Fontanus - (E-Journal - McGill University)

-, -

Chronicle 
The value of a research library is often measured by its actual size in terms of volumes. 
Equally important, however, is the rate of growth of its collection. Additions are made through 
acquisitions supported by book and periodical budgets, endowed funds, grants and donations. 
During times of budget restraints and government cut-backs, donations from private donors, 
alumni, professors, librarians and benefactors are absolutely vital. To this must be added sev- 
eral special grants: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), 
IMASCO, the New York Chapter of the Friends of McGill University, the McGill Associates, 
the McGill Women Associates and many others. 
The following list represents merely a selection of significant and unusual items acquired 
by McGill libraries, archives and museums during 1991. This array of interesting acquisitions 
gives an impression of not just the quantity, but, also the quality of the McGill collections. 
De~artment of Rare Books and S~ecial Collections 
Acquisitions by purchase: 
W.E. Cormack, Narrative of a Journey Across the Island of Newfoundland. St. John's: Morning 
Post, 1856. 
Joseph Noad, Lecture on the Aborigines of Newfoundland. St. John's: Patriot Press, 1853. 
Lucie Lambert, A Thousand Hooded Eyes. Vancouver: Editions Lucie Lambert, 1991. 
George Psalmanazaar, An Historical and Geographical Description of the Island of Formosa. 
London: For D. Brown, 1704. 
Vera Frenkel, "Big X Window." 4 large colour lithographs. 
A collection of 75 French books, mainly of the 18th century. 
The literary papers of Canadian novelist Selwyn Dewdney, author of Wind Without Rain. 
The literary papers of Toronto poet Judith Fitzgerald. 
Acquisitions assisted by funds from SSHRC: 
Some 160 volumes of Canadian poetry, acquired with a SSHRC Specialized Research Collections 
Program grant. 
David Hume's History of England (London: Caddell, 1770), acquired with the assistance of 
a SSHRC Fleeting Opportunities grant. 
A collection of books by and about English poet Thomas Chatterton (1751-1770), acquired 
with the assistance of a SSHRC Fleeting Opportunities grant. 
Gifts: 
Toronto artist Vera Frenkel donated her personal papers, consisting of correspondence, man- 
uscripts, printed ephemera etc. 
Montreal poet Michael Harris donated his literary papers (manuscripts, correspondence, edi- 
torial projects etc.). 
Montreal poet and journalist Mark Abley donated his literary papers (manuscripts, correspond- 
ence etc.). 
Chronicle 
Mrs. Frances MacLennan donated the remaining papers of novelists Hugh MacLennan and 
Dorothy Duncan. 
Asher Joram donated two 19th century prints. 
L.H. Packard donated 15 books by Frank Packard and some Civil War period diaries kept 
by his grandfather. 
Jacques Bieler donated a collection of 440 family letters. 
Charles Parent donated a copy of Joseph Donahue's L'Oratoire. 
Judith Mappin donated a copy of D.G. Jones and Morton Rosengarten, The Lines of the Poet 
(1981), one of 18 copies hors commerce. 
Franqoise Feeny, Suzanne Reardon and the Estate of Madeleine Usher-Jones donated a copy 
of the Tissot Bible. 
Dr. Simon Langlois donated a small collection of 18th and 19th century books. 
Dr. Lewis Pyenson donated a large collection of 19th century theses and dissertations. 
Barbara Whitley donated a collection of letters and manuscripts by Stephen Leacock. 
Dr. Hans Moller donated a run of the library collections journal Fund og Forskning published 
by the Royal Library, Denmark. 
Dr. Richard Mackler donated two limited editions of books by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. 
Dr. Martin Cohen donated a large collection of books in the Insel-Biicherei Series. 
William D. Anderson donated three limited edition Canadian art books. 
Paul Duval donated a copy of his Barker Fairley, with two original prints laid in. 
Barbara Johnson donated a collection of 44 books, mainly 20th century. 
Walter Hitschfeld Environmental Earth Sciences Library 
The McGill Geography Department donated a collection of 6700 air photos including some 
archival runs from the Arctic region dating from the 1930's. 
McLennan - Redpath Libraries 
A selective list of major purchases and gifts includes: 
- Newspaper backfiles: 
Vancouver Sun 1930-1960 (Imasco) 
Independent (London) 1986-90 (Soldiers' Memorial) 
Times of India (Shastri) 
- Serials backfiles: Novy Mir 1928-1958 microfilm (Webster Arts Library Dev.) 
- Microlog Native Peoples microfiche collection: standing order (Northern Studies) 
- Variorum Reprints: mediaeval texts (Soldiers' Memorial) 
- Stenographische Berichte uber die Verhandlungen des deutschen Reichstages 1882-1918 
(microfiche from Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) 
- From the Swiss Consulate in Montreal we received a donation of 24 valuable books pub- 
lished in 1990 and 1991. 
Chronicle 
- Mr. A. Vance generously donated 1473 books from the estate of his late father, George 
Vasilieff. Almost all the books are in the Russian language and concern Russian literature, 
culture and the arts. There are a number of beautiful books on Russian icons. It is worth noting 
that the collection is in excellent condition. Many of the books were bound or rebound by 
Mr. Vasilieff himself. 
- Dr. Hans Moller donated about 90 books, mostly Scandinavian Literature and Natural 
Science. 
- A considerable number of new serials were acquired in CD-ROM format, some as gifts 
but mostly bought from serials funds and endowments. 
Management Library (Howard Ross Library of Management) 
This library now houses the complete collection of current Quebec collective agreements. 
This collection consists of some 9000 labour agreements in force, deposited by Minisdre du 
travail du Quebec. 
Religious Studies Library 
This library was fortunate to acquire the facsimile edition of the D e a d S e a  Scrolls published 
in Washington, D.C. by the Biblical Archaeology Society (1991), volumes 1-2. 
As a gift, the library also acquired: 
Religion Index One: Periodicals Retrospective. 
University Archives 
The University Archives acquired the records of several distinguished McGill staff members. 
Professor of Law John T.P. Humphrey has contributed the diaries he kept while serving the 
United National as Director of the Division of Human Rights. Covering Humphrey's activities 
and his views on many issues, the diaries span the years 1948 to 1959 and join his previously 
deposited drafts for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Professor of Marine Sciences 
Maxwell Dunbar gave diaries which document the development of Canadian northern research. 
They were kept on expeditions to Greenland, Alaska, Ungava Bay, Hudson's Bay, Frobisher 
Bay, and other areas between 1935 and 1958. Included is a diary kept by Mrs. Joan Kohl in 
Greenland, 1945-1946. (Portions of both John Humphrey's and Maxwell Dunbar's diaries were 
published in Fontanus IV, 1991). 
The Law Librarian transferred custody of private papers of McGill Law Faculty members 
and other Montreal judges and lawyers, ca 1820-1890. These include bench books of Judges 
Robert MacKay, 187 1-1881; Andrew Stuart, 1859-1885; Frederick Torrance, ca 1830-1875; 
and papers of the firms Rose and Monk; and Buchanan; Rose and Holmes; and Torrance and 
Morris. 
Raymond Klein gave the Archives correspondence of former Psychology Professor Donald 
0. Hebb with various colleagues and friends, 1943-1985. To the extensive John Grierson 
Collection already in the University Archives, the National Archives of Canada has added 
Grierson papers, including pocket diaries, correspondence, memoranda and notes relating 
to teaching in the Communications Program, 1969-1971. Photographs of former Principal F. 
Cyril James and his family were received from Doreen Darby. 
The University Archives continued to acquire records of McGill graduates, documenting 
their student life and later careers. From Irene Commins, the Archives received notes of lecture 
given by George Adami among others, taken by Edward Commins (M.D. 1895) as a medical 
student at McGill. Jean Macqueen gave student papers, letters and photographs of Katherine 
Armstrong (B.A. 1899). Additions to previously deposited letters from Cynthia Rendall Toller 
(B.A. 1936) to Dorothy King were received from the latter. G.D. Armstrong (B.A. 1941, 
D.D.S. 1949) deposited a set of "The Marlowe Lowdown", a private newsletter of a group 
of friends, including several McGill students, documenting their experiences during the war 
years, 1940-1945. Dr. R.V.V. Nicholls deposited additions to the papers of chemical engineer 
J.R. Donald (B.A. & App. Sci. 1913). 
From Gordon and Peter Kohl, the University Archives acquired daily journals kept by their 
father George H. Kohl (App. Sci. 1910) while serving as Chief Engineer and Alternate Member, 
Canadian Section, on the St. Lawrence Seaway Project, 1953-1963. Mrs. M. Carroll donated 
writings and correspondence of Austin "Dink" Carroll (LL. B. 1923), Montreal sports journalist. 
Althea Douglas (B.A. 1947, Assistant in English 1948-1951) contributed course notes as well 
as records relating to the English Department's drama program, 1945-1960, including pro- 
grammes, production files, slides of productions, and original drawings for costumes. 
The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections deposited publications by McGill 
groups and offices, an extensive chronological series of unworked examinations in most dis- 
ciplines, photographs of groups and buildings (including 39 photographs presented to Sir 
William Macdonald), and other records relating to McGill University, ca 1895-1940. 
Redpath Museum - Ethnology Collections 
There has been a considerable effort over the past year to consolidate like holdings that 
have been spread amongst McGill's varied museums, libraries, and special collections. There 
were 78 objects from Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome added to the Ethnology Collections 
from the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, including papyrus fragments, 
shawabti figures, scarabs, amulets, terracotta figures, and Roman glass. Two boxed sets (12 
in each) of paintings on mica from nineteenth century India were also transferred to the 
Redpath Museum from Rare Books. 
Perhaps the most significant addition to the Ethnology Collections resulted from the transfer 
from the Osler Library of the History of Medicine of 267 rare objects related to the practice 
of medicine in Ancient Ceylon (1 5th-17th century) collected by Dr. Casey Wood. This important 
collection of medicine boxes and implements used by Ceylon's "Vederalas" or native doctors 
was supplemented by a transfer from Rare Books of an additional 14 artifacts from Sri Lanka 
and India. 
Librarv Publications 
Christopher Dewdney, Recent Artifacts from the Institute of Applied Fiction. Department 
of Rare Books and Special Collections, McGill University Libraries, 1990. 
Fontanus: from the Collections of McGill University, vol. IV, Montreal, 1991. 
The Libraries of Edward and W, S.  Maxwell in the Collections of Blackader-Lauterman 
Library of Architecture and Art, McGill University (Montreal), 1991. 
John Bland at Eighty - A Tribute, edited by Irena Murray and Norbert Schoenauer. 
Blackader-Lauterman Library of Architecture and Art, School of Architecture, McGill 
University, Montreal, 1991. 


