What follows is an overview of the Marine Museum Collections. The
holdings are extensive with well in excess of 3,000 artefacts, 11,000
bibliographic titles, 40,000 ships plans, and 3,000 boxes of archival
material. In addition there are over 15,000 photographs, nautical charts,
paintings and drawings. Many collections are catalogued at the item level
while other collections have "shell" records that give on overview of the
contents. Our on-line catalogue and ship lists can be found by following
the research links at www.marmuseum.ca. We are deeply indebted to
Queen's University Archives at Kingston for providing outstanding web based
technical services.
One of the most exciting and rewarding aspects of maritime history is
the adventure of research. The Marine Museum
advocates a collegial approach to heritage research and preservation. The professional mariner,
researcher and student is well positioned while in Kingston with an
abundance of resources available.
The combined and unique holdings of each institution, the Marine Museum along with that
of Queen's University and the Royal Military College Library are comprehensive. Fortunately there are
also fine research resources
at various institutions across the Great Lakes and many
organizations that are generous is sharing information. As part of a larger
research resource base Museum staff would be pleased to
refer you to other institutions, national and international when we are unable to meet
your research requirements.
Research: A Practical Guide to Getting Started
We strongly advise contacting us prior to making a research
visit. We have many requests and a small staff. Priority in serving
researchers by our staff is given to those who have reserved time in advance.
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
followed by 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.
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.
Other marine research resources in Kingston include Queen's University Special Collections, Queen's University Archives
the Stauffer Library and documents section of the library and the library at the Royal Military College.
The museum maintains active links with a larger national and international resource base,
often serving as a referral centre for those seeking information.
The library, artefact and archival collections are
located at the
marine museum, a short distance from Queen's University and the Kingston downtown area.
A listserve discussion group for those interested in marine history and
marine museums called MARHST-L has been available by by subscription since
1994.
We recommend that researchers in Kingston during the summer
consider the B&B aboard the Museum Ship Alexander Henry
for accommodation.
The objects in the Marine Museum collections number 3,000 items and cover a broad range of instruments, tools and equipment used by mariners in their daily work, by shipbuilders and yachtsmen. A brief list would include navigation instruments, rigging gear, deck gear, steam engines, skiffs and other small craft, shipbuilding and boat building tools. In addition there are ship models, clothing, and decorative arts. Alongside the museum dock is a complete ship that represents Canadian shipbuilding standards and the equipment used on ships for at least four decades.
This Link will take you to the Collections Catalogue Data Bases.
The Pump House Steam Museum
The Pump House Steam Museum, owned and operated by the City of Kingston is only a short distance from the Marine Museum.
It has an extensive collection of stationary steam engines
with some good examples of marine steam plants. In the collection is a 48 foot steam
yacht, the Phoebe
built in Kingston in 1914. A visit to the Frontenac Society of Model Engineers. web site is recommended for views of steam engines.
The marine museum library has many works on the subject of engineering,
technical manuals,
industrial archaeology and technology based subjects.
Museum Ship Alexander Henry
The 3,000 ton, 210 foot ship is broadly representative of shipbuilding technology from
the end of World War 2 until the 1970's. Students interested in the design considerations,
structure and the many systems that comprise the construction of a ship will find many
details of interest. The ship is exceedingly well documented with material from the
designer (German & Milne), the shipbuilder (Port Arthur Shipyards), and the operator
(Canadian Coast Guard). You can stay aboard the Alexander Henry as a Bed &
Breakfast Guest B&B aboard the Museum Ship Alexander Henry.
The Museum reference library, international in
scope, currently maintains over 11,000 titles. The monographs are organized according to
Library of Congress rules. Our library catalogue is online via our website at www.marmuseum.ca.
Follow the research links.
Our subject areas
cover all aspects of Canadian shipping and marine heritage: yachting; canal systems;
shipping registers, including a near complete run of Lloyds and Department of Transport
List of Shipping; ship histories, lists and directories; shipping company fleet histories;
steam technology; naval history; navigation; pilot guides; shipwreck directories;
transactions of nautical societies; some ethnographic studies; naval architecture;
shipbuilding general; shipbuilding of the Great Lakes; shipyard hull lists; yacht design
and construction; boatbuilding; ocean liner histories; steamboats; sails and rigging and
engineering.
