Fonds
William N. Petch was born into the English-speaking community of Quebec City in 1875. In the late 19th century, he lived in Toronto, where he worked at the John Abell Engine Works as a milling machine operator. As a resident of Montreal from 1902 to 1915, he was a foreman, bookkeeper and secretary-treasurer for John L. Cassidy Co. Ltd, manufacturer and importer of glassware, crockery and china, located on St. Paul Street in what is now Old Montreal.
His interest in sports led him to become involved in various Montreal and Canadian clubs. He became a member of the Holly Snow-Shoe Club and was then its president from 1908 to 1909 and from 1912 to 1913. From 1910 to 1911, he was president of the Canadian Snowshoe Union, an association created to promote the sport of snowshoeing. Petch was also president of Cassidy's Athletic Club from 1909 to 1910.
Scope and Content
This fonds is composed of three scrapbooks and loose records assembled by William N. Petch when he lived in Toronto and then Montreal. While the fonds documents major military and royal events that marked the late 19th and early 20th centuries, its primary focus is the organization of Canada's first snowshoe clubs and the popularity of this sport in Quebec around 1910.
Dated 1902 and containing press clippings from English-language newspapers, the first scrapbook illustrates the contributions of Canadian soldiers to the South African Boer War and recounts the various celebrations surrounding the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York to the Dominion. There are also articles about the 1901 assassination of U.S. President William McKinley during his visit to the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo.
The second and third scrapbooks contain various textual records and iconographic documents illustrating numerous social and physical activities associated with the sport of snowshoeing from 1908 to 1914, such as correspondence sent or received by Petch when he was president of the Holly Snow-Shoe Club and the Canadian Snowshoe Union, as well as invitations, postcards, seasonal programs, menus, entry tickets and commemorative ribbons. There are several newspaper articles that report on competitions or announce the winners of various races. In addition, photographs and illustrations depict the logos and official uniforms of numerous snowshoe clubs in the Montreal region. By-laws, negotiable instruments, calendars, business cards and financial statements are also included in this fonds, along with three souvenirs and a map of the snowshoers' plan of attack on the Ice Palace during the 1910 Montreal Winter Carnival.
In addition, the three scrapbooks and loose records include numerous press clippings of social interest in the form of jokes, poems, editorial cartoons and opinions highlighting specific features of Canadian society.
The fonds is divided into the following series:
P163/A Major
military and royal events
P163/B Snowshoe clubs and associations
Classification Scheme
P163
William N. Petch
P163/A Major military and royal events
P163/A,1 Scrapbook
P163/A,2 Press clippings
P163/B Snowshoe clubs and associations
P163/B,1 Scrapbooks
P163/B,2 Loose records
Variations in title: Formerly known as W. N. Petch Fonds.
Source of title proper: Title based on the creator of the fonds.
Dates of creation: Several documents are undated.
Physical description: In addition to textual records, the fonds includes 22 iconographic documents (12 printed logos, 2 postcards, 6 photographs, 1 blueprint and 1 drawing), 3 souvenirs associated with the sport of snowshoeing and 1 cartographic record.
Physical condition: Many documents are fragile. The acid in the glue and press clippings has made the pages of all three scrapbooks brittle. The front cover of scrapbook P163/A.1.1 is almost entirely detached. The binding of scrapbook P163/B.1.1 is fragile. One commemorative ribbon has broken into several pieces. One souvenir is in a very advanced state of deterioration.
Immediate source of acquisition: The William N. Petch Fonds was donated to the McCord Museum in 1980 by Irene Jensen.
Arrangement: The fonds underwent treatment in 2015 and a new classification plan was adopted. The scrapbooks also contained several loose or unglued records inserted randomly among the pages. These loose sheets were removed and put together into files.
Language: The documents are in English and French, but primarily in English.
Last update: August 30, 2017
Information about the objects in our collection is updated to reflect new research findings. If you have any information to share regarding this object, please email reference.mccord@mccord-stewart.ca.Information about rights and reproductions is available here.
There are no works to discover for this record.
This project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Azrieli Foundation and Canadian Heritage.