English

Chronicle

Kennell, Elizabeth H.

Notes and Comments 
As noted earlier, the Haemmerles had a strong Danish connection. This side of the family 
survived the dislocations of the war although various members scattered, resulting, in part, 
in the English branch that Anatole eventually met and with whom he corresponded. These 
relatives were successful on their own so Anatole was never directly involved in their well- 
being. Instead he enjoyed a lively and happy social relationship with them, cemented by a 
shared concern for the welfare of the twin aunts. 
The story of Anatole Haemmerle is only part of the tale of this fascinating family. One can 
only surmise what the contents of his own letters to these correspondents might have revealed. 
In this day of telephones, fax machines and computers, the art of letter writing has diminished 
considerably. The McGill University Archives is fortunate to possess such a large collection 
of correspondence. Many of these letters await the scholar who can translate the Russian. There 
is, undoubtedly, a world of social history to be uncovered. Anatole's personal reminiscences 
provide just a glimpse of the struggles and successes of formerly well-to-do Russian emigrCs 
in various parts of the world. 
The McCord Museum's Inaugural Exhibition Programme 
by Elizabeth H. Kennel1 
Head, Exhibition Services, McCord Museum of Canadian History 
The Executive Director of the McCord Museum, Luke Rombout, gave the curatorial staff 
the mandate to develop over a six-month period the concepts for the inaugural exhibitions 
for the Museum's re-opening in May 1992. The concepts chosen reflect not only the richness 
of the McCord's collections, representing the strengths and range, but also the expertise of 
the curators. Although the research phase only began officially in January 1990, the results 
attest in many cases to the curators' long term interests and endeavours. 
In the creation of the inaugural exhibition programme, much effort went into achieving 
a balance between thematic exhibitions and those which are collection-based, in deference 
to the McCord's appellation as a "history museum." In addition, while ensuring that the empha- 
sis was on the McCord's own collections, adequate temporary exhibition space had to be set 
aside in order to receive exhibitions from outside sources. Therefore, while the inaugural exhi- 
bitions were the prime concern, a structure for the future, to build upon and maintain the 
public's interest, was also considered crucial. 
Because the year of the re-opening, 1992, coincides with the 350'~ anniversary of the found- 
ing of Montreal many of the inaugural exhibitions pay particular attention to this fact. However, 
it is Victoria Bridge: The V i ta l  Link that represents the McCord's official contribution to the 
anniversary celebration. It is one part of a major historical overview, collectively entitled: 
Montreal: A History to Treasure. 
With almost 20,000 square feet, or double the previous amount of exhibition space at our 
disposal, it was felt that we now have the opportunity to accomodate permanent galleries 
devoted to the presentation of the McCord's collections. The Notman Photographic Archives, 
Costume and Textiles, Archives, Prints and Drawings, and Ethnology and Archaeology each 
now have specifically designated areas, including Paintings and Decorative Arts in the newly- 
renovated Nobbs Gallery (named after the architect, Percy Nobbs, who designed the building 
R. A. Sproule, Place d'Armes, Montrml, watercolour, 1828, David Ross McCord collection (M385). 
Notes and Comments 
Urn Presented to  James McGill by a n  Unidentified Friend, 1808, gift of McGill University (M20292). 
Notes and Comments 
Dinner Dress, old-rose silk satin brocade, 1890-1891, gift of Mrne Charles Taschereau (M968.2.1.1-2). 
226 
Notes and Comments 
in 1906, then known as the McGill Student Union). With the re-opening, it was also deemed 
essential to devote a space for the story of David Ross McCord, the Museum's founder. 
Some of the inaugural exhibitions will be on view for limited periods of time depending 
on the fragility of the artifacts' and accepted conservation norms. These exhibitions will be 
replaced by a succession of shows with very specific foci - highlighting other aspects of the 
permanent collection hitherto unseen by the public. Where possible, even more exposure to 
the collections of the McCord Museum will be sought through travelling exhibitions, such 
as Mont Royal-Ville Marie: Early Plans and Views of Montreal which, following its presentation 
at the McCord, will be on view at the Courtauld Institute in London in January 1993. 
Eight of the ten inaugural exhibitions are accompanied by fully-illustrated bilingual pub- 
lications that together will provide a permanent record of parts of the McCord's collections. 
It is through these in-depth examinations - both in terms of the publications and the exhibitions 
- that the McCord Museum will be making significant contributions to research as well as 
appealing to the general public. Specialists in various fields have been consulted and some 
have contributed to the publications. Dr. Brian Young, Professor of History at McGill 
University, played an active role as consultant historian to a number of our inaugural exhibition 
projects, particularly The McCord Family and Victoria Bridge: The Vital Link. 
The production schedule for these exhibitions and publications can be divided largely into 
four phases beginning in January 1990: a research phase which included the selection of objects 
and writing of texts; immediately followed by an object preparation phase which included 
the conservation treatments; an exhibition design phase including the installation which was 
initiated six months after the research began; and finally the publication production phase 
which began in January 1991. 
We benefitted enormously from having been closed to the public during the three-year 
period of renovation and expansion during which time we were able to concentrate almost 
entirely on the development of these exhibitions. The challenge for the future will be to con- 
tinue to meet the high standards achieved and to develop a dynamic exhibition programme. 
List of Inaugural Exhibitions: 
1. Introduction to the McCord Museum in the Court of the Museum. 
2 .  The McCord Family: A Passionate Vision, May 9, 1992 - 
Curator Responsible: Pamala Miller, Curator of Archival Collections; Contributing Authors: 
Moira McCaffrey, Curator of Ethnology and Archaeology; Brian Young, McGill University; 
Don Fyson, UniversitC de MontrCal; Don Wright, McGill University. 
The origins of the McCord family from 1760 in Ireland to the time of David Ross McCord 
(1844-1930) are traced in this exhibition and the accompanying publication. While very much 
a man of his times, David Ross McCord's insatiable appetite for collecting in addition to his 
pursuit of a dream to build a national museum of Canadian history set him apart. With a 
marked taste for the unusual and a profound sense of history, McCord amassed a vast number 
and range of objects. It is to his thirst for knowledge and his passion for collecting that we 
owe the existence of the McCord Museum of Canadian History. 
3. Mont Royal-Ville Marie: Early Plans and View of Montreal, May 9 - August 1, 1992 
Curator Responsible: Conrad Graham, Curator of Decorative Arts; Contributing Author: 
Shahin Farzaneh, Courtauld Institute. 
While other exhibitions and publications have treated early views of other Canadian cities, 
to date Montreal has not been examined. More than 100 very fragile watercolours and drawings 
of Montreal, dating primarily from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are on view, many 
Notes and Comments 
lent from private and public collections, such as the British Library and the New York 
Historical Society. 
4. Wrapped i n  the Colours of the Earth: Cultural Heritage of the First Nations, May 9, 
1992 - 
Curator Responsible: Moira McCaffrey, Curator of Ethnology and Archaeology; Contributing 
Authors: Claude Chapdelaine, Universite de Montreal; Bruce Jamieson, McGill University; 
Ruth Holmes Whitehead, Nova Scotia Museum; Ludger Miiller-Wille, McGill University; 
Taamusi Qumaq, Povungnituk Elder. 
For this inaugural exhibition and the accompanying publication, the focus is on three eastern 
nations. Marks of the Micmac Nation explores the artistry of costume and quillwork designs, 
and the ongoing significance of these traditions to Micmac artists. A Village called Hochelaga 
illustrates Iroquoian lifeways on the Island of Montreal prior to European contact. Names and 
Lives in  Nunavik describes Inuit toponomy and explores the critical link between language, 
culture and ancestral lands. 
5. Victoria Bridge: The Vita l  Link, May 9 - October 15, 1992 
Curator Responsible: Stanley Triggs, Curator of the Notman Photographic Archives; 
Contributing Authors: Conrad Graham, Curator of Decorative Arts; Brian Young, McGill 
University; Gilles Lauzon, UniversitC du Quebec 2 Montreal. 
With the opening of the Victoria bridge in 1860, a year-round port was established for 
Montreal at Portland, Maine, not to mention connections via the railway to Upper Canada 
and to the mid-western United States. Divided into four parts, the setting, the bridge, the 
celebration and the impact, the exhibition and accompanying publication provide an in-depth 
examination of the period from 1845 to 1875, Montreal's industrialization. 
6. Wil l iam Notman's Studio: The Canadian Picture, May 9, 1992 - 
Curator Responsible: Stanley Triggs, Curator of the Notman Photographic Archives. 
The story of the pre-eminent Canadian photographer William Notman and his empire of 
photographic studios begun in 1856 is the focus of this exhibition and the accompanying pub- 
lication. Selected from the extensive holdings of the Notman collection, which includes more 
than 400,000 photographs, a variety of portraits, urban scenes and landscapes are on view. 
A second area is devoted to the presentation of a series of daguerreotypes dating from the 
period 1840 to 1860, and largely consisting of portraits of Canadians by various photographers. 
7 .  Turning Point: Quebec 1900, May 9,  1992 - November 9, 1993 
Curator Responsible: France Gascon, Chief Curator and Curator of Paintings, Prints and 
Drawings. 
The period 1890-1914 was a time of major transition in the history of Quebec. What was 
still a very traditional society was changed forever by industrial development. The exhibition 
introduces visitors to this exceptionally rich period through some of its personalities, places 
and representative objects. More than fifty artifacts are complemented by almost 100 photo- 
graphs and archival documents from the permanent holdings of the McCord. 
8. The McCord Museum Archives, May 9 - November 9, 1992 
Curator Responsible: Pamala Miller, Curator of Archival Collections. 
While the McCord's archives traditionally have been a rich source of documentary support 
material to exhibitions, this is the first time that a gallery space has been devoted to the pres- 
entation of documents from the Archives. This is opportune as Montreal was host to some 
3000 archivists attending international association meetings in September 1992. Together with 
an accompanying publication, a wide range of archival material will be on display, from the 
Notes and Comments 
informative Dessaulles and Riel papers to visually appealing scrapbooks, cards and even a milk- 
bottle top collection. 
9. Eclectic Tastes: Fine and Decorative Arts from the McCord, May 9, 1992 - 
Curator Responsible: Conrad Graham, Curator of Decorative Arts; Contributing Authors: 
Sarah Ivory, Concordia University; Robert Derome, UniversitC du Quebec a Montreal. 
Highlighting the nineteenth century, where the McCord holdings of paintings and decorative 
arts are strong, this exhibition and accompanying catalogue feature both secular and religious 
silver, furniture, ceramics, glass and wood sculpture. Sometimes important for their docu- 
mentary value, sometimes for their inherent art-historical value, the artifacts on view underline 
the duality of the McCord's collecting mandate. 
10. Form and Fashion: Nineteenth-century Feminine Dress, May 9, 1992 -January 15, 1993 
Curator Responsible: Jacqueline Beaudoin-Ross, Curator of Costume and Textiles. 
The form in the evolution of nineteenth-century costume is emphasized in this exhibition 
and accompanying catalogue. The selection of costumes from the McCord's extensive collection 
demonstrates that not only are styles in dress revised throughout history, but also that particular 
elements in attire re-appear again and again. For the first time, photographs from the McCord's 
Notman Photographic Archives will be used not only to date the costumes but also to dem- 
onstrate the evolution of the form. The dissemination of European fashion plates in Montreal 
is traced to show the extent to which Montreal was a "fashionable venue." 
Breaking the Silence and Bridging the Gap: 
Documenting Personal Memories of the Holocaust 
by Yehudi Lindeman, Associate Professor of English, McGill University 
... I never thought that I would be able to sit here and talk about these 
things. I never had the courage to do it. And then I saw other people com- 
ing out... And then, a few times, I heard people say, about people like 
me, you are actually an endangered species, because after you are done 
there will be nobody else, there will be no one else left to tell the real story. 
And my children really wanted me to do it. And maybe because it is fifty 
years now, 1939-1989, I feel that everything is coming full circle, that I 
have to do it, that maybe my time is running out. 
Renata Skotnicka-Zajdman, in the McGill studio, June 1989. 
Renata Skotnicka-Zajdman is one of the many survivors of the Holocaust now in Montreal. 
Living in increasing fear with "Aryan papers," she managed to survive World War I1 as a 13 
to 18 year old, dodging selections by hiding in cellars and safe-houses, and burrowing her 
way in and out of the ghettos of Bialystok and of Warsaw, where she witnessed the ghetto 
uprising. There are thousands of other survivors in the Montreal area. 
In June, 1989, Renata was among the first survivors of the Holocaust to be interviewed 
by "Living Testimonies," McGill University's Video Archive. The Archive's goal is to record 
on studio-quality video-tape, eye-witness accounts of the Holocaust. Though the focus is on 
survivors, witness testimony by liberators and rescuers is also included.' 


