"Lord Save Us from the Et Cetera of the Notaries"

For millennia archivists have struggled with the question of how to appraise and preserve an archival record of local, unwritten custom. The British historian E.P. Thompson, in an effort to explain why respectable local citizens would blacken their faces and poach the King’s deer, [i.e. the origins of the 18^th century Black Act] and concluded that the common experiences of local custom supported resistance to the King’s expanding forests. As Thompson famously wrote, “at the interface of land and law is custom.” Common custom, he concluded, was a kind of unwritten ambience.

Similarly, when the French monarchy expanded across northern Europe in the 13^th century, jurists attempted to incorporate the indigenous, unwritten customs of independent communities. To accommodate this “law of the land” jurists with some knowledge of customary law, known as coutumiers, travelled across rural France documenting local laws in a process that eventually produced the French Code Civil and ultimately the template for the Civil Code of Québec. The coutumiers shared a common problem. How to document a living custom known only by oral tradition? Medieval scholar Philippe de Beaumanoir in his famous work, Coutume de Beauvaisis summarized the need to capture in text, practices known only in unwritten custom:

It is my opinion, and others as well, that for all the customs which are currently used, are good and profitable, to be written down and registered, so that they be maintained without change, for memories are fallible and peoples’ lives are short, and what is not written is completely forgotten

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But coutumiers believed it was not enough to document local custom, the custom must be authentic to be trusted. Once again in the long history of archives, we find a primary goal underscored: to preserve records in a manner both authentic and reliable. To produce trustworthy records from oral testimony the coutumiers turned to a device from Roman Law: the Enquête par turbe. The enquete is a tribunal co-opting the elders of a community to derive a common custom on a subject.

Several wise men, in good repute, are to be called.... The custom having been proposed, they are to declare and honestly transmit what they know and believe and have seen to be the practice …. Upon the swearing of an oath, they are to stand off to the side, deliberate, and communicate their deliberations...

In the enquête par turbe Renaissance French jurists offer us an example of western law trying to apply textual parameters of legal reason around local cultures built on complex personal relationships of land and unwritten heritage. A common expression of the period summarized the perspective of regional French communities experiencing the enfolding French national constitutional program and their loss of cultural authority: “Lord save us from the et cetera of the notaries.”

Once safely recorded on paper, regional custom was secured in an archives and incorporated into national law. Charles DuMoulin, Parisian jurist and advocate for documenting unwritten heritage explained the purpose in discussing the documentation of the local common customs surrounding Paris:

 The text of these customs…have been rendered the most accurate possible. They are useful to reference the original custom, and should be deposited in registers, either in the Parliament of Paris, or in courts and administrative offices of the kingdom. They can even be conserved in specialized libraries and cabinets... they can be referred to in innumerable [circumstances] to reconstruct the verbal process. 

Centuries later, Sir James Douglas was confronted with a challenge not unlike the coutumier: to attempt to reconcile and incorporate indigenous custom into the assimilating textual form of colonial governance. One of his earliest efforts to document the unwritten traditions of First Nations came in the form of the Doulgas Treaties. Since Douglas’s efforts, not unlike the French coutumiers, we have witnessed numerous attempts to document the relationship between local indigenous custom, law and confederation. To what degree did Douglas and his contemporaries capture and articulate the unwritten land practices of indigenous peoples is best summarized by Wilson Duff’s pithy characterization of the Douglas Treaties as “innocent legal fictions”. This type of recognition and reconciliation continues today in the form of  projects such as the BC Treaty Commission.

Raymond Frogner,
Archivist
Royal BC Museum

Youth in the Service of Age

From the desk 

of Colleen Wilson,

Conservator at the 
Royal BC Museum

David Douglas was a hard-working Scottish botanist.   When he died, aged 35, he had introduced about 250 North American plants to British gardeners.   In addition to the Douglas Fir, he described 7,000 of the 92,000 plants known to botanists in the early 19^th century.  Over eighty plant and animals have douglasii in their scientific names.

Douglas' often requested book of sketches alongside a Pseudotsuga menziesii cone 

He travelled to the Pacific Northwest in 1824 and 1830.  His Book of Sketch maps of a Journey from the Junction of the Columbia and Okanogan Rivers to Quesnel and North, April to May 1833 is in the BC Archives and frequent requests are made by researchers who wish to view or photograph the manuscript maps.  Unfortunately the book is in very poor condition; it is too delicate to travel and photography is difficult because of the damaged binding.  The 25 single-sided pages containing the maps sketched in iron gall ink are relatively stable at the moment, but iron gall ink is notoriously destructive to paper.

