Open Collections

[Bookbinder's Tickets]

1) In black ink on blue paper, the bookbinder's ticket consists of a decorative black border surrounding black text.
2) In black ink on yellow paper, the bookbinder's ticket consists of a decorative black border surrounding black text.

Montréal (Québec)

Still Image

The bookbinder's tickets are from the printing offices of the Canada Gazette, an official publication by the government of Canada that publishes all laws and Orders in Council issued by the government. The first issue of the Gazette was published on Saturday, October 2, 1841, and contained a proclamation, two new acts, an order in council, and two government appointments, including that of Stewart Derbishire and George-Paschal Desbarats as joint Queen's Printers and Law Printers in and for the Province of Canada. From 1841-1867, during the existence of the Province of Canada, the Canada Gazette was printed at the seat of government, except in 1850 and 1851 when the government sat in Toronto while the Canada Gazette continued to be published in Montréal. The capital city of the Province was Kingston between 1841'1844 and Montréal between 1844'1849, at which point the seat of government became perambulating: Toronto was the capital between 1849-1851 and 1855-1859 ; Québec was the capital between 1851-1855 and 1859-1865, before Ottawa finally became the functional legislative capital in 1866 and capital of the Dominion of Canada with Confederation in 1867. This change in the seat of government explains the different locations indicated on the two tickets. George-Paschal Desbarats apparently built a stately office for the printing of the Canada Gazette in Québec at the corner of Ste. Anne and Garden streets, which was sold after the government moved to Ottawa. A hotel was later opened on the spot, but it is unknown exactly what year the office in Québec was built or was sold. During this time, in addition to the Gazette, the Office of the Canada Gazette printed other publications that might have been of use to the government, including 'Table of Trigonometrical Solutions of Right Angle Plane Triangles: Computed on the Logarithic Number 2,000,000,' 'Flax: Directions for Its Cultivation and Management,' and 'Report on the Gauge for the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Rail-Road.' The Canada Gazette continues to be published and is one of the vehicles that Canadians can use to access the laws and regulations that govern their daily lives. A copy of version 1 of this bookplate is also available in the Philippe Masson Ex Libris Collection at McGill University.
References:
1) Bibliothèque de l'Université Laval - Manuels scolaires - Dictionnaire des éditeurs. (2012). Canada Gazette. Retrieved January 18, 2013, from http://www.bibl.ulaval.ca/ress/manscol/editeurs/editeursc.html#99
2) Canada Gazette. (2011). II. The Canada Gazette: 1841-1867. Retrieved January 18, 2013, from http://gazette.gc.ca/cg-gc/book-livre/pg10-eng.html
3) City of Ottawa. (2013). Ottawa becomes Canada's capital. Retrieved January 18, 2013, from http://ottawa.ca/en/residents/arts-culture-and-community/museums-and-heritage/ottawa-becomes-canadas-capital
4) The Internet Archive. (n.d.). Catalogue of pamphlets, journals and reports in the Dominion archives 1611-1867, with index (1911). Retrieved January 18, 2013, from http://www.archive.org/stream/catalogueofpamph00publ/catalogueofpamph00publ_djvu.txt
5) Le Moine, James MacPherson. (1882). Picturesque Québec : a sequel to Québec past and present. Retrieved January 18, 2013, from http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/7033/pg7033.html
6) Story, N. (1967). Oxford companion to Canadian history and literature. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
7) Wikipedia. (2012). Canada Gazette. Retrieved January 18, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Gazette
8) The Philippe Masson Ex Libris Collection at McGill University, from http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/bookplates/

RBSC Bookplates

2013

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

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