The McCord Museum's Inaugural Exhibition Programme

Alston, Sandra

Notes and Comments 
The Earliest Canadian Music Programme 
by Sandra Alston, Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto 
Work on the supplement to Marie Tremaine's A Bibliography of Canadian Imprints has led 
to serendipitous discoveries of a number of new titles invaluable for an understanding of our 
past. Among the most interesting of these is a previously unknown early broadside, printed 
in Montreal, giving the programme of a concert held in Montreal in 1786. This was found 
by the staff of the Department of Rare Books, McGill University Libraries, in the department's 
stacks. 
The broadside is printed on a sheet of laid paper 3 1 cm. X 19 cm.; the chain lines are vertical 
and there is no watermark. A horizontal split in the middle of the sheet has been crudely 
repaired. The broadside is shelved with the Lande Canadiana Collection and has the call num- 
ber: folio ML45 C66 1786. It has been filmed by the Canadian Institute for Historical 
Microreproductions (CIHM). 
Not only does this broadside shed light on the type of concert to which an audience in 
Montreal in 1786 would have listened, it illuminates part of the history of music in Canada. 
Printed by Fleury Mesplet at the Montreal Gazette Office and dated 29 aoGt 1786 it was followed 
shortly after by an abridged bilingual announcement in the August 3 1 issue of the newspaper: 
The Public are most respectfully informed, that Several Musicians From 
Europe, intend to give on Thursday the 7th of September 1786, a Concert, 
of Vocal and Instrumental Music, at Mr. John Franks Vauxhall. After the 
Concert a Ball. To begin precisely at Eight o'clock. Tickets, at One Dollar 
each, to be had at the Printing Office, and at Mr. John Franks, Vauxhall. 
Montreal 29 August 1786. 
The musicians "nouvellement arrives d'EuropeH brought with them a programme which 
would have been fashionable in the Europe of the day. They also followed custom in completing 
the evening with a ball. 
The three musicians, Mr. and Mme. Mechtler and Mr. Duplessy, are only briefly mentioned 
in The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada and documentary evidence is very scarce. Guillaume 
Mechtler, organist, teacher, composer was born in Brussels about 1763. He came to Canada 
with this concert tour and decided to remain in the colony. An advertisement in the Quebec 
Gazette for July 12, 1781 announced that he had "quitted entirely the business of the theatre" 
and would settle in Quebec City as a music teacher. By 1789 he had moved to Montreal and 
published this announcement in the Montreal Gazette for September 3, 1789: 
Mr. Mechtler, 
Begs leave to inform the Ladies and Gentlemen of Montreal that he has 
settled himself in this city as a Music Master, and intends to teach the forte 
piano, harpsichord and violin; he therefore flatters himself that he will 
meet with encouragement from those Ladies and gentlemen who may 
please to employ him, as they may depend that his conduct and attention 
to his Scholars shall be such as to merit their approbation and patronage. 
He lodges at present at Mr. Lemoine's next door to Sullivan's Coffee- 
House. Montreal, September 3, 1789. 
In 1789 he was made assistant organist at Notre-Dame in Montreal, and in 1792, he was 
promoted to the post of general organist. During the next forty years, until his death, he was 
the leading church musician in the city. A musical programme announced in 1796 that he 
Notes and Comments 
Notes and Comments 
would play "Un concerto de forte-piano," perhaps the same one as listed in this programme. 
There is a possibility that this was composed by him as in 181 1 he was paid 248 for "works 
of his composition" and so became, according to the Encyclopedia of Music in Canada, the 
first Canadian to be paid as a composer. 
The singer, Mme. Mechtler was not Guillaume Mechtler's wife; he married in 1793, at the 
age of 29, Angele Landri2ve of Montreal. Mme. Mechtler, the singer, later appeared in 
1790-1792 in Halifax and then in New York and Boston. 
Mr. Duplessy also decided to remain in the colony. On Thursday, October 26, 1786 a bilin- 
gual announcement was published in the Montreal Gazette: 
Mr. Duplessy, respectfully informs the Public, that he intends teaching 
the Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon, Hautboy, French-Horn, Violin and any 
Musical Instructions. He proposes likewise to teach Fencing. N.B. He 
lodges at Mr. Deshotel's in St. Alexis Street. Montreal, 14 October 1786. 
This announcement appeared for several issues before Mr. Duplessy disappears from our 
sight, both as a music teacher, and as a fencing master. 
Much of the music played at this concert was recently published and was very popular in 
Europe. Henri ZV, ou Lt BataiZZe d'Zvry had been published in 1774 by Jean Paul Egide Martini. 
Henri ZV was immensely popular, being translated into Dutch, German, Russian and Swedish. 
Martini, a highly acclaimed opera composer is best known today for his song "Plaisir d'amour." 
Artaxerxes, by Thomas Arne, was first produced in London in 1762; its first complete per- 
formance in North America was in New York in 1828. The Fisher mentioned in the programme 
is most probably Johann Christian Fischer, one of the most notable oboists of his day; Mozart 
wrote a set of piano variations on one of Fischer's minuets. Ludwig Wenzel Lachnith, a 
Bohemian who spent a great deal of time in Paris, published six symphonies. Cadenas, the 
opera, is a mystery. No reference work, including those on obscure operas, lists it at all. Egide 
Duni, an Italian who settled in Paris wrote Les Moissoneurs in 1768. One of the most important 
OpCra Comique composers in the latter half of the eighteenth century, he helped create a new 
musical style-the come'die mMe d'ariettes, an example of which is shown on the programme. 
Friedrich Schwindl, the composer of twenty-eight symphonies, was immensely popular. 
According to the conventions of the time, the flute and clarinet concerti "par Mr. Duplessy" 
were probably not composed by him; he is simply listed as the performer. As has been men- 
tioned previously there is some question as to the composer of the concerto for the forte-piano. 
It is interesting to speculate on the success of this concert in the Montreal of the day. On 
Thursday September 21,1786 an announcement appeared in the Montreal Gazette advertising 
another "Concert of Vocal and Instrumental Music" at Mr. John Franks', to begin at six o'clock, 
followed by a Ball, on Tuesday, September 26. Tickets were again one dollar each but "no 
money to be received at the door, on any account what ever." The changes in the wording-the 
earlier time, the difference in ticket purchase-were perhaps the result of the experience of 
the previous concert. 
This glimpse into the musical past of Canada can only tantalize the reader. Without a com- 
plete list one can only speculate as to who played the symphonies by Lachnith and Schwindl 
and the opera overture by Martini. No reviews of the concert exist so one can have no idea 
as to the reception this concert had. It is to be hoped that further research, into contemporary 
diaries perhaps, can provide us with more than a hint of the richness of our musical tradition. 


