Muskoka Archive Material and Local Nostalgia

WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR MUSKOKA ARCHIVE MATERIAL AND LOCAL NOSTALGIA - FOR REFERENCE AND EXHIBIT

DON'T TOSS THOSE OLD LETTERS, INVOICES, JOURNALS, PHOTOGRAPHS, RECIPES, COOKBOOKS AND DOCUMENTS IN THE TRASH - WE CAN GIVE THEM A GOOD HOME

     One of the most horrible statements any antiquarian can hear, is "I wish I'd talked to you first, before I threw all that stuff out." Or, in the same vein of thought, "If only I'd known, I would have kept the letters." You can substitute letters with photographs, historic documents, vintage invoices from area shops and industries, and just about anything else of a historic or antique value. A lady once enquired about some old invoices I was going through, at the sales desk in our former Bracebridge shop, wondering if they were of any value. I explained how important they are in the local historic sense, and for some, the significant monetary value if they involve railways, steamship lines, hotels and resorts, and possess names of customers who were of importance to Muskoka in any number of ways. She inhaled deeply, exhaled with a clear sigh, and then told me that she had helped dispose of old company invoices and related paper-work going back to the late 1800's when the local company had been founded, enough to fill to large dumpsters headed for the landfill site. She had come into the shop to sell me a few trinkets from the company office, which, I can tell you, were a lot less important than the huge loss of so much business history of a company most of us knew as locally iconic.
     There are details we look for, in this pursuit of ephemera, that we can't expect most people to fully appreciate, and what we find difficult to explain simply. We are always willing to take a peek, if you happen to have a few samples to show us, at our Muskoka Road shop. Or email us a few digital images and we'll get back to you. Obviously, there are some paper items that are worth considerable money, if they have the provenance of, for example, the Muskoka Navigation Company, or local historic resorts such as Windermere House, the Royal Muskoka Hotel, or Bigwin Inn to name a few. Old railway tickets and shipping papers are also of significance, as are old menus from major passenger ships, from Cunard and Star Lines. We do stretch outside the area, as antique dealers, when the materials are obviously of larger public interest. You'd be very surprised at what exists in private hands, in the way of ephemera, that owners don't recognize as having value. If it was a pine cupboard or painting, vintage china or cranberry glass, it would be obvious there was inherent value. Old paper is not seen as being worth much of anything, especially letters and vintage invoices etc. Thus, it is the first bundles into the dumpster, when estates are cleaned out by families wishing to get the task done quickly and efficiently, to settle affairs. But time and again, we find ourselves too late, to conserve these paper treasures, and a lot of other related collectables, that have value beyond the monetary return.
     Just about every week someone approaches us, at the shop, (in Gravenhurst) to ask whether or not we might be interested in a variety of estate items, mostly vintage paper known as ephemera, which they have been storing for many years in their homes. Some of those who ask, previously found it impossible, after the death of a relative, partner, parent, or grandparent, to part with personal letters and photographic collections, not to mention journals, diaries, and other documents, deemed sensitive at the time. What may have happened, to bring these folks to us, presently, is the sale of a family home, where the items had been previously stored. Now with a move, or down-sizing effort, they no longer can justify hanging on to these pieces, which more than anything else, have sentimental value. But, thankfully, they seek us out, as not only antique dealers, but as in-house regional historians, working every day of the week, here on the main street of Gravenhurst, in many different antiquarian capacities, and for a diverse range of heritage projects, mostly having something to do with the home town and home region.
    A lot of folks feel it's dangerous to allow strangers to peruse intimate, personal family documents, and correspondence, including having access to private diaries and journals. I completely understand this. However, I've made a life for myself, handling old stuff, and a lot of it is sensitive material, that has to be handled with extreme caution, for the contents within. But for gosh sakes, throwing our war letters, because of a small section where the writer has stated romantic intentions, or contrary information about love indiscretions, isn't what attracts an historian's attention, other than to put context and a character to both the letter writer and the recipient. The chance for us to have access to these personal thoughts about war and peace, and life beyond the years of crisis, means than we can parlay the essence of the story, to the readers of our historical essays, that we produce in the hundreds every year, for our online sites, and print publication we are editorially associated. The public benefits from the information about important times in history, because kind and considerate citizens have offered us an opportunity to draw from the rare content of personal correspondence. Previously unknown realities of these critical periods of our country, and world, can pop out in the strangest places, and circumstances, which is why we never discard source material that can, at some point, influence the way we present a story, or open the text of a book we may choose to write one day.
