Royal Canadian Henley Regatta fonds, 1948-1983 (non-inclusive)

In 1903, the Canadian Association of Amateur Oarsmen had their request granted to make the Old Welland Canal at Port Dalhousie the permanent site of the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. That same year organized rowing was established in St. Catharines when the St. Catharines Rowing and Canoe Club was formed. The Henley course was completed in July of 1903 after rowing was well underway. Although the Henley course served as an athletic and social event, rowing itself was slow to grow in the St. Catharines area. In 1915 the Regatta was cancelled for the duration of WWI and reinstated in 1919 when an increased public interest in the sport began to grow. Two years later, the Henley Aquatic Association was formed in order to control, maintain and improve the rowing facilities. This association was responsible for building a new clubhouse at Ann Street in 1921 and in 1931 completing the grandstands. Also in the 1930s the association had the Federal Government approve their appeal to have the Henley waters dredged for the first time. The St. Catharines Rowing Club re-located its headquarters to the Lakeport Road site. The 1940s brought more support from local groups and with that more events. In 1945, the St. Catharines Junior Chamber of Commerce began helping to organize and promote rowing locally. One of the new events at the Henley course was the "Schoolboy Championships". The growth of both rowing and the Henley continued growing through the 1950s. The Henley Aquatic Association acquired Reid's Island, now Henley Island, mainly through the efforts of Ted Nelson. In the 1960s, rowing really took off in St. Catharines. Women began to become recognized in the sport when Brock University created a women's rowing team. The second dredging was completed in 1964, leading to the creation of a world class rowing course. The facilities were upgraded to international standards and the Henley rowing course became Canada's first Class A FISA (Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d’Aviron or International Federation of Rowing Associations) rowing course. The first North American Rowing Championship was held at the Henley course in 1967 and again in 1970 for the third championship. The Canadian Henley Rowing Corporation formed in 1972, along with the St. Catharines, Parks and Recreation Department created the first rowing school for youth. Since 1960, St. Catharines has been at a competitive level with other International rowing courses. The city continues to produce Olympic level athletes today.

A Letter from California - 4 November 1849

"A Letter from California" written by Cyrus Sumner in Sacramento City to his brother William in Grimsby, dated November 4, 1849. The letter was published in The Hamilton Spectator.

Henley Bridge blueprints, 1939 [photocopies]

Four pages of photocopied blueprints of the Henley Bridge on the Queen Elizabeth Way in St. Catharines, Ontario. A note below the title indicates the bridge was opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth on June 7, 1939. Three of the pages are part of the same blueprint and can be fit together to recreate the complete blueprint. The remaining page is an incomplete blueprint drawn by William Lyon Somerville, Architect, and dated March 24, 1939.

Drawing, St. Catharines House on February 26, 1849

A drawing done on paper 50cm x 45cm and mounted in a frame under glass. This is a drawing of a meeting held at the St. Catharines House on February 26, 1849. The drawing was done from memory by W. Osborn who has signed the picture on one of the pillars on the right hand side of the picture. The caption under the picture reads "Act 1st Scene 1st". There is some dialogue, "Woodruff - 'He says gentlemen, my son holds an office under Government, of 400 pounds per year - he forgot to tell you, he sold his constituents at Cornwall' - Macdonald 'You're a liar'". The artist portrays a fight breaking out and lists the characters as Boyd , Rykert, Hobdon, Foley, The Sheriff, Woodruff, J.W.O. Clarke, McDonald, Lamb, Hamilton and Hathaway. There are some very slight wrinkles and tears in the drawing. They do not affect the drawing. [Rolland MacDonald (1810-1881) represented Cornwall in the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1844-1846. He was called to the bar in 1832 and set up practice in St. Catharines. The quote on the drawing concerns the constituents at Cornwall. This meeting was covered in reports in the St. Catharines Journal on: March 1, March 8, march 15 and march 22, 1849. There is also an excerpt in William Hamilton Merritt's diary noting the riot and the sketch by Osborn].

Letter to William Dickson from Robert Fullerton

Letter to William Dickson from Robert Fullerton [?] to acknowledge receipt of Mr. Dickson’s favour (1 ½ pages, handwritten), Jan. 26, 1849.

Letter to William Dickson from Robert Fullerton

Letter to William Dickson from Robert Fullerton [?] regarding Mr. Dickson’s father’s will (1 doublesided page, handwritten), March, 9, 1849.

La genèse de The Souls of Black Folk : le chapitre initial de la vie intellectuelle de W. E. B. Du Bois, 1885-1903

En 1903, paraît le magnum opus de William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk. Ce dernier écrit cet ouvrage en poursuivant trois objectifs. Primo, il souhaite démontrer que Booker T. Washington et ses supporters font fausse route en défendant l’idée selon laquelle les Afro-américains pourront accéder à un avenir meilleur en échangeant leurs droits politiques contre des opportunités économiques. Secundo, Du Bois cherche à faire la lumière sur les talents distinctifs et les grandes réalisations de son peuple afin de convaincre les Blancs que les Noirs ne leur sont pas biologiquement ou moralement inférieurs et, par conséquent, que l’égalité raciale doit être totale et immédiate. Tertio, il veut persuader les Américains de devenir de meilleurs citoyens, en renouant avec les idéaux de leur République et en vivant en fonction de principes moraux élevés. L’écriture de Souls marque un tournant majeur dans la vie intellectuelle de son auteur, car il renonce à cette époque au discours conciliatoire qu’il avait tenu dans sa jeunesse. Les idées qu’il défend dans son livre ont germé quelques années plus tôt, au contact de certains de ses professeurs de l’Université de Berlin, d’Alexander Crummell et surtout, en effectuant une étude de terrain sur la communauté noire de Philadelphie. Du Bois réalise alors l’ampleur des injustices dont sont victimes les Noirs et contre lesquelles la bonne volonté et le travail acharné ne peuvent rien.

En busca de la profesión: cambios y realidades en la condición social de los artistas en Bogotá entre 1910 y 1930

En las primeras décadas del siglo XX en Bogotá se desarrolló un proceso de profesionalización de los artistas que permitió que estos mejoraran el estatus que tenían en la sociedad y se consolidaran una serie de roles que los identificarían como representantes de su ocupación. Este cambio se evidencia al notar que hasta finales del siglo XIX no existía una clara diferenciación entre las categorías de artista y artesano, mientras que para la década de 1930 comenzaron a aparecer propuestas estéticas que rompieron con los cánones tradicionales del arte académico. De este modo, a partir de la aplicación de un marco teórico basado en la sociología e historia de las profesiones y basándose en la socióloga e historia social del arte y los artistas se analizan las distintas etapas que atravesaron los integrantes de esta ocupación para poder ser reconocidos como “profesionales”. Se logró evidenciar que este tipo de procesos sociales se caracterizan por ser muy complejos, ya que para entender las dinámicas que se presentan dentro de los grupos profesionales se debe tener en cuenta que los distintos integrantes poseen identidades de género, clase o región, entre otras, que generan relaciones de amistad, enemistad y rivalidad, las cuales no siempre son visibilizadas en las investigaciones que han abordado este periodo.