Please read this Guide First.
1. The museum research
resources are extensive. Consult the descriptions on this page and then try a few
searches using the collections catalogue,
Collections Catalogues & Ship Lists Data Bases
. Questions or problems - contact us by e mail.
2. If you plan on visiting the
Gordon C Shaw Study Centre to use the archives and library we strongly recommend you
contact us first by e mail at
curator@marmuseum.ca
or postal mail to ensure a staff member or research volunteer is available to
help you. You are also welcome to call by phone, 613 542 2261 but we
cannot guarantee a member of the museum research staff will be available to
take your call.
3. We have a decided preference for e mail
or postal mail. Many of the research questions we get are complex. E mail give
us the time to consider, as a research team, possible answers to your
questions. We will do our
best to get an e mail reply back to you within ten working day.
A Descriptive Guide to many
of the Archival Collections
Introduction
Archival Holdings
Plans
Textual Records
Photographic Archives
Audio Visual Archives
On Site Research
Introduction
The Marine Museum collections are extensive. The communications resources developed by
the museum with the assistance of Queen's University to give access to collections
catalogues are extensive. We are
fortunate in that donations of collections are a constant in the life of the museum.
If you believe, based on our collecting policy and a review of our
current collections online we may have the information you are seeking - than please
contact us.
The Marine Museum advocates a collegial approach to heritage preservation. The
professional mariner, researcher and student is well positioned while in Kingston to
undertake marine research. The combined and unique resources of each institution, the
Marine Museum along with that of Queen's University and the Royal Military College are
comprehensive. The Board of Directors oversees the collections
policies which are implemented by the Accessions Committee.
The Marine Museum is a member of the Association For Great Lakes Maritime History, the
Council of American Maritime Museums, the International Congress of Maritime Museums, the
Ontario Museum Association and the Canadian Museums Association. The museum maintains
active links with a larger resource base, often serving as a referral centre for those
seeking information.
This Link will take you to the Search Engine
Index: Collections, Ship Lists, Articles, etc
To National & International Maritime Resources Web Sites
Archival Holdings
The museum archives maintains collections documenting Canadian marine heritage on the
Great Lakes from the mid- nineteenth century through to the present. Business records
covering all aspects of ships and shipping are represented from the original vessel
design, through its building, its working life and its final paying off (or shipwreck).
These various aspects of the marine trades and industry are reflected in collections
originating from the draughting offices of naval architects, from the shipyards which
built the ships, from the vessels themselves, and from the corporate headquarters of
companies operating the fleets. The textual and marine architectural records are further
supplemented by photographs and audio-visual recordings. There is a steady flow of
material arriving from the Canadian marine industry.
The shipyards provided builder's plans and the fleets provided working plans,
altogether totaling more than 40,000.
The George Cuthbertson Collection (C&C Yachts) - Recently added. More
information to follow.
In the Collingwood Shipyard Collection are 9368 plans covering the period from
1902 to 1980. Almost all common lake types are represented: canal, upper laker and seaway
size bulk carriers, package freighters, passenger ships, self-unloaders, scows, tankers,
ferries and naval vessels, including corvettes and trawlers. The bulk of the plans are for
Collingwood hulls including the famous passenger ships Huronic and Hamonic, and the first
purpose built 730' self-unloader, Canada Steamship Lines' Tarantau. There are also repair
plans for much older vessels such as the Myles b. 1882 and the Macassa b. 1888.
Kingston Shipyard plans total over 4000 in number, dating from 1943 to 1967. The
majority are repair plans, reflecting the nature of the work at Kingston. The lines of
many older vessels are thus preserved and amongst them are several ships of significance
including the early self-unloader Collier (b.1924) and the first diesel on the lakes
Mapleheath (b.1911).
Port Arthur Shipyard plans number over 6,000 and date from 1911 to 1958, with
the bulk belonging to the 1940's. Well known 'Portship' vessels represented include: the
infamous Noronic (burned 1949); the Mathewston, the largest upper laker of its time
(1922); and naval trawlers, corvettes and minesweepers. Repair plans from Port Arthur
capture older technologies such as that of the Paipoonge (b.1888).
The Canadian Vickers Shipyard collection maintains 4429 plans dating from 1921
to 1965, with the focus of the collection on the period 1945 through 1965. As might be
expected this Montreal shipyard collection is dominated by foreign and ocean going hulls;
there is a preponderance of Canadian Coast Guard vessels and plans to the only two
destroyers represented in the archive's holdings (Thunder and Ottawa).
