A Critical Appraisal of a Permanent Exhibition in London - Essay Example

A critical appraisal of a permanent exhibition in London While the Archives οf the Hudsons Bay Company, a world-renowned collection οf corporate documents dating to the late seventeenth century and located in Winnipeg since 1974, is familiar to thousands οf researchers, less is known about the Companys extensive museological collections. The assembling οf the Hudsons Bay Companys Museum Collection after 1920 provides a fascinating glimpse into the history οf cultural properties in Canada and the efforts οf individuals and institutions to protect and interpret the history οf Canadas aboriginals as well as over three centuries οf daily life in the service οf "The Governor and Company οf Adventurers οf England Trading into Hudson Bay". The practice οf collecting natural history specimens, artifacts, and artworks relating to the exploratory activities conducted by the Company was well established by the nineteenth century. The London Board οf the Hudsons Bay Company had for years contributed scientific specimens to the Royal Scottish Museum and the Smithsonian Institution in the United States. In addition, the Company had also gathered together materials for exhibition at its headquarters at Beaver House in London. Many οf the Companys fur trade employees also acquired their own private collections. Sir George Simpson, Governor οf the Northern Department from 1821 to 1826, and thereafter Governor οf the trading territories in British North America until 1860, collected various natural and human history materials for his personal enjoyment. He also presented selected items to his friends and business acquaintances. Simpson was a patron οf several frontier artists, including Paul Kane to whom he provided free passage, board, and lodging with the Companys fur brigades in exchange for orders οf specific artwork subjects and "curiosities οf the country" that reflected the natural history and the lives οf the various aboriginal peoples. Many οf these collections, including Simpsons, found their way to the auction block. Some remained in private hands, while still others have been sold or donated to museums. By the turn οf the twentieth century, several retired officers οf the Hudsons Bay Company fur trade had expressed an interest in the development οf an historical corporate collection. According to available documentation, the idea for the acquisition οf a Hudsons Bay Company historical collection and the establishment οf a museum was first proposed by Edmund Taylor in the early 1900s. At that time, Taylor was in charge οf the Hudsons Bay Company saleshop business in Winnipeg. In a memorandum sent to headquarters in 1918, Taylor made the following proposal: I suggested that steps should be taken by the Hudsons Bay Company, before it was too late, to collect and preserve for the public interest and benefit, historical records οf every nature as well as all kinds οf obsolete articles οf trade and use, country-made articles, ordnance, native work and devices, implements . . . It was also suggested that to the above should be added as soon as possible a complete collection οf flora and fauna οf the Canadian North and North-West. The acquisition and public display οf historical material relating to the history οf the Companys activities and the history οf the people in Western Canada was considered to be a "duty" that the Company owed to itself and to all Canadians. There was also a more practical side to having a major historical exhibit in a retail setting which Taylor described as "an enormous and direct advantage" to the Companys business. (Krouse 169-182) Taylor devoted six pages οf his memorandum to detailing the types οf materials which he felt could be obtained from private holdings, in particular, from retired officers and other employees οf the fur trade. Included in his list οf proposed acquisitions were the following: a copy οf the Companys original charter, post journals, correspondence, maps, artworks, photographs, commemorative medals, examples οf official clothing once distributed to aboriginal leaders, firearms, transportation gear and implements, tools used by the Companys employees in the areas οf hunting, fishing, trapping and everyday life, as well as items associated with every aspect οf Indian and Inuit life. He also proposed the collection οf natural history specimens. Taylor recommended that the care οf these collections be placed in the hands οf one οf the retired officers who "has been and seen" and who possessed "the necessary qualifications οf education and charm οf manner combined with an almost inborn love οf the things οf the past . . ." The official response to Taylors memorandum was a positive one, with a cautionary note regarding the costs associated with the purchase, maintenance and permanent establishment οf the collection, as well as the need to employ a qualified curator. Winnipeg was proposed as "the most appropriate" site for the collection "both in respect οf its historical association with the Company and its central position in Canada." Two events provided the impetus for a decision to establish a corporate collection: the approach οf the Companys 250th anniversary in 1920, and the news that the HBC in London had sold "as junk" several rooms full οf old records οf historical interest to a New York firm that was buying materials for sale to European and American museums. Shortly thereafter the London Committee authorized its Canadian counterpart to arrange for the purchase οf any "relics οf interest", and instructed post managers not to dispose οf anything without prior consent. (Selwood 350-354) Therefore, one οf the initiatives undertaken by the Company in celebration οf its 250th anniversary in 1920 was the collection οf "historical relics, lore and souvenirs οf the early history οf the