Open Collections

[between 1934 and 1943]

1 bookplate : relief printing ; 8 x 11.9 cm

Ottawa (Ont.)

Prints

image/jpeg

Francis J. Audet was a writer and Archivist Emeritus for the Public Archives (now Library and Archives Canada). Audet was born in Detroit on July 29, 1867 to Delphine Goulet and Francis Audet. He came to Montreal when he was quite young and became an accountant after school. On February 1, 1888 he was hired as the clerk to Alphonse Audet, the curator of archives/custodian of records, in the Records Branch in the Department of the Secretary of State. At this time, the Department of the Secretary of State was responsible for government records, while the Canadian Archives was responsible for historical records. In 1904, these two functions merged into the Public Archives and Audet was transferred to this new institution. In 1912, Audet served as Secretary to the Royal Commission enquiring into the records of the departments of the government. On April 1, 1913, Audet became the head of the Index Division. In 1918, this division became responsible for information requests. Audet was a notable public servant in this regard, having responded to over 20,000 information requests by the end of his career. In addition, as part of his indexing responsibilities, Audet wrote over 2,000,000 files for new acquisitions. Audet was a founding figure at the Public Archives known for his work developing the Index Division. In 1938 the Archives gave him a bust to commemorate 50 years of his service. One year later, at the age of 71, he retired and was given the title of Archivist Emeritus. Audet was also a prolific writer, authoring 12 books, 23 brochures, and over 600 articles. Audet was also involved in various societies and professional associations. In 1921 he became one of the first members of the Canadian Historical Association. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1923. The University of Ottawa granted Audet a Doctor in Law in 1934. He was a founding member of the Canadian Historical Association, the Société des Dix, the Société des écrivains canadiens, the Monument national d’Ottawa, and the Association canadienne-française d’éducation de l’Ontario. Audet also sat on numerous other boards and associations. Audet died on September 13, 1943
References:
1) Lanctot, G. (1944). Francis J. Audet. The Canadian Historical Review, 25(1), 104–105. Roy, A. (2018, March 12).
2) Francis-J. Audet, the Archivist Emeritus Who Served the Public. Retrieved 15 April 2019, from http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/about-us/publications/signatures/Pages/signatures-spring-summer-2018.aspx

RBSC Bookplates

2019-04-23

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