Polson Ironworks of Toronto (Campbell Collection) was a small shipyard with a
correspondingly small collection of plans 265. Dredges dominate the collection: the most
well known vessel documented is the steam ferry Trillium.
Canadian Dredge and Dock, primarily a dredging and ship repair company, is
represented by 827 plans dating from 1937 to 1973. Older technology is accessible through
repair plans which document vessels such as John F. Drews, b. 1894.
The J&R Weir Collection consists of 2500 plans dating from 1925 through
1977. These are all as built plans supplied by building shipyards to J&R Weir in
Montreal to facilitate the installation of new boilers, tanks, and Seaway gear in which
they specialized. The strength of the collection lies with its Victory ship plans, which
number over 700, and in repair plans which capture many older vessels including the
Cayuga, Redwater, and the whaleback Ericsson.
The Bateman Collection comprehends 1611
as-built plans from the Canada Steamship
Lines fleet of the 1960s and 70s. Their provenance being the ships' engineering office,
these blueprints record post-construction modifications and repairs carried out under the
instruction of the vessel's chief engineer while in operation. They document the working
life of a vessel.
The Alexander Henry collection consists of 190
as-builts (ca 1959) as used by the
chief engineer aboard this icebreaker during its active career. Refit modifications and
repairs to all systems are recorded here.
The Canadian Shipbuilding and Engineering Collection consists of 824 plans from
all of its dependent shipyards, Collingwood, Port Arthur, Davie, and Kingston. Included
are four General Arrangements dating to 1929, for proposed Canada Steamship Lines
passenger vessels which were never built.
The German and Milne Collection is constituted of naval architect's design plans
rather than builder's plans. They number 5616 and date from 1942 through 1981. Canadian
Coast Guard icebreakers such as John A. Macdonald and ocean going tankers such as the
record breaking Emerillon predominate.
The Robert Johnston Collection consists of 210 naval architects' design plans.
The majority are quite recent designs and encompass the full spectrum of lake types.
The Boyes Sykes Collection provides plans from the Great Lakes Engineering Works
and the Toledo Shipbuilding Company. Totaling 503 blueprints they represent the archives'
current holdings from American shipyards.
The Collingwood Shipyard fonds constitutes 30 linear feet of textual records.
Dating from 1914 to 1968, the bulk of the material falls to the 1940s and 50s. These
documents include engineering, financial and administrative records: specifically
contracts, estimates, specifications, material orders, progress reports, accounts, balance
sheets and board minutes. Within this collection is documented: the change from steam to
diesel technology; the supersession of riveted by all welded hulls; the obsolescence of
the canaler sized carrier (250') with the advent of the seaway sized vessel (730'); and
the development of the new self-unloader technology of which 'Collship' was an innovator.
The Kingston Shipyard Collection maintains 38 feet of material in two
accessions. Engineering, financial, and administrative departments are all represented
with contracts, estimates, specifications, stock certificates, balance sheets and
administrative correspondence captured. The earliest records date to the company's
beginning in 1910 and the early years 1912-33 are well covered. Relatively few records
exist for the 1930s and 40s, but with the 1950s and 1960s well documented. The bulk of the
material relates to repair work reflecting the normal activity of the Kingston yard with
the consequence that a great variety of Great Lakes vessels are comprehended within the
collection. This variety includes a technological curiosity, the Alexbow icebreaking scow,
designed for harbour work.
The Canadian Vickers Shipyards fonds is composed of 50 linear feet of records
including 12 feet of machinery manuals. This material begins at an undetermined date and
continues to 1966, most dating to the 1950s. They are almost exclusively engineering
records, relating to repair contracts in the main; contracts, tenders, specifications, and
work orders form the bulk. Herein is represented the greatest variety of vessels of any
single collection in our holdings, with a strong contingent of foreign and ocean going
bulk and package freighters.
The Canadian Dredge and Dock shipyard records constitute 48 linear feet. The
date range is 1934 to 1979 with the bulk of the material falling to the 1950s. The
material is exclusively financial and administrative in nature with a strong bias towards
the dredging operations, but with some material relating to ship repair contracts.
