloguing Historical
Photographs with ISBD (NBM)," Archivaria no . 5 (Winter 1977-
78), pp . 106-7 .
6 . Public Archives of Canada, "Descriptive and Subject Cataloguing
at the National Photography Collection," 1983 . It is intended to
"facilitate communication between professionals ."
7 . Two articles of interest are in the summer 1982 issue of Art Libraries
journal 7, no 2, by Thomas H. Ohlgren, "Image Analysis and
Indexing in North America A Survey," pp . 51-60, and John
Sutherland, "Index Collections, Librarians, Users and Their
Needs," pp . 41-49 .
8 . Otto Bettmann, ed ., Bettmann Portable Archive : A Graphic History of
Almost Everything, Presented by Way of 3,669 illustrations Culled from
the Filer of the Bettmann Archive, Topically Arranged and Cross-Referenced
to Serve as an Idea Stimulator and Image Finder (New York :
Picture House Press, 1966), p . 81 .
9 Richard J . Huyda . "Photographs and Archives in Canada,"
Archivaria no . 5 (Winter 1977-78), p . 6 .
Papers Completed in North American Decorative Arts
Graduate Course, University of Toronto, 1968-82
The graduate course North American Decorative Arts
(FAH-1445), offered in alternate years through the History
of Art Program of the University of Toronto's School
of Graduate Studies, is taught by Donald B . Webster,
Curator of the Canadiana Department, Royal Ontario
Museum . The list below includes all papers submitted as a
course requirement in the programme, 1968-82 . Some of
the papers were completed as theses, in accordance with
83
Hilary Russell
the thesis requirements of the discipline and department
concerned . The papers can be consulted in the library of
the Canadiana Department, 100 Queen's Park, 9-12 a.m .
and 2-4 p.m . They cannot be borrowed or photocopied .
(Editor's note : The Material History Bulletin is interested
in publishing similar aids to research for the information
of its subscribers .)

84
Manuscript series
Can
Mss
B33 Basco, Jean . Nineteenth Century Potteries in
Toronto . Toronto, [1968?] . Ms . 67 pp .
10 illus .
B34 Baeker, Greg . Nineteenth Century Toronto
Photographers : Three Case Studies . 2
vols . Toronto, 1980 . Ms . Part I -text,
60 pp . Part 2 - plates, 68
B35 Bakken, Carole . Early Ontario Gravestones .
Toronto, 1971 . Ms . 69 pp .
B37 Bartolotta, K . The History of a Canadian Cut
Glass Company : Clapperton & Sons,
1904-1972 . Toronto, 1982 . Ms . 2 vols .
Vol . 1 - text, 38 pp . ; appendices 1-7 ;
documents 1-11 . Vol . 2 - 36 illus .
B57 Biscope, Marlene . A Description and History of
Six Ships Designed by C.A . Bond and
Arendt Angstrom : S .S . Toronto, S.S .
Kingston, S.S . Montreal, S.S . Rapids
King, S.S . Rapids Prince, S.S . Cayuga .
Toronto, [1980?] . Ms . 21 pp . 72 figs .
B74 Brent, Martha Eckmann . The Sewing Machine
Industry of Ontario, 1860-1897 . 2 vols .
Toronto, n .d . Ms . Part 1- text, ii, 86
pp . Part 2 - 72 figs .
C59 Cowan, Janet . A Study of the Portraiture of Canadian
Great Lakes Vessels . Toronto,
1973 . Ms . 2 vols . Vol . 1- 30 pp . Vol.
2 - plates
C73 Crawford, M . Gail . Carriage and Coach Making
in Old Ontario . Toronto, 1974 . Ms . 48
pp . illus .
C75 Crowe, Brian . Nineteenth Century Domestic
Decorative Brickwork in Toronto .
Toronto, 1973 . Ms . 33 pp . 112 plates
D65 Donegan, Rosemary . The Early Photography of
Western Canadian Indians . Toronto,
1972 . Ms . Part 1 - 29, 3, 4, 6 . Part 2
- 52 photos
D68 Douglas, Tara . Canadian Presentation Silver .
Toronto, {1974?] . Ms . n.p . illus .
F54 Fletcher, Wendy . Cast Iron Building in Toronto :
The Iron Facades of Smith and
Gemmell, 1871-1872 . Toronto, 1978 .
I3ulletirt 20
Ms . 2 vols . Vol . 1 -text, 73 pp . Vol . 2
- plates, 60
G74 Greenspan, Sheila . Pennsylvania German
Frackturs in Canada . Toronto, 1968 .
Ms . 50 pp . 30 illus .
H55 Hindson, Margaret . Domestic Architectural
Details in the Region of Niagara-on-the-
Lake to Grafton, 1.783-1880 . Toronto,
1970 . Ms . Part I - text and figures, 56
pp . bibl ., 72 figs . Part 2 - plates, 78
K Knibb, Helen . A Sanitary Problem : An Ontario
Perspective on the Bathroom . Toronto,
1982 . Ms . 300 pp . illus .
L38 Lautenschlager, Janet D . The Architectural Heritage
of the Ontario Germans with Particular
Reference to Waterloo County
(1800-1870). Toronto, 1976 . Ms . Part
1 - text 36 pp . Plate descriptions 36
pp . Appendices, bibL Part 2 - plates
A-Y, I-IX, 1-36
L54 Lightfoot, Lorain . The Southern Ontario Farmhouse
as Exemplified in Prince Edward
County . Toronto, 1972 . Ms . 2 vols .
Part 1 - text, 51 pp . Part 2 - illus .
L83 Lucky)', Natalie . Illustration of Early Canadian
Children's Books, 1860-1.914 . Toronto,
1968 . Ms . 1 1 pp . plates
M35 McIntyre, W . John . Chairs and Chairmaking in
Upper Canada . Winterthur, Delaware,
University of Delaware, M.A . Thesis,
1975 . Ms . 192 pp . illus .
M351 McKim, Patricia . Lunenburg County Furniture .
Toronto, 1978 . Ms . 3 vols . Vol . 1 -
text, n .p . Vol . 2 - plates, 65 . Vol . 3
-plates, 124
M352 McTavish, J. David . The Role of the Watercolour
and Pencil Sketches in the Paintings
by Paul Kane of the Canadian
Prairies . Toronto, 1968 . Ms . 78 pp .
illus .
M45 Maisel, Cheryl . Biographical Sketches of Lesser
Known Illustrators of Children's Literature
in Canada (1900-1940) as Represented
in the Canadiana Collection,
Boys and Girls House, Toronto .
Toronto, 1978 . Ms . 78 pp . illus .

Notes and ConunenttlNotet et commentairet
M46 Maitland, Leslie . Embroidery in Ontario, 1783-
1900 . ca . Ottawa, 1977 . Ms . Vol . 1text
96 pp . Vol . 2 - 120 figs .
M39 May, Margaret . Copper Cookware in Nineteenth
Century Toronto ; A Study in Material
Culture . Toronto, Museum Studies Program,
University ofToronto, 1980 . Ms .
173 pp . (including 84 figs .)
M97 Murray de Fort-Menares, Ann . Banks in Ontario
during the Victorian and Edwardian
Era : Architectural Drawings from the
J .C .B . and E .C . Horwood Collection .
Toronto, 1980 . Ms . 45 pp . 62 plates
N59 Nowell-Smith, Felicity . The Cabinetmakers of
Cobourg, Port Hope and Bowmanville,
1820-1870 . Toronto, 1980 . Ms . 44 pp .
plates
037 O'Brien, David Q . Amateur Topographic
Townscape Painting in Ontario to 1867 .
Toronto, n .d . Ms . 70 pp ., 52 pp . (68
plates)
056 Oko, Andrew J. Brewing in Toronto of Old .
Toronto, 1972 . Ms . 23 pp . bibl .
M55 Minaker, Betty . An Artistic Piece of Furniture :
Stylistic Analysis of Nineteenth Century
Ontario Pianos and Reed-Organs .
Toronto, M.A . Thesis, Department of
Museum Studies, University of
Toronto, 1981 . Ms . 2 vols . Vol . 1 -
114 pp . Vol. 2 - 129 plates
M551 Minaker, Betty . Lists of Canadian Piano and
Organ Companies . Ms . 16, 3 pp .
P75 Priamo, Carol . A Study of Early Grist Mills in
Southern Ontario from 1783-1867 .
Toronto, 1973 . Ms . 49 pp . illus .
President : W.L . Goodman . Vice-Presidents : R.A .
Salaman, Kenneth Kilby . The Tool and Trades History
Society (TATHS) was founded in 1983 in order to further
knowledge and understanding of hand tools, of their use,
and of the trades and craftsmen that used them . Membership
is open to all and provides opportunities for meeting
others interested in hand tools, from antiquity up to the
recent past, and also in the skills and techniques exercised
by craftsmen who worked wood, iron, leather, stone, and
other natural materials .
Tool and Trades History Society
S54 Skeoch, Alan Edward . Technology and Change in
19th Century Ontario Agriculture .
Toronto, 1976, M. A. Thesis, History
Department, University of Toronto .
Ms . 266 pp . illus ., bibl .
S65 Smith, Sheila M . Jacques and Hay, 1835-85,
Cabinet-Makers : A Paper Submitted to
the Department of the History of Art of
Toronto University in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the
Degree of Master of Arts . Toronto,
1969? Ms . 60 pp . plates
S64 Spencer, Steven P . Electric Lighting in Residential
Toronto from the 1880s to 1915 .
Toronto, 1982 . Ms . 4 vols . Vol . 1 -
text, 139 pp . Vols . 2-4 - illustrations :
A. Fixtures B . Catalogues C. Interiors
S74 Steiner, Edmee . Pre-Confederation Stove Manufacturers
of Southwestern Ontario : The
Development of Cast-Iron Cooking and
Heating Stoves from 1820 to 1867 .
Toronto, 1978 . Parts 1 & 2 - 71, 41,
7, 9 pp . Part 3 - 91 illus .
T87 Turnbull, Steve . Architectural Terra Cotta and
the Terra Cotta Industry of Ontario,
1885-1905 . Toronto, 1981? 25 pp .
illus .
V35 Vincelli, Brendan . Two Early Canadian Banks
and the Decorative Arts in Montreal and
Toronto during the Nineteenth Century
: A Study of the Corporate Images of
the Bank of Montreal and Bank of
British North America Seen through the
Architecture of Their Main Office
Buildings . Toronto, 1980 . Ms . 62 pp .
7 3 plates
85
Janet Holmes
Membership : 110 per annum . Members receive a regular
Newsletter giving information of meetings, exhibitions,
publications, and other matters of topical interest . They
also receive theJournal, which contains articles of lasting
importance as well as reviews of all relevant books .
For membership information write : TATHS, Winston
Grange, Debenham, Stowmarket, Suffolk, England IP14
6LE .

86
Editor's Note : "A Research Tool for Studying the Canadian
Glass Industry," in Material History Bulletin 18 (Fall
1983) described 9,000 reference cards, in preparation by
T. B . King, dealing with all aspects of the Canadian glass
industry . Originally expected to be available to re-
Now and CommentalNote.r et commentaires
searchers in 1984, this material is now scheduled to be
ready for consultation, at the Public Archives of Canada,
with copies at the History Division, National Museum of
Man, in 1985 .

In this section the Material History Bulletin publishes
articles about material history in Canada by two museum
historians . Each discusses the subject in a different way
and each enlarges our perspective on this field of historical
inquiry . The Bulletin welcomes other contributions to
the continuing debate .
Forum / Colloque
Cette section du Bulletin d'histoire de la culture nzaterielle
presente des articles sur 1'histoire de la culture materielle
au Canada qui sont 1'oeuvre de deux historiens attaches a
des musees . Chacun examine le sujet sous un angle
different et chacun elargit notre vision de ce secteur de la
recherche historique . Le Bulletin accueillera volontiers
d'autres contributions au debat en cours .
The Limitations of Material History : A Museological Perspective .
The limitations of a discipline or field of study are a
positive consideration ; by carefully defining boundaries,
researchers are better able to explore what can be done and
to undertake the work at hand . In this spirit, I intend to
explore and elaborate on limitations in the study of
material history from a museum perspective .
First, I offer a broad definition of material history : to
me it is the material or artifact records of a society and the
study of these records . As a field of study, material history
is important, exciting and, in a Canadian context at least,
largely untapped . There are limitations, however, on how
objects, which are so fundamental to material history, can
contribute to scholarly research . Moreover, they are
further limited in their applications to public education
and enlightenment .
Fundamentally, the study of material history relates to
the study of objects or artifacts : the products of a culture .
For such studies, having the artifacts at hand is not essential
but it is certainly beneficial . Artifacts clearly are not
the only research sources available nor are they always the
best ones . It behooves any researcher, regardless of the
goals of his or her activity - public education, scholarly
publication, or exhibits - to consult as many relevant
sources as possible, including archival documents and
records, aural history descriptions, published records,
historical photographs, and material history collections .
Artifacts are highly significant because they are, in effect,
a primary source but, like any other, they often are misleading
.
* This paper was presented in somewhat modified form at the Canadian
Historical Association Annual Meeting, Ottawa, 9 June 1982 .
Robert D . Turner
Material History Brrlletinl8ulletin d'hittoire de la culture nraterielle 20
87
The inherent limits of material history collections are
significant to the limitations of the study of material history,
and at present it is fair to say that these constraints
are enormous indeed . In terms of cost effectiveness alone,
the amount of information that can be drawn from
artifacts to create a wider picture of society can be quite
meagre . Two highly significant factors restricting the
utility of material history collections are the ways in which
collections are assembled and the ways in which they are
managed once they are part of museum (or historic site)
holdings .
Limitations from Assembling Collections
Collecting policies, or lack of them, have led to many
museums having holdings that are unstructured, unsystematic,
and fragmented . Without being too harsh, it is
probably a fair description to characterize many museum
collections as societal attics - repositories for things no
longer used that we cannot quite bring ourselves to throw
out. Material history collections relating to what is
termed modern history, as opposed to anthropology or
classical/ancient history, have been developed in many
museums in fairly recent times . Many collections are new,
assembled quickly and unsystematically for Centennial
projects, historic sites, or park development projects and
as a result their management and documentation often has
been superficial and incomplete . Moreover, pragmatic
decisions are made, based on limited time and resources,
such as "It will do and we can fix it later," and then are
seldom corrected. Other collections, while older, still
suffer from limitations based on museological traditions
and other considerations that I will elaborate on briefly
below .

