LAND GRANT MAPS

LAND GRANT MAPS

One of the projects for this past winter involved finding a better way to store and utilize our New Brunswick Land Grant Maps. We have now organized the local ones into an art rack (which in this case would be better labeled as a map rack) which displays the local land grant maps in a protected and easily accessible manner. If you are researching your family tree it is great to be able place the grants geographically and see who your ancestors' neighbours would have been. We currently have the map rack in the main exhibit room, just in front of the 1862 Walling Map which shows the landowners from that year. Come see!

Dog Fur Coats

Dog Fur Coats

During our exploration and reorganization of the textiles in our collection we came across several dog fur coats. During the early 20th century it was not uncommon for the less wealthy who desired a fur coat to wear coats made of dog fur. We have several in our collection in various sizes from child to man. Pictured below are two ladies coats.

Although fur was worn as clothing in early history, as early as the 11th century, fur was worn as a symbol of wealth and social status rather than just out of the need for warmth. European royalty regularly wore fur coats, fur capes, and fur accessories made from mink, sable, and chinchilla fur. By the 1300s, laws were introduced that regulated which social classes were allowed to wear which types of furs.

The wearing of fur became more widespread during the Victorian era. The fur coats that were worn by Victorian men typically were lined with fur on the inside and crafted of other materials on the outside. Women’s fur coats were generally lined with fur at the collar, wrists, and hem.