The J&R Weir Collection consists of 94 feet of material - one of our largest
and most comprehensive collection. The records date from 1927 to 1982: the bulk pertains
to the period 1940 to 1965. Engineering, financial, administrative and personnel records
are represented including; specifications, estimates, tenders, account ledgers, and
general correspondence. J&R Weir as a repair and refit company specialized in the
installation and repair of boilers, engines and Seaway gear: they later branched into
industrial installation. A firm of long standing, their records provide interesting
insights into operations of an Anglophone company adapting to the new business milieu of a
nationalist Quebec.
The German and Milne Collection comprises 373 feet of material in two accessions
dating from 1937 to 1985 the bias falling towards the 1960s. As a naval architecture firm
the material differs in nature from that of the shipbuilder's records - the focus is the
draughting room rather than the shipyard - material orders, claims for extras, and
progress reports are conspicuous by their absence. Design calculations, tenders,
inspection reports, contracts and design specifications in particular, are this
collection's strong suits. German and Milne's activity in wartime merchant marine and
naval production Victory ships, corvettes, and naval trawlers is well documented as is the
close relationship between Canada's premier naval architects and the Department of
Defense
during the war years. The material also captures designs for some of the earliest all
welded hulls in Canada (1930s-40s). The firm's design specialties, Icebreakers, Arctic
supply vessels and tankers, are well represented and in latter years there are
environmental surveys. This collection is well worth examination by students of the
Canadian Merchant Marine.
The Canada Steamship Lines fonds are composed of the business records of
Canada's largest shipper and, to date, consist of over 300 linear feet of material. They
date from 1913 to 1985, with a slight bias towards postwar material. Complementing the
collections which document the construction and repair of a vessel, this material
illustrates the business of operating a vessel (or fleet) for profit. The records are
operational, financial and administrative in nature. Of particular note are early records
documenting the rise trade unionism in the shipping field, the operation of the company's
famous Hotels Tadoussac and Richelieu. The business and labour historian would find much
of interest in this comprehensive collection.
The Alexander Henry Collection is comprised of 17 linear feet of working records
left aboard this ship when she was acquired by the museum as an exhibit. Dating from
approximately 1960 to 1985 this material includes machinery manuals and engineer's logs.
The Calvin Timber and Shipping Company records consist of 55 linear feet of
material, including 45 feet of bound ledgers, diaries and logs. Dates range from 1836 to
1918, with the bulk falling between 1890 and 1910. They consist of administrative,
financial, operational, and personal records and papers. The breadth and scope of the
material is impressive documenting in microcosm the freewheeling entrepreneurship of the
Victorian period as expressed by this local timbering and shipping firm. Not only is
Canadian economic history well served by this paradigm of the staple theory; but marine
history is documented through its shipping records and masters' and engineer's logs which
detail the operation of timber barges and the ancient steamers which towed them. The
ledgers reflect the development of a small partnership into a limited stock company; while
the personal papers provide insights into the insular social politics of what was a
company owned town Canada's equivalent of the Lancashire mill town.
The Montreal Transportation Company fonds consists of 9 linear feet of material
documenting the fleet operations of the largest Canadian bulk carrier of the late
nineteenth century. The records are financial in nature consisting almost exclusively of
manifests and loading books dating from approximately 1880 to 1910. As the onetime prime
mover of Canadian grain from the lakes down the St. Lawrence, this company lends itself to
the student of the economic and transport history as well as to the marine researcher.
The Port Arthur Shipbuilding fonds comprises 130 linear feet of corporate
records documenting the engineering, accounting, payroll and personnel activities of the
company. Half of the material consists of unwieldy but informative accounting and payroll
ledgers; the remainder is in the form of business files and file card records. Dating from
1910 to 1980, the bulk of the material belongs to war and prewar period. While the
engineering department is relatively poorly represented, manufacturing information is
actually well documented in the accounting records. Of obvious interest to the business
historian, this comprehensive collection also contains rare material documenting the
hiring of female replacement workers during World War II; the personnel records are very
complete and offer full scope to the labour and ethnic historian.
The Canadian Shipbuilding and Engineering fonds consists of 63 linear feet of
financial records - estimates and financial statements dating from the 1940s through the
1970s. As the parent company of the five major shipyards on the Great Lakes it received
comparative financial statements from all its subsidiaries and is a prime source for an
overall economic assessment of the shipbuilding industry during this period.
