What do our conservators do when there isn’t a box the right size to fit a particular artifact? They make one of course! These custom boxes are designed to fit each item perfectly, supporting its conservation for years to come. In this video, join Assistant Conservator Estelle in the lab to learn how she makes these precise pieces.
There’s a lot of buzz in the news right now surrounding the future of the Hudson’s Bay Company and their heritage collection, and it has brought up a lot of questions regarding the beloved HBC Museum Collection here at the Manitoba Museum. While I can’t speak to the artifacts that are currently owned by the HBC, I can offer some reassurances and some history behind the over 27,000 artifacts that are here under our care at the Manitoba Museum.
The HBC Museum Collection originated in the 1920s as part of the Company’s 250th anniversary celebrations. The collection was pulled together from artifacts collected by former and current employees, with one retired employee being sent on a large-scale collecting mission. The method of acquisition for these artifacts is part of my current research, I have been doing a lot of archival digging trying to track down how they acquired these belongings. Nevertheless, a collection came together and was originally exhibited in the Winnipeg store (first at York and Main, later once the larger department store construction was finished it moved to the location at Portage and Colony), and later in other department stores across the country.
Image: The original HBC Museum Collection display in the store at Main and York, before it moved to the larger department store in 1926 (Source: HBCA 1987-363-H-23-64)
The Collection was then loaned to the Province of Manitoba in 1960 and was on display and housed at Lower Fort Garry, under the curation of Barbara Johnstone. Eventually HBC looked to find a more permanent home for the collection where it would be publicly accessible. After many lengthy discussions, and through the support of First Nations leaders like Phil Fontaine, it was decided that the Manitoba Museum was the best place. In 1994, the HBC officially gifted the collection, deemed a collection of National Historic Significance by the Canadian Cultural Properties and Export Review Board, as a gift to the Nation to the Manitoba Museum (then called the Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature).
Inside the HBC Museum Collection storage areas, located above the HBC Gallery.
The Manitoba Museum has been the custodian of this significant collection ever since, and through the development of the HBC Gallery established a permanent display for part of the collection. The items that are not on display are still accessible for community members, researchers, students, and artists, and many belongings are loaned to other institutions for public display as well.
Rest assured, the HBC Museum Collection here is safe for future generations to come and enjoy, and I encourage you to come visit if you have not been to the Manitoba Museum in a while! The Nonsuch and HBC Galleries remain popular with visitors of all ages, but we’ve made some amazing upgrades in some of our other permanent galleries too. Museums play an important role in preserving history for the public and keeping it accessible, and visiting Museums helps support these institutions so they can continue to serve the public for years to come.
One prevailing comment I hear about my job, whether in person or via social media, is “your job sounds so cool!” And you know what? It is. But I’m about to reveal the dark underbelly of my job, the bane of my existence, the thing that frustrates me to my core: dirty data.
Last year, the Museum implemented a new Collections Management System (CMS) after years with an old database that was vintage in all the wrong ways. The worst part of our old database was the inability to control the data being entered into the system, resulting in dirty data in desperate need of attention.
Dirty data is incorrect data, misspellings, outdated or inaccurate information found in various fields in our database.
One cause of dirty data is information changing over time, like the reclamation of First Nations place names or changes to the nomenclature we use to categorize objects, leading to inaccuracies in our existing data. However, the biggest culprit of dirty data in our system is human error. With hundreds of individuals creating or entering data into dozens of fields over a fifty-year period, mistakes are bound to happen. This ranges from simple spelling errors to lazy cataloguing resulting in variations in what should be one accurate piece of data.
Here we see many variations on the name of a now-defunct Winnipeg-based beverage company: Blackwoods, Blackwood’s, Blackwoods Ltd., Blackwood’s Ltd. Over the years, different cataloguers have entered the manufacturer name in various ways, either due to information available to them, like the name ‘Blackwoods’ embossed on a bottle, or an error in judgement.
In case you’re dying to know, the correct name is Blackwoods Ltd.
Dirty data is bad for a handful of reasons. One, the most detrimental to the function of the CMS, is reduced data quality – these errors mean that impacted objects are overlooked in searches of the system.
