Liste des panneaux (anglais)

100 Pages·2009·1.07 MB·English

Simply Montreal :
Glimpses of a Unique City

Complete texts of the exhibition
presented at the McCord Museum.
Permanent Exhibition
Table of Contents

Introduction 4

1. Surviving Winter - Brrrr ! 5
1.1. Crossroads of the Winds 5
1.2. Below Zero 6

2. Surviving Winter - Cozy Mittens, Winterproof Walls 8
2.1. Second Skin 8
2.2. Warm and Cozy 11
2.3. Everyday Comfort 12

3. Surviving Winter - Montreal, Winter City 15
3.1. Getting Around 15
3.2. Ice for Sale 18
3.3. After the Storm 19

4. Different Cultures Meet - A Northern Mosaic 20
4.1. Montreal Portraits 20
4.2. A New Land 31
4.3. Migratory Waves 35

5. Different Cultures Meet - Living Together 37
5.1 Conflicts and Alliances 37

6. Different Cultures Meet - Alliances and Passions 43
6.1. Family Ties 43
6.2. Couples: Alliances and Passions 44
6.3. Garden of Cultures 46

7. Prospering - They Came from the Sea 53
7.1. Trading Routes 53
7.2. The Fur Rush 57
7.3. The Fur Barons 59

8. Prospering - City of Promise, Land of Trade 63
8.1. Commercial Hub 63
8.2. Place of Transit 66
8.3. At the Center of the Web 67
8.4. St. Catherine Street 69

9. Prospering - The Highs and Lows of an Imperial Jewel 73
9.1. The Wheels of Progress 73
9.2. A City of Contrasts 74
2
10. Enjoyment - From Cricket to Arm-wrestling 78
10.1. Something for Everyone 78

11. Enjoyment - Open-air City 82
11.1. A Spirit of Adventure 82
11.2. The National Sport 87
11.3. Hand in Hand 90
11.4. Winter Wonderland 91

12. Enjoyment - A Swinging City 93
12.1. Open City 93
12.2. 1001 Nights 94

Credits 100

3
Introduction

By turns dazzling and dark, dignified and frivolous, steamy-hot and icy-cold,
Montreal - city of a thousand spires, crossroads of a continent - casts its eternal
spell. Like a tune that lingers in the mind, its history speaks to the hearts of all:
Montrealers, people experiencing its charm for the first time, and those who just
keep coming back. The McCord Museum's permanent exhibition, entitled Simply
Montréal, offers myriad glimpses of this unique city and immerse visitors into the
very heart of the rich and varied experience it offers.

An array of First Nations objects, full of symbolism and emotion; a selection of
extraordinary photographs by the renowned Canadian photographer William
Notman; a variety of sports equipment and charming toys; a series of splendid
gowns and outfits worn by illustrious Montrealers - over 800 objects from the
McCord's famous collection will bring the great Montreal adventure to life.

Accented with interactive installations and enveloped in evocative atmospheres,
Simply Montréal is an invitation to people of all ages to steep themselves in the
city, surround themselves with its sounds and sensations - even to brave an
authentic “made in Montreal” snowstorm!
Simply Montreal 4
© McCord Museum of Canadian History, 2009
1. Surviving Winter - Brrrr!

Montreal can be beautiful under a cloudless January sky, but sometimes its
inhabitants would willingly exchange their seemingly endless winter for a milder
climate.

Occasionally, a sudden mid-season warm spell causes the mercury to rise,
swelling the rivers and hinting at an early spring. But a couple of days later,
winter's back, the temperature drops to twenty below, and the city is trapped in a
straitjacket of ice.

Fascinated by the weather's whims, Montrealers never tire of discussing it―what
it's like today, what threatens for tomorrow, the power of the "storm of the
century, when my father was a boy". Which will be next to visit the plains of the
St. Lawrence Valley―the nor'easter, the vicious arctic gale or the balmy
southwesterly breeze? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind…

1.1. Crossroads of the winds

During the first half of the 19th century, John Samuel McCord, father of the
Museum’s founder, took daily readings of climatic variations and noted them in
his meteorological journals.

Thermometer
About 1843
Gift of David Ross McCord
McCord Museum, M8461

The Museum’s founder, David Ross McCord, inherited this thermometer from his
father, who would consult it religiously each morning to check the temperature.
The instrument shows degrees in the Réaumur scale on one side and in degrees
Fahrenheit on the other. The weather is still, for present-day Montrealers, a major
subject of interest and discussion.

Letter
From Charles Lyell to John Samuel McCord about the barometrical height of
Mount Royal
1842
Gift of David Ross McCord
McCord Museum, P001-D12/36-820.11

Simply Montreal 5
© McCord Museum of Canadian History, 2009
Facsimile
Travels in North America with Geological Observations on the United States,
Canada, and Nova Scotia
1845
Author : Charles Lyell
McCord Museum, RB-0576

Barometer
Early 19th century
Gift of David Ross McCord
McCord Museum, M8464

During the first half of the 19th century, John Samuel McCord, father of the
Museum’s founder, took daily readings of climatic variations and noted them in
his meteorological journals. Using this barometer, he could observe rises and
falls in atmospheric pressure and thus predict if the weather was going to
change.

Weathervane
19th century
Gift of Mrs. Margaret de Volpi
McCord Museum, MC989.119.20

The weathervane often took the form of a rooster, perched atop the church
steeple. Feathers unruffled, it would twist and turn, indicating the wind’s direction
by the four cardinal points mounted at the ends of its crossed shafts.