The Earliest Canadian Music Programme

Morgan, Norma

Sidney Dawes and the McGill Museum of Canadian Art

Shapiro, Elizabeth

Notes and Comments 
The Haemmerle Archive 
by Elizabeth Shapiro 
MATCH Volunteer, McGill University Archives 
The Haemmerle archive, measuring approximately 1.2 linear metres, in the McGill 
University Archives consists of a large number of letters to and from various members of a 
Russian emigrC family who settled in England, France, Japan, the United States and Canada. 
In addition, there are Russian documents dating from the second half of the 19th century, 
many family photographs from the same period and more modern snapshots and photograph 
albums. As the Haemmerle family had a Danish branch, parts of the archival material relate 
to this connection. 
However, the letters primarily concern the branch of the Haemmerle family who settled 
in Montreal in 1920 - the father, Alfred, his wife, Amy and their son, Anatole. This corre- 
spondence can be divided into two parts: 
1. Letters written in Russian: 
a) Almost daily letters from Alfred to his wife in Montreal when he was working for the 
Canadian Government in Ottawa during World War 11. - 
b) Weekly letters from Amy to Anatole when the latter was working in Boston. These letters 
cover the period from 1947 to Amy's death in 1957. 
c) Letters from Amy Haemmerle's sister, Mary, who lived in Buffalo, New York. Her letters 
cover the same period (1947-1957) and were written to both Amy and Anatole. 
This Russian correspondence provides a detailed glimpse of the life of an emigrC family. 
2. Letters written in English to Anatole Haemmerle: - 
a) Correspondence from his twin aunts, Alma and Irma Haemmerle, who lived in England. 
The letters are mainly from the 1950s and early 1960s. 
b) Correspondence from his aunt, Dina Waht, who settled inJapan. Her letter were written 
between 1960 and the early 1970s. 
This note deals with the son, Anatole Haemmerle, and is based, not only on the letters written 
to him in English but also on his own memories which he dictated shortly before his death 
in 1986. 
Family Man 
Anatole Alfred Haemmerle was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1908, the son of a well- 
to-do banker, Alfred Haemmerle, and Amy Waht Haemmerle. His paternal grandfather, Jean 
Haemmerle, was a prominent merchant in Odessa who married Agathe Larssen, daughter 
of a Danish merchant shipper. This marriage was the origin of two branches of this family, 
some of whose descendants scattered throughout Europe only to be re-united several gener- 
ations later. Anatole recalled the origin of this connection of these two families in the memoires 
that he dictated to a friend late in his life. 
The story of how Grandfather Haemmerle met Grandmother is worth a 
mention. Grandfather's estate was in the south of Russia bordering on the 
Notes and Comments 
Sea of Azov. The nearest town was Berdiansk. He was a very large land 
owner having inherited the land from his parents and was engaged in 
growing and exporting grain. I believe he had a fleet of barges. Apparently 
the whole fleet was sunk by the British during the Crimean War. 
Grandfather began to look around for somebody with ships who could 
transport his crops the next season. He was given the name of a Danish 
Captain Klitgaard. Together they went about Norway seeking additional 
ships and Captains. They went to the city of Arundel. There he met 
Captain Larssen whose chief occupation was Pilot of the harbor of Arundel 
and who made his home on the island of Merdo situated at the entrance 
to the harbour [This house is now a museum] ... Captain Larssen had 
several very good looking daughters and my grandfather became 
enAMOURED (sic) and eventually married Agathe. [Her sister, Sophie, 
married Captain Klitgaard]. 
Anatole also dictated other recollections - of his childhood in St. Petersburg and growing 
up in Japan and Canada. He gives a vivid picture of pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg as seen 
through the eyes of an eight year old. He enjoyed the comfortable life of the upper classes, 
was taught by French and German tutors, went on outings with his parents or nurse, and 
spent happy summer holidays with his Danish grandmother in Arundel, Norway. 
The day would start with breakfast in the dining room. At the conclusion 
of this father would go off to the bank ... I would retire to the Children's 
(sic) quarters there to await the arrival of my teachers, which could either 
be the German 'Bonna' or the French 'Mademoiselle' and thus mv dav 
d ,  
would begin ... Around mid afternoon I was taken for walks in the  ark ... 
My escorts would either be the old nurse...or mother would go if sAe was - 
free ... A foray with my father was always an adventure ... our coachman 
in his crushed black stovepipe hat soon arrived at the front gates with our 
carriage ... we entered St. Isaac's Square. We stopped in front of the great 
cathedral and got out. I was a bit distracted by the large statue of Nicholas 
I close by the cathedral. But the domes of St. Isaac seemed so mammoth 
and so far up as I leaned back to look at them. Upon entering I was startled 
by the vast array of mosaic work of the interior. Father said that St. Isaac's 
was the third largest Cathedral in the world and was built in the 19th cen- 
tury by 400,000 serfs ... father thought it was part of my education to see 
this great and famous cathedral. 
Anatole also recounts the birth and tragic death in 1917, at the age of 5, of his only sibling, 
Eugene. Both the children had contracted dysentery after their nurse had given them unwashed 
apples to eat. Eugene did not survive, and Anatole remained sickly for many months. 
Gradually Anatole's recollections introduce the ominous shadow of the Revolution. The 
gracious life into which he had been born ended abruptly in 1917 when the Haemmerle family, 
still mourning the death of their second son, escaped by train to Siberia together with Amy 
Haemmerle's unmarried sister, Dina. Her sister, Anne, had fled to Paris, and another sister, 
Mary, had gone to the United States. Alfred Haemmerle's sisters, the twins, Alma and Irma, 
had already moved to England, his mother had settled in Antwerp, and close cousins, Catherine 
and Nicholas Koolichenko (sic), after hiding in the Haemmerle's St. Petersburg home, had 
managed to get to Yugoslavia. These turbulent times made a lasting impression on the young 
boy. Gone was the secure affluent life and it was gone abruptly - home, possessions, business 
- all disappeared. What remained was a small family - mother, father and only child. Their 
safety and well-being became the dominant factor in their lives. 
Notes and Comments 
Figure 1. Amy Waht, Anatole and Alfred Haemmerle, ca. 1917 
Included with the memoires is a copy of a talk that Anatole delivered at a boy's school in 
1972. It is entitled "The Long Long Train Ride" and gives a vivd description of the civil dis- 
turbances in St. Petersburg in the spring and summer of 1917 and the family's subsequent 
flight to Vladivostock. The situation in St. Petersburg had deteriorated quickly, and the 
Haemmerle family was forced to flee by train with only what possessions they could carry. 
The station itself was complete and utter chaos with thousands of people 
milling about, all trying to find some train that went somewhere to get 
away from the violence in St. Petersburg ... the entrance to the platform 
was barred by a group of soldiers with fixed bayonets who stuck out their 
guns and flatly refused to let us proceed any further. 
Mr. Haemmerle had had the use, for many years, of a private railway car for conducting his 
banking business throughout Russia. By bribing the appropriate officials as well as the hostile 
soldiers he had managed to have this car attached to a train going to Siberia. Onto this car 
scrambled the family and some of their friends, and the doors were bolted. The guard in charge 
was a Swiss, an employee of the Cie Wagon-Lits and sympathetic to their plight. The trip across 
the 6,000 miles of country took two weeks. It was not without danger as rebellious soldiers 
were determined to board the train at every stop, ready to loot and murder. It took the efforts 
of the sympathetic engineer and some friendly Chinese officials to keep the fleeing Russians 
ahead of the pursuing Bolshevik army. Eventually the Haemmerles arrived in Vladivostock, 
but any chance to settle there was thwarted by the advancing Red Army. After a year the family 
fled once more, this time to Tokyo. Unable to re-establish an international banking career, 
Alfred Haemmerle moved his family once again, this time to Montreal, arriving in 1920. 
Anatole's recollections of the years 1920-1940 are detailed but light hearted as he remem- 
bered the escapades and adventures of his youth. The "foreign" schoolboy, from being taught 
by private tutors, was thrust into a Montreal classroom. 
School was St. Patrick's Academy, a Catholic Parochial school outside the 
public school system of the city. The boys in the school were mostly Irish, 
Notes and Comments 
Figure 2. 
; Anatole Haemmerle, ca. 1926. 
and the French they spoke was very different from the the French I had 
learned. Kids would laugh at me and I got a great deal of teasing because 
of what the boys called my 'la de da' accent. 
The first years in Montreal were difficult. The struggles with poverty and the attempts to 
re-establish the standards of a former life were followed by the gradual improvement in the 
family's economic situation and the making of a new social life. 
We went through a very difficult time since the only means by which my 
parents could get any cash was by selling or hocking some of the things 
we had brought with us... Mother made friends with some of the neigh- 