The Frederick McConnell fonds documents the history of a small, private boat
building company in its growth from a one man operation to a larger partnership, and then
to a public company. The firm is best known for its building of two Canadian America's Cup
contenders Canada I and True North. The collection consists of 29 linear feet dating from
1974 to 1989.
Upper Lakes Group Incorporated and its subsidiary corporations, specifically
Upper Lakes Shipping and ULS Marbulk Limited. ULS is currently the second largest Canadian
shipping company operating on the Great Lakes and overseas. The material is relatively
recent dating from 1951 to 1971, and 1988.
As an initial accession it holds potential to become one of among our institution's
best collections documenting the history and growth of a shipping company whose genesis is
surprisingly different from that of other Canadian shipping companies. This difference
should prove intrinsic to the fonds intellectual value, due to the linkages it can provide
within the broader scope of Canadian business history - commercial linkages with the
purchasers and processors of Canada' primary staple commodity, wheat. ULS moreover, is
perhaps best known within the academic (and shipping) communities for its unique
contribution to recent labour history. This fonds naturally lends itself to the study of
transportation history, marine and technology history, and labour history: combined with
its historic antecedents within the grain trade, it offers potential for a broad overview
of Canadian business history during its most interesting period.
The William H. Johnston Papers consist of the private working and reference
files of a prominent executive from Canada Steamship Lines whose shipbuilding career
spanned the years 1940 to 1980. They consist of 18 feet of material.
The total number of photographic images held by the archives currently stands at over
14,000 distributed amongst twenty major collections.
The Kingston Shipyards Photographic collection comprises 3367 black and white
positive prints and 354 negatives documenting the construction and repair of vessels at
the shipyard. The images date to the 1950s.
The Port Arthur Shipyard Photographic collection consists of 108 black and white
positives and 450 negatives covering the early period of the shipyard's history from 1919
through 1935. New construction is highlighted, with damage surveys and repair work also
represented. Contact print indices are available.
The Collingwood Shipyard Photographic collection consists of 3461 black and
white negatives and 600 black and white positive prints. The dates range from 1927 to
1965: the subject matter is almost exclusively new builds, from the Sand Merchant dredger
to the trend setting self-unloader Tarantau: the setting is the Collingwood yards. The
material bulks in the 1940s and 1950s with Canadian corvettes and Canada Steamship Lines
freighters particularly well represented. Contact print indices are available.
The German and Milne Photographic collection exists as a subseries within the
German and Milne textual records. Consisting of 484 positive prints dating from
approximately 1925 to 1965, it documents the final builds of German and Milne designs.
The Canadian Coast Guard Photographic collection consists of 281 glass plate
negatives documenting vintage navigation aids as used by the Coast Guard in the early part
of the century: included are Fresnel lenses, lamps, foghorns and timers, gas flashers and
reflectors. All are studio shot.
The Canada Steamship Lines Photographic collection is comprised of over 900
black and white positive prints documenting the evolution of the company fleet. Included
are most of the passenger vessels from the "Great White Fleet" as well as
canallers, bulk carriers and modern self-unloaders. Dates range from the 1920s through to
1980.
The Carson Photographic Collection is a private collection. Consisting of 441
black and white negatives, (both original and copies), its date range is from
approximately 1880 to 1960. Less discriminate than corporate documentation, its variety as
to place, time and subject suggests itself to the general marine historian rather than the
serious student of technology. Sidewheel passenger steamers and wooden hulled bulk
carriers of the late nineteenth century (including Calvin company ships) are well
represented; the early years of the Kingston Shipyards are well documented, as is corvette
production during World War II. Many of the hulks inhabiting the inner harbour of the port
of Kingston are also captured. All images are of vessels under sail or in harbour. Contact
print indices are available.
The C.C. Calvin Photographic collection maintains 252 black and white negatives
dating from circa 1890 to 1930. The collection documents the corporate and private life on
Garden Island - site of the Calvin shipping company. Family pictures predominate, however
the company fleet of steam tugs and schooner barges are captured as well. Contact print
indices are available.
The Norris Photographic collection is very personal in nature. Consisting of 82
black and white negatives, it focuses on waterfront personalities local to
Barriefield,
Ontario and the ships and crew which frequented Kingston harbour in the early twentieth
century. It is a good source for images of crew members who served on the various shipping
lines current circa 1920 - 1930. Contact print indices are available.