Company." Arrangements were made with Francis David Wilson, a district manager οf James Bay before his retirement, to travel to the major posts to purchase materials. In addition to early Inuit artifacts, he collected trade tokens, journals, documents, and other items associated with the fur trade. Another founding collection was purchased by the Company from Dr. W.E. Anderson, an eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. This large collection contained aboriginal items from the Canadian arctic, subarctic, and prairie regions collected between 1897 and 1901. A third collection, belonging to T.J. Fleetham, a former Indian Agent, was also purchased. This collection οf plains and Athapaskan-related materials had been on display in the Calgary store. Other smaller collections were also obtained including those owned by C.H. French (a former District Manager for the Hudsons Bay Company Fur Trade Department in British Columbia); materials acquired by the Reverend Canon Edward Matheson οf Battleford, purchased from a Winnipeg dealer; and items that were either acquired or produced for the anniversary historical pageant staged at Lower Fort Garry. At the same time, materials were being solicited from employees working in the North and from the Companys headquarters in London which had accumulated a collection οf its own over the years. In 1922 a major exhibition οf materials acquired to date by the Company was installed in its Winnipeg store on Main Street. In 1925 the exhibition was moved to the third floor οf the Companys new retail store on Portage Avenue. Harlan I. Smith οf the Victoria Memorial Museum in Ottawa assisted with the general plan οf the exhibit and the identification and labeling οf artifacts. The objective οf the exhibition was "to depict by means οf relics, pictures, documents, models, etcetera, the history οf the Hudsons Bay Company, life in the fur trade, the story οf pioneer settlers and the customs, dress, and industries οf the aboriginal tribes." The exhibition was divided into the following themes: early history, furs, Indians, life in the service, forts, posts and stores, fights and wars, and settlement. The Companys initial attempt to amass a corporate collection was seen as only a beginning. By 1925, the Company had taken stock οf its holdings and had reassessed its collection method and mandate. As was stated at the time οf the relocation οf the exhibition to the Portage Avenue store, "essential articles are lacking; in almost every division only part οf the articles available are displayed because οf the extreme limitation οf space . . ." Accordingly, a general appeal was made to friends both within and without the service for objects to fill in the gaps, especially in the areas οf the early history οf the Company and life in the service. The mandate was reflected in the public appeal for materials -"mere curiosities are not required, only those things which have real meaning in connection with the life οf the Companys officers, clerks, and servants, also οf the pioneer settlers and the natives." The educational value οf these collections was also an important consideration. In addition to preserving a public record οf the Companys contribution to the development οf Canada for posterity, the collections and their exhibition were considered to be the Companys legacy to the world. The Winnipeg exhibition was intended for a broad audience, as was explained in the exhibition catalogue. It was especially [for] newcomers and children who wish to learn something οf the life and work οf the countrys pioneers and οf the Indians who originally inhabited this great land. For the "old-timers," the exhibit would bring back memories οf early struggles -- for the Indians, the exhibit will serve to keep available examples οf native handicraft -- the product οf a skill that is now almost a memory οf the days οf their forefathers. By the mid-1930s, the Company had contracted Clifford Wilson to catalogue the collections and he was subsequently hired as the first Director οf the Museum in 1939. He was also Editor οf The Beaver magazine from 1939 to 1957. An historian with experience in the reorganization οf the Chateau de Ramezay in Montreal, Wilson took on the challenge οf curating the collections and reinterpreting the Companys exhibitions over the years. His training in the field οf museology was largely gleaned from hands-on experience, museology studies in the United States in the late 1930s, visits to other institutions, and frequent correspondence with Canadian and American colleagues. Before Wilson left the Company almost two decades later to accept an appointment as the Director οf Western Canadiana for the Glenbow Foundation in Calgary, he had also served as the President οf the Canadian Museums Association. In the early 1960s he went on to become an Assistant Director at the National Museum in Ottawa. During his term as Director οf the Companys museum collections, Wilson undertook the tasks οf sorting, re-organizing and documenting the collections. In 1935, the Company had decided to centralize its collections, and over 600 items were shipped to Winnipeg from its Vancouver and Victoria stores. In addition, the collections continued to grow both through purchases and donations. The items collected during Wilsons curatorship reflect a refinement οf the Companys original collections mandate. An emphasis was placed on artifacts originating from Western Canada, particularly in the area οf aboriginal collections. He further rationalized the collections οf Indian and Inuit materials by collecting those items that demonstrated the historical use οf trade goods. As a result, the archaeological materials in the collection are not extensive. In the area οf exhibition development, Wilson struggled with the need to educate the public in an enlightening and entertaining manner. He