88
(1) Collections are acquired unsystematically : Many
museums do not pursue active collecting programmes, for
a variety of reasons, and thereby build their collections
from "what comes to the front door ." Few collecting programmes
have been based on a careful study of a region,
industry, or other focus of interest to determine what
artifacts are worthy of inclusion in museum collections
and exhibits . Random collections have limited value
except as a storehouse to draw on for generalized exhibit
i
purposes .
(2) The Guinness Book of Records tradition : Many
museum collections, preserved buildings, or historic
sites, represent the biggest, oldest, first, last, ugliest, or
most unusual examples available . For serious researchers,
this presents severe limitations since such oddities exhibit
a distorted, unrepresentative picture of material history in
particular, and broader history more generally .
(3) Antiquarian collecting : This trend is really an
elaboration of the above but more specific . Here the goals
of private collectors often have been transplanted to
museums and again produce bias in collections toward the
rare, unique, decorative, and finely crafted . These
qualities in themselves are not at all negative but they
have often been pursued to the detriment of other collect-
ing goals . Antiquarian collecting might also be termed
"collecting to impress ." Artifacts can be added to collec-
tions simply because of their individual impressiveness,
rather than their value as documents of historical change .
This last point is certainly true in architectural preserva-
tion . We have preserved many fine mansions, public
buildings, and military posts in Canada, but it is more
difficult to find many examples of preserved sawmills,
sweatshops, slums, or miners' tiny cottages that at least
would be equal in their inherent historical interest .
(4) Memento and finery collecting : All museums and
most of society in general is affected by this notion of
collecting . We generally save what we perceive to be our
best objects or the ones for which we have the greatest
sentimental attachment . To illustrate, there are ample
examples of children's christening gowns, wedding
dresses, formal gowns, dress suits, and top hats in
museum clothing collections . These are the items of
clothing many donors have treasured and saved for
perhaps several generations . In themselves they can be
excellent artifacts reflecting style, taste, materials, or
traditions of other generations . The problem is that
collections are so heavily weighted to this type of item . To
cite two examples from the clothing collections at the
British Columbia Provincial Museum (before some recent
deaccessioning), there were twenty-eight top hats in the
collection compared to only four hard hats and safety helmets
. Similarly, there were twenty-three wedding dresses
and twenty christening gowns and robes, but no maternity
dresses . 2 If one were to draw conclusions from this
Bulletin 20
second case, it would seem that people got married, babies
were christened, but no one ever became pregnant!
Where are the children's everyday clothes, men's or
women's work clothes, maternity dresses, and industrial
clothing? These become worn out and usually are not considered
worth saving . 3 They were certainly not expected
to be of interest to a museum . How many curators, when
trying to locate work clothes, have been told : "1 never
thought a museum would ever want THAT!" But in
reality, these are the very items that could well be most
significant in better understanding features ofdaily life for
the majority of people in generations past . Two other
collecting urges appear irresistible that further illustrate
biases in collections : museums collect far more fire
engines than garbage trucks and far more executives' railway
business cars than once-common freight cars .`
Romance and finery almost always take priority over utility
even if the latter, broadly speaking, had equal or in
some cases greater impact .
Again collections are often unrepresentative of the
periods that the artifacts represent . Moreover, we are not
able fully to determine how, or in what directions, the
collections are inaccurate in their representations . I am
not advocating collecting only the typical, rather that the
typical should be given a high priority in collections policies
in institutions .
(5) Museums collect the cast-offs : People may enthusiastically
donate precious family objects, but larger,
less well-cared-for items in both the social and industrial
areas of collections are often made available to museums as
well . Unfortunately, these objects are usually at the end of
their functional lives and may be in badly deteriorated
condition . Museums may accept such artifacts because no
better examples exist but the utility of worn-out, sometimes
fragmentary artifacts is often very questionable for
in-depth study. Faced with no option, a fragment is certainly
better than nothing.
The cast-off problem is likely to remain serious,
particularly in the industrial area, as artifacts become increasingly
technologically complex and as their salvage
value increases . Additionally, the rapid obsolescence of
new technologies means that equipment acquired in the
1970s may be, functionally at least, a museum piece in the
1980s . Few museums are in a position to make considered
choices about acquisitions for virtually contemporary
items, yet the value of collections in the future will depend
in no small measure on how well such choices are
made .
(6) Eclectic collecting : Many museums have little if any
focus or collecting policy so that their holdings contain
such a broad sweep of artifacts that the value of individual
items or collections is lost and resources are squandered on

FormulCo!loyue
items that either should be sent to a more appropriate
institution or quietly forgotten . Working with such holdings
is like working in an uncatalogued library . The
material may be there but it can be impossible to find it .
This is a malady that affects community museums
particularly, but fortunately many museums are only too
aware of the problem and are working, as resources
permit, to improve the situation .
Many problem areas noted are complicated by the
museum's or historic site's traditional and important role
as keeper of symbols of national or regional identities -
our culture's treasures and national keepsakes . Overall,
however, the effect of collecting for these purposes is not
great, as the artifacts usually form more or less discrete
collections for exhibit purposes .
Limitations of Collections Management and
Resources
A second area of concern with collections is what
happens to artifacts once they are acquired by the museum
or historic site . I am sure that nearly every museum or
historic site would welcome a larger budget, so this is not
the point of discussion . Rather, collections management
policies and resources create severe limitations on the
utility and representativeness of collections that may not
be obvious . Some concerns are summarized below .
(1) Collections storage : Shortage of available secure,
controlled, storage and exhibit space is one of the most
serious constraints facing museums . Artifacts are often
selected or rejected solely on the basis of their size . A
somewhat facetious rule of thumb that we have used at the
British Columbia Provincial Museum suggests that "If it
is smaller than a breadbox, chances are it will be saved ; if
not, then it probably will not be ." For large objects, particularly
in the industrial and transportation areas, storage
limits are severe indeed . When larger objects are saved,
they are usually relegated to outside storage, where their
long-term care is problematical .
(2) Conservation budgets, priorities, and dilemmas :
With many large collections, there simply are not enough
conservators to do the work . The relevance here is that
over time the artifacts deteriorate and become increasingly
less valuable as source material . What was once a fully
intact locomotive becomes a derelict, rusted hulk, not
reflecting a type of technology so much as community or
museum neglect, disinterest, or poor conservation practice
.
The condition of artifacts can also present dilemmas for
museum workers and affect the value of artifacts for
research or other purposes . Often, at the very least,
stabilization is required, which can be carried out with
little change to the artifact and little impact on its utility
as a historical source . But when a piece of equipment is in
very poor condition, stabilization may not be sufficient .
Does a stabilized derelict tell us very much? In itself, the
; artifact may well be more likely to reflect evidence of
neglect, rather than evidence associated with the period of
its productive use . On the other hand, complete restoration
to like-new condition may be possible, but then the
price may be the removal of any remaining evidence of use
and original components that may be functionally or
structurally unsound . Fortunately, careful documentation
essentially can eliminate this problem by maintaining a
record of the work done on an artifact and any evidence of
past use . For artifacts in many collections, however, such
records are not available or are fragmentary and their
absence becomes a serious limitation on the value of
collections for some types of potential research . While the
dilemma facing curators and conservators of how to
approach the care of any artifact will never be easily resolved
and is certainly beyond the scope of this discussion,
the result is that, for study purposes at least, what has
been done to an artifact while in a museum collection is
often as important as its earlier history .
(3) Collections documentation : Many collections are
not fully catalogued and catalogues are not yet readily
interchangeable through modern communications systems
. As a result, information is not easily accessible for
research . Moreover, what documentation there is is often
fragmentary due to incomplete provenance of the artifacts
being available to the cataloguer . Incomplete or lacking
provenance, perhaps more than any other single concern,
limits the utility of collections for research beyond the
simple consideration of the artifacts at the generic level .
All the above points amplify one fundamental problem
with material history collections as reliable sources for
scholarly enquiry : the uncertainty of what collections and
artifacts actually represent . To illustrate, I would like to
cite one example in more detail . In British Columbia,
logging locomotives were an important component of
transportation systems in the forest industry . Twentyfour
B .C . machines have been preserved, representing
several manufacturers, sizes, types, and eras . On superficial
examination, it would appear that the preserved
machines would be representative of the types of equipment
operated in the province, particularly considering
the diversity of the preserved machines and the different
parts of the province in which they are preserved . Examination
of documentary evidence, albeit fragmentary,
suggests the contrary, as Table 1 illustrates . 5
Table 1 indicates that the artifact record is unreliable
for determining what types of machines and in what proportions
they were used . The Heisler, a significant type,
was excluded from collections altogether and the percentages
preserved relate closely to the actual number used in
only one instance, the Shay . Others are out by significant
89

90
Type (manufacturer)
Shay (Lima)-geared
Climax-geared
Heisler-geared
Baldwin-rod
Other manuf.-rod
Totals
TABLE 1
Preserved Logging Locomotives in British Columbia :
A Comparison between Actual Occurrence and the Artifact Record
Number Total
preserved preserved (%)
24
9 38
3 13
0 0
7 29
5 21
amounts . It is clear that one could be misled by using the
material history record alone . Moreover, there is no way of
knowing from the surviving machines how many locomotives
were used . This example illustrates some of the limitations
of dealing even with large collections of artifacts
which would appear to provide a reasonable sample .
Examination of an artifact can often determine the
manufacturer, date of production, where it was made,
what it was used for (if we have good intuition or if it is
obvious), and the state of its completeness . 6 We can also
develop a description of its size, shape, and component
materials, but often, that is about all . Depending on the
artifact, there are inferences that can be drawn that reflect
on the broader perspectives of history . Clothing, for
example, may reflect style, colour preferences, materials,
perhaps the standards of dress or moral attitudes of the
period, or the level of craftsmanship, durability, and function
of the artifact . From industrial clothing some conclusions
on safety standards and working conditions might
also become apparent . There are other more specific questions,
however, that a researcher undoubtedly would like
to explore and about which the artifact may well be
mute . 7 For example, how was it used? Who used it and for
how long? Where was it used? What other similar objects
were there that differed in purpose or detail or refinement?
How many were used and how widespread was the use?
What replaced it and what did it replace? Why was it used
instead of some other object? Why was this particular
specimen preserved? What was its impact (defined in a
variety of ways)? What inferences about the state of technology
or the culture as a whole can be drawn from the artifact?
What can it tell us about the process of invention?
Does it have religious, symbolic, or artistic significance?
Estimated number Actual %
operated in of total
B. C. operated
82 39
53 25
17 8
18 9
27 14
197
Bulletin 20
Difference between
total preserved
and actual total
operated (%)
-1
-12
-8
+20
+7
Single artifacts or small collections have similar limita-
tions to single documents and it is a fair generalization to
suggest that the more complete a collection, the more
likely it is to provide the answers we would ask of it . To
use an extreme example, we can draw much information
from a fully preserved warship from 1800, but we can find
very little to remark about one cannon ball . The former is
a fine primary source while the latter is virtually nothing
other than a relic or curio .
Again, the main limitation I find in material history as
a source for serious enquiry is the uncertainty over what, if
anything, the artifact or collection is representative of.
Beyond that, the uncertainty of provenance in many
collections is frustrating . In disciplines such as archaeology
or, sometimes, ethnology, the researcher has little to
draw on beyond the artifact, as original documentary
material is usually non-existent . In the study of a literate
culture, however, there is usually no such limitation and
it is foolish, inefficient, and frustrating to try to draw
information from an artifact when published or documentary
sources may be readily at hand that will reveal more .s
Experimental research using artifacts as a source can be
carried out and is useful from a number of perspectives, as
shown by a recent study comparing early types of underground
mine lighting .9 Research using artifacts is often
likely to be quite specific in its orientation and it will take
some time before the accumulation of such studies will influence
greatly our perceptions of overall historical
themes . Yet, to carry out some types of research results, at
least potentially, in a conflict with the basic museological
function of artifact preservation . For example, only so
much can be learned from a static, inanimate locomotive

ForumIColloque
in a museum gallery but if operation is possible other
types of information can be extracted . The recent operation
by Smithsonian staff of the 1831 vintage locomotive
John Bull is a case in point . 1° Operating a machine from an
early period can produce significant information not
otherwise available, not to mention the subtle effect
seeing the subject of enquiry actually function can have on
a researcher . As John H. White, curator at the Smithsonian,
observed following the carefully supervised operation
ofJohn Bull: "I could no longer think of it exclusively
as a symbol of America's industrial past or of the transfer of
technology from Europe to the Western Hemisphere, and
certainly not as anything like an ancient mummy . I now
can perceive it as a working piece of machinery, one that
was employed by ordinary people who used it as a tool in
their everyday life . The people are long gone, but the
locomotive remains a touchstone with a distant past .""
Unfortunately, the opportunities for such use of
artifacts are limited both because of costs, which can be
very high, and also because of attitudes of museum
community members who might be more concerned
about the integrity of the original artifact than the information
it could yield . Keepers of collections and collections
researchers may not always agree on priorities . The
laudable goal of artifact conservation should not normally
preclude the intelligent monitored use of artifacts for
research and study, although sometimes it can .
I would now like to turn briefly to the limitations of
material history from the perspective of its application in
an educational context . Museums and historical sites have
long been considered important and significant resources
for teaching young people and for general public
enlightenment and entertainment . In these contexts,
material history suffers from some of the same limitations
outlined above for scholarly research . A number of them
are given below .
(1) Unrepresentative collections : This fundamental
problem also persists in the educational environment.
Displays are not necessarily representative of periods of
history and depict history through what might be called
rose-coloured glasses . Exhibits and historic sites often
present the impression of history as we would like it to
have been or think it should have been . Seldom are the
streets dirty, no one lives in poverty, battlefields are
peaceful and grass-covered, and the less pleasant sides of
life are seldom, if ever, presented except perhaps in a
humorous context . This is not so much an inherent limitation
in material history as it is a limitation in how
curators, administrators, teachers, or interpreters use the
collections and historical resources at their disposal . 12
(2) Hands-on exhibits and conservation : This is a
difficult point in museology since even with the best
supervision a thousand eager-handed grade one students
could cause wear to the most apparently durable at-
tifact .13 Teachers increasingly must use replicas in their
work but this is a severe constraint on the potential educational
value of artifacts as teaching resources and a
problem with no easy resolution .
(3) Appealing to the norm : Museums and historical
sites appeal to a broad spectrum of the public . 14 Indeed, it
has been a policy of the federal government to "decentralize"
and "democratize" museums in Canada . Consequently,
museums are obliged to provide exhibits that
are understandable and interesting to a great range of
people from differing age groups, educational backgrounds,
and interests . Unfortunately, this requirement
often leads to exhibits that are superficial, very general in
nature and, where funds permit, tending toward the spectacular
. Content is sometimes subordinated to form and
presentation . Still, lack of quality design or presentation
can create another extreme : history is then prevented from
being used or appreciated to its potential . Sterile, lifeless
exhibits are boring to all but the most dedicated . 15 This
extreme occurs particularly when artifacts are presented
out of context or setting . Like any fragment of historical
information, an artifact is often left with little meaning .
Another problem of dealing with the norm is that an
exhibit copy or text is usually minimized because it is
recognized that few museum visitors will read lengthy
descriptions . While this is certainly true, it complicates
the problems of presenting meaningful displays with
reasonable reference to broader pictures of history for the
small percentage of visitors who are genuinely interested .
In conclusion, it is clear that the most serious limitations
on using artifacts for studying material history and
history in general are the uncertainty of what material history
collections represent and the lack of basic provenance
on so many objects in collections . It is clear that an artifact
is seldom an adequate source for complete research
although it can be a primary source and at times an informative
one that should be consulted and used fully . Unfortunately,
the artifact alone seldom provides answers to
a researcher's broader, more essential questions : the why
questions and the questions of broader context .
These same limitations apply in many ways to the
public functions of institutions that house material history
collections, although they are compounded by the
broad audience for exhibits and displays . Exhibits often
are limited by collections being presented out of context,
and even where this is not the case, exhibits often are unrepresentative
or incomplete, inaccurately portraying an
era or setting .
Admittedly, these comments are harsh, but they are intended
to be constructive . I do not see all these limitations
as being fundamental to material history so much as to the
way collections have been acquired, managed, and interpreted
in the past . The directions being taken in collec-
91

