Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

SHIP-IN-A-BOTTLE

Date Range From

1942

Date Range To

1946

Materials

GLASS, WOOD, CARDBOARD, GRAVEL, COTTON

No. Pieces

1

Height

13

Length

24

Width

1

Diameter

6.1

Description

GLASS BOTTLE, 17.5 CM X 6.1 CM DIAMETER, BLACK LID EMBOSSED "LPCO" ON TOP; GLASS BODY EMBOSSED “LISTERINE” UNDER NECK AND “LAMBERT LPCO" AND “PHARMACAL COMPANY” IMMEDIATELY ABOVE BOTTLE BASE. IT CONTAINS A WHITE SHIP WITH GREEN BORDERS, WHITE/CREAM COLOR SHIP SAILS, AND A NAZI FLAG. THE INFERIOR AND POSTERIOR SIDES OF THE BOTTLE HAVE A SIMULATION OF THE SEA, SKY AND CLOUDS, DONE WITH BLUE PIGMENT. A DEPICTION OF LAND LIES BEHIND THE SHIP, WITH WHITE AND RED STRUCTURES AT THE TOP MADE OUT OF CARDBOARD, A LIGHTHOUSE, AND TWO RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS (FROM LEFT TO RIGHT). THE BOTTLE IS SUPPORTED BY A MOUNT OF 13CM X 24.1 CM AND 1 CM WIDE. IT IS A WOOD PLAQUE WITH BLACK HANGING WIRE (22CM) ON THE BACK, A FRONT STAND (6.5 CM X 4.5 CM) THAT SUPPORTS THE LID OF THE BOTTLE, AND A BACK STAND (7.5CM X 2.4 CM) THAT SUPPORTS THE BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