Among the many works in the library is the "Illustrated Marine Encyclopedia" by the nautical polyglot, Captain Henri Paasch published in 1890 which includes this steamship cross section.
The library collects material pertaining to museums and museology, underwater archaeology, British, American and Canadian naval history.
The library also receives serials. Currently over 250 titles are on file. These include trade, scholarly and many special interest titles.
The museum archives maintains collections
documenting Canadian marine heritage on the Great Lakes from the early 19th century
through to the present. Material 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 ships plans are further supplemented by photographs and
audio-visual recordings.
This Link will take you to a narrative description of the Archival Collections
The database of many collections are available online
through our website. A large percentage of the drawings for
commercial ships and warships built in Canadian Great Lakes shipyards are in the
collection, these numbering over 40,000. Copies of photographs from the collection can be provided and there are hard
copy finding aids. You can view a sample of the photographs from
the collections. This Link will take you to the
Collections Catalogue Data Bases.
Ship Databases - Wallace,
Mills, CSL, Lakes Register
The library maintains a hard copy and ship data bases of
some 13,000 vessels. Dates range from circa
1760 to 1930. There are four ship data bases on-line at the museum web site:
www.marmuseum.ca :
The Wallace list of over 3,000 Canadian sailing ships was compiled by the author and journalist Frederick William Wallace and published in a "Record of Canadian Shipping: 1786 - 1920". It is a very useful
"first look" list that has the potential to lead you to other sources of information.
2. Mills List Ship Database
The Mills list of over 6,000 steamships
from 1817 - 1930 is regarded by researchers as an important resource for those interested
in Canadian vessels. To make best use of this data base readers are advised to read the
introduction provided by Mr. Mills. Mr. John Mills has given the Marine Museum of the
Great Lakes permission to create an electronic version of his list. His generosity is
appreciated. This Link will take you to the Index of
Ship Data Bases. The museum has also published a fine hard copy edition
of the Mills List that can be purchased through the Museum Shop.
3. Canadian Great Lakes Port Registers Database
Canadian Great Lakes port registers with a typical entry providing basic statistics such as vessel name, port of registry, rig, tonnage, owner, builder, date
and place of build. This Link will take you to the Index of Ship Data Bases
C.H.J. Snider was an extraordinary journalist,
marine researcher and artist who worked aboard schooners in his youth and studied
first-hand the development of the Great Lakes region.
He wrote over 1,300 articles for the Toronto Telegram. These are available on microfilm. An index of the articles is available at this web site.
Although 'sail' was a passion, C.H.J. Snider also conducted interviews of people who were in sail and steam; shipwrecks, yachting and commercial shipping in general.
This Link will take you to the Snider Index
Links
YOU ARE INVITED to subscribe to MARHST-L, a
list for those with an interest in maritime history and maritime museums. Currently there
are over 400 international subscribers.
INTRODUCTION:
MARHST-L is an INTERNATIONAL electronic discussion group sponsored by the Marine Museum of
the Great Lakes at Kingston with the assistance of Queen's University at Kingston.
Subscription is free, and subscribers will automatically receive messages in their
computer mailboxes. Messages can be saved, discarded, copied, printed out, or relayed to
someone else. The list was extablished in 1994.
PURPOSE: The purpose of MARHST-L is to promote communication
among persons with a serious interest in maritime history and maritime museums. This list
provides a forum for ideas and a place where subscribers may ask for information, post
notices of meetings, programs for conferences, announcements of new scholarly projects,
and queries about particular problems.
WHO ARE THE EDITORS? The editors are Walter Lewis
(lewisw@hhpl.on.ca), a marine historian and Maurice D. Smith (barque2@cogeco.ca)
the Curator Emeritus at the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston. The editors are
"primarily facilitators", on duty to maintain the flow of information on the
list.
To SUBSCRIBE send message to:
LISTSERV@lists.Queensu.ca
First Line:
SUBSCRIBE MARHST-L [Your Name]
YOU CAN find more information about MarHst-L at their
Reference Web Page
Your will receive an information message in return.
Thank you: Walter Lewis, Maurice D. Smith.