For instance, if I searched for Culture = Canadian, any records with the erroneous Canadain or Canandian in the Culture field would be missing from my results. Due to a typing error, we could be missing out on key objects that would be super relevant to a curator or researcher.
Another downside of dirty data is damage to our reputation. Errors in our collections data have an impact on how others may perceive us – if this particular data is incorrect, what else is incorrect? We have an obligation, as a museum, to maintain and provide accurate, up-to-date information about our collections.
We are currently in this phase of our new CMS implementation. I’m exporting data, reviewing it, making necessary changes, and then importing the cleansed data back into the database.
Here, I’m standardizing the nomenclature for our History collection. Our former database had Category and Class fields and now I’m also adding the tertiary Subclass dataset, which will allow us to get even more detailed in searches without having to exclusively use Object Name. For example, I can now search Drinking Vessels and get all the cups, mugs, tankards, glasses, teacups, tumblers, etc. in the collection instead of having to search individually for all these kinds of objects.
We also have a handy-dandy “search and replace” feature that the database “super users” (where’s my cape?!) can use to easily swap out one dataset for another.
Our new collections management system has some key features that helps us prevent the entry of dirty data:
Further to this, additional training and support for the creators of data is also a top priority moving forward. Will some dirty data still sneak in now and then? Absolutely. But then I’ll be there to scrub it clean.
Zara Nelsova was known as the Queen of the Cello, but did you know she was from Winnipeg? Learn more about the life of this famous cellist and get a close look at three of her performance gowns in Cortney’s latest video.
Happy Earth Day! Renewable energy is critical to having a healthy planet. Here in Manitoba we have a lot of rivers and stream, which we harness to create hydroelectricity! But how does it work?
Join Mike in the Science Gallery to watch a demo with our hydroelectric generator.
The immersive dioramas at the Manitoba Museum are many people’s favourite part of the Museum. Did you know that five of the classic dioramas were designed and painted by iconic Canadian artist Clarence Tillenius?
Learn more about his process in this video with Erin.
Have you ever seen the beautiful moccasins in the Manitoba Museum galleries and wondered about their creation process? Who made them, who wore them, and where did they travel? Museums are filled with millions of objects and specimens, but it’s the stories behind these items that really matter. Discovering how these stories connect to present-day individuals and communities is truly the best part of my job.
While moccasins may seem ordinary, they preserve cultural heritage and have resisted colonial forces since first contact. As a young girl, I admired how my relatives paired their outfits with braids, beaded earrings, bolo ties, and stunning moccasins. There is an ongoing desire to preserve our cultural identity, even through everyday items like shoes and accessories.
One of our long-time friends and partners is Gloria Beckman, a Nēhîthâwâk artist skilled in many art forms, including moccasin making. Through her workshops, Gloria shares her expertise and passion, helping preserve these vital cultural traditions.
Images: Beautiful pairs of fur-trimmed, beaded moccasins created by workshop leader Gloria Beckman. © Gloria Beckman.
Gloria recently shared that moccasin making is a meditative, community building activity. She expressed that, “The excitement of seeing pahkîkinaskisina (leather footwear) is an intrinsically rewarding experience” that provides us with a sense of belonging.
We are honoured to partner with Gloria for various workshops throughout the year, offering guests the opportunity to create their own hand-made treasures, perhaps to pass down to future generations with love. Workshops also provide a unique experience to explore the techniques and artistry from our ancestors with a behind-the scenes look at artifacts in our collection.
If you are interested in hearing about future workshop opportunities be sure to sign up for our Manitoba Museum e-newsletter!
What goes into preparing a fossil between when it’s found in the field and when it ends up on display or being used for research? In this video, join Fossil Preparator Urgon in the lab to see some of the tools he uses to reveal fossils like the ones on display in our galleries.
When we’re travelling, we may use a compass and map, a GPS, or the position of the sun to guide us home. But how do animals do it?
Join Corinne in this video to learn about the sixth sense of a bee and how it works as internal compass for them while they travel around their world.