bours who taught her some cooking and showed her a few tricks to make 
housekeeping a little easier. I must say that poor mother who had never 
done anything like this before soon became very adept ... 
No matter how my poor mother tried to learn proper English, all her 
attempts ended up a dismal failures. However, her speech never failed 
to amuse her friends ... One incident stands out. One Sunday on a partic- 
ular cold winter day she was due to have tea at Lady Steele's ... although 
the weather was very cold with high winds, she decided to walk ... and 
arrived with the tea party already in progress ... all the ladies showed their 
concern and chided her for walking in such cold ... Mother explained it 
all very simply by saying 'I vas not cold because the vind was in my 
behind' ... 
Anatole's social life in Montreal began around 1925 when the friends he had made at school 
began to ask him to their parties. "The party was a fancy dress affair ... we didn't have any 
leqA Jaqlej srq 03 ssa~dxa 03 say) ay I! UI -pjo smab 6$ SEA aIo3euv uaqM 'Lea spyq 
uo uaupA auo Suyaow put? Suo~ e s! uo!uaIIoD aq3 u! aIo3euv bq ~aml b~uo ayA .Jaylow s!q 
~oj aao1 aa!ma~o~d pue Suo~~s e selIaM se -raqmj sy ~oj uoyeJ!urpe ~sadaap aql peq alowuy 
.~aSuom Jaaa s~o.19 qun b~!urej ?jp.~s s!y~ jo ssauasop aq3 sapos s~a~o~euv ~noqSno~q~, 
,'.~sr?j pue yql awe3 3eq1 Jaye sap~ed 03 suo!3e+~~! put? 's~oop lepos 
s,pa~mo~q 01 bay aql aq 03 pauraas ouour!y aql aJoA I qq~ 01 d~sd aqL a-snq put? JeD zaa.13~ 
ayl uo wn bw Japun paymn put! dn 3! paploj I os -ouour!y e u! qqnd ur ~eadde 01 3uafi 
IOU p!p I ..-saoqs Aur Jaao u~op auro3 ~ou pyp ouow!y ay3 3eq1 os 43qSp Su!pd pue sq!~ bur 
punom ouourq aq3 Su~aqleS bq 3r ualJoqs ppo3 I 3nq Suol apg e SEA 3;r-aur ~oj %qOOI 
q3nw seA 'asmo3 jo 'qy~ ouourry yps paJaAoU La12 Injynaaq e peq aH .ouour!y s!q b.11 I 
pa3saSSns b1leug JaqmJ pue---oS 01 snorxue seM I b11a~nn~ ..-1noqe Sup41 saurn3so~ ppads 
Notes and Comments 
he never felt able to say directly: "...it all adds up to one of the two things or words which 
have meant everything to me - Mother and Father." In turn this only child remained the central 
object of the parent's affection, their hope for a secure and happy life in their adopted country. 
Some time in the 1930s Anatole joined the 17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars, 
a regiment noted for its horsemanship. He rose rapidly to the rank of major. With the dis- 
bandment of the regiment in 1939 he joined the newly formed Citizens' Defense Corps. Shortly 
afterwards World War I1 was declared, and he enlisted in the Canadian Army and was sent 
to England. For the first time he met some of the members of his dispersed family, notably 
his twin maiden aunts, Alma and Irma Haemmerle as well as some of his cousins. 
After the war Anatole settled in Boston, Massachusetts, finding employment with the Aetna 
Insurance Company where he remained until his retirement. He specialized in group insurance 
and pensions. 
It is unfortunate that Anatole's own memoires do not continue past 1929. However, further 
details of his adult life may be gathered from the many letters in English which exist in the 
McGill Archives' collection, particularly from his paternal aunts. These letters to Anatole cover 
the period 1945-1961 and are mainly from Alma and Irma. There is, as well, correspondence 
from some of his English cousins. 
Successful in his employment, Anatole was in a position to do more than write letters; he 
was able to give financial assistance to the elderly twin aunts who had retired from a lifetime 
of teaching children of the English nobility. Like Alfred, the aunts strove constantly to maintain 
at least a semblance of their former, grander life-style when they lived in Russia. Timidly and 
apologetically they asked Anatole for small amounts of money. He, in turn, constantly sent 
them gifts, delighting both of them with little luxuries that they otherwise could not have 
afforded. He made regular visits to England to visit them, often twice a year, and after the 
death of Alfred in 195 1, his mother frequently accompanied him. The few letters that exist 
from the English cousins kept him informed about these delightful and slightly eccentric twins. 
A second source of information lies in the letters written in English to Anatole from his 
aunt Dina between 1957 and 1975. Dina, Amy Haemmerle's younger sister, had remained 
in Tokyo after the family's flight from Russia and maintained herself by working in a depart- 
ment store. Her letters from this period show that Anatole had assumed responsibility for 
her financial problems. Dina, like the aunts in England, welcomed Anatole's monetary assist- 
ance as well as his advice on business affairs. Indeed, Anatole was instrumental in helping 
his aunt Mary move to Tokyo to live with Dina. Mary's finances were also a constant worry 
to him, but one which he shouldered with patience and concern. It is obvious from Dina's 
many letters that the two sisters depended greatly on this far-away nephew. Even after the 
death of both sisters, he continued his financial support of Dina's adopted Japanese son. 
The character of Anatole that emerges is based solely on his personal recollections and on 
the many letters that were written to him in English between 1945 and 1975. More than half 
of the letters in the collection - those from Alfred, Amy and Mary - were written in Russian 
and must be excluded from this note for want of translation. Even so, a picture emerges of 
a charming and successful man, who, never able to forget entirely his happy early childhood, 
seemed to need to restore the sense of family that the Russian Revolution had so abruptly ter- 
minated. It  is hard to tell whether this came from a sense of guilt that he had survived and 
succeeded in Canada and the United States or whether there was geniune affection for these 
newly discovered relatives. It seems ironical that Anatole's success in re-establishing ties with 
his aunts in England and Japan should end with his death in 1986. The twin aunts remained 
spinsters as did Dina. Mary, though married, had no children. Anatole married Elizabeth Watt 
Harris, a Canadian living in Boston, in 1961 and although he had no offspring of his own, 
he did enjoy stepchildren and stepgrandchildren. 
Notes and Comments 
As noted earlier, the Haemmerles had a strong Danish connection. This side of the family 
survived the dislocations of the war although various members scattered, resulting, in part, 
in the English branch that Anatole eventually met and with whom he corresponded. These 
relatives were successful on their own so Anatole was never directly involved in their well- 
being. Instead he enjoyed a lively and happy social relationship with them, cemented by a 
shared concern for the welfare of the twin aunts. 
The story of Anatole Haemmerle is only part of the tale of this fascinating family. One can 
only surmise what the contents of his own letters to these correspondents might have revealed. 
In this day of telephones, fax machines and computers, the art of letter writing has diminished 
considerably. The McGill University Archives is fortunate to possess such a large collection 
of correspondence. Many of these letters await the scholar who can translate the Russian. There 
is, undoubtedly, a world of social history to be uncovered. Anatole's personal reminiscences 
provide just a glimpse of the struggles and successes of formerly well-to-do Russian emigrCs 
in various parts of the world. 
The McCord Museum's Inaugural Exhibition Programme 
by Elizabeth H. Kennel1 
Head, Exhibition Services, McCord Museum of Canadian History 
The Executive Director of the McCord Museum, Luke Rombout, gave the curatorial staff 
the mandate to develop over a six-month period the concepts for the inaugural exhibitions 
for the Museum's re-opening in May 1992. The concepts chosen reflect not only the richness 
of the McCord's collections, representing the strengths and range, but also the expertise of 
the curators. Although the research phase only began officially in January 1990, the results 
attest in many cases to the curators' long term interests and endeavours. 
In the creation of the inaugural exhibition programme, much effort went into achieving 
a balance between thematic exhibitions and those which are collection-based, in deference 
to the McCord's appellation as a "history museum." In addition, while ensuring that the empha- 
sis was on the McCord's own collections, adequate temporary exhibition space had to be set 
aside in order to receive exhibitions from outside sources. Therefore, while the inaugural exhi- 
bitions were the prime concern, a structure for the future, to build upon and maintain the 
public's interest, was also considered crucial. 
Because the year of the re-opening, 1992, coincides with the 350'~ anniversary of the found- 
ing of Montreal many of the inaugural exhibitions pay particular attention to this fact. However, 
it is Victoria Bridge: The V i ta l  Link that represents the McCord's official contribution to the 
anniversary celebration. It is one part of a major historical overview, collectively entitled: 
Montreal: A History to Treasure. 
With almost 20,000 square feet, or double the previous amount of exhibition space at our 
disposal, it was felt that we now have the opportunity to accomodate permanent galleries 
devoted to the presentation of the McCord's collections. The Notman Photographic Archives, 
Costume and Textiles, Archives, Prints and Drawings, and Ethnology and Archaeology each 
now have specifically designated areas, including Paintings and Decorative Arts in the newly- 
renovated Nobbs Gallery (named after the architect, Percy Nobbs, who designed the building 