wanted the Companys museum to become a "living museum" and not ". . . an enlarged version οf a private curio cabinet." His firm belief that a museum was not simply a building for storing "ancient objects" but rather "one dedicated to learning" is reflected in the diorama approach that he introduced for the exhibit οf artifacts. Influenced by some οf the approaches to exhibitions in Chicago and Milwaukee, Wilson supervised the construction οf a number οf "living tableaux". These dioramas included a replica οf a northern trading store with fully stocked shelves οf trade goods; a diorama presenting the winter mail packet arriving by dogteam at Fort Garry from York Fort via Norway House; a California brigade setting out from Vancouver for Yerba Buena; and a model οf a fort. Throughout his curatorship, school programs were held in the museum and many articles were loaned for exhibition in Canada as well for historical exhibition tours in other areas οf the world. When Clifford Wilson left the museum in 1957 for a position at the Glenbow, Barbara Johnstone, his assistant since 1953, was hired as the new curator. In late 1959 the Company inaugurated a number οf changes in the management οf its Winnipeg operation and it was decided to close the museum in its Portage Avenue store. The next year the displays were packed up and stored in a sub-basement οf the building while Johnstone was moved to a small office behind one οf the store departments. As curator Johnstone continued to receive items for the collection from various individuals and groups. In 1960 Company representatives began negotiations with officials from the Manitoba Department οf Industry and Commerce regarding the future οf the collection. According to J.R. Murray, the Companys Managing Director at the time, these discussions arose because οf the need to close the museum at the store and "our deep concern with the proper disposal οf the collection." The Company stated its wish to see the collection remain intact, preferably under the control οf the provincial government. The Minister οf Industry and Commerce, Gurney Evans, proposed to the Company that the collection be used at Lower Fort Garry as part οf the planned joint federal and provincial development οf the fort as a major historic site and tourist attraction. (Later, the Province οf Manitoba declined involvement in the Lower Fort Garry project and subsequent restoration and development work at the site was carried out entirely by the National Historic Sites Division). The Company expressed its approval with this arrangement, subject to the condition that it retain a handful οf items from the collection for its own use and that from time to time it be allowed to borrow pieces for use in special events. On 10 August 1960 Premier Duff Roblin wrote to Murray that Manitoba was "pleased to accept the historical collection now in your Winnipeg store museum on a permanent loan basis." Before any artifacts could be moved to Lower Fort Garry, however, custodial care οf the collection had to be legally transferred from the province to the federal government. The Companys assent to such a transfer was given in September οf 1961. A standing loan agreement, subject to two years notice for withdrawal or cancellation by either level οf government, was subsequently signed in April οf 1962 by Gurney Evans on behalf οf the province and Walter Dinsdale, the federal minister responsible for the National Historic Sites Division (NHSD). The loan agreement with the federal government specified that a number οf conditions be met by each οf the signatories. These included provisions regarding insurance, the construction οf a museum to house and display the collection, the appointment οf a curator, and the establishment οf regulations governing the loan οf items from the collection to other institutions and historic sites. Prior to the signing οf the agreement, the NHSD had proposed that the collection be housed at the forts warehouse building, a stone structure dating from the late 1830s. It was soon determined, however, that refitting this historic structure for display and storage purposes would be too costly. Next, it was recommended that the collection be permanently located on the second floor οf the Saleshop/Furloft building, another 1830s stone building at the fort, but this suggestion was rejected by Jack Herbert οf the NHSD who argued instead that a "proper museum" be constructed to house and display the collection. In 1963 work began on the construction οf the museum at Lower Fort Garry. A modern steel and concrete structure was given an exterior facade that replicated the old retail store built by the Company on the same spot in 1875 and torn down by them in 1923. The collection was moved to the fort in November οf 1964, transported to the site from the basement οf the Companys downtown store and from a Company warehouse. The transfer actually occurred prior to the completion οf the new museum, and the material was temporarily stored in the Saleshop/Furloft. On 3 June 1966 the Lower Fort Garry Museum, containing displays οf selected artifacts from the collection, was officially opened to the public. At the time οf its opening the museum was considered one οf the most up-to-date facilities οf its kind in Canada and contained approximately 1,200 square feet οf storage space, a cold storage room and two floors οf display area. (Later the top floor οf the building was converted to office space.) Since 1966 considerable work has been carried out by curatorial staff at the fort in upgrading the collection records and creating hundreds οf research files. According to a report by curatorial staff at Lower Fort Garry, the collection artifacts were organized by type and a computerized system was established to improve inventory and research access. Original Company record books were verified, donor