We are very fortunate this summer to have Emilie van der Hoorn, an intern from the University of Northumbria (UK) working with paper conservator Betty Walsh.   Emilie has a particular interest in iron gall inks and she tested the pages with Iron Indicator Paper developed by the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage.  These revealed that there are loose Fe²⁺ ions present which will catalyze the degradation of the cellulose; in time the ink will eat through the paper. 

She has proposed that the iron gall ink be treated soon to preserve the relatively good condition of the sketches, and that the remaining pages of the book be washed and de-acidified.  There are two options for treatment.  The least invasive would be to interleave sheets of gelatin impregnated alkaline paper between the inked pages.  These would neutralize acids to a pH at which the gelatin could complex the Fe²⁺ ions preventing migration of the corroding ink to facing pages, but not preventing acids and ions embedded in the paper from degrading further.  Alternately the pages could be treated with a calcium-phytate method.  Developed by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed in the Netherlands, this would leave the paper cleaner, probably more supple, deacidified, and with an alkali reserve to counter future acid buildup; ink corrosion would not continue.  The book would have to be taken apart, and rebound after the treatment was complete, however the binding is fairly ordinary and, once apart, the manuscript maps could be better photographed for use by researchers. 

It is always a difficult decision to disassemble an artifact.  Although conservators aim for reversibility in their treatments, in many cases this is impractical.  Conservators also tend to be … conservative, unwilling to experiment with treatments that have not stood the test of time; there are many cases where doing nothing has caused less damage than elaborate “improvements”.  However, the problems with untreated iron gall ink are well known.  

Interns challenge us with their questions, inspire us with fresh ideas from their recent studies, and galvanize us with their youthful energy.  Because of the crush of other projects, treatment of the Douglas Sketchbook will happen after Emilie has returned to her studies, but in the meantime we have all benefitted.  Emilie examined, analyzed and articulated the treatment of a valuable artifact, the Archives received the perspective of two of the leading schools of paper conservation, and the manuscript maps of David Douglas are poised to illuminate future research.

An Acquired Taste

from the desk of
Genevieve Weber
Archivist
Collections, Research
and Access Services 
Royal BC Museum 

    

People often ask me what my favourite part of my job is.  The answer is easy: looking through the records.  I review new acquisitions, decide whether they fit with our mandate, and write proposals recommending whether we should add them to our collections or send them on to a more appropriate repository.  So, a big part of my job is looking through records – before anyone else!  Even better!

The BC Archives collects records relating to the political, business, and social history of British Columbia.  Often people and companies want to donate their records to the Archives, but before we accept them there are a number of things to consider.  For example, do we already have related records?  Were the records created in the province?  Was the creator from the province or did s/he spend a significant amount of time here?  Do the records provide evidence of activities, people, and life in the province?

As I research the records to determine these things, I often find interesting extras tucked in amongst the documents.  The archives generally accepts paper, photographic, audio-visual, cartographic and electronic records, but often other types of objects are included in an acquisition.  When this happens, I have a choice to make: the archives can keep the object and consider it a record; the object can be offered to another part of the museum, such as the Human History department and transferred accordingly; or it can be returned to the donor if it is considered to be irrelevant to the rest of the records.  In the past few months we have found some fascinating items:

• -      Driftwood painted with the image of a seagull (kept with the records of the B.C. Indian Arts and Welfare Society fonds)
•         A sad iron from the 19^th century (to be returned to the donor as the provenance is unknown and it is unrelated to the records)
• -      A lock of hair (re-housed and kept with the records – as it was with a letter it is considered to be a part of the correspondence)
• -      Pince-nez (armless eyeglasses) belonging to a former BC Premier (transferred to Human History)
• -      A 19^th century cash box, used to store the diaries of a former BC Premier (transferred to Human History)

Example of a 19^th century
sad iron

Cash box containing: 
diaries and pince-nez case
RBCM 2011.156

Sometimes I determine that the records would be better suited to another institution.  The BC Archives communicates with museums and archives throughout the province and the country to ensure that records are being stored in the most suitable place possible.  This spring we were offered a group of records that I determined would better fit the mandate of the Japanese Canadian National Museum in Burnaby.  The records, although created in BC, were related to a federal activity and therefore would be more suitable in a national institution.  The donor agreed, and the JCNM was thrilled to be the recipient of the donation.  Likewise, a colleague recently called me from Arizona to offer us some records that had been created in BC and which he felt were completely out of his repository’s scope but may fit in ours. 

