Open Collections

RBSC Bookplates

[Bookplate for Dufferin School John Frothingham Library]

Description

Printed in navy ink, a geometric border surrounds the text printed in three fonts. The coat of arms of Montreal is raised in red with accompanying banners. The shield is topped with a crown and features a red saltire with four charges between the arms: a rose, thistle, clover, and beaver. The bookplate includes a watermark.

Item Metadata

Title	[Bookplate for Dufferin School John Frothingham Library]
Date Created	[not before 1894]
Description	Printed in navy ink, a geometric border surrounds the text printed in three fonts. The coat of arms of Montreal is raised in red with accompanying banners. The shield is topped with a crown and features a red saltire with four charges between the arms: a rose, thistle, clover, and beaver. The bookplate includes a watermark.
Extent	1 bookplate : relief printing ; 10 x 15.5 cm
Subject	Schools; Heraldry; Libraries
Geographic Location	Montréal (Québec)
Person Or Corporation	Dufferin School John Frothingham Library
Genre	Prints
Type	Still Image
File Format	image/jpeg
Language	English
Notes	The Dufferin School opened in 1894. Students from the British and Canadian School and the Dorchester Street School were transferred to Dufferin when it opened. The library is credited to John Frothingham. John Frothingham (1788-1870) was an American-born businessman who established himself in Montreal in 1809. He prospered in business, both with his own firm of wholesale hardware and iron, but also in his support of Montreal businesses. He was associated with the Montreal Board of Trade, the St Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad, the Montreal Stock Exchange, the Canada Inland Steam Navigation Company, the British and Canadian School of Montreal, the Montreal Horticultural Society, and the City Bank of Montreal. As a prominent Presbyterian he endowed some of his wealth to the Protestant Board of School Commissioners for Montreal. The coat of arms is based on the first coat of arms of the city of Montreal. The four images within the quartered shield symbolize the main founders of Montreal: English (rose), Scottish (thistle), Irish (clover), and French (beaver). The Latin phrase on the coat of arms is Montreal's motto. It reads "Concordia Salus" which translates to "salvation through harmony." ; A watermark at the top right includes letters that appear to be "BES". References: 1) Gerald Tulchinsky, “FROTHINGHAM, JOHN,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 9, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003, accessed January 25, 2016, . 2) MacLeod, Roderick and Mary Anne Poutanen. ““Proper Objects of This Institution”: Working Families, Children, and the British & Canadian School in Nineteenth-Century Montreal.” Historical Studies in Education, Fall (2008). 3) Atherton, William Henry. “Dufferin School.” Montreal 1535-1914 ... Volume 2 (Chicago, 1914): 312. 4) “Coat of arms, flag and symbols.” Ville de Montreal. Accessed January 26, 2016: http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=5977,42249635&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
Identifier	BP MUR CAN I J646C; BP_MUR_CAN_I_J646C
Collection	RBSC Bookplates
Source	Original Format: University of British Columbia. Library. Rare Books and Special Collections. Thomas Murray Bookplates Collection. Morley Binder. BP MUR CAN I J646C
Date Available	2026-03-15
Provider	Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights	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
DOI	10.14288/1.0225935
Aggregated Source Repository	CONTENTdm

Item Media

1.0225935.jpg --

Item Citations and Data

Rights

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