Open Collections

[Bookplate for Mechanics Institute of Montreal]

Black ink. The seal of the Mechanics' Institute of Montreal is located in the upper portion of the bookplate with pre-printed lines for library information below. The seal contains an escutcheon quartered per saltire with argent (silver) and gules (red) backgrounds. The chief quarter features a train car, the sinister quarter a couped arm with hammer, the base quarter a lever and the dexter quarter a telescope. Though difficult to decipher, the seal appears to declare ; Knowledge is Power, in a framed ring at the fess point.

Heraldry; Libraries

Mechanics Institute of Montreal

Still Image

The concept of mechanical institutes began in the 1820s in England as collaborative, voluntary associations of men seeking to further their education. Services offered included ; reading rooms, lending libraries, lectures, and in the case of Montreal, musical soirees and exhibitions. As their institutional popularity declined, many mechanics' institutes were closed or integrated into the public library system ; today, the Atwater Library of the Mechanics' Institute of Montreal remains the last mechanical institute in Canada. The Montreal Mechanics Institute has its origins in 1828 although it wasn't formally incorporated until 1845. It was formed in 1828, with founders including John Molson and Louis-Joseph Papineau. It first opened with it's own building in 1855 on the corners of St. Jacques and St Pierre, and in 1920 moved into a new building at 1200 Atwater Ave, where it still remains. In 1962 it changed its name to the Atwater Library of the Mechanics' Institute of Montreal and in 2005 the building was declared a National Historic Site and is considered the oldest lending library in Canada.
References:
1) McGuire, Susan. 'Atwater Library History' Atwater Library and Computer Centre Acessed 24 Nov. 2009 from http://www.atwaterlibrary.ca/en/taxonomy/term/8
2) Gaffield, Chad 'Mechanics' Institute' The Canadian Encyclopedia. Accessed 24 Nov. 2009 from http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0005192
3) Hearman, Elsbeth 'The inglorious arts of peace: exhibitions in Canadian society during the Nineteenth Century' (1999) University of Toronto Press. Accessed 24 Nov. 2009 from http://books.google.ca/books?id=_eL2cNSmBW0C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false

RBSC Bookplates

2010

Images provided for research and reference use only. Permission to publish, copy, or otherwise use these images must be obtained from Rare Books and Special Collections: http://rbsc.library.ubc.ca

CONTENTdm