Once I have determined that the records are related to BC and fit our mandate, I write a proposal to the Collections Committee, which has to approve each new acquisition before it can be added to the collection.  The proposal is jointly written by an archivist and a conservator.  For each item or group of records offered to the Archives, a conservator must ascertain the state of the records.  As the majority of records are paper, the main concerns are mold, bleeding ink, rust from staples or paperclips, disintegrations, etc.  However, there may also be a concern about “red rot”, something that happens to leather book covers, or photographic emulsion peeling back from the images.  Audio-visual records have their own set of conservation issues. 

Archival Conservator Betty Walsh
examining a registry that is part of
a new acquisition

Recently acquired records vary in scope: registers of mining company shareholders; personal photograph albums created by a Victoria teacher and administrator; the private records of politicians from the last two centuries; sketch books with images by a magazine illustrator; corporate records of BC companies and organizations; and commercial photographs taken of events and places around the province.  With so many intriguing records to examine I am constantly setting myself strict timelines – otherwise I would be at risk of spending all my time reading old letters and looking at pictures but never getting any work done! 

Do you like to look through old stuff?  I would love to hear your stories about interesting things you have found – perhaps in a relative’s home or even your own attic!

#AskArchivists

from the desk of Genevieve Weber
Archivist
Collections, Research and Access Services 
Royal BC Museum     


My first week as an Archivist at the Royal BC Museum happened to coincide with International Archives Day, June 9^th – a happy twist of fate indeed!  Designated by the International Council on Archives, the concept is for professionals around the world to unite to further understanding of archives and archivists.  (For more information on International Archives Day, see here  One way in which archivists around the world raised awareness on June 9^th was through an international Twitter event #AskArchivists.  We invited people to send us any question about archives or archivists – about who we are, what we do, our collections, or anything else.  The questions we got were amusing, thought-provoking, and educational (for both parties!)  A couple of them really got me thinking about why I chose to become an archivist, and why I love this job. 

Here are my top five favourite questions and answers. With Twitter we are limited to only 140 characters per post, so the answers were often much more brief than what you see below!

Q1. What is the weirdest/most bizarre thing you have ever found in your archives? (from @Michnelago, location unknown)

A1. Gopher Tails found in Game Warden Records that had been sent to the Warden for bounty!  Other repositories answered this question as well, and lots of animal parts came up – a mole, a bat, a skunk pelt, a monkey arm back scratcher!

Q2. I heard that you have an Atlas in the BC Archives from the 16^th century!  Cool!  Can you tell me more about it?  (@E5PI6 in Victoria, BC)

A2.  Yes! Made by Flemish Cartographer Gerardus Mercator in the early 17^th Century.  This led to a further discussion about Mercator, the curious party describing him as the “rockstar of cartography.”  The Archives has, in fact, two Mercators.  View their details here and here 

Q3. Which document has given you the greatest emotion in your professional life (and possibly why?) (@Sohayb in Rouen, France)


A3. 8mm film of BC Athletes at 1936 Berlin Olympics; their view marching in the stadium – the Hindenburg flies over!  (Response by fellow Archivist Dennis Duffy)

Q4. Are my 100-year-old civil war letters better off in their envelopes deep in a closet or should I store them differently? (@johnsonmaryj in Colorado Springs, USA)


A4. They should be stored in acid-free envelopes and containers in a stable environment re: temperature and humidity.  We had a number of questions regarding preservation of personal records.  I highly recommend the Archivist’s Toolkit, provided by the Archival Association of British Columbia at http://aabc.ca/toolkit.html.  The most useful guide for maintaining personal or small archives I have seen to date! 

Q5. Do you think about human rights or any humanitarian function you would fill out working as an Archivist? (@KarstenKuehnel in Germany)


A5. Yes! Archivists play a huge role in developing a safe and transparent environment for citizens to live in.  That is a VERY short answer for something that I feel passionate about.  Archivists play such an important role in maintaining a democratic and transparent form of governance.   We are very lucky in Canada to live in a country that has a set of rules regarding maintenance of records and public access to the information in them about what our government does.  However, in many countries this is not the case: in dictatorships, for example, records are often destroyed or re-written.  In countries that have suffered from war, mass human rights violations, or natural disasters, the records have been lost and with them the voices of the people.  Archivists without Borders is a wonderful non-profit organization that works to restore the documentary heritage of nations and peoples around the world, and to educate the records caretakers at the same time - http://www.arxivers.org/en/index.php

In my next blog post I will further discuss archival humanitarian work and how it is in evidence closer to home.

