Victoria's Day

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



The Monday on or just before May 24th is a federal statutory holiday in most of Canada – and a date that usually marks the unofficial beginning of summer for many of us. It’s a time to plant a garden, open up the cottage – or celebrate the Queen’s birthday with a parade, fireworks, regatta, or rodeo. How you celebrate all depends on which part of the country you are in.

The day is called Victoria Day because it was originally designated in 1845 to mark the birthday of the reigning Queen – Victoria. After her death in 1901, it was officially re-designated as Empire Day throughout the Commonwealth - but the name Victoria Day is still used in most parts of Canada.

The Royal BC Museum is located in the City of Victoria, also named after the former monarch, and, not surprisingly, Victorians have always celebrated the Queen’s birthday with gusto. One of the biggest parades in the country occurs here on the Monday of the long weekend, with marching bands from all over the region.

The B.C. Archives holds dozens of photographs of British Columbians marking the day – here’s a sampling to get you in the mood for your own May long weekend.

Canoe regatta, Victoria's Inner Harbour, May 14, 1904 A-07202

Cyclists in the May 24, 1900 parade, Victoria, B.C. H-02434

Victoria Day Maypole Dance, Lumby, B.C. [194?] F-09236

May Day Parade on Government Street, Victoria, B.C., 1900 G-02019

One Year Later

From the desk of Kim Gough, Program Developer at the Royal BC Museum



As I was sitting down to write my blog for this month I realized that I have now been blogging for one year! So I treated myself to some cake and gifts and then, drunk on sugar, I decided to revisit my first post on "Backstage Pass Tours" and give an update.

Here is a quick summary of a typcial Backstage Pass tour. Visitors purchase their museum admission ticket or show their current membership card and then sign up for the tour at the Information Desk. There they receive a backstage pass ticket. They then gather in the lobby and are greeted by their tour leader and assistant. After a brief introduction to the museum they head to the freight elevator and take a trip down to the basement.

Frieght elevator


They learn about the field work of the entomology (insect) department and then stop for a look in the Exhibit Art workshop where they see how things are made.

After that they trek through the tunnel and head up the staff elevator to the sixth floor of the collections tower. They go through the entomology library, past the curator's office and into the laboratory where they see stacks of collection drawers, pinned specimens and maybe even some research associates at work. A quick look out the windows at the amazing view of Victoria's inner harbour and then back downstairs.

A glimpse behind the scenes of Entomology

Our docent tour guides do an amazing job. After training sessions and tours with curators and many practice runs they expertly guide our visitors through the many hallways and collections. On weekdays, visitors are often treated to impromptu visits with curators, research associates, conservators and other staff. Some visitors are downright "star struck" and these interactions are definitely a highlight.

A tour visiting the Exhibit Arts workshop and chatting with staff

We have been running the tours for seven months and took a two month break so the departments could have their spaces back for a little while. We also took advantage of this time to evaluate the program and make some changes - including a new tour of the Exhibit Art workshop and of paleontology.

Backstage Pass Tours will continue to be offered with regular admission twice a week until the end of September as part of our Behind the Scenes exhibition - and hopefully beyond. Find out when they happen by visiting our "What's On" page.

Identification please...

From the desk of Kelly Sendall, Manager of Natural History at the Royal BC Museum

The Natural History Section at the museum conducts about 30 research projects each year. Some of them take many years and others only span one year. But almost all result in an improvement in the representation the collections have of the province's biodiversity. As BC is Canada's most biodiverse province by a long shot, it's also a challenge to properly identify what we've already got! With the help of taxonomic experts from all over the world we are constantly doing this. Either they come to visit the collection or we loan specimens to experts at other museums. Recently, we have initiated a new project to develop online identification keys for the plants and animals of BC. These are slowly growing in number as students, volunteers, staff, research associates and others develop and contribute one or more keys to the list. So far there are keys to:

Chitons of BC
These are marine molluscs clinging to rocks in the intertidal and sub tidal habitats. The one pictured here is Tonicella insignis also known as the White-lined Chiton.

BC Hexactinellid Sponges

This key is still in development but will cover the glass sponges found commonly in BC waters. The one pictured on the right is a species of Staurocalyptus, of which there are 3 species in the marine waters of BC.

BC Echinoderms

This is a general key to the groups of echinoderms (seastars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, brittlestars/basketstars, sea lilies/feather stars) in BC waters.

BC Crinoids

This key is still in development but covers very strange echinoderms also referred to as sea lillies or featherstars. The one pictured on the right is a common featherstar in BC (Florometra).

BC Echinoids
This key includes the sea urchins and sand dollars. The species pictured on the right is the Purple Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus).

BC Tunicates

Also known as sea squirts, the tunicates are very diverse in BC marine waters and often rather difficult to identify. The species to the right is our 'sea peach' (Halocynthis aurantium).

BC Brachiopods

These are ancient marine animals resembling molluscs but they are only distantly related to them. Some members of this group are commonly called lamp shells. The picture on the right is of the California Lamp Shell (Laqueus californianus), one of a few species common to BC.

We're looking for help in adding more keys to the list. Contributors so far have been students, staff, researchers or amateurs with an expertise in a particular group. If you think you can help, please contact me so we can talk about it. These keys are definitely a step up from the paper field guides in your pack that quickly become outdated or soaking wet! If you would like to try one of the keys, click on any of the key headings above.