The MacLachlan Photographic collection is a private collection consisting of 114
negatives dating to 1942-43. Shot by a student worker at the Kingston shipyards it
documents many of the merchant vessels passing by the harbourfront during the war years.
Contact print indices available.
The Lovelady Photographic collection is a private collection comprised of 285
black and white negatives ranging in date from circa 1880 to 1955. Subjects vary from:
early vintage passenger steamers including the famous Huronic and Noronic; to bulk
carriers of the 1920s; to curiosities such as the whaleback John Ericsson; to Port Arthur
corvettes and minesweepers: bulk carriers of Canada Steamship Lines are particularly well
documented. Panoramas of various Great Lakes harbours and elevators are featured as are
several startling images of shipwrecks and sinkings. Contact print indices are available.
The Corbin Photographic collection consists of 27 copy prints of James Bain
photographs dating from circa 1870 to 1890. This collection documents the town, harbour,
and ships of Clayton, New York in the latter quarter of the nineteenth century. It is a
good source for images of typical schooners of the period.
The Snider Photographic collection was gathered together by famous journalist
and marine historian C.H.J. Snider. Comprised of 158 black and white negatives dating from
the latter nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it subject matter is confined
exclusively to Great Lakes sailing vessels - schooners and sailing barges. Contact print
indices available.
The Campbell Photographic collection is comprised of 382 black and white
negatives. Being a private collection its subject matter is extremely varied and
indiscriminate with over 250 Canadian ships captured. It serves well as a general
photographic survey of Great Lakes vessels operating during the 1920s through 1940s.
The Brais Photographic collection is made up of 82 black and white prints dating
to the early twentieth century. It is a good source for images of early canal sized
freighters.
The Jack Campbell Photographic collection is a small (45 negatives) but
extremely fine collection capturing as it does many of the most well known Great Lakes
steamers dating to the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Vessels with more than
local significance include; Cayuga, Macassa, Modjeska, and Toiler.
The Weatherhead Photographic collection contains both positive prints and
postcard images. Comprised of over 1030 items it is extremely varied, but with a distinct
bias towards ocean going vessels rather than Great Lakes ships.
The Eakins Photographic collection is made up of 98 positive prints mostly
professional photographs and postcards. The date range lies between circa 1869 and 1912;
the subjects are largely steamers, both passenger and freight. The quality of the images
is good and the evidential value high. The bulk of the collection documents Port Arthur,
its ships and environs, circa 1885 and includes remarkable images of shipwrecks and of
Canadian Pacific Railway ships transporting troops to the Riel rebellion. This collection
contains many of the oldest images in our holdings.
The George Brough Photographic collection is unique. Comprised of 940 black and
white negatives dating to 1960-65, it documents from a very prosaic viewpoint, Kingston
harbour at work. The photographer was a marine surveyor and quondam steamboat inspector -
these photographs were taken in the course of his profession and document in workmanlike
fashion the operations of salvage, drydocking, and repairing commercial vessels. Kingston
Shipyards, Davis dry-dock, and the Pyke Salvage company are all featured. The camera work
is "close up" and details abound.
The archives' aural recordings total 58 tape recordings in both reel to reel and
cassette format. Topics covered include: shipbuilding on the Great Lakes; steamships on
the Lakes; corvette production; histories of Port Arthur, Collingwood and Kingston
shipyards; sea chanteys; small craft; and the role of the Canadian Merchant Marine during
the Battle of the Atlantic. Personalities interviewed include: Don Page, former manager of
Port Arthur, Kingston and Davie shipyards; Professor Marc Milner, Canadian naval
historian; Bob Johnston, naval architect; Bruce Kirby, inventor of the 'Laser'; and John
Pratt, performer with the famous Navy Show of World War II. and C.H. J. Snider, journalist
and historian.
Our movie film and video tape holdings total 19. Of special interest is the 1940
launching of the corvette Napanee, and the survey of an underwater wreck site - the Annie
Falconer.
The museum reference library, international in scope, currently maintains over
10,000
titles in its holdings. The monographs are organized according to Library of Congress
rules and catalogued on computer. Our library catalogue is available online
through our web site.
Researchers interested in using the collections are advised to contact the museum prior
to their visit. If possible search our collections catalogues to ensure there is a good
fit between what we have and your research objectives.