     I had the rare and wonderful opportunity, of a mild apprenticeship with one of Canada's most storied freelance archivists, Hugh MacMillan, who worked for many years with, and for the Ontario Archives, and amassed and conserved a large collection of documents and personal letters, of well known history-makers in this country, because he wouldn't take no for an answer; and was stalwart about his pursuit of raw history, that would have otherwise fallen into the dumpster for disposal, or be sold off indiscriminately to collectors, who probably would have added a major acquisition to their archive collection, but not shared it with the public as would a provincial or national archives. While Suzanne and I don't have the resources of a public library or archives, we do our best, to highlight, and publish any historical material, that we believe the public should know about, or get a chance to see up close, without having to pay an admission at the door. We have a good working relationship with the local archives for the Town of Gravenhurst, and will always pass along particularly important heritage material to support its mission statement to preserve and promote local history. On a tight annual budget but with a lot of enthusiasm, we will go above and beyond to represent the history we have been granted, either as a donation, gift, or as chosen go-betweens, to get the material to the best location for conservation, and presentation, to maximize the information contained within. It is of great joy to be able to pass these historical documents and ephemera generally, to other museums and heritage archives, because they contain information relevant to their communities and regions of Ontario and Canada.
     Although we can't out-perform larger public archives, and we have no extra funding to do so, we can't turn our backs on local heritage issues, when they happen to pass before our eyes; which bulge at the amazing information contained in personal family materials, that were on their way to the dump, and we happened to be the last stop before the final tossing-out of handwritten heirlooms. We don't have a lot of money to spend on acquisitions, if they can't be sold in some measure to offset costs, but we do have the room here, at our Gravenhurst store-front, to house a large quantity of vintage paper, and photographs, obtained as donations. We rotate displays regularly, and love the opportunity to showcase our latest finds, and gifts, sharing whatever information we can, with those of our visitors who have the same passions for history; you wouldn't believe the Muskoka talks we have here every week, related to our own interest in collecting district memorabilia as well, especially locally written books on heritage subjects.
     As we have asked readers previously, if you have historical artifacts, (actually ranging from vintage team sweaters used in the past by town or district sports teams, to golf clubs with a storied past), with local provenance, and boxes of vintage ephemera, you think best thrown out, please consider dropping them off here instead. It makes me cringe to think how many tons of important archive material, has been destroyed because of the misconception, it is all too sensitive to maintain, and would be better for the family to have destroyed in entirety. If this is the case, it is perfectly acceptable to indicate to us, what materials are never to be published or put on display because of their sensitive nature. There are times obviously, when content is by far more important for us to know as historians, than the benefit of publishing them verbatim. I want to know uncut versions of history, but we've been working in this profession long enough, to know, that there are certain realities expressed in private letters, that have no business in the public domain. We have an excellent track record in this regard.
     Please, before you unload antique and vintage ephemera in recycling or the garbage bins, check with us first. Maybe we can find some redeeming quality of the material, to save you a trip to the landfill site. It may not be the case, the material is worth a lot of money, but what they possess in archive value, will remain a huge credit to all those families who have helped us, conserve our heritage, one letter, one photograph, one document at a time. If you're unsure, we're here to help.
     We value Muskoka and Gravenhurst history not only as antique dealers, which afterall is our specialty, but as historians who have been promoting local heritage in one way or another, since 1977 with some pretty fair results. We are most pleased, when the public lets us know we've done a good job conserving local heritage. Ultimately, this is what it's all about.