92
tions management to look more critically at acquisitions
policy, attempts being made to move into contemporary
collecting of everyday goods, and efforts being made to
provide better documentation of collections' provenance
will all contribute to the reduction of limitations on
material history and make collections a much more valuable
resource .
NOTES
1 . Daniel T. Gallacher, "The Numbers Game : Statistics and Experiments
for Industrial History Acquisitions Strategy," Canadian
Museums Association Gazette 13 (Spring 1980), pp . 20-30, and
13 (Summer/Fall 1980), p . 14-25 .
2 . Based on a 'preliminary survey of the catalogue cards in the Modern
History Division, British Columbia Provincial Museum, and
discussions with Zane Lewis, Social History Curator .
3 . The Modern History Division has had an active programme to
collect industrial clothing, work clothes, and the other types of
apparel mentioned but has met with limited success . In some
situations the only solution seems to be to collect contemporary
materials so that at least in future our collections will be better
balanced . Contemporary collection of industrial clothing has been
an active programme of the History Division of the National
Museum of Man as well .
4 . See, for example, the inventory of preserved rolling stock in
Canada by Raymond F . Corley, Preserved Canadian Railway Equipment
(Montreal : Railfare Books, 1971).
5 . This example and the table are condensed from Robert D. Turner,
"Logging Railroads and Locomotives in British Columbia : A
What is material history and .how does one study it?
The questions are easy enough to ask, but answers are
harder to come by . It is certainly one of the plethora of
"new" histories which have sprung up since the 1960s .
Equally as clear is the absence of consensus of what this
history is trying to do and how one goes about doing it . In
some recently developed branches of history, practitioners
are engaged in fervent debate over definitions of the field
and the methodology to be used, while in others, such as
urban history, a variety of approaches is tolerated as long
as the field's chosen focus remains central to the topic
being studied. Treatment of material history is lodged
between these extremes . Although various avenues are
used to address the subject, considerable awareness has
been expressed at scholarly gatherings and in writings of
the need for an appropriate analytical framework . '
Folk wisdom suggests that knowledge of the tree lies in
the nature of its fruit . Acting on that principle, some
insight into material history can be gained through a
Bulletin 20
.
.
. .
.
Background Summary and the Preservation Record," Material
History Bulletin 13 (Fall 1981), pp . 3-20
6 . John Chavis, "The Artifact and the Study of History," Curator 7,
no . 2 (1964), pp . 156-62 .
7 Bernard Ranson, Some Thoughts on Museology and the Profession of
Arms, Report to the Canadian Museums Association's Head of professional
Development and Standards . Ms . 8 pp .
8 . See Robert G . Griffin, "The Shingle Sawing Machine in British
Columbia, 1901-1915," Material History Bulletin 13 (Fall 1981),
pp . 21-38, as an example of a study of machinery based primarily
on documentary material but using both artifacts and interviews as
further sources of data and information .
9 . Gallacher, "The Numbers Game," Part 2 .
10 . John H. White, "John Bull : 150 Years," Railfan and Railroad 4
(January 1982), pp .
(Spring 1981) .
38-44, and see Railroad History no . 144
11 Ibid
12 Thomas J . Schlereth, Artifacts and the American Past (Nashville,
Tenn . : American Association for State and Local History, 1980) .
13 . An example of this is a large fish-butchering machine (called an
Iron Chink) on display in the Modern History Galleries of the
British Columbia Provincial Museum . When the machine was
first placed on display in 1972 some fittings were secured so
tightly that they could not be loosened by a wrench . Over a decade
later, with museum attendance averaging one million or more
each year, including many school tours, some fittings have disappeared
.
14 . Brian Dixon, Alice E . Courtney, and Robert H. Bailey, The
Museum and the Canadian Public (Toronto : Arts and Culture
Branch, Department of the Secretary of State, Government of
Canada, Culturcan Publications, 1974) .
15 . A . E. Parr, "The Arrogance of Artlessness," Curator 7, no . 2
(1963), pp . 240-43 .
The Concrete Clio : Definition of a Field of History
Peter E. Rider
review of one of the chief Canadian forums for the field,
Material History Bulletin . In selecting the Bulletin for
scrutiny, no attempt is made to argue that it alone represents
all that can be learned on the matter . Nevertheless
the journal has matured with its subject, and its pages
have welcomed contributions from all parts of the public
having an interest in the field . As such it is an adequate
device to gauge trends that may suggest answers to the
questions posed above .
Of one fact, there is little doubt : the physical development
of Material History Bulletin reflects growing professionalism
. Starting as volumes in the National Museum of
Man's Mercury series, the first two Bulletins were
presented in a format resembling a typed essay . Generous
use of photographs resulted in over ten additional pages of
illustrations . With the third number, the Bulletin became
a regularly published series offered for sale on a subscription
basis . To mark the change, a two-toned brown cover
colour was adopted and issues became fatter . Bulletin

ForruidColloyue
number eight, a special issue presenting papers delivered
at the 1979 Material History Forum, represented another
advance by using typeset copy, an experiment which was
made permanent with number thirteen . The efficient
utilization of space means many more words per page,
with the result that nine articles appear in issue sixteen
whereas only one or two are found in some earlier
numbers . Continued ample use of illustrations of substantial
proportions enhances the text while providing
supporting documentation . At six dollars per year for two
issues, the Bulletin represents one of the best buys in scholarly
journals today, judging the product on its physical
qualities alone .
Of course, content is much more important for a publication
and much harder to judge . To begin, each offering
must be perused and then an attempt made to put the articles,
notes, and reviews into some kind of perspective .
Mention of individual items is almost impossible . Detail
would be piled upon detail, obscuring overall patterns and
colour, and the result would be as tedious as a rendition of
several pages of a dictionary while being much less
instructive . General impressions unconnected to the
specific contents might appear unconvincing and
abstract . A middle course is reference to some widely
accepted analysis such as the structure recently proposed
by Thomas J . Schlereth in his introduction to Material
Culture Studies in America . 2 The issues of Material History
Bulletin considered include all numbers from one to sixteen
except for the special issues of conference papers,
numbers eight and fifteen .
Schlereth in the above-mentioned introduction sets the
systematic study of historical artifacts in the United States
in a continuum of three periods, beginning with the "Age
of Collection," passing through the "Age of Description,"
and finally reaching the "Age of Interpretation" in 1965 .
The current period is clearly the most intellectually productive
and exhibits a variety of approaches, some of
which pre-date it while others have their origins in
present-day scholarship . Nine distinct trends are identified
by Schlereth, and these are generally serviceable in
the Canadian context without extensive modifications .
While avoiding, one hopes, doing violence to the subtlety
of Schlereth's analytical framework, these nine research
trends in American material culture scholarship may be
summarized as being :
(1) art history, concerning itself with masterworks and
documenting the biographies of artists and their works in
order to sketch and assess the evolution of exquisite taste ;
(2) symbolist, in which the ideas reflected in popular
monuments are articulated ;
(3) cultural history, exploring all evidence concerning
artifacts to reconstruct past human surroundings ;
(4) environmentalist, showing how our built, physical
setting reflects cultural migration ;
(5) functionalist, in which technological change is
evidenced by alterations in all types of implements ;
(6) structuralist, involving former, general modes of
thought communicated through common dwellings,
material possessions, and self-expression ;
(7) behaviouralistic, or the phases of life and social
mechanisms indicated by traditions and the physical
evidence of such customs ;
(8) national character, whereby the collective personality
of a people is revealed by its material by-products ;
(9) social history, concerning shared experiences of common
folk documented by artifacts and by written evidence
of material possessions .
A categorization of the articles found in Material History
Bulletin establishes one fact clearly : by far the most
popular approach to recent times is that of the cultural
historian . Almost three times as many papers are in that
tradition as in the next most-favoured, art history . Closely
behind the runner-up are the environmentalist and the
functionalist .3 Some interest is shown in the behaviouristic
approach, but significantly, for a nation constantly in
search of its elusive identity, no one addresses their topic
by examining our national character or symbols . An even
more unfortunate failing is the scanty treatment of
material history in the tradition of the social historian, a
gap made especially noticeable by the widespread interest
in the approach by practitioners in other fields of history .
Some articles, of course, are not in any of the trends, including
those which are essentially research notes or which
deal with methodology, while others fall into more than
one approach . It is, moreover, necessary to admit that the
assignment of categories might be considered somewhat
subjective . Nevertheless the tone of the Bulletin is undisputedly
that of the cultural historian mustering his facts
about our past material surroundings .
Despite the emphasis in one area, some of the more outstanding
work is found elsewhere . "La Chaumiere
quebecoise" by Pierre Rastoul, found in the second issue,
is an able presentation of the origins and spread of thatching
as a means of roofing . 4 The interpretation of its
frequency of use and its socio-economic significance is
defended with appropriate documentary evidence, both
written and photographic . The selection of tables
appended to the article is particularly useful in explaining
Rastoul's observation that thatched roofs conferred very
little status upon their owners . Rastoul's article is in the
environmentalist tradition, while another incisive contribution,
that of R . Bruce Shepard on "The Mechanized
Agricultural Frontier of the Canadian Plains," is
93

94
functionalist .5 In his article, Shepard describes the evolution
of farm tractors, elaborating the socio-economic context
of the changes and showing the impact of the changes
on western agriculture . Again tables and photographs
buttress the written evidence and help support the conclusion
that mechanical power was one of the determinants of
prairie farm life before 1920 .
Quality in the dominant cultural history category
varies considerably . Martha Eckmann Brent's helpful
essay entitled "A Stitch in Time : The Sewing Machine
Industry of Ontario, 1860-1897" places the industry in
that province against its North American back~round and
details the manufacturers and their products . While the
conclusions are somewhat sparse, the reader should be able
to make his own judgements from remarks spread
throughout the text . Another useful piece, of its type, is
the Getty and Klaimen description of the markings of
Medalta pottery . 7 Identified as a research note by the
editors, the guide is similar to several articles except for its
greater comprehensiveness . Collectors and interested
curators will find the information of considerable help in
their endeavours . Despite the merits of the work its technical
nature and exhaustive detail will appeal to only a
small sector of readers and it would be better placed in a
specific technical report series, if one were available to
disseminate specialized knowledge . Yet another worthwhile
article is the study of "Shanty Life in the Kawarthas"
by Chris Curtis .8 Interesting and well organized, it offers
a vivid image of the living conditions enjoyed - or
endured - by a sizeable portion of Canadian males in the
last century . It comes close to social history, but, alas,
there is very little in it to do with material history . The
article certainly deserves to be published, but Ontario History
or the Journal of Canadian Studies would have been
more obvious venues .
Two fine articles appearing in Bulletin number 14
represent significant contributions to the diminutive
social history category . George Bervin in "Espace
physique et culture materielle du marchand-negociant a
Quebec au debut du XIXe siecle (1820-1830)" outlines
the homes and furnishings of the anglophone commercial
community during their ascendancy . The feeble conclusion
that the merchant-traders enjoyed a privileged status
in the community fails to complement the evidence produced
from inventories after death but does not detract
from its significance . Anita Rush links changes in female
clothing in the late nineteenth century to social pressures
affecting the life of women generally . The use of
magazines, such as the Ladies journal, highlights the
potential of such sources, the full dimension of which can
be seen in the work of Gwendolyn Wright . 9
At odds with the foregoing substantial offerings in the
Bulletin are a number of articles which can be fairly
accused of being pointless . Typically, they announce an
intention to deal with some category of "thing" and pro-
Bulletin 20
ceed to do so . Readers have the type of artifact in question
described in great detail with every variation noted . Once
the description is achieved, the article ends abruptly,
without any conclusion or any explanation of why the
reader should be at all interested in the knowledge so
painstakingly marshalled . Except for the lovers of that
type of artifact, few may recollect any substantial portion
of the essay, lacking any interpretative guidance on which
to hang the details . There are still some who will argue
that the only real facts are those derived from physical objects.'°
This viewpoint, if accepted, would expose us all to
the ill consequences of our history collections, the
inadequacies of which were described recently by Robert
Turner I l and D.R . Richeson .12 It would also limit us to
the sort of tenuous conclusions often endured by
archaeologists and anthropologists working in the absence
of acceptable archival data . ' 3 An opposite approach,
which would harness traditional historical sources and
techniques to the documentation of artifacts, hardly
constitutes a "new" history at all, but merely conventional
history applied to a different subject-matter . Salt shakers
or brass bedsteads thereby displace Joseph Howe or the
National Policy . Material history is obviously a new area
of study, and basic data must be presented for consideration,
but just as history differs from chronology, so
material history differs from artifact documentation . An .
insistence upon a section in an article explaining what is
meaningful about all the facts found in it would ensure
that even the most straightforward documentary survey
would contribute to a definition of the field .
The practice of assembling theme issues underlines the
need for material reflecting analytical courage . Certain
themes simply will not interest a proportion of the Bulletin's
readership, but, if one can gain insights from the
methodology utilized in articles or from general conclusions
perhaps applicable to other types of artifacts or to
different locales, a significant service to the field of
material history will be served . The heavy emphasis on
cultural history, and the frequent hesitation of authors to
comment upon their data make the inclusion of a challenging
interpretative piece, such as "The Archaeology of
Canadian Potteries" by Lester A . Ross in the ceramics
issue, 14 particularly important .
Occasional disappointment with some of the articles,
however, is counteracted by spicy notes and reviews which
indicate active debate and evolving standards in the field .
Critics regularly tackle the latest literary offerings with
verve, sometimes cutting even the loftiest of authors off at
the knees . An extended annotated review of publications
on glass in Canada by Holmes and Jones~5 is an excellent
initiative, worthy of imitation from time to time for other
subjects . ' 6 Exhibit reviews are equally sharp, and offer
curators a realistic forum before which their work can be
judged and from which all can learn . There is a temptation
to test exhibits more on their display techniques, labelling,
and selection of objects, however, than on the ideas