MILITARY

History

THE SHIP-IN-BOTTLE WAS CRAFTED BY AN UNKNOWN GERMAN PRISONER OF WAR IN THE CAMP #133, LETHBRIDGE, BETWEEN 1943 AND 1946. IT CAME INTO THE POSSESSION OF CORPORAL PETER TAYLOR. PETER TAYLOR WAS BORN ON JULY 26TH, 1892 IN PERTHSHIRE, SCOTLAND. ACCORDING TO LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA, HE SERVED DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR FROM FEBRUARY 26TH 1916, TO JANUARY 4TH, 1919. HE RE-ENLISTED AS A VETERANS GUARD OF CANADA ON MARCH 7TH, 1941 IN CALGARY, ALBERTA, AND WAS TAKEN ON STRENGTH AT CAMP 133, OZADA ALBERTA ON 21 APRIL, 1942. HE WAS TRANSFERRED TO CAMP 133 IN LETHBRIDGE ON 25 AUGUST 1943 WHERE HE QUALIFIED FOR HIS “STORESMAN” TRADE. PETER TAYLOR AND HIS WIFE SUSAN ANN RENTED A ROOM, AT 523-12TH ST N, LETHBRIDGE, LIVING WITH “GEORGIE” HARPER, HER PARENTS AND GRANDMOTHER, GERTRUDE DODD. THE INFORMATION BELOW IS COMPILED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES, WHICH ALL PROVIDE GREATER DETAIL ABOUT THE LIFE OF PETER TAYLOR. ONE OF THESE SOURCES IS AN INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY GALT COLLECTIONS TECHNICIAN, KEVIN MACLEAN WHO INTERVIEWED PREVIOUS BOTTLE OWNER GEORGIE HARPER, ON AUGUST 11TH, 2021. WHEN QUESTIONED ABOUT HOW PETER AND SUSAN ANNE TAYLOR CAME TO LIVE AT HER GRANDMOTHER’S HOUSE, GEORGIE HARPER STATED, “PETER TAYLOR [CAME] TO MY GRANDMOTHER’S HOUSE BECAUSE THERE WERE SO MANY ARMY PEOPLE BROUGHT IN TO LOOK AFTER THE WAR CAMP; THEY ASKED IF ANYONE COULD TAKE PEOPLE IN TO THE BEDROOM OR WHATEVER. MY GRANDMOTHER, LIVING BY HERSELF, PHONED AND PUT HER NAME ON THE LIST AND WE ENDED UP WITH PETE AND SUSAN, THE WIFE. IT WAS JUST A DELIGHTFUL EXPERIENCE BECAUSE THEY ENDED UP LIKE PART OF THE FAMILY.” SHE ADDED, “PETE WAS A TEASE BUT IMMACULATE...HIS BOOTS WERE POLISHED TO SHINE AND HE NEVER WENT OUT OF THE HOUSE WITHOUT HIS UNIFORM, PERFECT.” WHEN ASKED ABOUT HER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CAMP, HARPER REPLIED, “WE REALLY WEREN’T VERSED ON WHAT WAS HAPPENING EXCEPT WE KNEW THERE WAS GOING TO BE THIS WHOLE BARRAGE OF BUILDINGS BEING MADE AND ROADS AND WHAT HAVE YOU. THEY HAD SOMETHING LIKE 12,000 MAXIMUM (POWS) AT THE CAMP AND IT WAS FOR ABOUT FOUR YEARS. OTHER THAN THAT, I NEVER, EVER HEARD A BAD WORD. THE PRISONERS WENT OUT AND WORKED THE FIELDS, DID OTHER JOBS, AND I DON’T THINK ANYBODY EVER RAN AWAY. THE MAJORITY- AND SOME OF THEM, NOT MAJORITY- SOME, AFTER THE WAR, CAME BACK TO CANADA”. HARPER WAS LATER ASKED ABOUT LIFE AS A YOUNG PERSON GROWING UP IN THE NORTH SIDE OF LETHBRIDGE DURING THE WAR, “[THERE WERE] A LOT OF AIRCRAFT, IT WAS REALLY NOISY. BUT THEY WERE MOSTLY IN CLARESHOLM AND WOULD COME TO LETHBRIDGE, SPEND AN HOUR OR TWO AND THEN FLY BACK ‘CAUSE WE DIDN’T HAVE THE FACILITIES THAT CLARESHOLM HAD FOR ALL THE PLANES. BUT I WILL NEVER FORGET THERE WAS NO SUGAR, THERE WAS NO TEA AND ALL OF MY FAMILY DRANK TEA; NOBODY USED SUGAR. SO, GUESS WHAT? WE TRADED. EVERYBODY LOVED THEIR SUGAR AND MY MOTHER AND DAD AND I DRANK TEA WITH GRANDMA (GERTRUDE DODD). SO THESE WERE THE THINGS THAT STUCK IN MY MIND.” ACCORDING TO HARPER THE SHIP-IN-BOTTLE: “CAME AS A PRESENT FROM PETE, LIVING WITH US AT THE TIME, YOU KNOW, DURING THE WAR. AND HE CAME HOME WITH THIS [SHIP-IN-BOTTLE] IN HIS POCKET.” ALTHOUGH THERE IS, SO FAR, NO KNOWLEDGE OR RECORD OF WHO CRAFTED THE SHIP-IN-BOTTLE, HARPER REMEMBERED, “HE (PETER) MARVELED AT THE PRISONERS AND THEIR ABILITY TO DO THINGS. HE’D COME HOME AND TELL US THE STORIES OF WHAT THEY DID...THEY TOOK WHATEVER WAS AVAILABLE, LIKE A SMALL KNIFE OR A FILE THAT THEY COULD USE, AND THEY REALLY HAD A WONDERFUL TIME MAKING PUZZLES AND CRAFTS AND WHATEVER