Keepers of the record : the history of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives / Deidre Simmons.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Simmons, Deidre, 1944-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hudson's Bay Company. Archives--History.

Hudson's Bay Company.

Hudson's Bay Company. Archives.

History.

Hudson's Bay Company--Records and correspondence--History.

Archival resources.

Canada--History--Archival resources.

Canada.

Physical Description:

xiv, 360 pages : illustrations, facsimiles, maps, plan, portraits ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Ithaca : McGill-Queen's University Press, [2007]

Summary:

The Hudson's Bay Company Archives is one of the world's most complete archival collections and a national treasure. Protected in the vaults of the Archives of Manitoba, its documents trace the history of the fur trade, North American exploration, the growth of a retail empire, and the evolution of Canada as a country. Keepers of the Record offers the first comprehensive look at the development of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives over three centuries.

Deidre Simmons places the archives within the historical context of the Company, England, and Canada, as well as British and Canadian archival traditions. Keepers of the Record is abundantly illustrated with archival photographs that evoke the texture and slightly musty smell of soft leather and crisp vellum and the ghostly presence of the people who created the pristine script, writing by candlelight in unheated (or overheated, depending on the season) dwellings in the wilderness of Hudson Bay or in the centre of London.

Contents:

1 If it can bee Soe Soone done: The First Fifty Years of Record-Keeping, 1670-1720 13

2 Upon no Account to Communicate any of the Company's Affairs: Record-Keeping and Corporate Memory, 1720-1800 43

3 A regular communication: The Record-Keeping of Amalgamation and Colonization, 1800-1830 83

4 Request the favour of your particular attention: Expanding Horizons Require Detailed Record-Keeping, 1830-1860 115

5 To surrender to Her Majesty: Record-Keeping in a New Country, 1860-1920 143

6 Custodians of a great inheritance: Developments Evolving from the 250th Anniversary, 1920-1930 182

7 Rendered available for inspection by students of history: Establishment of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives, 1930-1960 218

8 To deposit its Archives in Winnipeg: Transfer of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives, 1960-1974 262

1 Secretaries of the Hudson's Bay Company 296

2 Archivists of the Hudson's Bay Company 298.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [335]-345) and index.

ISBN:

9780773532915

0773532919

OCLC:

144602187