files for approximately 90% οf the original artifacts were created, and almost the whole οf the collection was numbered and partially catalogued. The bulk οf the collection has been photographed, in color, while extensive research files were set up on many οf the individual artifacts and groups οf artifacts. Several research papers were written using materials from the collection. Curatorial staff were also responsible for administering long and short term loans from the collection. These have included loans to the Canadian Museum οf Civilization, the Arts Council οf Great Britain and the Glenbow Museum, as well as loans to other Parks Canada historic sites for use as prototypes for replication. The collection and its documentation has been a priceless source οf information for many qualified researchers over the past thirty years. Research materials and photographs have been used in a variety οf ethnographic exhibits, museological publications and as illustrative materials for articles in such magazines as The Beaver and National Geographic. Artifacts from the collection are also used in the interpretive program at Lower Fort Garry as part οf the furnishings in the sites restored buildings, in displays in the Visitor Reception Centre, and in exhibits on the first floor οf the Museum building. An agreement has been reached between Lower Fort Garry and the Hudsons Bay Company to continue the use οf artifacts from the collection in the historic buildings at the Lower Fort. While curatorial staff at the fort have been responsible for custodial care οf the HBC Collection, they have also been charged with maintaining the separate Lower Fort Garry site collection, some 20,000 artifacts. By the time οf its relocation to Lower Fort Garry in the early 1960s, the Hudsons Bay Company museum collections had grown. Euro-Canadian artifacts, artworks, trade goods, post libraries, journals, correspondence, and documents as well as Indian and Inuit artifacts found their way into the Companys holdings through donation, purchase, and even trade. In 1972 the Hudsons Bay Company was redecorating the entrance to Beaver Hall in London and at that time decided to ship its collections to Winnipeg. Over 300 items were sent to Canada and housed at Lower Fort Garry. By the 1990s, the collections numbered over 6,000 artifacts that represented the Companys history in the areas οf defense, the fur trade, exploration, navigation, communication, and the retail business. Over half οf the collections represent items that were produced by Indian, Metis and Inuit peoples with whom the Company conducted its business. In addition, there are a number οf artifacts associated with the early Euro-Canadian settlement period. While the collection contains objects οf historical and ethnographic rarity, many similar examples can be found in other museums. What makes this particular collection so interesting is its documented associations with the Companys activities, its variety οf materials, and the stellar examples οf certain classes οf objects. Some significant materials include excellent examples οf early nineteenth-century Indian quillwork and ribbonwork from the Red River area; a quillworked and painted Metis-style frock coat; a walking stick, a travel bureau, and a collapsible boat that belonged to Governor George Simpson; a chronometer, relics, and a sword associated with the Arctic expeditions οf Sir John Franklin; a cigar box featuring the Companys crest that belonged to Sir Winston Churchill; an antique map and gun collection; nineteenth-century drawings by the Swiss artist Peter Rindisbacher; the James Houston collection οf Baffin Island prints (1958); and argillite carvings produced by the West Coast Haida carver Charlie Edenshaw. Numerous artifacts associated with the Canadian subarctic, such as the Captain Frederick Mayhew collection from the Mackenzie River area and the smaller collections originating from various officers οf the Company, with other exciting research possibilities through cross-referencing with archival documents and photographs. In 1994 the Manitoba Museum οf Man and Nature will become the new home for the Hudsons Bay Companys Museum Collection. It will be housed in a new wing and will be made as accessible as possible for public viewing and research. The addition will consist οf a storage area, research facilities, and a major gallery for permanent and temporary exhibitions, and will be completed by 1997. In early 1995 a major exhibition featuring the history οf the Hudsons Bay Company Museum Collection and its contents will be mounted. The collection is an addition to the Museums Native Ethnology, Archaeology, and History collections. Many οf the items will complement its present holdings. In addition to the museums largest artifact, the reproduction οf the Nonsuch, related collections οf particular note are represented by archaeological materials from Upper Fort Garry and other posts; the ethnographic collections οf Paul Kane, C.C. Chipman, Leif Sunde, and Donald MacTavish, as well as a number οf historical collections associated with the history οf the fur trade in Manitoba. The Manitoba Museum οf Man and Nature will co-operate with the Manitoba Archives to ensure cross-referencing between the museum and archival collections and participation in joint activities such as public presentations, exhibitions and training programs. The museum will also be working with Lower Fort Garry in its exhibition refurbishment program, and with the aboriginal community in the areas οf expanding its museum training and public program activities. Works Cited Krouse, Susan Applegate., Anthropology and the New Museology. Reviews in Anthropology, Apr2006, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p169-182 Selwood, Sara. Museums, Heritage and the Culture Industry. Art History, Jun93, Vol. 16 Issue 2, p354 Read More