ForumlColloque
which are meant to be conveyed . The editors also make
excellent use of the notes section, which includes substantial
reports on current research and detailed accounts of
specific projects . A good example of the former is the inventory
of material culture research id Atlantic Canada by
Sheila Stevenson, 17 while the outline of the computerbased
archival research project undertaken in Newfound-.
land by Dickenson and Kolonell8 illustrates the latter .
Shorter notes are also useful, although the editors are not
able to attract much in the way of news bulletins or controversial
letters . For this the editorial board, and the
readers themselves, may be partly responsible, for ultimately
a vigorous journal like the Bulletin must tap
sources beyond the reach of any single individual or pair of
individuals .
Overall, the contents of Material History Bulletin are improving
with time . The tendency of authors to enumerate
artifactual traits is giving way to greater analysis . More
frequent occurrence of material in the environmentalist
and functionalist traditions, combined with recent interest
in social history, confirms the existence of more
broadly based research strategies . Moreover, the general
quality of scholarship is higher . Progress may be slow ;
nuturing a new field of study is never easy . Certain handicaps
in addition may impede advances . Much of the
material dealing with our large-scale material heritage
finds a home in other heritage and urban history journals,
while folklorists look to other platforms as well . A decision
to broaden the editorial parameters of the Bulletin
may enrich its content and offer new insights for material
historians . Certainly the broad definition of material
culture studies suggested by Schlereth implies a less
fragmented understanding of our material past . The contributions
made by folklorists in the two special issues
clearly indicate that they have much to give in their
methods of assimilating and interpreting material evidence
.
As for the future, contributions can be expected to work
within terms of either one of the two definitions of material
history offered at different times in the Bulletin . In the
first issue editors Riley and Watt declare that material history
is the study of the artifacts produced or used throughout
history . 19 Research begins with the artifact, and the
researcher, having examined it, looks at who made it and
what the society of the maker was like . While anthropology
is part of the inspiration of material history, it is
apparent that traditional historical methodology is
applied in documenting provenance . Archival research is,
however, seen by the editors as being directed toward the
artifact in the first instance and only after that at its context
. By the autumn of 1981, guest editors Hardy and
Wardrop had come to see material history as the application
of artifact-related evidence to the interpretation of the
past . 20 Although they maintain that artifacts may contain
unique data, the importance of the traditional historical
sources seems to be more significant for them . Moreover,
the centrality of the physical object appears to be in question
. Readers are reminded that Marx viewed methods of
production and the things produced as closely linked,
and, we are told, Fernand Braudel widened the study of
material life even further so that appreciation of the
economy in which it existed was required . A reading of
Material History Bulletin, then, establishes that the material
historian depicts a broad image of society, an image
which is in part reflective of the society's physical remains
and in part explanatory of them .
These dissimilar definitions probably represent different
understandings of what constitutes material history
rather than a change in a generally accepted definition .
They indicate the somewhat fragmented approach to the
field itself. Indeed they suggest that there are two broad
approaches to material history . Both place the artifact at
the centre of the study but only one demands its actual
physical presence . A methodology which proceeds without
the object may define the significance of an item
through examination of relevant information in diaries,
works of literature, travellers' accounts, and other verifiably
reliable sources . Once its significance is known,
appropriate conclusions can be inferred about those who
owned or worked with the object . This information can
then be connected to particular individuals or groups
through the identification of owners by examining
probated wills, inventories of intestate estates, and chattel
mortgages . 21 A variant of this methodology uses these
latter documents to establish the significance of certain
artifacts, a process which is facilitated if knowledge about
the owners is extensive. Historians employing these techniques
are, in fact, documenting a set of cultural attributes
which find part of their expression in objects . Thus
material history can be seen as part of the wider interpretation
of mentalites as understood by Philippe Aries and
Michel Foucault . Zz
The physical presence of an object presents a different
route of study, moving from the careful observation of
physical characteristics to an evaluation of what these
traits may mean . This approach, which is perhaps the
most challenging one in Material History Bulletin, even
though the most frequently used, comes naturally to
curators of history collections . Unfortunately a good
example of novel conclusions based upon objective assessment
criteria is not found among the issues considered for
the present report . The problem of establishing a consistent,
workable methodology for this approach is already
the subject of one doctoral dissertation in progress . 23
Several applications of any such method yet to be proposed
will have to occur to ensure the viability of the concept,
and in turn, by extrapolation, the belief that an artifact
from recent historical times can tell us something that is
not already known or which cannot be readily discovered
without it . Yet partly upon that achievement hangs the
justification of history collections as unique pools of information
rather than samples of mankind's handiwork .
95

96
Involved in the definition of material history and the
clarification of how one studies it, therefore, is the articulation
of the purpose of human history museums . The
museum may be seen as safeguarding evidence documenting
our history in a singular fashion or as assembling an
extensive array of common and rare objects exemplifying
earlier life-styles which must be comprehended through
reference to archival sources . An understanding of the
ability of artifacts to contain and to render up irreplaceable
knowledge could help to determine the appropriate
weighting of our institutional responsibilities . In short,
should the museum's custodial function be emphasized,
like that of an archives, or should stress be placed upon its
educational and public programming activities?
NOTES
1 . A. Gregg Finley, "Unlocking the Curator's Cabinet : Toward a
New Strategy for Artifact Research," unpublished paper, dated 22
December 1981 .
2 . Thomas J . Schlereth, "Material Culture Studies in America, 1876-
1976," in Material Culture Studies in America (Nashville, Tenn . :
American Association for State and Local History, 1982), pp . t-
75 .
3 . Forty-seven articles and two very substantial research notes were
assigned the categories defined by Schlereth . Included in the fortyseven
were three that were methodological, one museological,
three research reports, and four "other ." The breakdown was as
follows : art history, 7 ; symbolist, 0 ; cultural history, 17 ; environmentalist,
5 ; functionalist, 6 ; structuralist, 0 ; behaviouralistic, 1 ;
national character, 0 ; social history, 2 . Art history seems to be on
the wane, and the appearance of social history is recent . Cultural
history appears to attract the attention of museum and historic
sites personnel while university-based historians are more likely to
follow other approaches .
4 . Pierre Rastoul, "La Chaumiere quebecoise," Material History Bulletin
(hereafter MHB) 2 (1977), pp . 19-41 .
5 . R. Bruce Shepard, "The Mechanized Agricultural Frontier of the
Canadian Plains," MHB 7 (Spring 1979), pp . 1-23 .
6 . Martha Eckmann Brent, "A Stitch in Time : The Sewing Machine
Industry in Ontario, 1867-1897," MHB 10 (Spring 1980), pp . 1-
30 .
7 . Ronald Getty and Ester Klaiman, "Identifying Medalta, 1916-
1954 : A Guide to Markings," MHB 12 (Spring 1981), pp . 17-60 .
8 . Chris Curtis, "Shanty Life in the Kawarthas, Ontario, 1850-
1855," MHB 13 (Fall 1981), pp . 39-49 .
9 . George Bervin, ".Espace physique et culture materielle du
marchand-negociant 3 Quebec au debut du XIX` siecle (1820-
1830)," MHB 14 (Spring 1982), pp . 1-18, and Anita Rush,
"Changing Women's Fashion and Its Social Context, 1870-1905,"
Bulletin 20
MHB 14 (Spring 1982), pp . 37-46 . On the basis of its articles, research
reports, notes, and reviews, this issue is the clear f".wourite
of the present commentator . Gwendolyn Wright, Moralism andthe
Model Home: Domestic Architecture and Cultural Conflict in Chicago,
1873-1913 (Chicago : University of Chicago, 1980) .
10 . Philip Ward, "The Artifact as a Source of Knowledge," Echo,
house organ of the National Museums of Canada, 2, no . I
(December 1981-January 1982), p . 6 and Ward, "Museums :
Commitments to the Future," Echo 2, no . 2 (February 1982),1) . 5 .
11 . See Robert D. Turner, "The Limitations of Material History : A
Museological Perspective," in this issue but originally presented
to the annual meeting of the Canadian Historical Association,
Ottawa, 9 June 1982 .
12 . David R. Richeson, "Museum Collections : Distortions of Our
Past," Ontario Museum Quarterly 12, no . 1 (W inter 1983), pp . I8-
22 .
13 . For a spoof on archaeologists and archaeology, as it is usually not
practised in Canada, see David Macaulay, Motel of the Mysteries
(London : Hutchinson, 1979) .
14 . Lester Ross, "The Archaeology of Canadian Potteries : An Evaluation
of Production Technology," MHB 16 (Winter 1982), pp . 3-
20 .
15 . Janet Holmes and Olive Jones, "Glass in Canada : An Annotated
Bibliography," MHB 6 (Fall 1978), pp . 115-48 .
16 . John McIntyre and Janet McIntyre followed this tradition effectively
in the furniture issue (number 11), but similar pieces were
unfortunately absent from the forest issue (number 13) and, more
notably, the ceramics issue (number 16) .
17 . Sheila Stevenson, "An Inventory of Research and Researchers Concerned
with Atlantic Canadian Material Culture," MH13 14
(Spring 1982), pp . 79-89 .
18 . Victoria Dickenson and Valerie Kolonel, "Computer-Based
Archival Research Project : A Preliminary Report," MHB 10
(Spring 1980), pp . 3I-61 .
19 . MHB 1(1976), p .3 .
20 . MHB 13 (Fall 1981), p . 2 .
21 . Julia Cornish, "The Legal Records of Atlantic Canada as a
Resource for Material Historians," MHB 18 (Fall 1983), pp . 31-
34 ; H.T . Holman, "Now this Indenture Witnesseth . . .' : Some
Comments on the Use of Chattel Mortgages in Material History
Research," MHB 19 (Spring 1984), pp . 52-56 .
22 . Patrick H. Hutton, "The History of Mentalities : The New Map of
Cultural History," History and Theory 20, no . 3 (October 1981),
pp . 237-59 .
23 . See Gregg Finley, "Material History and Museums : A Curatorial
Perspective in Doctoral Research" in this issue . The University of
New Brunswick also offers a diploma programme in material history
at the master's level .
A second appraisal of the status of material history appeared
recently in Acadienrit . See Ann Gorman Condon, "What the
Object Knew : Material History Studies in Canada," Acadiensis 13,
no . 2 (Spring 1984), pp . 136-46 . The present report was largely
written before the appearance of the Condon review article and was
completed without reference to it .

"Concerning Work," Manitoba Museum of Man and
Nature . Curator in charge : Sharon Reilly . Chief of
Design and Production : Bill Little . Travelling exhibit .
Opened : October 1983 . National tour : March 1984-
December 1986, 15 locations . Catalogue : Gerry
Berkowski et al ., Concerning Work : Change in the Work
Process in Canada 1850-200U (Winnipeg : Manitoba
Museum of Man and Nature, 1983) . Free . Also available
in French : Parlont travail: evolution du mortde dit
travail au Canada de 1850,4 Pan 2000 .
The Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature's travelling
exhibit, "Concerning Work : Change in the Work Process
in Canada 1H50-20(l(l," concludes an ambitious thirteen-
month special educational and cultural project on the
subject of "work ." This project has sought "to examine the
nature of work in Canada from an historical, a contemporary
and a futuristic perspective and to consider the ways
in which the work process and the social relations in the
workplace have affected, and will affect, the lives of Cana-
dian working men and women . "I
The in-house programme consisted of lectures, films,
seminars, work-place tours, university courses, and an art
competition dealing with such topics as attitudes toward
work, work in early Canada, work in Manitoba, women at
work, preparing for work, health and safety in the workplace,
and the future of work . The travelling exhibit
opened in Winnipeg in October 1983 and will be travelling
to various centres across the country until the end of
1986 .
Preparing an exhibit on a subject like the "work
process" offers many challenges to the curator . The subject
is so broad that it cannot possibly mention all the different
types of work and also, to be comprehensible, a common
theme must be established throughout . Once the latter
has been achieved there then comes the question of choosing
artifacts which will complement the theme as
reflected in the labels and graphics .
The exhibit is divided into six chronological periods,
each one dealing with a particular aspect of change in the
work process . Although it is difficult to restrict certain
activities to a particular time frame, the dates chosen for
the exhibit do make sense, while allowing for some overlap
. Topics such as Industrialization, Scientific Manage-
Reviews l Comptes rendus
Concerning Work
Alaterial History BulletirilBulletin d'histoire de la culture materielle .
97
ment, the Depression, World War II, Transition, and
Beyond 1984, are dealt with through labels, graphics,
artifacts, and in three of the sections, by audio-visual presentations
. (It should be noted here that while the exhibit
was in Halifax, technical problems with the audio-visual
equipment resulted in much "down time" for the slide
shows .)
For the most part, the labels are short and concise and
provide a clear statement of the subject being exhibited .
The slide show in the Scientific Management (1900-30)
section, with its accompanying musical track, is espe-
Fig . l . Scientific Management Section . This early twentiei
century time clock symbolizes scientific managemen
concern for efficiency and speed in the work-plai
(Photo : Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature .)