The Haemmerle Archive

Lindeman, Yehudi

Notes and Comments 
informative Dessaulles and Riel papers to visually appealing scrapbooks, cards and even a milk- 
bottle top collection. 
9. Eclectic Tastes: Fine and Decorative Arts from the McCord, May 9, 1992 - 
Curator Responsible: Conrad Graham, Curator of Decorative Arts; Contributing Authors: 
Sarah Ivory, Concordia University; Robert Derome, UniversitC du Quebec a Montreal. 
Highlighting the nineteenth century, where the McCord holdings of paintings and decorative 
arts are strong, this exhibition and accompanying catalogue feature both secular and religious 
silver, furniture, ceramics, glass and wood sculpture. Sometimes important for their docu- 
mentary value, sometimes for their inherent art-historical value, the artifacts on view underline 
the duality of the McCord's collecting mandate. 
10. Form and Fashion: Nineteenth-century Feminine Dress, May 9, 1992 -January 15, 1993 
Curator Responsible: Jacqueline Beaudoin-Ross, Curator of Costume and Textiles. 
The form in the evolution of nineteenth-century costume is emphasized in this exhibition 
and accompanying catalogue. The selection of costumes from the McCord's extensive collection 
demonstrates that not only are styles in dress revised throughout history, but also that particular 
elements in attire re-appear again and again. For the first time, photographs from the McCord's 
Notman Photographic Archives will be used not only to date the costumes but also to dem- 
onstrate the evolution of the form. The dissemination of European fashion plates in Montreal 
is traced to show the extent to which Montreal was a "fashionable venue." 
Breaking the Silence and Bridging the Gap: 
Documenting Personal Memories of the Holocaust 
by Yehudi Lindeman, Associate Professor of English, McGill University 
... I never thought that I would be able to sit here and talk about these 
things. I never had the courage to do it. And then I saw other people com- 
ing out... And then, a few times, I heard people say, about people like 
me, you are actually an endangered species, because after you are done 
there will be nobody else, there will be no one else left to tell the real story. 
And my children really wanted me to do it. And maybe because it is fifty 
years now, 1939-1989, I feel that everything is coming full circle, that I 
have to do it, that maybe my time is running out. 
Renata Skotnicka-Zajdman, in the McGill studio, June 1989. 
Renata Skotnicka-Zajdman is one of the many survivors of the Holocaust now in Montreal. 
Living in increasing fear with "Aryan papers," she managed to survive World War I1 as a 13 
to 18 year old, dodging selections by hiding in cellars and safe-houses, and burrowing her 
way in and out of the ghettos of Bialystok and of Warsaw, where she witnessed the ghetto 
uprising. There are thousands of other survivors in the Montreal area. 
In June, 1989, Renata was among the first survivors of the Holocaust to be interviewed 
by "Living Testimonies," McGill University's Video Archive. The Archive's goal is to record 
on studio-quality video-tape, eye-witness accounts of the Holocaust. Though the focus is on 
survivors, witness testimony by liberators and rescuers is also included.' 
Notes and Comments 
The need to combine the theoretically grounded ancient Hebrew injunction of zakhor with 
the practical reality of assisting in the process of petach (the vulnerable state of opening up) 
made this a very challenging project. While showing with touching and often painful frankness 
what precisely happened to an ordinary person caught in the wheels of an extraordinary time, 
each video document also presents images that provide a powerful counter-argument to the 
movement of Holocaust denial and historical revisionism. Thus every interview, ideally, con- 
stitutes a tremendous resource that has the power to change minds and challenge the perpet- 
uation of anti-semitism and racism, nationally and world-wide. If the project's strength is in 
any sense weakened, it may be in the realization that with each passing year the survivors 
are diminishing in number. This is the sentiment that Renata speaks of in the above passage 
when she refers to people like herself as an "endangered species" whose "time may be running 
out." But the need to tell the story to the world is also motivated by a personal need of unbur- 
dening oneself. Many survivors still have nightmares and wake up in the middle of the night 
yelling or in a sweat, pursued by terrifying memories. Telling their story is one way of exorcising 
the past. Paul Landau's principal motive for confronting the video camera is so as "not to choke 
myself with the untold story." Externalizing it "dumps it out of my chest."' 
There are other aspects that deserve scrutiny here. One of them is our preference for an 
open-ended and free-flowing interviewing format, so as to assist in the already-mentioned 
process of opening up on the part of the survivor who is, after all, asked to evoke in words 
and images aspects of everyday life in a place and time long since gone. The open-ended struc- 
ture may also enhance the maximum future usefulness of the materials by historians, soci- 
ologists and educators alike. It is an aspect which "Living TestimoniesJ' has in common with 
similar projects of this nature in Canada and the U.S. At this time the central issue is that 
of securing transmission, of bridging the gap between silence and documentation within the 
pinching restraints of time.3 
History 
"Living Testimonies" was founded in 1989. The first five interviews were conducted by 
Rabbi Ayla Grafstein and Yehudi Lindeman in the Concordia and McGill University studios 
and led to a half hour video documentary completed in November 1989.~ 
All the interviews are recorded on 3/4 inch studio quality tape. The collection of Sinti (German 
Gypsy) survivors of the Holocaust is available on 3/4 inch tapes which was copied from the 
original high eight format. The 20 hours of interviews with the Sinti survivors were recorded 
in 1991 by Gabrielle Tyrnauer on location in two camping areas in the village of Joditz, near 
Hof, close to the former East-West German border. The language of the interviews is German. 
Nearly all of those interviewed are veterans of the Auschwitz Gypsy camp. Some spent time 
in ~ e w i s h  camps or ghettos, including the ghetto of Lodz, before being deported to ~uschwi tz  
in 1943.5 
Since the spring of 1990, all  in-studio interviews have been recorded at McGill's Instructional 
Communications Centre (ICC) at 550 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, with the generous 
and expert support of Mario DiPaolo, head of Television and Sound Production, and his com- 
petent staff. 
By May 1992, "Living Testimonies" had conducted 35 interviews, for a total of about 80 
hours. With one exception, all in-studio interviews were conducted in English. Most witness 
accounts run about two hours, but some are significantly longer, like the early testimony of 
Harry (or Hershel) Taichman, a survivor of various camps near Lublin who survived because 
his two sisters pushed him out of the small upper window of the transport train that was carry- 
ing them to Treblinka. 
Notes and Comments 
Figure 1.  In 1942 the Jewish girl Renata Skotnicka 
became the Catholic Irena Christina Podbielska. 
She was able to maintain this new identity with 
the help of a forged I.D. for which this photograph 
was taken by an underground photographer. 
A typical interview consists of a pre-interview, usually at the survivor's home, followed 
some days later by the taping session. There is a chronological order to the extent that the 
interview follows a three-part structure, from the survivor's memories of pre-war life through 
the war-time experiences of occupation and persecution to, finally, liberation and re-settlement 
in the new country with its challenges and possibilities for personal and social reintegration. 
Any personal materials such as family photographs, camp uniforms or other camp para- 
phernalia such as badges or, in a rare case, original documents, are photographed and mon- 
taged on the video tape itself, whenever possible. These artifacts on tape are meant to complete 
the collections held privately by individuals as well as the collection of artifacts and memorabilia 
compiled by Krisha Starker for Montreal's Holocaust Memorial Centre. 
Related Collections 
It should perhaps be emphasized that a substantial printed collection of books, articles and 
bibliographies exists in the McGill Librarie~.~ Those materials can be searched locally with 
the help of LC subject heading "Holocaust survivors" on the MUSE automated catalogue which 
yields 34 categories such as "Personal narratives" and "Bibliographies." Surprisingly, the only 
bibliography retrieved by this route was that by Leo Eitinger and others. If, leaving the MUSE, 