This is just a small sample of the discussions we entered into on International Archives Day.  We helped people find resources on how to become an archivist; we provided reference services to people with questions specific to our holdings; we told our favourite stories about the profession; we talked about what we have here at the BC Archives; and much more.  It was the perfect way to jump into my role here at the Royal BC Museum!  


follow the museum on Twitter @RoyalBCMuseum

GEMs, RingKlips, Owl Clips and more....

From the desk of Ann ten Cate, Reference Archivist at the Royal B.C. Museum

So what makes an archivist’s heart go pitter patter? It’s not always what you might expect. Sure, there’s a thrill to be had when you come across an unusual record, or manage to hunt down a particularly elusive snippet of information for someone – but sometimes archivists find their rewards in unusual places. My secret pleasure is finding a new example of an antique paper fastener (otherwise known as a paper clip) for the little collection that sits on my desk.

The pins and other attachment devices pictured above have been removed from our paper records because they could rust or tear the documents if left in place. They have served their purpose, and they’ve now been replaced with a stainless steel modern version. The model we now use is a GEM, which has actually been around since 1892! My little collection of antiques also includes an Owl Clip (still being manufactured), a RingKlip, and a brass Clipper Clip, along with some stud fasteners that would have been inserted by a machine. For a fascinating look at the history of the paper clip, and to match up my samples with their names and manufacturing dates, check out The Early Office Museum online. (http://www.officemuseum.com/paper_clips.htm)

You can also look at archival photographs of 19th and 20th century office interiors in British Columbia by accessing the Archives search page and using the keywords [office and interior].

Interior of the Brackman-Ker Milling Company office, Rossland, B.C. 1904. BCA B-07702

My collection of paper fasteners isn’t large and it will never end up in a museum, but for me it represents a hundred and fifty years of society’s struggle with paper records. How to organize them, how to control them – always a challenge in a paper-based office. It’s also the essence of an archivist’s job – capturing, holding together and managing the important bits of information that we’ll need in the future. I feel a certain affinity with the humble paper clip.

And I think we’ll need them for a long time to come. Although for efficiency and for the sake of the environment, we are supposed to be working towards a paperless office, I can’t actually see a day anytime soon when we’ll be able to give up our useful little friend, the paper clip.

My top five favourite Royal BC Museum activities

From the desk of Melaina Haas, Communications Coordinator at the Royal BC Museum.

5 – Having lunch in the Native Plant Garden
The Native Plant Garden is one of Victoria’s best-kept secrets – or, was… I guess I just spilled the beans. With more than 400 species of plants native to British Columbia, this spot – paired with a tuna fish sandwich – is positively paradise on a sunny day. And while you’re here, stroll up the stairs and check out the dinosaur footprints. (Look closely at the ground behind the green snack kiosk and you’ll spot a cast of original impressions left by a meat-eating carnosaur and a plant-loving hadrosaur in BC’s Peace River Canyon. Rawr!

4 – Researching family history in the BC Archives
Snuggled up to the Native Plant Garden is another one of my favourite spots, the BC Archives. As a kid, I loved reading “old stuff.” My mom had a copy of the newspaper that announced the marriage of my grandparents some 65 years ago and I must’ve read that thing at least a hundred times (the ads were my favourite). Even though my family doesn’t have roots in BC, I still find the photos and documents in the archives fascinating. If you’re lucky enough to have a history in this province, definitely pop by and see what you can find – you might be surprised! If you want more information about planning a visit, go to the BC Archives website.

3 – Chilling with Charlie in Old Town’s movie theatre
Where in Victoria can you spend an afternoon in an early 20th-century movie theatre with Charlie Chaplin? On the third floor of the museum in Old Town, of course! The details in the Majestic Theatre are astounding. Check out the golden designs on the walls and ceiling and, if you sit near the back of the room, listen for the “tick-tick-tick” of the movie projector!

2 – Testing my sea legs on the Discovery ship
Come aboard Captain George Vancouver’s ship. Built in 1789, the (real) HMS Discovery was a 340-ton, three-masted square-rigged ship with 10 four-pound cannons and 10 swivel guns. The replica portion you can enter contains the captain’s cabin and sleeping area. The combination of sound effects (creaking of the ship) and smell effects (salt and tar) does something funny to me… when I disembark the boat, I always feel like I’m about to topple over. I guess I’m no salty dog.

1 – Singing in the Natural History Gallery’s echo-chamber
My top (after-hours) Royal BC Museum activity is singing opera in the Natural History Gallery’s echo-chamber. The domed roof of the forest diorama carries (and even amplifies) the quietest murmur from one side of the room to the other. Madame Butterfly, at your service!

Do you have a favourite Royal BC Museum activity? If so, I’d love to hear from you.