A Good Conversation

A Good Conversation

From the desk of Tim Willis, Director of Exhibitions and Visitor Experience

I can still remember the feeling of disbelief as I left the theatre. I’d just watched a two hour movie featuring two middle aged men having a conversation over dinner. One location, no action, nothing happened. Just two chaps talking. And yet, it was so completely absorbing and memorable. Do you know the movie I’m talking about? See link at end of post.

The debate about the written word in exhibitions is an old ‘chestnut.’ How many words are too much? Is the reading level too high? Do people read anymore anyway? And yet … I’ve been surprised more times than I’d care to admit by how often I’ve found visitors reading with real commitment.

We just tried something new… an exhibition - with a lot of text – and bi-lingual too! Words everywhere! The writing is not tiered, nor is it written to a particular grade level. And the surprise is that visitors are reading it avidly. They start at the start and work their way along, more or less as we’d planned.

A view of The Other Emily Exhibition

What’s different in this new exhibition, ‘The Other Emily’ is that the text is a conversation between two people – a curator and an artist – whom you ‘meet’ at the start of the show. The tone is informal, almost chatty. And it’s personal – two living people talking about artist, Emily Carr from radically different perspectives.

My guess is that visitors are responding the way most of us do when we get the chance to eavesdrop on an interesting conversation.

Tim Willis

PS http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082783/

Tools of the Trade

From the desk of Colleen Wilson,
Conservator at the Royal BC Museum.

One of the glamorous aspects of preserving our heritage is the use of expensive and esoteric scientific equipment. In novels and movies conservators are often seen in white lab coats beside mass spectrometers, operating scanning electron microscopes in settings reminiscent of Dr Frankenstein’s laboratory.

Samuel L Jackson and Don McKellar in The Red Violin
examining the artifact in well-equipped laboratory.

In reality conservation is a blend of science and practicality – the tools of the trade range from those too specialized for our budget (when necessary we contact the University of Victoria, Victoria General Hospital or Pacific Forestry Centre) to the mundanely familiar.

Removing soil from a document can be a delicate operation; sometimes a humble eraser is the best tool for the job. Crumbs of eraser can be employed very gently, but commercially available “eraser bags” may contain contaminants, so the prudent paper conservator produces her own.

Betty Walsh producing document cleaning crumbs
with a state-of-the-art grater.

Not surprisingly textile conservators use pins and needles. The pins are also used by entomologists to skewer insect specimens; the needles by eye surgeons. Thread, especially “hair silk” frequently has to be dyed in the lab to blend with the (stained, faded) artifact.

Needles and thread – sometimes it’s like trying to sew with an eyelash.

At the other end of the scale, how do conservators protect totem poles? Currently the poles in the Anthropology galleries are being assessed and cleaned. The tools? A fine sable paint brush (used as a sweep), HEPA vacuum (with nozzle screened to prevent the loss of loose material) and a mobile scissor lift (conservators will go to any height!).

George Field examining protective zinc cap on a pole in Thunderbird Park.

XRF (X-ray fluorescence) analysis identifies the presence of potentially harmful elements. In the past both arsenic and mercury were used in the preparation of natural history specimens; they were so effective at repelling insects that many artifacts were similarly treated. These furs, feathers and skins have remained unchewed, but the metals pose a health threat for handlers.

Lisa Bengston with hand-held XRF analyzer.

Documentation is an important part of the Conservation Ethic. In order to assess the impact of treatment or environment, it is necessary to describe and record artifacts in detail. Although a wide range of analytical tools are employed, the most frequently used are the tape measure, camera and pencil. Has a crack enlarged? Was that chip missing before? Has that adhesive yellowed? Did the coating prevent tarnish? Although the computer is an indispensible tool, a quick paper-and-pencil drawing can sometimes record information more succinctly.

Kasey Lee condition reporting artifacts for Helmcken House.

Of course we do employ the Recording Thermohydrograph, UV Radiation Meter, Suction Table and Distillation Unit that we dreamed of as aspiring conservators. But we also use the chest freezer, vacuum cleaner and glue gun – whatever tool will do the job. (The still is used for producing distilled water only!)

Worth a thousand words

From the desk of Sean Rodman, Strategic Partnerships Manager at the Royal BC Museum Is this a family photo with a group of aliens? Perhaps a field of cartoon ghosts?

Sometimes pictures from the past aren't very self-explanatory. This photo actually comes from Osoyoos, and was taken in 1943. It's a field of Zucca melons, which can grow to be over 100 pounds in weight! (More about the brief craze for Zucca melon growing can be found here and here.)

This is an example of one of the challenges that museums and archives often face: a photograph may be an accurate reflection of a moment in history. But determining what exactly was going on in that moment can be difficult.

One modern way of overcoming this is through the use of "crowdsourcing", as can be seen on the Flickr Commons site. The Commons shows you the hidden treasures in a range of public photography archives, and uses your input and knowledge to help make these collections even richer.

In the Commons, you aren't meant to be a passive viewer. You can view, tag, and annotate photographs, adding your own knowledge to the broader collection. Here's an example: a picture taken by one of the Royal BC Museum's early staff, William Newcombe, which has been submitted to the Commons by the Smithsonian.

Photographs are worth a thousand words...but sometimes those words are a conversation. Hope you join in!

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.