98
cially effective in portraying the theme . The role of
women in the work-place is highlighted throughout the
exhibit, including a slide presentation with music on
working women in the "Transition" section .
In choosing artifacts for such an exhibit there is a
danger of trying to include too much . The 120 or so
objects chosen do not overwhelm the viewer, they are
generally appropriate, and most important, they are
allowed to speak for themselves with a minimum of labelling
. The connection between the ideas contained in the
text and the objects displayed is left up to the viewer . For
example, no words can as effectively describe the consequences
of unemployment during the Depression as the
sugar-bag clothing included in the exhibit . Also, the
complexity of early computer technology is readily understood
by looking at a late 1950s Heathkit analog computer
with its tangle of wires and numerous dials .
In a few instances, the sparse labelling on the artifacts
can lead to confusion . It took a while, for example, to
grasp the significance of including a fireman's helmet,
hose nozzle, fishing rod, and fishing basket together with
a modern computer terminal, telephone, and a Black
Brant projectile . A closer reading of an accompanying
label on robotics noted that despite the advances of technology,
there are still some skills which require the ingenuity
and strength of working people .
Some confusion also arises over the general layout of the
exhibit . Except for the dates which are the titles for each
section, there is little consistency in the display panels .
This distracts somewhat from the order and clarity of the
story line .
The text, graphics, artifacts, and slides involve the
viewer but it is the programming potential which excites .
The thirteen months of programming activities in
Winnipeg only demonstrate how well and how fully,
programming can be used to enhance an exhibit . In this
case, however, it is the exhibit which has been used to
enhance the programming activities . Those of us viewing
the exhibit outside Winnipeg can only feel the loss at not
having been able to participate in some of those varied
activities . Institutions hosting the exhibit should provide
such programming to make the exhibit more meaningful
to their communities .
Despite the few drawbacks already noted, this is an
informative thought-provoking, and innovative exhibit .
It succeeds in both the material presented and the manner
in which the text and artifacts interact to give a com-
prehensive view of the "work process ." The catalogue
accompanying the exhibit is well-written and informa-
tive .
Congratulations to the staff of the Manitoba Museum of
Man and Nature for their efforts .
NOTE
Bulletin 20
1 . Berkowski, Gerry, et al ., Concerning Work : Changes in the Work
Process in Canada 1850-2000 . Exhibit booklet, p . l .
Curatorial Statement
David B . Flemming
"Concerning Work," which opened at the Manitoba
Museum of Man and Nature in October 1983 and which is
now on tour across Canada, was influenced profoundly by,
and intended as a contribution toward, the development
of a new social history of Canada .' The exhibit was the
second stage of a major public educational and cultural
project sponsored by the Museum beginning in
September 1982 . Both the exhibit and the thirteen
months of public programming that preceded it were
designed to explore the many dimensions of the theme
"Change in the Work Process in Canada 1.850-2000 ."*
The decision to explore this theme resulted largely from
the realization that it is a subject that has received relatively
little attention from museums in the past, despite
the centrality of work to all of our lives . The reasons for
this are to be found, in part, in the nature of the historiography
from which our history museums are developed .
Traditionally, historians have focused on the "great men"
of the past and on the political and economic issues that
have surrounded them . Seldom are the lives of ordinary
working people, or of women of any class, considered .
Rarely are the social and cultural dimensions of peoples'
lives given serious attention . The "things that people
leave behind," their material culture, are thus isolated
from their past .
Social historian Michael Wallace discussed this
problem as it relates to the museum world .2 His study
focused on American museums built since the midnineteenth
century. Essentially, he found that many well
established, highly acclaimed museums were actually
quite limited in value because a number of common biases
were reflected in them . Some, like John D. Rockefeller
Jr .'s famous restoration project at Colonial Williamsburg,
were found wanting because they concerned themselves
exclusively with the elite of the society . In the case of
Colonial Williamsburg, the black slaves who made up 90
per cent of the population of this eighteenth-century Virginia
colony were virtually ignored . In other museums,
like Henry Ford's 1.929 re-creation of a pre-industrial
* "Concerning Work" was produced with financial assistance from the
Museums Assistance Programme of the National Museums of
Canada, the Manitoba Employment Action Programme, Department
of Labour and Employment Action Services, and the Govern-
ment of Manitoba .

RevieurtlCompre .r rendlu
American community at Greenfield Village, the lives of
craftsworkers, farmers, and domestic labourers were made
the centre of attention, while bankers, politicians and
others who constituted the upper stratum of society were
excluded . In neither case were the political, social or
economic realities of the society explored .
More recent museums have attempted to examine
developments in agriculture or industry, but often they
focus narrowly on the technology itself, instead of on the
people who operated or manufactured it . Objects are
divorced from the work process, and the social relations of
production are ignored . An incomplete, if not misleading,
interpretation of the past is thus presented .
Guided by the new social history, which seeks to
examine all facets of society and the interrelationships
among them, the "Concerning Work" project of the
Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature set out to explore
the subject of work in Canada, from historical, contemporary,
and futuristic perspectives . It focused on the labour
process - the social relations in the work-place - to
consider how the organization of work in our society has
affected and will affect the lives of Canadian working
people .
In the thirteen months of programming prior to the
opening of the exhibit, an expansive array of topics was
explored within monthly segments that focused on major
themes like "Attitudes Toward Work" and sub-topics as
diverse as "Alienation from Work," "The Theology of
Work" and "Handicapped Workers ." Other monthly
themes were "The History of Work in Canada," which
concentrated on the impact of the industrial revolution
and on working life in the new factories ; "Women and
Work" ; "Preparing for Work" ; "The History of the Canadian
Labour Movement" ; "Living Without Work," which
included unemployment, work-sharing, leisure and
retirement ; "Culture of Work" ; and "Future of Work,"
especially the micro-electronic revolution .
Many different programming formats were incorporated
into the project : theatrical and musical performances,
films, work-place tours, university courses,
lectures and other public presentations, workshops, festivals,
demonstrations, and, of course, museum exhibits .
Many individuals and organizations from the Winnipeg
community and beyond became involved in the organization
of these events . To some extent, therefore, the
Concerning Work project was akin to conceptual art -
the work and cooperation involved in making the project
"work" was an accomplishment in itself .
The exhibit "Concerning Work" was seen as a final,
summary statement of all that had gone before . The question
of whether the exhibit should or should not coincide
with the related programming was discussed at length . It
was decided that, given the vastness and complexity of the
Fig . 2 . Transition Section . The micro-chip intensified au
mation and the replacement of workers with machin
yet many jobs still require traditional skills a
physical labour . Artifacts include Heathkit anal
computer (top right), microprocessor module a
computer circuit boards (middle right), compu
memory core (centre), teletype machine (top left), a
in the foreground, hammer, level, chainsaw, hardh
lunchbox, and briefcase . (Photo : Manitoba Museum
- -- -- 1 .* _ -- .
subject unaer consuieration, it would r
explore the many issues involved and thc
exhibit to a somewhat prepared audience
This strategy was not without its problems . Clearly
not everyone who viewed the exhibit-even in Winnipej
- would have participated in the "Concerning Work'
programmes . It was hoped, however, that widespreac
publicity about the project and the dissemination of th(
special "Concerning Work" bi-monthly Calendar a
Events would help to prepare the wider audience . Also, tc
facilitate the interpretation of the exhibit, the Museurr
diverged from its normal practice and, with the assistance
of the National Museums of Canada, produced a catalogu(
to accompany the exhibit . Carefully prepared by th(
curators involved, this document explored the primar)
themes of the exhibit, outlined the programme that pre .
99

whole .
The "Concerning Work" exhibit could not begin to do
all that the preceding programmes had done . But, for the
first time in a museum context, it explored the major
trends in technological development in the labour process
in Canada . Technological innovation is often perceived as
a liberating force, as the means "by which man progressively
masters his environment ."' But history has shown
that it has also generated serious social, political and
economic problems . Industrialization in Canada in the
nineteenth century meant dramatic increases in productivity
and profits, and made a wide variety of laboursaving
implements and products commonly available .
The new factories created hundreds of thousands of jobs
for Canadians, but the reorganization of the work-place
Fig . 3 . Beyond 1)84 Section . Computers and robots will alter
most occupations though some jobs, like firefighting,
will still depend on human strength and skill . The
potential for easier, more productive work and
increased leisure time is counterbalanced by the possibility
of more tedious jobs and higher levels of
unemployment . Artifacts are (top left to right) computer
terminal, display phone, Black Brant 10 weather
research rocket, and (bottom left) fishing rod and
basket and (bottom rikht) firefikhter's hat . (Photo :
less welcome implications for Canadian worki
The "Concerning Work" exhibit focuses on the im
that change has had on the lives of working women
men in Canada since 1850 and examines the ways in w
workers have responded to these developments . It
cludes by casting ahead to the year 2000 to considei
possible effects in the work-place of the "second Indus
revolution" of microtechnolo#;y .
Perhaps no exhibit ever fulfills all the expectations ol
those involved in producing it, or perhaps it is a high art
form that takes many, many years of experience tc
achieve . As well, the various individuals involved in ar
effort of this kind obviously have different expectations
and goals . In any exhibit, a compromise must be reachee
between content - what the curators want - and th(
limits imposed by design considerations .
From the curatorial perspective, "Concerning Work
succeeded in many ways . The overall concept, as pre
sented in the catalogue, was controlled by the curators an(
met their expectations . Many themes and ideas whicl
they considered important were presented in the exhibit
Artifacts that seldom see the light of day became a part o
the display, and many excellent photographs, slides, an(
other graphic images were included .
Unfortunately, many artifacts initially intended for
exhibit were excluded at various points throughout the
development of the final product . Interpretive label copy
deemed necessary by the curators was reduced, and re-
duced again, due to space limitations . An early interest in
presenting the "sights, sounds, and smells" of the work-
place was never realized . An attempt was made, however,
through the designers' initiative, to create an appropriate
work-related ambience by using a scaffolding structure
and wooden crates .
The struggle to make form and function one was
certainly played out in the production of this exhibit . All
those involved, from the Curatorial Division, Design,
Conservation, or elsewhere, made a sincere effort to
produce the best possible exhibit . As the exhibit neared
completion it became clear that, time and resources per-
mitting, improvements could be made in terms of inter-
pretation, design, and security . Some artifacts had to be
removed from the exhibit before it travelled, for example,
and one important item, an irreplaceable, ultra-modern
"display phone," generously provided by Northern Tele-
com, disappeared from the exhibit during its final week in
Winnipeg . We learned a great deal from the experience
and hope to reflect this knowledge in the next such effort .
"Concerning Work," and the programme of which it
was a part, was a unique project that represented a major

ReviersslConJpter rendar
Museum of Man and Nature . While a formal evaluation
has yet to be done, it is safe to say that it was a project of
major importance in terms of contemporary efforts by
historians and museum workers to "re-discover and reinterpret
the world of work ."" The project achieved some
important goals . It necessitated the sharing of work and
decision-making among many staff members . It
promoted the concept of integrated programming, both
with groups outside the Museum and within it . It reached
deep into the community, and involved many new faces in
Museum activities . And, it brought working people into
the Museum, both figuratively and literally .
It is hoped that "Concerning Work" will be recognized
as a serious effort to contribute toward the development of
a new social and material history of Canada, one that
reflects the lives of all Canadians, and not just the few .
Curators :
Sharon Reilly, Gerry Berkowski, Edith Burley
Designers : Bill Little, Eric Crone, Barb Roney, Cathy
Wickett, David Hopper, Alan Einarson
NOTES
I . Many of the ideas discussed here were first presented by Sharon
Reilly at the Canadian Museums Association's Annual Meeting
(Halifax, May 1982) and at the Ontario Museum Association
Heritage Conference "Industrious in Their Habits : Rediscovering
"Of Men and Wood," National Museum of Man . Curator :
Jean-Pierre Hardy . Designer : Leo Saccu . Travelling
exhibit . Opened July 1982 . National tour : December
1982-April 1986, 15 locations .
Veteran museum-goers often see exhibits that glorify
the "marvels" of modern technology in this or that industry
. Fortunately, this exhibit presents a less egregious
interpretation of the history of the forest industries of eastern
Canada because it reveals, as the others usually fail to
do, how industrial capitalism has impinged upon the lives
of workers caught up in the world of wood . The exhibit
warns viewers that the reality of the lumberjack's life contrasted
sharply with the romantic images spawned by
songs and stories, although the reasons for this tend to remain
buried in a montage of pictures, artifacts, and text .
The fact that the human "commodity" in forest enterprise
receives as much emdhasis as forest nroducts is certainlv
Of Men and Wood
the World of Work" (Toronto, January 1983) . See also the exhibition
catalogue, Concerning W'ork : Change in the Work Process in
Canada 1850-2000 .
? . Michael Wallace, "Visiting the Past : History Museums in the
United States," RarGial Hi .rtory Review 25 (1981), pp . 63-96 .
3 . T.K . Derry and Trevor Williams, A Short History of Technology
(Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1960), p . 3 .
=+ . In January 1981 the Ontario Museum Association organized a
major heritage conference entitled "Industrious in Their Habits :
Rediscovering the World of Work ." The conference was based on
the premise that although people spend much of their lives at work,
this area of human history has remained relatively unexplored by
museums . The conference brought together more than 25 speakers
from the museum world and the academic community to examine
the changing nature and processes of work in Canada over the past
150 years under the following subjects : Work in the Home, Work
on the Farm, Work in Industry, Work in the Professions . The aim
of the conference was to assist museum workers in using their
collections to research and interpret this important facet of social
history . A word-processed publication based on the papers
delivered at the conference is available from the Ontario Museum
Association at a modest cost . For more information please contact
the OMA, 38 Charles St . E ., Toronto, Ontario, M-+1' IT l or call
(416) 9?3-i868 . (Editor's Note : The Material Hhlorj Bulletin is
publishing a number of the confereence papers - No . 19 : Hilary
Russell, "Canadian W'ays" : An Introduction to Comparative Studies of
Housework, Stoves, and Diet in Great Britain and Canada ; (an
Radforth, !n the Bush: The Changing Il''orld oJ 11"ork in Ontario's
Pulpwood Logging Industry during the Twentieth Century ; W . John
McIntyre, From 11"orkrhop to Factor-1 : The Furnituremaker ; Marilyn J .
Barber, Below Stairs : The Doruettu Sert~ant . No . 20 : Alison Prentice,
Front Household to School House : The Emergence of the Teae lxr as Servant
oJ the State . Forthcoming : Ernst W . Stieb, A Professional Keeping
Shop : The Nineteerrth-Certturj APotheeary .)
Sharon Reiliv
Fig . 1 . Exhibit "hub" on the left showing barrelmaking and
caulking . (Photo : National Museums of Canada
fNMCI . nee . no . 82-9443 .)
I () I

