Impressions: 250 Years of Printing in the Lives of Canadians

Impressions: 250 Years of Printing in the Lives of Canadians

Walter Bates, a Loyalist who emigrated to Nova Scotia - the part which became New Brunswick - was high sheriff of Kings County. The recipe for a bestseller was there: the type of thief one would have enjoyed meeting, and the writing ability of Bates. First published in New Haven (Connecticut) and London (England) in 1817, this work was reprinted until 1910 and sold thousands of copies.

Walter Bates, 1760-1842
The Mysterious Stranger; or, The Adventures of Henry More Smith...
Charlottetown [P.E.I.]: Haszard & Owen, 1855. 109 p.

Jean Badreux
Les Trois Crimes: Rawdon, St-Canut, St-Liboire: Histoire complète des meurtres, détails horribles, la vindicte publique.
Montréal: Leprohon & Leprohon, [1898]. 45 p.

Factual Detective Stories. (1941-1950).
Toronto: Norman Book Company. Vol. 4, no. 16. January 1945.

Adam Kidd claimed he had sold 1500 copies by subscription, quite a feat for the times. This copy bears the following inscriptions: "Theodosia Dunbar her book the gift of Mr. Robert Stuart" and "Miss. E. McDonell - In memory of me - J.M." These inscriptions connect the copy with the fur trade since Robert Stuart was a member of the Pacific Fur Company, and John McDonell (1768-1850) was a member of the North West Company and lived near Ottawa in Prescott and Pointe-Fortune.

Adam Kidd, 1802-1831
The Huron Chief, and Other Poems.
Montreal: Office of the Herald and New Gazette, 1830. 216 p.

Under the pen name of Ralph Connor, Charles William Gordon, a Presbyterian minister, was the most popular Canadian novelist of the beginning of the 20th century. His first three western novels, Black Rock (1898) and the two shown here, were classic melodramatic and edifying adventure stories, and sold a total of 5 million copies, an amazing success.
	Ralph Connor, pseud. of Charles William Gordon, 1860-1937 The Man from Glengarry: A Tale of the Ottawa. Toronto: Westminster, 1901. 473 p.

Ralph Connor, pseud. of Charles William Gordon, 1860-1937
The Sky Pilot: A Tale of the Foothills.
Toronto: Westminster, 1899. 300 p.

Even though most of the early editions were published in the United States or Great Britain, Anne of Green Gables was always, and still is, an extremely popular novel with Canadian readers.

Lucy Maud Montgomery, 1874-1942
Anne of Green Gables... Illustrated by M.A. and W.A.J. Claus.
Boston: L.C. Page, 1908. viii, 429 p.
1st edition. 1st impression. April 1908.

Publisher Édouard Garand (1901-1965) was very successful with the 79 titles of the series "Le Roman canadien," of which 35 were written by Jean Féron, a farmer from Saskatchewan, nicknamed "the Canadian Alexandre Dumas." With an illustrated cover, and historical and melodramatic themes, these books were quite popular. The use of newsprint and a text on two columns allowed Garand to sell these novels at a very low price making them accessible to a large audience.
Jean Féron, 1881-1946 La Prise de Montréal. Roman canadien inédit. Ill. d'Albert Fournier. Montréal: Éditions E. Garand, 1928. 76 p.
	Adèle Bourgeois Lacerte, 1870-1935 Le Bracelet de fer. Grand roman canadien inédit. Ill. d'Albert Fournier. Montréal: Éditions E. Garand, 1926. 128 p.

The first bilingual work of musical instruction published in Canada. The author used a series of conversations between the master and the student. The music scores at the end of the book were engraved on copper.

Copy belonging to Eulalie-Antoinette Dénéchaud, wife of Marc-Pascal de Sales Laterrière, who gave it to Louise de Sales Laterrière, probably her daughter. Ms. Dénéchaud added her red morocco book-plate on the first cover of the book. This is a good example of a music book which was probably found in all well-to-do and educated families in Lower Canada.

Théodore Frédéric Molt, 1795-1856
Elementary Treatise on Music: More Particularly Adapted to the Piano Forte / Traité élémentaire de musique: particulièrement adapté au piano forté.
Quebec: Neilson & Cowan, 1828. 69, ix p. and engraved music.

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Created: 2001-03-05 Updated: 2001-04-09	Top of Page	Important Notices