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BackWork of Clerks, Scribes, etc.
René Bouchard, Pointe-à-Callière, City of Montréal archaeological collection.
Beyond the parliamentarians, Canada’s administration relied on a large team of employees, from the most basic roles to the most ceremonial. Clerks, translators, writers and Crown officers worked mainly in the ground-floor offices. In Montréal, a true bureaucratic elite thus took shape—for the first time in the country’s history.
Inkwell
Guy Lessard, Pointe-à-Callière.
The video opens with a 360-degree view of a 3D model of a ceramic inkwell. The inkwell is blackened by fire. The video stops after 10 seconds, offering a complete view of the inkwell.
Between writers, clerks and translators, there was a lot of writing at Parliament. Here is a model of an English stoneware inkwell, discovered during the archaeological excavations.
The Destructive Fire
René Bouchard, Pointe-à-Callière, 2019.39 (left), and City of Montréal archaeological collection (right).
The heat of the April 1849 blaze was so intense that many glass objects melted, like this travel inkwell (right). Compare it with an identical example, intact.
Inkwells
René Bouchard, Pointe-à-Callière, City of Montréal archaeological collection.
Several inkwells and ink bottles have been unearthed. The inks—varied in colour depending on the type of document—reflect the growing complexity of public administration.