Fig . 2 . "Square Timbers" and "Shipbuilding" sections of the
exhibit . (Photo : NMC, neg . no . 82-9441 .)
welcome . But its creators waffle at the end by concluding
their display on an ambiguous note of concern for the
forest environment rather than for today's woodworkers .
"Of Men and Wood" is a self-contained, portable display
designed for easy installation in one exhibition hall .
Organized in the shape of a large wheel made up of natural
wood-finished cases, the hub contains a central displav of
immediately attract the viewer's attention . Each of thi
four is fashioning wood : one drills a piece mounted on ;
vise, another wields an axe in the woods, a third makes ;
barrel, and a fourth hammers caulk into the side of ;
sailing vessel . The full-scale corner of a Victorian porcl
railing nearby shows both the woodworker's attractiv
handiwork and many of the tools of his trade . Th,
chronologically arranged cases circling these cut-ou
figures contain a wide assortment of maps, pictures
photos, drawings, models, and artifacts ranging over tw(
centuries of Canadian historv .
The exhibit is organized around two major themes .
"Wood and the Economy" chronicles the history of North
American forest resources from the rise of the square
timber trade in the late eighteenth century through
wooden shipbuilding and house construction to the pulp
and paper industries of more recent times . The chief historical
periods are effectively delineated by way of maps,
pictures, ship models, and by various tools associated with
these work-places, such as axes, adzes, augers, trammel
points, and caulking and sailmaking tools . The purpose of
most if not all these artifacts (i .e ., what are trammel
points?) is satisfactorily explained . To convey the atmosphere
of twentieth-century forest resource factories, the
exhibit relies upon some excellent photographs of the
interiors of pulp and paper mills or sawmills as well as on

Rer,ieu~tlComptu rerrdui
an interesting display of paper products garbed in the
colourful advertising slogans and brand names of yore .
The text accurately emphasizes the historical dependence
of the eastern Canadian forest industry upon British and
American markets, and curiously overlooks other dimensions
of dependence upon foreign capital and technique .
The lumber slide, for instance, was introduced into
Canada by New England forest entrepreneurs . Nowhere is
data on either the volume or value of forest-related exports
to British or American metropolitan centres provided,
and consequently the cyclonic fluctuations of this exportled
economy also go unnoticed .
The second and more original theme portrays the
experiences ofgenerations ofwoodworkers, detailing their
seasonal work in the forests through pictures and a model
of a logging camp . An excellent combination of pictures
and tools conveys accurate impressions about the workplace
lives of carpenters and joiners, cabinetmakers and
coopers . These displays, and especially the accompanying
brochure, explain why working conditions peculiar to the
forest industry kept workers for the most part on the
fringes of the nineteenth-century Canadian labour movement
. But the pictures of individual workers taken
together overemphasize isolating factors and obscure the
many examples of spontaneous collective action by
lumbermen and woodworkers in defence of their interests .
Instead of baldly summarizing the results of the changing
social relations of production, however, the exhibit concludes
by pondering the impending destruction of the
forest environment : "Given that today's technology
renders intensive cutting more feasible than ever, can we
afford to continue invading new regions and increasing
the rate of exploitation?" Put this way, the exhibit
suggests that technology is a purely autonomous force .
Actually, profits - not technology - have always dictated
both when and how machines were introduced into
the wilderness work-place and also the degree to which the
environment was exploited .
Despite falsely interpreting technological change as an
independent variable rather than a conscious option available
to entrepreneurs, I thought that "Of Men and Wood"
effectually blended a wide range of artifacts, maps,
pictures, and drawings into a basically accurate and
persuasive historical interpretation . The single most
objectionable feature about the exhibit originated in Saint
John rather than in Ottawa . New Brunswick Museum
officials did absolutely nothing to enhance this display .
Atrocious lighting put some parts of it in a dazzling glare
and other parts in deep shadow . Stark white, bare walls
ought to have been draped in fabric if no posters or pictures
were available . The absence of any noise associated
with woodworking industries could have been overcome
through a continuous tape recording of sawing, hammering,
and other workshop sounds interspersed with the
chitchat of workers . This viewer longed for a whiff of pine
needles or cedar staves .
Fig . 4 . Georges Picard in his workshop at Sainte-Louise,
Quebec, 1976 . (Photo : NMC, neg . no . 76-4965 .)
103
Inevitably a few of the photographs or reproductions
left me puzzled or amused . The exhibit quotes the deci-
sion of judge Tessier in Quebec on "freedom of contract"
without explaining how that doctrine affected workers .
One photograph (fig . 4), presuming to be of a carpenter-
joiner at work in his shop, is obviously faked . The
"worker" wears polished dress shoes, his belt-powered saw
is not in motion, and the interior lighting is artificially
dramatic . No bona fide woodworker would be caught
pushing a board over a tablesaw with his hands rather than
with a forked stick .
The accompanying brochure, Work in the Nineteenth-
Century Forest Industry, fills in some gaps in the displays by
discussing the quality of life in lumber towns and the
erosion of artisan skills . It hints more directly at the
changing social relations of production that coincided
with the rise of forest-related factories . It is also more
accurate in pointing out the links between profit-making
and the threatened exhaustion of the resource base . By
focusing exclusively on the nineteenth century though,
the brochure is unaccountably narrower than the exhibit .
And by concluding on a predictably popular nationalist
theme (worry over control of the Canadian forest industry
by United States and British interests), it implies without
any evidence that Canadian capitalists would have made
different decisions that gave more benefits to workers or
showed more sensitivity to environmental issues . Finally,
the brochure's bibliography omits some important references
of general interest, such as Donald McKay's The
Lumberjacks (Toronto, 1978) and Michael Cross's article
on the Shiner's "war" in Canadian Historical Review (54,

104
March 1973) . All the items here should be annotated as
Nvell .
In sum, I would give an A-minus to the creators of this
exhibit for their generally effective blend of artifacts and
visual materials, for their explanatory captions, and especially
for their stress on the work-place aspects of the forest
resources industries . I lament their bland and misleading
et la construction navale," Parcs Canada, region du
Quebec . Concept and production : Division de la realisation
et la planification d'interpretation . Permanent
exhibition . Opened : 21 June 1984 .
How can an institution produce history exhibits organized
around artifacts and avoid being called a
liullem
relationships between woodworkers and entreprencur
that stemmed from changing modes of production . Ne~
Brunswick Museum officials receive a failing grade f'C
their lack of attention to the exhibit setting ; perhaps it i
not surprising (if unfortunate) that no one else carne t
look ar "()f Mc~n and Wood" durini, rhc ninerv minutes
projects undertaken by the personnel at Farks Canada .
is particularly pertinent for the interpretation centrr
identified by many as the "Musee du vieux port" (Museur
of the Old Port), in Quebec City . Here visitors are intrt
duced to exhibits on the history of the timber trade an
shipbuilding through the use of a variety of interpretk
techniques : audio-visual presentations (including a vei
Fig . 1 . The impressive site of Parks Canada's new interpretation centre at the "Vieux port" in Quebec City . Formerly occupied by a
cement company, this three-storey building includes over 16,000 square feet of exhibit space . (Photo : Parks Canada .)

KeriewslCompte.r rendwr
innovative, though slightly confusing, animated film on
the development of the port of Quebec), historic illustrations,
interactive techniques (e .g ., lifting material with
the use of pulleys), "talking" mannequins dressed in reproductions
of period costumes, theatrical presentations,
maquettes (e .g ., of a timber cove), partial reconstitutions
(e .g ., merchant's summer house, tavern, boat's bow, ship
chandler's store, clerk's office), and reproductions of
historic artifacts .
Answers to the question raised above are complex
because distinctions between Parks Canada and museum
exhibits are becoming increasingly blurred . One response
is that the latter emphasize period artifacts in exhibits and
the former rely on reproductions, but since both institu-
tions use objects that fall into these two categories, even
this distinction is difficult to make . Some historic sites
such as Louisbourg include a large number ofperiod pieces
and differ little from museums in this respect . The tradi-
tional assumption that history researchers in Parks Canada
work primarily on historic sites of a political or military
nature and those in museums work on themes dealing
with artifacts and socio-cultural history is no longer valid
since personnel in both are increasingly concerned with
similar topics . Similarities in these institutions' research
and exhibit subjects were particularly evident when this
reviewer visited the interpretation centre at the "Vieux
port" in Quebec City during the summer of 1984 . A
travelling exhibit on woodworking trades (including
shipbuilding, lumbering, and cooperage) from the
National Museum of Man, which was on display in the
centre's temporary exhibit gallery,* was described by
Parks Canada guides as being particularly useful in pro-
viding visitors with additional background information
on displays at the centre .
The similarity of the centre's display on the timber
industry and shipbuilding to museum exhibits allows one
to evaluate it from a museological perspective . Although
the storyline is comprehensive, and many of the design
techniques innovative, visitors have some difficulty
understanding the message . This is in part because some
of the major themes (e .g ., British protectionism and the
commercial empire in which the colonial timber trade was
involved) are highly complex and occasionally difficult to
relate to sub-themes such as working conditions .
The difficulty of understanding some of these themes is
a result of the exhibit's design . Although techniques such
as dialogues between talking mannequins (the voices of
which are a bit muffled) and the use of electronic overhead
information panels (which are too high for children to read
and tend to be missed by many visitors) are new and interesting,
they need additional refinement . In spite of the
'" Editor's note : A review of "Of Men and Wood" at the
New Brunswick Museum is published above .
Fig . 2 . Reproductions portraying a port scene in Quebec City .
Notice the presence of an interactive cxhibit (winch
and pulley for lifting cargo) on the left . (Photo : Kedl,
Parks Canada .)
Fig . 3 . Rafting scene depicting dangerous working conditit
in the nineteenth-century timber industry . Althou
innovative, the overhead electronic panels shown at t
top of the illustration are missed by most visitors . T
rug, mural, and ceiling distract from the authent

106
Fig . 4 . Theatre pieces concerning life in Quebec's timber port
were presented as part of the interpretation centre's
animation programme during the summer of 1984 .
(Photo : Parks Canada .)
very good costume reproductions dressing the mannequins,
one would have hoped for clearer voice recordings
as well as more realistic facial renderings . Although the
cost of replacing some mannequins with holograms (lifelike
images created by lasers and photographs) would be
high, it might be feasible to justify the development of
such new technology for use in a number of exhibits and
Rulleti
Some of the building facades as well as the interiors lack
realism . The expensive use of mirrors to provide tht
appearance of depth, developed so successfully in Park~
Canada's Artillery Park exhibit in Quebec City, is not
employed often in this display . Consequently, many o1
the interiors appear shallow . Little additional money but
more research on synthetic materials would have
improved the appearance of facades, a number of which
resemble theatre props .
Additional research and the help of museum educators
might have improved the traffic flow . If visitors arrive
after the doors have been shut to the theatre (which has
specific times for the French and English versions of the
film), they miss important background information on
the evolution of the port and the timber trade . The mazelike
circulation within the centre would function better if
the audio-visual introduction did not depend on a theatre
with a captive audience and if the different sub-themes
and exhibits were more easily identified and located . An
interesting part of the exhibit involves mannequins
dressed as shipbuilders and includes an activity allowing
the public to hammer a caulking-type material between
timbers; unfortunately, it is almost hidden in a narrow
corridor .
In spite of the problems mentioned above, the cent
exhibit on the timber trade and shipbuilding is inforn
tive and innovative . A comprehensive storyline, as we]
the use of a wide range of design techniques, makes i
display worthy of those found in our best museums .

Contributors/Collaborateurs
Robert H . Babcock is Chairman of the Department of History, University of Maine at Orono .
Francis Back, illustrateur a Montreal, a travaille pour 1'Office national du film et Radio-Canada et se
specialise dans les sujets historiques .
Gregg Finley, formerly Chief Curator of History at the New Brunswick Museum, is currently pursuing
doctoral studies in material history at the University of New Brunswick .
David Flemming is a curator at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax .
Claudia Haagen, formerly Registrar at the Nova Scotia Museum, is pursuing graduate studies at the
University of British Columbia .
Janet Holmes is a curatorial assistant in the Canadiana Department of the Royal Ontario Museum .
Eileen Marcil poursuit sa these de doctorat a 1'universite Laval sur la construction navale au Quebec au
dix-neuvi6me siecle .
Jocelyne Mathieu, professeur au sein du programme d'arts et traditions populaires du departement
d'histoire de 1'universite Laval, a obtenu son doctorat a I'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales a
Paris .
Debra McNabb, a graduate student at the University of British Columbia, is now living in Glace Bay
and preparing an architectural history of Sydney, Nova Scotia, for the Old Sydney Society .
Davie Neufeld is a consultant in engineering and transportation history working in the prairie region .
Alison Prentice teaches at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education . She and Marta Danylewycz,
whose research on Quebec informs much of the article presented here, are involved in a major comparative
study of the history of teachers and teaching in Quebec and Ontario .
Sharon Reilly is Curator of History and Technology at the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature .
Peter E . Rider of the National Museum of Man is currently working on an urban history of Charlotte-
town .
Frances Roback, an assistant curator in the Cultural History Department of the Glenbow Museum, has
been researching the Canadian musical instrument industry as a personal interest .
David-Thiery Ruddel is Quebec Historian in the History Division, National Museum of Man .
Anita Rush, a graduate of the Master of Museum Studies programme at the University of Toronto, is
currently a Master of Public Administration student at Carleton University .
Hilary Russell has researched various aspects of nineteenth-century domestic life for the Historical
Research Division, National Historic Parks and Sites, Parks Canada .
Robert D. Turner is Industrial History Curator at the British Columbia Provincial Museum .
Luce Vermette est historienne a la Direction des parcs et lieux historiques nationaux a Ottawa .
107

