Material Type

Artifact

Date Range From

1910

Date Range To

1970

Materials

SILVER PLATE

No. Pieces

1

Height

3.8

Length

29.0

Width

14.8

Description

BREAD TRAY, SILVER PLATED. OBLONG-SHAPED, WITH DEPRESSION IN CENTRE, OUTER RIM CURVES UPWARD. TOPSIDE CENTRE OF TRAY MARKED, “CPR” IN WORN CURSIVE, UNDERSIDE OF TRAY MARKED, “23512… ELKINGTON PLATE… A.T. WILEY AND CO LD, MONTREAL.” TRAY IS TARNISHED THROUGHOUT, ESPECIALLY ALONG EDGES, BUT NOT ON BOTTOM. TRAY DISPLAYS INTERMITTENT SCRATCHES.

Subjects

FOOD SERVICE T&E

Historical Association

COMMEMORATIVE

TRANSPORTATION

History

ACCORDING TO FRED GREEN, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE CANADIAN PACIFIC (CP), THE BREAD TRAY WAS DONATED TO THE GALT IN ORDER TO CELEBRATE THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DRIVING OF THE LAST SPIKE. THE ANNIVERSARY OCCURRED ON NOVEMBER 7, 2010 AND COMMEMORATED THE "COMPLETION OF CANADA'S FIRST TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD AND A NEW CHAPTER IN [CANADA'S] HISTORY." THE BREAD TRAY WAS USED FOR TABLE SERVICE OF BREAD AND CRACKERS. IT IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE STYLE OF SILVERWARE COMMONLY USED ON THE CANADIAN PACIFIC DINING CARS AS EARLY AS 1910. ACCORDING TO THE "A" STAMP ON THE BOTTOM OF THE TRAY, IT WAS MANUFACTURED IN 1912 (SEE HTTP://WWW.SILVERCOLLECTION.IT/ELKINGTON.HTML). ACCORDING TO GREEN, THE BREAD TRAY WAS PART OF A "LEGACY GIFT... OF SEVERAL UNIQUE ARTIFACTS FROM [THE CP] ARCHIVES. THIS GIFT IS INTENDED TO CELEBRATE [CANADA'S] CONNECTED HISTORIES AND TO HONOUR [THE GALT'S] VITAL ROLE IN CELEBRATING CANADA'S DIVERSE HISTORY AND CULTURE." THE GALT MUSEUM AND ARCHIVES WAS JUST ONE OF THE MANY MUSEUM'S ACROSS CANADA TO RECEIVE LEGACY GIFTS FROM THE CP. ACCORDING TO BREANNE FEIGEL, WHO PHYSICALLY TRANSFERRED THE GIFT FROM THE CP TO THE GALT, THE PUBLIC DIDN'T GET MANY OPPORTUNITIES TO SEE THE CP ARTIFACTS WHEN THEY WERE IN THE CP ARCHIVES. ONE OF THE GOALS OF THE GIFT PROGRAM WAS TO MAKE THE ARTIFACTS MORE ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC THROUGH THE ASSISTANCE OF OTHER MUSEUMS. THE TRANSFER OF THE ARTIFACTS OCCURRED ON AUGUST 2, 2010, WHEN SUSAN BURROWS-JOHNSON (CEO/EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE GALT), CHRIS EPPLETT (PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE GALT) AND NICOLE HEMBROFF (COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT OF THE GALT) TOOK A RIDE ON THE CP'S 2816 EMPRESS STEAM TRAIN. THE TRAIN RIDE SERVED THREE FUNCTIONS; FIRST, TO COMMEMORATE THE 125TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LAST SPIKE, SECOND, TO DONATE PROCEEDS OF THE TICKET SALES TO THE "CHILDREN'S WISH FOUNDATION," AND THIRD, TO TRANSFER THE LEGACY GIFT FROM THE CP TO THE GALT MUSEUM. ACCORDING TO HEMBROFF, WHO PHOTOGRAPHICALLY DOCUMENTED THE EXCURSION, THE TRAIN TRAVELLED FROM TABER, AB TO KIPP, AB. "WHEN IT WAS TIME TO BOARD THE TRAIN (AROUND 12:45 PM) A CPR WORKER ACTUALLY ASKED FOR 'TICKETS PLEASE...' - IT MADE THE TRIP SEEM MORE AUTHENTIC. THE RIDE ITSELF WAS A LOT OF FUN. IT WAS PARTICULARLY INTERESTING TO GET A DIFFERENT VIEW OF THE LANDSCAPE FROM THE TRAIN... THE WEATHER WAS GORGEOUS AND THE RIVER BOTTOM LOOKED SPECTACULAR... THE INTERIOR OF THE TRAIN WAS SIMILAR TO AN AIRPLANT. THE SEATS COULD LEAN BACK AND THEY HAD PULL DOWN TRAYS SO PEOPLE COULD EAT OR DO OTHER ACTIVITIES TO KEEP THEMSELVES ENTERTAINED. THE WALLS WERE CARPETED AND THERE WERE SMALL PRINTS OF TRAIN RELATED ART HANGING UP. THERE WERE ALSO LUGGAGE RACKS ALONG THE ROOF OF THE TRAIN. WE COULDN'T MOVE BETWEEN CARS BECAUSE THE MUSEUM CAR WAS RIGHT BEHIND US... THE MUSEUM CAR WAS AN EXCELLENT IDEA. AS YOU WALKED THROUGH IT (WE HAD A CHANCE TO GO THROUGH IT WHEN THE TRAIN ARRIVED IN KIPP) YOU PASSED BY A TIMELINE OF THE CPR'S HISTORY. ALONG THE WAY, THERE WERE CASES WITH ARTIFACTS, LIKE PLATES OR RAILWAY SPIKES ETC. I THOUGHT IT WAS AN EFFECTIVE AND RELEVANT WAY OF DISPLAYING THE MATERIAL AND COMMUNICATING INFORMATION TO THE PASSENGERS. THE LAST RAILWAY SPIKE WAS PARTICULARLY INTERESTING AS IT HAD BEEN 'CANNIBALIZED' TO MAKE JEWELRY... AFTER THE TRAIN RIDE WAS OVER, BREANNE FEIGEL (MANAGER, MEDIA RELATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS FOR CP) PRESENTED THE GALT REPRESENTATIVES WITH A GIFT OF ASSORTED TABLEWARE AND FLATWARE ITEMS FROM THE CP ARCHIVES." SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Catalogue Number

P20100027001

Acquisition Date

2010-08

Collection

Museum

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