one follows the Eitinger bibliography to the Reference shelves, one finds it alongside six other 
bibliographies on the subject and eight separate volumes in Hebrew.' 
Notes and Comments 
Figure 2. Hershel Taichman and his brother Leibel 
near Riky, Poland just before World War 11. 
When contacted, Film Reference Librarian Carol Grossman indicated that the ICC Film 
Library holds only a handful of relevant films. These include Alain Resnais' Night and Fog 
(1955) and Stanley Kramer's block-buster Judgement at  Nuremburg (1961), as well as Claude 
Lanzmann's Shoah (1985). 
"Living Testimonies" is similar in scope and purpose to projects elsewhere, notably in Canada 
and the United States. Its most immediate inspiration came from the Holocaust Documentation 
Project, a collection of studio-quality interviews with about eighty survivors from all over 
Canada made under the auspices of Canadian Jewish Congress and with the financial support 
of Canada's Department of Multiculturalism. Those tapes can be viewed upon request at 
Canadian Jewish Congress in Montreal.' 
Another stimulating example is Yale University's extensive Fortunoff Video Archive for 
Holocaust History with which the McGill project is becoming affiliated. In return, Yale will 
also store copies of all the video interviews recorded at McGill. Among the other video tape 
collections of note, mention should be made of the Vancouver-based Holocaust Documentation 
Project directed by Robert Krell at the University of British Columbia and the Toronto-based 
Holocaust Documentation Project directed by Paula Draper. Other noteworthy collections 
include the Southeastern Florida Holocaust Memorial Center in Miami and Yad Vashem in 
Jerusalem. 
Notes and Comments 
The relation between "Living Testimonies" and other oral history projects has not yet been 
defined. "Living Testimonies" is joining the Canadian Oral History Association and is including 
a description of its collection in the Nationallnventory of Oral History Holdings. The Inventory 
is being compiled right now (1992) with the assistance of the Social Science and Humanities 
Research Council and the National Archive of Canada and will, for the first time, give research- 
ers access to Oral History collections throughout Canada. 
Future 
It is of foremost importance to sort and catalogue the collection and to provide printed syn- 
opses of each interview. The anticipated collection will also contain Holocaust-related doc- 
umentary films (on video) as well as a modest reference library. Also, it is our intention to 
design a variety of maps to facilitate the location of survivors before and during the Holocaust, 
using the work of Martin Gibert and others and enlarging some of them for educational 
purposes. 
This reference collection will make it easier to define terms, confirm dates and verify place 
names. Place names in particular present difficulties as sites are often known under two or 
three different names, while their spelling is uncertain. Problematic nomenclature especially 
occurs in border areas. Attention will also be given to the difficulty of transcribing and finding 
English equivalents for terms and expressions that defy translation. This concerns terms in 
use during World War I1 in Polish, Russian, Yiddish and German. Some of this work has 
already been started with the help of Marcia Goldberg, the Project's tireless research assistant. 
So far, funding has been modest. To date, "Living Testimonies" received contributions from 
the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research of McGill University, 
from the Fortunoff Video Archive of Yale University and through private donations. The Yale 
University funding was accompanied by matching grants from McGill and Concordia 
University. We are engaged in a vigorous fund raising effort that will enhance the uses of 
our project for educational purposes. 
Regarding the numbers of planned interviews, there exists something in the nature of a 
five year plan. The present goal is that, at a rate of 40 interviews a year, approximately 200 
new interviews will be produced by the end of 1997. 
All tapes will be held in the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, McGill 
University Libraries, and are there for storage only. They are the master copies from which 
copies (usually V2 inch VHS) will be made as they are needed. Also, given that the shelf life 
of the master tapes is a maximum of 50 years, even under optimal conditions, we are already 
anticipating that the collection may have to be copied onto a less vulnerable medium. One 
distinct, if as yet distant, possibility is the digital video disc (similar to CD or CD-ROM) which 
will soon be available at fairly reasonable cost. 
While the original master tapes remain in storage and cannot be used or taken out of the 
Library, VHS copies of the entire collection can be freely viewed at the recently opened new 
office of "Living Testimonies" at 5 15 Pine Avenue West, Montreal, Quebec, H2 W 1S4. Anyone 
interested should call (514) 398-8408. It may take about a week to ten days to book an 
appointment. 
Notes 
1. The term "Holocaust" (Hebrew, "Shoah") is used here in its specific meaning of the mass 
destruction of European Jews by the Nazi German state during World War 11. Cf. Israel 
Notes and Comments 
Gutman, editor-in-chief, Encyclopedia of the Holocaust (Jerusalem: Yad Vashem and New York: 
MacMillan Publishing Company, 1990), 681. 
2. From the November 12 and 19, 1991, testimony of Paul Landau, a Frenchman who was 
born in Warsaw in 1922. Paul was arrested, along with his brother Jacques, and deported 
to Auschwitz on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, 1942. Shortly before arrival 
in Auschwitz, the brothers were taken off the train (later known as Convoy no. 35) at the 
railway station of Kosel, along with 150 other men. The rest of the convoy of presumably 
exactly 1000 Jews continued on to Auschwitz where the large majority were gassed instantly. 
Paul and his brother ended up in a slave labour camp. After the death of his brother, Paul 
decided to escape, was discovered and, in a bizarre twist of fate, passed through Auschwitz 
to Oranienburg-Sachsenhausen where he worked as an engraver, forging fake bank notes 
(mostly British 10 and 20 pound notes) for the Germans before being shipped to Mauthausen 
and from there to Ebensee where he was liberated by Patton's Third Army. For details of Paul 
Landau's "Convoy no. 35" see Serge Klarsfeld, Le Meinorial de la de'portation des Jugs de France 
(Paris: 1978). 
3. Cf. the emphasis in book after book on the survivor's mission that forces himlher to be 
a witness, "to tell the story, to bear witness" (Primo Levi) or to "hurl the story [of the Ghetto] 
in the face of the world." Elie Wiesel, in turn, is caught between his desire to break the silence 
and his motivation to remain silent, as a gesture of greater loyalty to the unutterable experience 
itself (see Terrence Des Pres, The Survivor: An Anatomy of Life in the Death Camps [New York: 
Oxford University Press, 19761, 32, 31 and 35-36, respectively). 
4. Yehudi Lindeman (producer and director), Living Testimonies, a video documentary, 34 
inch, 28 minutes (Montreal, November 1989). 
5. For the Gypsies' journey to and final destiny in Auschwitz, see Gabrielle Tyrnauer, Gypsies 
and the Holocaust: A Bibliography and Zntroductoy Essay, 2nd edition (Montreal: Montreal 
Institute for Genocide Studies, 1991), xv-xviii. 
6. A number of books have recently explored the relation between the survivors' oral testimony 
and primary documentation as well as more traditional ways of witnessing in diaries and fic- 
tional accounts. The most challenging works among them are Lawrence Langer, Holocaust 
Testimonies: The Ruins ofMemoy (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991), Deborah Dwork, 
Children with a Star (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991) and Shoshana Felman and 
Dori Laub, Testimony: Crises of Witnessing in Literature, Psychoanalysis and Histo y (New York: 
Routledge, 1991). All three works draw extensively on Yale University's Video Archive for 
Holocaust Testimony. 
7. Leo Eitinger and Robert Krell with Miriam Rieck (eds.), The PsychologicalandMedical Effects 
of Concentration Camps and Related Persecutions on Survivors of the Holocaust: A Research 
Bibliography (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1985). Among other biblio- 
graphical tools in the Reference section are Harry James Cargas (ed.), The Holocaust: An 
Annotated Bibliography, 2nd edition (Chicago: American Library Association, 1985) and David 
Szonyi (ed.), The Holocaust: An Annotated Bibliography and Resource Guide (Hoboken, NJ: 
KTAV Publishing House, 1985). 
8. Montreal cinematographer Alan Handel made a one-hour documentary based on the mate- 
rial in Canadian Jewish Congress' Holocaust Documentation Project called Voices of Survival. 
It was aired on CBC television in 1989. 


