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Archival Description
Dominion Chair Company fonds Series
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Architectural plans

This series contains construction diagrams, illustrations, and a blueprint used by Dominion Chair Company employees, as well as maps, diagrams, and blueprints of the factory itself. The construction blueprint and diagrams are for chairs and other wooden items (an example of which is a crate). The illustrations are of chairs and other furniture, which appear to be clipped from catalogues. The material relating to the factory depicts the buildings and property of the company, and its location within the community of Bass River.

Bass River Picnic

This series contains documentation of two community picnics hosted by the Dominion Chair Company in Bass River in 1939 and 1941. The files include receipts of purchases made for the charitable event, as well as itemized lists of expenditures and profits. In 1941, the funds raised by the picnic were donated by the company to the Queen's Canadian Fund for Air Raid Victims.

Correspondence and invoices

This series contains correspondence to, and beginning in 1924, from, the Dominion Chair Company. Records are from businesses and individuals, and illustrate how their business was conducted in the late 19th through mid-20th century, including style of discourse, volume and variety of orders both incoming and outgoing, processes such as debt retrieval and exporting, acquiring start-up capital, etc. The correspondence series provides a succinct yet comprehensive overview of customer relations, product popularity and availability, as well as insight as to the inner workings of the factory. The series also illustrates the scope of Dominion Chair Co.'s business, with letters not only from throughout Canada but also the United Kingdom, West Indies, Australia, South Africa, and other predominantly British Empire locales.

Counter books

These books are the day-to-day records of activities within the Dominion Chair Company. They include a list of financial transactions arranged chronologically showing a range of financial activity. There are several different kinds including a general book, a 'workmans book', a 'counter book', a 'men's book' (which was probably related to the workman's book) and a 'delivery book.' All are organized the same way but probably with a specific function in mind.

Customer records

This series contains records of Dominion Chair Company's customers. These customers were not limited to the Bass River region or even Nova Scotia - regular clients include ones based in the Maritime Provinces, New England, Great Britain, and the Caribbean. Although there is no comprehensive customer list available, this series provides a glimpse into its various business partnerships. It includes: lists of customers from 1900 and 1931; a list of customers who were audited by the company; lists of orders placed by companies during the period 1892-1944 (note there is not one available for every year in this period).

Dominion Chair Company's photographs

This series contains 115 photographs relating to the Dominion Chair Company. Three of the photos depict the factory during the late nineteenth century. As the factory looks different in each photo, it can be assumed that they were documenting the re-building efforts after each fire. Other photos are primarily catalog shots depicting various types of chairs made by the Company. Photographic materials in this series have been removed to the archives' photographic collection (PC-4).

Employee records

This series contains records of Dominion Chair Company's employees during the first half of the twentieth century. The majority of the records are time books, which provide employee names, the number of hours, or days, they worked, and their wages. The six time books often each contain two years of data, and were created between 1901 and 1943. Employee records also include a payroll journal, bonus sheet, a notebook of an employee's travel expenses, and a book describing the amount of wood hauled by each employee.

Export papers

This series consists of Customs and Sales Tax Drawback Claims completed by the Dominion Chair Company between the years of 1930-1941. These government tax forms include lists of the company's exports for the year, including the names of the destinations, and value of each shipment.

Interest Book

This book is another example of the meticulous record keeping of the Dominion Chair Company. These are interest records that were credited to the company. They represent various working relations with companies that purchased merchandise from the DCC.

Journals

This series contains a selection of the Dominion Chair Company's general journals that were kept between the years of 1874 and 1950. Employees used these journals on a daily basis to record all transactions. The journal created during the period of 1924-1950 includes annual sales statistics for the years 1925-1927. The majority of these journals have been de-accessioned, but the three that remain in the collection are representative of the time period and material they covered.

Ledgers

These are two ledgers from early in the history of the Dominion Chair Company. The first is a listing of purchasers, items purchased and amount owing in chronological order. The second, an Index, is an account of amounts owing listed in alphabetical order by the name of the person. Thus the ledgers show two different ways in which the Dominion Chair Company recorded the same information.

Legal documents

This series contains legal documents created, or signed, by the Dominion Chair Company. The majority of the documents are lumber agreements, which the company entered into with various local landowners. The series also includes insurance papers, sales contracts, a siding agreement with the Canadian Government Railways, and less "official" agreements established within the company itself, such as wage and employee agreements.

Merchandise invoices

These books contain lists of purchases and are arranged in chronological order within. Two of the books are general purchase invoices while the third is designated as specifically 'furniture purchase invoices.'

Printed material

This series contains printed material created by, or pertaining to, the Dominion Chair Company. The material, when not produced by the company itself, was created by local media organizations. It includes: a calendar, two catalogues, two pamphlets, and several price lists published by the company between 1894 and 1931 (note there is not one available for every year in this period). The series also contains two local newspaper articles celebrating the company's history; a script for an episode of the radio show "Wheel of Industry," which featured the Dominion Chair Company; and a printing plate used in the production of one of their catalogues.

Reports and shareholder papers

This series contains documents generated by, or pertaining to, the directors and shareholders of the Dominion Chair Company. These documents include 14 annual Directors' Reports published between 1909 and 1943, letters to shareholders, a newsletter, an analysis of the company's "special loans," lists of shareholders and investors (including those who did not live in the Bass River). This series provides a glimpse into the organizational structure and management of the company, as well as its economic performance during the first half of the twentieth century.

Sales Books/Journals

These are sales books for the Dominion Chair Company and are representative of collection. The books reflect the accounting style of the company as well as the various price changes for products over the years. They show what people were buying, when, and for how much.

Sales Invoice Copy book

These are Sales Invoice Copy Books for the Dominion Chair Company that are representative of both the range of sales as well as the invoices practices that they employed. These invoices reflect sales to many different countries, including the Caribbean, Ireland and South Africa while clearly showing the majority of their sales in the different areas of the Maritimes.

Statement books

Series contains seven statement books used to record daily cash transactions at the Dominion Chair Company. At the end of each book are summaries (monthly and yearly) of their cash sales. There are no details provided about the items sold, just the amount of cash exchanged. These books also include observations about the weather.

Stock

This series contains the Dominion Chair Company's various stock inventories, which were recorded in 27 books, and several unbound reports. The annual inventories primarily tracked the number of chairs and other furniture held in stock, as well as the wide range of items sold at the company's general store, including clothing, food, and toys. The inventories also include a book detailing the company's assets in Bass River, such as real estate and machinery, over a period of