File contains 15 drawings of the ceremonial mace designed in 1949 by Chasteney Holbourne Saunders, former head of the Department of Anatomy. The mace was carved in oak, decorated with silver and enamel, and measured 1.4 metres in length. First used in the 1950 convocation, the mace was retired in 1919 when the university introduced the "New Dawn Staff of Place and Belonging" as its ceremonial object.
There is one full-scale drawing in ink and three reduced reproductions mounted on board. The remainder are rough sketches and detail drawings in pencil of the emblems and figures that Saunders employed to represent maritime traditions and the historical significance of Dalhousie’s service to the Atlantic provinces.
Collection contains records related to the family lineage of the Ramsey/Ramsay/Maule family, and the Brechin Castle in Angus, Scotland. These lines lead to the George Ramsay, 9th Earl of Dalhousie. The family tree shows the Ramsay/Maule lineage. The seat of the Earl of Dalhousie moved to Brechin castle from Dalhousie castle when Ramsay married Maule. The collection also includes biographies and information on the estates, both reprinted from the internet.
Item is a letter (1828) from Jonathan Sewell to his daughters, Maria (the eldest) and Henrietta, addressed to the care of their uncle, Stephen Sewell, in Montreal. Sewell describes the recent departure of Lord and Lady Dalhousie and exhorts his daughters to travel by steamboat and meet him at Three Rivers, which he calls "The Modern Seat of Science, Literature & Fashion."
Item is a letter (1823) from Lord Dalhousie to W. Smith, requesting that two barrels of Pictou oatmeal be shipped to Quebec on the next available vessel as a sample of Smith's produce.