Material History Bulletin
Bulletin d'histoire de la culture materielle
No . 1 (Mercury Series/Collection Mercure, History/
Histoire, No. 15, 1976) . Out of print/epuise.
No . 2 (Mercury Series/Collection Mercure, History/
Histoire, No. 21, 1977) . Out of print/epuise .
No . 3
No . 4
ISSUES PUBLISHED/NUMEROS PUBLdS
(Spring/Printemps 1977) .
Articles : Ruth Holmes Whitehead, Christina
Morris : 1Nicmac Artist and Artist's Model;
David Newlands, A Catalogue of Sprig Moulds
from Two Huron County, Ontario, Earthenware
Potteries ; Charles Foss, John Warren lbloore :
Cabinetmaker, 1812-1893 ; Marie Elwood, The
State Dinner Service of Canada, 1898 .
Reviews/Comptes rendus : Lise Boily et Jean-
Fran~ois Blanchette, Les fours a pain au Quebec
par Pierre Rastoul ; Vancouver Centennial
Museum, "Milltown Gallery" by Nicholas Dykes ;
Musee du Quebec, h fabrication artisanale der
tisrus ; appareils et techniques by Adrienne
Hood ; A Gregg Finley, ed . Heritage Furnitu-
re/Le mobiliertraditionnel by Elizabeth Ingolfs-
rud ; Virginia Careless, Bibliography for the
Study of British Columbia's Domestic Material
History by Jim Wardrop .
Notes and Comments/ Nouvelles breves : Norman
R. Ball, Comments on the Burrard Inlet
Sawmill Inventory : 1869 ; Bernard Genest,
Recherches ethnographiquet au Ministere des
Affaires culturelles du Quebec ; Adrienne Hood,
Research into the Technical Aspect of Reproducing
19th Century Canadian Handwoven Fabrics ;
History Section, Nova Scotia Museum .
(Fall/Automne 1977) .
Article : George N. Horvath, The Newfoundland
Cooper Trade .
Reviews/Comptes rendus : D. Pennington and
M. Taylor, A Pictorial Guide to American Spinning
Wheels by Judy Keenlyside ; Carol Priamo,
Mills of Canada and William Fox et al ., The Mill
by Felicity Leung ; Lise Body et jean-Franqois
Blanchette, Les fours ci pain au Quebec (Replique
des auteurs) .
No . 5
No .
109
Notes and Comments/ Nouvelles breves : Jeanne
Arseneault, A la recherche du costume acadien ;
Robert D. Watt, The Documentation of a Rare
Piece of British Columbiana : The Helmcken
Presentation Silver ; Gerald L. Pocius, Material
Culture Research in the Folklore Programme,
Memorial University of Newfoundland ; R.G .
Patterson, Recent Research on a Victoria, B.C.,
Silversmith : William MauriceCarmichael(1892-
1954) .
(Spring/Printemps 1978) .
Articles : Stephen Archibald, Civic Ornaments :
Ironwork in Halifax Parks; David L . Newlands,
A Toronto Pottery Company Catalogue .
Reviews/Comptes rendus : Woodward's Catalogue
1898-1953 and The Autumn and Winter
Catalogue 1910-1911 of the Hudson's Bay Company
by David Richeson ; Valerie Simpson, ed .,
Women's Attire/Let vetements feminins by
Ivan Sayers ; Jacques Bernier, Quelquer boutiques
de menuisiers et charpentiers au tournant du
XIXe siecle par Serge Saint-Pierre ; Charles H .
Foss, Cabinetmakers of the Eastern Seaboard : A
Study of Early Canadian Furniture by John McIn-
tyre ; National Museum of Man, "A Few Acres of
Snow/Quelques arpents de neige" by Jean Frie-
sen .
Notes and Comments/Nouvelles breves : Jim
Wardrop, Modern History Division, British
Columbia Provincial Museum ; Joyce Taylor
Dawson, The Needlework of the Ursulines of
l:arly Quebec .
6 (Fall-Automne 1978) .
Articles : C. Peter Kaellgren, Glass Used in Canada:
A Survey from the Early Nineteenth Century
to 1940 (Ontario); John Sheeler, Factors
Affecting Attribution : The Burlington Glass
Works; Paul Hanrahan, Bottles in the Place
Royal Collection ; Robert D. Watt, Art Glass
Window Design in Vancouver.
Review/Compte rendu : Janet Holmes and Olive
Jones, Glass in Canada : An Annotated Bibliography
.

Notes and Comments/ Nouvelles br~ves : Carol
Sheedy, Les vitraux des maisont de la CBte-de-
Sable d'Ottawa ; Deborah Trask, The Nova Scotia
Glass Company ; Peggy Booker, Ontario's
Victorian Stained Glass Windows ; Peter Rider,
Dominion Glass Company Records .
(Spring-Printemps 1979).
Articles : R. Bruce Shepard, The Mechanized
Agricultural Frontier of the Canadian Plains ;
John Adams, A Review of Clayburn Manufacturing
and Products, 1905 to 1918 .
Reviews/Comptes rendus : Marylu Antonelli and
Jack Forbes, Pottery in Alberta : The Long Tradition
by David Richeson ; Eileen Collard, publications
on clothing in Canada by Katharine B.
Brett ; Mary Conroy, 300 Years of Canada's
Quilts by Leslie Maitland ; Alexander Fenton,
Scottish Country Life by J . Lynton Martin ; Ellen
J . Gehret, Rural Pennsylvania Clothing by
Adrienne Hood ; Jean-Pierre Hardy, Le forgeron
et le ferblantier par Jean-Claude Dupont ; Howard
Pain, The Heritage of Upper Canadian Furniture
by Donald Blake Webster ; Mary Shakespeare
and Rodney H. Pain, West Coast Logging :
1840-1910 by Warren F . Sommer ; Deborah
Trask, Life How Short, l?ternity How Long :
Gravestone Carving and Carvers in Nova Scotia
by Gerald L . Pocius .
Notes and Comments/ Nouvelles breves : Glass
Collections in Canada/Les collections de verre au
Canada ; F .J . Thorpe, Eighteenth -Century land-
Surveying Equipment and Supplier .
(Special Issue/Numero special, 1979) . Canada's
Material History : A Forum/Colloque sur I'histoire
de la culture materielle au Canada .
Papers/Communications : F.J . Thorpe, Remarks
at the Opening Session ; Jean-Pierre Wallot, Culture
materielle et hi.rtoire ; John J . Mannion,
Multidisciplinary Dimensions in Material History
; Robert D. Watt, Toward a Three-Dimen-
sional View of the Canadian Past ; Elizabeth
Ingolfsrud, Tangible Social History : The Onta-
rio Furniture Collection of the National Museum
of Man ; Jean-Pierre Hardy et Thiery Ruddel, Un
projet sur l'histoire de la culture et de la societe
quebecoises ; David J . Goa, The Incarnation of
Meaning : Approaching the Material Culture of
Religious Traditions ; Luce Vermette, Sources
archivistiques concernant la culture materielle;
Lilly Koltun, Seeing is Believing?- A Critique of
Archival Visual Sources ; Gerald L . Pocius, Oral
History and the Study of Material Culture ; W .
No . 9
No . 10
John McIntyre, Artifacts as Sources for Material
History Research ; Alexander Fenton, Material
History in Great Britain ; Joseph Goy, L'histoire
de la culture materielle en France ; Thomas J .
Schlereth, Material Culture Studies in America ;
Marie Elwood, A Museum Approach to Material
History Studies; Paul-Louis Martin, Un passe en
quete d'avenir.
(Fall-Automne 1979) .
Articles : Anita Campbell, An Evaluation of Iconographic
and Written Sources in the Study of a
Traditional Technology : Maple Sugar Making .
Reviews/Comptes rendus : Patricia Baines, Spinning
Wheels, Spinners and Spinning by Judy
Keenlyside ; Bus Griffiths, Now You're Logging
by Robert Griffin ; David L . Newlands and Claus
Breede, An Introduction to Canadian Archaeology
by Dianne Newell ; DR . Richeson, ed .,
Western Canadian History : Museum Interpretations
by Alan F.J . Artibise ; Vancouver Centennial
Museum, "The World of Children : Toys and
Memories of Chilhood" by Zane Lewis ; Musrse
du Quebec, "Cordonnerie traditionnelle" par
Yvan Chouinard .
Notes and Comments/Nouvelles br~ves : Robert
Shiplay, War Memorials in Canadian Communities
; Peter Priess and Richard Stuart, Parks
Canada, Prairie Region .
(Spring-Printemps 1980) .
Articles : Martha Eckmann Brent, A Stich in
Time : Sewing Machine Industry of Ontario,
18G0-1897.
Special Report/Rapport sp6cial : Victoria Dickenson
and Valerie Kolonel, Computer-Bared
Archival Research Project : A Preliminary Report.
Review.r/Comptet rendus : Clement W. Crowell,
The Novascotiaman by Rosemary E . Ommer ;
Jean-Claude Dupont, Histoire populaire de 1 Acadie
par Clarence LeBreton ; Michel Gaumond et
Paul-Louis Martin, Les maftres-potiers du bourg
Saint-Denis, 1785-1888 par Corneliu Kirjan ;
Bernard Genest et al ., Les artisans traditionnels
de Pest du Quebec par Jean-Pierre Hardy ; Paul B .
Kebabian and Dudley Whitney, American Woodworking
Tools by Martin E . Weaver ; Ray MacKean
and Robert Percival, The Little Boats;
Inshore Fishing Craft of Atlantic Canada by
David A. Taylor ; Ruth McKendry, Quilts and
Other Bed Coverings in the Canadian Tradition
by Leslie Maitland ; Marcel Moussette, la peche
surleSaint-laurent ; Repertoiredesmethodeset

des engins de capture par Corneliu Kirjan ; David
L . Newlands, Early Ontario Potters : Their Craft
and Trade by Elizabeth Collard ; Loris S . Russell,
Handy Things to Have Around the House by
Hilary Abrahamson ; Jeffrey J . Spalding, Silversmithing
in Canadian History by Tara Nanavati ;
Sheila Stevenson, Colchester Furniture Makers
by David L . Myles ; Donald Blake Webster,
English-Canadian Furniture of the Georgian
Period by Benno Forman .
Notes and Comments/Nouvelles breves : Marie
Elwood, The Weldon and Trumball-Prime China
Collections ; David Skene-Melvin, Historical Planning
and Research Branch, Ontario Ministry of
Culture and Recreation ; Corneliu Kirjan, Ler
publications de la Direction generale du patrimoine,
Ministere des Af faires culturelles, Quebec.
(Fall-Automne 1980) Furniture in Canada - Le
mobilier au Canada .
Articles : Yvan Fortier et Marcel Gauthier, Les
meubles meublants dans le repertoire du mobilier
ancien au Quebec; Walter W. Peddle, Newfoundland
Outport Furniture : An Interpretation .
Review/Compte rendu : W . John McIntyre and
Janet Houghton McIntyre, Canadian Furniture :
An Annotated Bibliography.
Notes and Comments/Nouvelles breves : Furniture
in Public Collections in Canada/Les collections
de nzeubles au Canada ; Elizabeth Ingolfsrud,
Isaac Bennett Baker, Ontario Builder and
Cabinetmaker ; Joan MacKinnon, The Furniture
of Rutherford House ; Frances Roback, Speakers'
Chairs from the Legislative Assembly of Alberta .
(Spring-Printemps 1981) .
Articles : Gerald L . Pocius . Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century
Newfoundland Gravestones.
Research Note/Note de recherche : Ronald Getty
and Ester Klaiman, Identifying Medalta, 1916-
1954 : A Guide to Markings .
Reviews/Comptes rendus : British Columbia
Provincial Museum, Modern History Galleries
by Ian MacPherson ; British Columbia Provincial
Museum, "William Maurice Carmichael, Silversmith"
by Martin Segger ; Judith Buxton-
Keenlyside, Selected Canadian Spinning Wheels
in Perspective : An Analytical Approach by Peter
W. Cook ; Musee du Quebec, "Regard sur le mobilier
victorien" par Denise Leclerc ; Point Ellice
House, Victoria, B.C . by John Adams ; Lynne
Sussman, Spode/Copeland Transfer-Printed Pat-
No . 13
No. 14
111
terns Found at 20 Hudson's Bay Company Sites
by Elizabeth Collard .
Notes and Comments/Nouvelles breves : Duncan
Stacey, The Iron Chink ; Richard Stuart, An
Approach to Material Culture Research .
(Fall-Automne 1981) . Exploiting the Forest-
Exploitation forestiere .
Articles : Robert D. Turner, Logging Railroads
and Locomotives in British Columbia ; Robert B.
Griffin, The Shingle Sawing Machine in British
Columbia, 1901-1915; Chris Curtis, Shanty Life
in the Kawarthas, Ontario, 1850-1855 ; Normand
Seguin et Rene Hardy, Foret et rociete en
Mauricie, 1850-1930; Benoit Gauthier, La roustraitance
et l'exploitation forestiere en Mauricie
(1850-1875) ; Michel Larose, Les contrats d'engagement
des travailleurs forestiers de la Mauricie
; Claire-Andree Fortin, Profil de la maind'oeuvre
forestiere en Mauricie d apres le recenrement
de 1861 ; Claire-Andree Fortin, Les conditions
de vie et de travail des bricheront en
Mauricie au 19e .riecle .
Research Note/Note de recherche : Rod Pain
and Mary Shakespeare, Georgetown Mill, British
Columbia : A Historical Salvage Project .
Review/Compte rendu : McCord Museum, "The
River and the Bush/La riviere et la fork . Timber
trade in the Ottawa Valley, 1800-1900" by Judith
Tomlin .
Note : Collections Related to the Forest Industry .
(Spring-Printemps 1982) .
Articles : George Bervin, F.space physique et culture
materielle du marchand-negociant a Quebec
au debut du XIXe siecle ; Georges P . Uonidoff,
L'habitat de bois en Nouvelle-France : son importance
et ses techniques de construction . ; Anita
Rush, Changing Women's Fashion and its Social
Context, 1870-1905 .
Research Notes/Notes de recherche : Martin
Segger, Some Comments on the Use of Historical
Photographs as Primary Sources in Architectural
History; Robert W. Frame, Woodworking
Patterns at the Sutherland Steam Mill, Nova
Scotia Museum ; E.M . Razzolini, Costume Research
and Reproduction at Louisbourg ; Richard
MacKinnon, Company Housing in Wabana, Bell
Island, Newfoundland .
Research reports/ Rapports de recherche : Barbara
Riley, Domestic Food Preparation in British