1.2. Below Zero

Each winter, nature invades and besieges Montreal for months on end. During
the 19th and early 20th centuries, Montrealers used wooden shovels to dig
staircases and sidewalks free of the all-invasive snow.

A FOUNDER, A CROSS
In 1643, Paul de Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve, founder of Ville-Marie,
erected a wooden cross on the summit of Mount Royal. He made the gesture in
thanks to God for having protected the colony from a flood. The rising spring
waters remained a threat to the town until the building of protective walls in 1896.
But Ville-Marie survived the elements, and the cross still reigns over Montreal's
skyline.

Simply Montreal 6
© McCord Museum of Canadian History, 2009
Shovel
1910-1920
Manufactured by Arthur Leblanc
McCord Museum, M22431

Snow shovel
Late 19th century
Gift of Air Canada
McCord Museum, M993.115.10
Simply Montreal 7
© McCord Museum of Canadian History, 2009
2. Surviving Winter - Cozy Mittens, Winterproof Walls

Montrealers have always had to struggle against a capricious and ever-present
enemy: the cold. To fight it effectively, considerable ingenuity had to go into the
design of both clothing and housing.

The area's first inhabitants created soft, warm garments out of the skins of wild
animals, and the mittens and anoraks made by early European settlers mimicked
these age-old clothes. Aboriginal peoples, for their part, appreciated the warmth
and practicality of the woven fabrics and woollens made by Europeans. Houses,
too, had to be protected from the cold. Montrealers knew this only too well, and
took great care to ensure that their homes were weatherproof, solidly built and,
above all, equipped with an efficient heating system, the heart of the house. A
faulty furnace or inadequate insulation was the only invitation the north wind
needed to take over the living room.

Despite every effort, a sneaky little draft might still work its way in, so even indoor
clothing was warm and cozy in wintertime.

2.1. Second Skin

HANDILY HOT!
Aboriginal people decorated much of their clothing, including gloves and mittens.
In the 17th century, they began using fabrics and glass beads imported by
Europeans, blending a range of styles and materials. They also sometimes made
clothes for Canadians of European origin.

Hat
1987
Inuit (Iglulingmiut), maker unknown
McCord Museum, ME987.202

Belt
1850-1880
Dene, maker unknown
Gift of Mr. Randolph Routh
McCord Museum, ME982.568

Gloves
1920-1940
Northern Plains, maker unknown
Gift of Eleanore B. Kennedy
McCord Museum, M2008.75.2.1-2

Simply Montreal 8
© McCord Museum of Canadian History, 2009
Arrow sash
19th century
Gift of Mrs.Ward Pitfield
McCord Museum, M970.29.4

Mittens
1984
Innu (Naskapi), maker unknown
Gift of Gabrielle Gagnon.
McCord Museum, M2008.49.3.1-2

Innu craft item acquired at Blanc-Sablon by archaeologist Pierre Dumais during
an archaeological project in the summer of 1984.

Boots
1900-1930
Inuit (Kablunangajuit), maker unknown
Gift in memory of William Hill Petry (1868-1951) and Elizabeth Petry (1880-
1973), parents of Mrs. L. S.Apedaile
McCord Museum, ME986.104.2A-B

Moccasins
1900-1925
Iroquois (Mohawk?), maker unknown
Gift of Mrs. Nancy Mathias
McCord Museum, M2008.53.6.1-2

Four Indians
About 1825-1836
Reproduction of a watercolour by J. Crawford Young
McCord Museum, M21230

With their European cut and aboriginal decoration, these winter outfits are the
result of a happy blend of cultures.

Canadian Habitants
About 1825-1836
Reproduction of a watercolour by J. Crawford Young
McCord Museum, M21231

For British soldiers like Young, the costume worn by 19th-century “habitants” was
a real revelation. French Canadians braved the cold in warm overcoats made of
a woolen fabric known as étoffe du pays or “country cloth”, which was woven by
their womenfolk.

Simply Montreal 9
© McCord Museum of Canadian History, 2009
ELEGANT… BUT WARM TOO
Montrealers of the 19th and early 20th centuries wore warm but very fashionable
clothing for their the chilly winters. Fur and wool were used to make elegant
winter outerwear. Canadians added warm accessories such as fur mittens, hats
and gloves, not to mention warm wool undergarments.

Fur cap
1870-1900
Gift of Mrs. Deirdre F. Bower
McCord Museum, M2006.51.4

Petticoat
1890-1900
Gift of Mrs. Herbert Vineberg
McCord Museum, M967.87.2

Woman’s shoulder cape
About 1900
Gift of Mrs. Patrick Diamond
McCord Museum, M19618

Woman’s cape
About 1860
Gift of Mrs. Ludlow Haskell
McCord Museum, M974.3.3

Child’s coat
1907
Gift of Mrs. Louise Hurtubise Bousquet
McCord Museum, M2000.41.39

Child’s cap
About 1900
Gift of Mrs. Hélène David
McCord Museum, M988.63.1

Man’s winter overcoat
1900-1925
Gift of Mrs. Rosina Fontein
McCord Museum, M993.94.2

The style of men’s fur-lined overcoats changed relatively little throughout the
early decades of the 20th century.

Simply Montreal 10
© McCord Museum of Canadian History, 2009