Breaking the Silence and Bridging the Gap: Documenting Personal Memories of the Holocaust

Front cover

Contributors 
Real G. Boulianne received hi doctorate in Canadian hi tory from McGiJJ niver ity in 1970. 
He joined McGill' Faculty of Education in 19 3 and erved fir t a Director of College Level 
Programs, and later, A ociate Dean (Continuing Education). urrently he i a member 
of the Department of Admini tradon and Policy tudie. in Education. Hi research inter t 
and publication centre on the attempt , in the 19th century, to u e education to anglicize 
the French Canadians as well a on the role of the Church of England in the development 
of education in Lower Canada. Supported b}' a HRC grant he i now working on a book 
outlining the work of the ociety for the Pr pagation of the Go pel mis ionarie in education 
in Lower Canada . 
.Montague Cohen wa born in London, En land and obtained hi B. c. (Phy ic ) and Ph.D. 
(Medical Phy ic ) from London niver ity. Before coming to Canada in 1975 he " orked at 
the London Ho pital in London and the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. He 
was appointed Director of McGill' Phy ic nit in 19 9 and held ros -appointment in 
Phy ic and Radiology. He i al o Honorary urator of the Rutherford Mu eum. H h been 
a member andJor Chairman of everal ta k group of the International omm1 10n on 
Radiological nit and Measurements and a consultant on radiation afety to the Ontario 
Government. 
Diony ios Hatzopoulos hold a Ph.D. in Byzantine Hi tory from the Univcr ite de Montreal 
(1980); has tudied Latin Palaeography at the In titut dominicain d '~tude medie ale in 
Montreal and currendy teaches Greek Civilization in the Department of Language Fa ulte 
des art et des cience ·, at the Uni er ite de Montreal, well as Greek and Roman Hi tory 
at Daw n College in Montreal. 
Alastair McKinnon graduated from th niver ity ofToronro (M.A., 194 ), the niver ity 
of Edinburgh (Ph.D. 1950) and McGill niver ity (B.D. 1953). He joined the McGill 
Department of Philosoph in 1950 and wa named Macdonald Profe or of Moral Philo ophy 
in 1971, hairman of the Department in 1975 and Profe or Emeritu in 1990. He was made 
a charter member of the Kierkegaard Academy in 1978 and a Fellow of the Royal ociety of 
Canada in 19 I. He i the author of Falsification and Belief, The Kiet·kegaat·d indices, and 
with Han KaaJ Concordance to lrt'ittgensteit1's Philosophische nlersuchungen. He has publi hed 
many paper on the philo ophy of religion Kierkegaard and computer analy i of philo ophi al 
and literary texts. in e 1989 ha has been one of the two enior Editor of the new joint 
Canadian-Dani h Kierkegaard riti al Edition project. 
Robert H . Michel i an archi i t in the Me ill niver ity Archi e and a fa ulty lecturer 
in the Graduat chool of Library and Information tudie · for the team-taught archive cou.r e. 
He hold a doctorate in hi tory from Me ill ni er ity. He i member of the Acqui ition 
Committee of the Canadian Council of Ar hi e , e tabli hed to help pre erve Canada' doc-
umentary heritage. Currently h i pre idem of the J arne McGill ociety v hich pre ent lec-
ture on McGill' hi cory and re earch. 
Norma Morgan is the uracor of the Vi uaJ Art ollection at McGill 
a B.Com. and a B.A. from M Gill and an M.A. (Art Hi tory) from 
niver ity. 
ncordia Univer ity. 
Reinhard Pummer ha a doctorate in theology (Religion wi en chaft) from the niver icy 
of Vienna, Au tria. ince 1967 he has been a profe or in the Department ofReligiou tudie 
at the niver ity of Ottawa. His area of re ear h include: amaritani m, Judai m, and the 
2 3 
methodology of the Hi tory of Religions. Among hi publication are, The a·marilans in the 
series Iconography of Religions, XXlll, 5 (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1987)· Die amaritaner, coeditor 
and contributor (Wege dec For chung, 604; Darm tadt: Wi en chaftliche Buchge ell chaft, 
1991)· A Companion to amaritan tudies, coeditor and contributor (Tubingen: J .. B. Mohr 
[Paul iebeck], in preparation)· and article and contribution · to book on the History of 
Religions and variou aspect of amaritani m. 
Richard Virr i uracor of Manu ripe eparcmenc of Rare Bo k and pedal ollection 
McGill niver icy Librarie and A ociate Editor of Fontanm. He i al o Archivist for the 
(Anglican) Dioce e of Montreal and of che E le iastical Province of Canada. He hold a d 
corate in church hi tory from McGill niver ity. He teaches an introductory cour e n codi-
cology and de criptive bibliography, ha publi hed regularly in Fontanu.s and ocher journal , 
and ha a pecial intere t in the hi tory of collection and li rarie . 
244 


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