No . 15
Columbia, 1895-1935 ; Elizabeth Quance, Ontario
Historical Society Material Culture Project ;
CIrLAT, Ethnologie de 1'Amerique franfaise ;
Sheila Stevenson, An Inventory of Research and
Researchers concerned with Atlantic Canadian
Material Culture .
Reviews/Comptes rendus : National Museum of
Man, "The Covenant Chain : Indian Ceremonial
and Trade Silver" by Robert S . Kidd ; Vancouver
Museum, "Waisted Efforts" by Marion Brown ;
National Gallery of Canada, "The Comfortable
Arts" by Anita Rush ; Newfoundland Museum,
"Newfoundland Outport Furniture" by Christine
Cartwright ; New Brunswick Museum, "On the
Turn of the Tide : Ship and Shipbuilders, 1769 to
1900" by Eric Ruff ; Musee national de 1'Homme,
"L'art du marteau : coup d'oeil sur la ferronnerie
et la ferblanterie" par Johanne LaRochelle ; Collectif,
Jean-Claude Dupont et Jacques Mathieu,
comps., Les inetiers du cuir par David T. Ruddel ;
Peter E . Rider, ed . The History of Atlantic Canada
: Museum Interpretation by William B .
Hamilton ; Thomas J . Shlereth, Artifacts and the
American Past by Del Muise ; David and Suzanne
Peacock, Old Oakville : A Character Study of the
Town's l:arly Buildings and of the Men Who
Built Them by Harold Kalman ; Jack L. Summers,
Rene Chartrand, and R.J . Marion, Military Uniforms
in Canada, 1665-1970 by Charles Bourque ;
Robert S. Elliott, Matchlock to Machine Gun :
The Firearms Collection of the New Brunswick.
Museum by John D. Chown .
(Special Issue/Numero special, 1982) . Colloquium
on Cultural Patterns in the Atlantic Canadian
Home .
Papers/Communications : Gerald L . Pocius, Inte-
rior Motives : Rooms, Objects, and Meaning ;
Shane O'Dea, The Development of Cooking and
Heating Technology ; Linda Dale, A Woman's
Touch : Domestic Arrangements ; Wilfred W .
Wareham, Aspects of Socializing and Partying in
Outport Newfoundland ; Gary R . Butler, Sacred
and Profane Space ; Kenneth Donovan, Family
Life and Living Conditions in Eighteenth -Century
Louitbourg ; Carol M . Whitfield, Barracks Life in
the Nineteenth Century ; Donald Blake Webster,
Furniture and the Atlantic Canada Condition ;
Thomas Lackey, Folk Influence in Nova Scotia
Interiors ; Marie Elwood, Halifax Cabinet-
Makers, 1837-1875 : Apprenticeships ; Irene
Rogers, Cabinet-making in Prince Edward Island ;
T.G . Dilworth, Thomas Nisbet ; Cora Greena-
way, Decorated Walls and Ceilings in Nova Sco-
tia ; Charles H . Foss, Room Decorating and Fur-
No . 16
No . 17
nishing in the First Half of the Nineteenth
Century; David Orr, Traditional Furniture of
Atlantic Canada ; A Roundtable Discussion : Collectors,
Dealers, and Museums : Private Initiative
and Public Responsibility ; Victoria Dickenson
and George Kapelos, Closing Remarks .
(Winter-Hiver 1982) . Ceramics in Canada - La
ceramique au Canada .
Articles : Lester Ross, The Archaeology of Canadian
Potteries ; Elizabeth Collard, Nineteenth-
Century Canadian Importers' Marks ; Ronald
Getty, The Medicine Hat and the Alberta Potteries
; Lynne Sussman, Comparing Ceramic
Assemblages in Terms of l:xpenditure ; Jennifer
Hamilton, Ceramics Destined for York Factory ;
William Coedy and J.D. MacArthur, Characterization
of Selected Nineteenth-Century Southern
Ontario Domestic l:arthenwares by Chemical
Analysis ; Donald B . Webster, The Prince l:dward
Island Pottery, 1880-98 ; Sophie Drakich, Eighteenth-Century
Coarse I?arthenwares Import-ed
into Louisbourg ; John Carter, Spanish Olive jars
from Fermeuse Harbour, Newfoundland .
Research Note/Note de recherche : Colette
Dufresne, La poterie au Quebec, une hi.rtoire de
funaille .
Ceramics Collections/Collections de poteries .
(Spring-Printemps 1983) . Material Conditions
and Society in Lower Canada : Post mortem
inventories - Civilisation mat6rielle au Bas-
Canada : les inventaires apres-&ccs .
Introduction : Jean-Pierre Hardy, Gilles Paquet,
David-Thiery Ruddel et Jean-Pierre Wallot,
Material Conditions and Society in Lower Canada,
1792-1835/Culture naaterielle et societe au
Quebec, 1792-1835 .
Articles : Gilles Paquet et Jean-Pierre Wallot,
Structures sociales et niveauxde richesse dans les
campagnes du Quebec, 1792-1812 ; George Bervin,
Environnement materiel et activites economiques
des conteillers executifs et legislatifs u
Quebec, 1810-1830; Jean-Pierre Hardy, Niveaux
de richesse et interieurs domestiques dans le
quartier Saint-Roch a Quebec, 1820-1850; D.T .
Ruddel, The Domestic Textile Industry in the
Region and City of Quebec, 1792-1835 ; Christian
Dessureault, L'inventaire apres deces et 1'agriculture
bas-canadienne ; Lorraine Gadoury, Les
stocks de .r habitants dan .r les inventaires apres
deces .

No . 18 (Fall-Automne 1983) .
Articles : Anita Rush, The Bicycle Boom of the
Gay Nineties : A Reassessment ; Catherine Sullivan,
The Bottles of Northrup & Lyman, A Canadian
Drug Firm .
Research Reports/ Rapports de recherche : Julia
Cornish, The Legal Records of Atlantic Canada
as a Resource for Material Historians ; Tina
Rolande Roy, New Brunswick Newspaper Study
of Imports, 1800-1860 ; Nancy-Lou Patterson,
German-Alsatian Iron Gravemarkers in Southern
Ontario Roman Catholic Cemeteries ; Lynn
Russell and Patricia Stone, Gravestone Carvers
of Early Ontario ; Luigi G. Pennacchio and Larry
B . Pogue, Inventory of Ontario Cabinetmakers,
1840-ca . 1900.
Notes and Comments/Nouvelles breves : Robert
Griffin and James Wardrop, Preliminary Inves-
tigations into Ocean Falls Pulp and Paper Plant ;
Claudia Haagan, Material History Sources in
Eighteenth-Century Nova Scotia Newspapers ;
Sandra Morton, History of Alberta Quilts ; T .B .
King, A Research Tool for Studying the Cana-
dian Glass Industry ; Andree Crepeau, An Inven-
tory of Persons Working on the Material Culture
of l:ighteenth-Century Louisbourg ; Elizabeth J .
Quance and Michael Sam Cronk, Selected Museum
Studies Dissertations at the University of
Toronto .
Reviews/Comptes rendus : Glenbow Museum,
"The Great CPR Exposition" by David R. Richeson
; National Museum of Man, "The Ever-
Whirling Wheel" by Catherine Cooper Cole ;
Robert W. Passfield, Building the Rideau Canal
by Norman R. Ball ; Walter W. Peddle, The Traditional
Furniture of Outport Newfoundland by
Shane O~Dea ; Barbara Lang Rottenberg with
Judith Tumlin, Glass Manufacturing in Canada :
A Survey of Pressed Glass Patterns by Deborah
Trask ; David T. Ruddel, Canadians and Their
Environment by Robert Griffin ; Thomas J .
Schlereth, Material Culture Studies in Ainerica
by A. Fenton .
No . 19 (Spring/Printemps 1984) .
Articles : Hilary Russell, "Canadian Ways" : An
Introduction to Comparative Studies of Housework,
Stoves, and Diet in Great Britain and Canada ; Ian
Radforth, In the Bush: The Changing World of
Work in Ontario's Pulpwood Logging Industry
during the Twentieth Century ; W. John McIntyre,
From Workshop to Factory: The Furnituremaker ;
Marilyn J . Barber, Below Stairs: TheDomestic Servant
.
Research Reports/Rapports de recherche :
Sandra Morton, Inventory of Secondary Manufacturing
Companies in Alberta, 1880-1914 ; Nancy-
Lou Patterson, Waterloo Region Gardens in the
Germanic Tradition ; H.T . Holman, Some Comments
on the Use of Chattel Mortgages in Material
History Research .
Reviews/Comptes rendus : Costume in Canada :
An Annotated Bibliography by Jacqueline Beaudoin-Ross
and Pamela Blackstock ; Canadian
War Museum, "The Loyal Americans" by John
Brooke ; Newfoundland Museum, "Business in
Great Waters" by James Hiller ; McCord
Museum, "The Potters' View of Canada" by
Lynne Sussman ; Elizabeth Collard, The Potters'
View of Canada : Canadian Scenes on Nineteenth-
Century Earthenware by Robert Copeland ; Eileen
Marcil, Les Tonneliers du Quebec by Peter N .
Moogk .
No . 20 (Fall/Automne 1984) .
Articles : Jocelyne Mathieu, Le mobiliercontenant :
Traitement comparatif Perche-Quebec, d'apres des
inventaires de biens apres dices des XVII` et XVIIIe
siecles ; Alison Prentice, From Household to School
House: The Emergence of the Teacher as Servant of the
State .
Research Reports/Rapports de recherche :
Frances Roback, Advertising Canadian Pianos
and Organs, 1850-1914 ; Luce Vermette,
L'habillement traditionnel au debut du XIXe siecle ;
Eileen Marcil, La role de la tonnellerie dans la reglementation
de la peche au debut du XIX` siede ;
Anita Rush, Directory of Canadian Manufacturers,
Bicycle Industry, 1880-1984; David Neufeld,
Dealing with an Industrial Monument: The Borden
Bridge ; Claudia Haagen and Debra McNabb,
The Use of Primary Documents as Computerized
Collection Records for the Study of Material Culture .
Notes and Comments/Notes et commentaires :
Gregg Finley, Material History and Museums : A
Curatorial Perspective ; Hilary Russell, Reflections
of an Image Finder : Some Problems and Suggestions
for Picture Researchers ; Papers completed in
North American Decorative Arts Graduate
Course, University of Toronto, 1968-82 .
Forum/Colloque : Robert D. Turner, The Limitations
of Material History : A Museological Perspec-

114
tive ; Peter E . Rider, The Concrete Clio : Definition Flemming ; National Museum of Man, "Of Men
of a Field of History . and Wood" by Robert H. Babcock ; Parcs
Canada, region du Quebec, "Qu6bec : port d'en-
Reviews/Comptes rendus : Manitoba Museum of tree en Amerique" by David-Thiery Ruddel .
Man and Nature, "Concerning Work" by David

MATERIAL HISTORY BULLETIN/BULLETIN D'HISTOIRE DE LA CULTURE MATERIELLE
The Material History Bulletin provides a venue for
articles and research reports encompassing a range of
approaches in interpreting the past through an analysis of
Canadians' relationship to their material world . Critical
reviews of books, exhibitions, and historic sites, artifact
studies and reports on collections encourage the use of
material evidence in understanding historical change and
continuity .
The Bulletin is received by 100 universities, research
institutes, museums, and libraries in 30 countries . It is
indexed in America .- History and Life, Journal of American
History, Technology and Culture's Current Bibliography in
the History of Technology, and Annual Bibliography of
Ontario History .
Correspondence concerning contributions and editorial
matters should be addressed to : Editor, Material History
Bulletin, History Division, National Museum of Man,
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A OM8 . Manuscripts and endnotes
should be double-spaced . Captions for illustrations should
be double-spaced and include credits, source, and negative
number (if held in a public collection) ; measurements
of objects should be in metric . Authors are responsible for
obtaining permission to reproduce material from copyrighted
works .
The Bulletin is published twice a year . Subscriptions for
1985 are $9 .00 (individuals) and $14 .00 (institutions) ;
single issues are $7 .00 . Cheques or money orders should
be payable to the Receiver General of Canada . Subscriptions
and related correspondence should be addressed to :
Publishing Services, National Museums of Canada,
Ottawa, Ontario, K 1 A OM8 .
Le Bulletin d'histoire de la culture materielle presente
des articles et des travaux de recherche qui proposent
differentes fa~ons d'aborder 1'etude et l'interpretation
du passe a travers l'analyse des rapports qui existent entre
les Canadiens et leur monde materiel . Des critiques de
livres, d'expositions et de lieux historiques, des etudes
d'objets et des articles sur les grandes collections canadiennes
favorisant 1'utilisation de temoins materiels en
vue de 1'interpretation du changement et de la continuite
historiques .
Le Bulletin est envoye a One centaine d'universites,
d'instituts de recherche, de musees et de bibliothques
repartis dans une trentaine de pays . II est repertorie dans
America : History and Life, Journal of American History,
Current Bibliography in the History ofTechnology publie
dans Technology and Culture et Annual Bibliography of
Ontario History .
Toute correspondence concernant les articles et les questions
redactionnelles dolt parvenir a l'adresse suivante :
Redacteur, Bulletin d'histoire de la culture materielle,
Division de 1'histoire, Musee national de I'Homme,
Ottawa (Ontario), K IA OM8 . Les manuscrits, les notes et
les legendes d'illustrations doivent etre dactylographies
a double interligne . Les legendes doivent etre accompagnees
des mentions de source et du numero du negatif
(si la photo fait partie d'une collection publique); les
dimensions des objets doivent etre fournies dans le
systeme metrique . 11 incombe aux auteurs d'obtenir
1'autorisation voulue pour reproduire des textes tires
d'ouvrages proteges par le droit d'auteur .
Le Bulletin parait deux fois 1'an . L'abonnement pour
1985 coute $9 pour les particuliers et $ 14 pour les etablissements
; les numeros achetes separement coutent ,57
chacun . Veuillez envoyer la Somme necessaire sous forme
de cheque ou de mandat-poste a 1'ordre du Receveur
general du Canada . Les abonnements et la correspondance
ayant rapport aux commandes doivent s'adresser au
Services d'edition, Musees nationaux du Canada, Ottawa
(Ontario) K 1 A OM8 .