THEY COULD DO WITH THEIR HANDS. AND THIS BOAT IN THE BOTTLE WAS ONE OF ‘EM. [PETER] SAID THEY WERE EXTREMELY CLEVER AND THEY WERE ALL REALLY NICE FELLOWS AND THEN SOME OF THEM CAME BACK [TO CANADA] AFTER THE WAR.” SERVICE RECORDS SHOW ON MARCH 31,1947 PETER TAYLOR WAS DISCHARGED “BY REASON OF RETURN TO CIVIL LIFE ON DEMOBILIZATION”. HE REPORTEDLY MOVED OUT FROM GERTRUDE DODD’S HOUSE ON THE SAME DAY. PROVINCE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA RECORDS STATE THAT HE DIED ON AUGUST 12TH, 1957 IN SAANICH, BRITISH COLUMBIA. HARPER EXPLAINED THE SHIP-IN-BOTTLE NATURALLY REMAINED AT HER GRANDMOTHER’S HOUSE: “MY GRANDMOTHER SAT THE SHIP-IN-BOTTLE ON HER BUFFET IN THE DINING ROOM AND IT JUST SAT THERE. AND I COULD PICK IT UP AND LOOK AT IT- I MARVELED AT HOW YOU PUT A SHIP IN A BOTTLE.” WHEN ASKED HOW SHE CAME INTO POSSESSION OF THE ARTIFACT, SHE REMEMBERED, “MY GRANDMA DIED AND MY AUNT, GERTRUDE EMERY, DISPENSED EVERYTHING OUT OF THE HOUSE, A LARGE PART OF GRANDMA’S PERSONAL FURNITURE AND STUFF WENT TO WINNIPEG WITH A DAUGHTER; THE OLDEST DAUGHTER. BUT, ON THE OTHER HAND, THERE WERE ALL THE SMALL DETAILS OF THINGS NOBODY WANTED AND MY MOTHER AND I GOT A LARGE PART OF HER BOOKS AND I GOT THE BOTTLE.” HARPER EXPLAINED SHE LIKED THE BOTTLE, “BECAUSE IT’S CLEVER--LOOK [AT] IT! HOW DO YOU PUT A SHIP IN BOTTLE? THE PATIENCE THAT MAN MUST HAVE AND DID A BEAUTIFUL JOB". WHEN QUESTIONED ABOUT THE USE HARPER MADE OUT OF THE BOTTLE, SHE EXPLAINED, “WHEN I FINISHED SCHOOL AND FINALLY GOT MARRIED TO MY HUSBAND, WE LIVED IN THE SMALLEST OF THE WAR-TIME HOUSES AND THERE WASN’T MUCH ROOM. IT PROBABLY WENT INTO A BOX. I CAN’T REMEMBER, DEFINITELY. BUT, EVENTUALLY, WE LIVED IN A LARGER HOUSE, AND OUT CAME A FEW KNICK-KNACKS. WE WENT TO [THE] MARITIMES AND HAD A FEW KNICK-KNACKS PLUS THE BOTTLE AND THAT WAS SPECIAL. [...] SOME PEOPLE WOULD LOOK AT IT AND SOME PEOPLE WOULDN’T EVEN SEE IT. IT’S AMAZING.” LATER ON, HARPER WAS ASKED HOW THE SHIP-IN-BOTTLE CAME INTO THE POSSESSION OF THE DONOR, LEONA KING, “WELL, THAT WAS MANY YEARS LATER. I MET LEONA KING WHEN SHE HAD HER LETHBRIDGE BOOKSTORE BECAUSE I WAS ALWAYS IN HER BOOKSTORE. AND I HAD VERY GOOD FRIENDS, AND THEY WANTED TO START A SOUP CLUB AND LEONA AND [HUSBAND] DUANE WERE THEIR FRIENDS AND THEY WERE INTERESTED. MY HUSBAND ALEC [AND I] WERE IN DUANE’S AND LEONA’S HOUSE. DUANE SAID, ‘WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE BASEMENT? BECAUSE I’VE GOT A COLLECTION,' AND I SAID, ‘I’D BE DELIGHTED,' AND SO DID ALEC. WE WERE VERY INTERESTED, AND WE WENT DOWN THE BASEMENT AND I JUST STOPPED SHORT; I JUST COULDN’T BELIEVE WHAT I WAS LOOKING AT. IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE COLLECTION. NOT ONLY THAT, IT WAS NUMBERED, IT WAS SEQUENCED, IT WAS IN FILES ALTOGETHER, IT WAS JUST WONDERFUL. I SAID, ’OH, I’VE GOT A SHIP IN A BOTTLE THAT ONE OF THE PRISONERS MADE. WOULD YOU BE INTERESTED IN HAVING IT?’ HE SAID, ‘I’D LOVE IT!’ THAT’S HOW IT CAME TO BE.” *UPDATE* IN 2014 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON DEVELOPED THE FOLLOWING BRIEF HISTORY OF PRISONER OF WAR CAMP 133 WITH INFORMATION FROM THE GALT MUSEUM BROCHURE "LETHBRDGE'S INTERNMENT CAMPS" AND THE LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA WEBSITE. DURING WORLD WAR II THERE WERE 40 PRISONER OF WAR (P.O.W.) CAMPS CONSTRUCTED ACROSS CANADA TO HOUSE THE LARGE NUMBER OF INCOMING POWS - ENEMY MILITARY PERSONNEL THAT WERE CAPTURED IN COMBAT. CAMPS WERE BUILT IN ONTARIO, QUEBEC, THE MARITIMES AND ALBERTA. THE CAMPS IN LETHBRIDGE AND MEDICINE HAT WERE THE LARGEST, TOGETHER HOUSING 22,000 MEN. THE LETHBRIDGE CAMP, NO. 133, WAS BUILT IN THE SUMMER OF 1942, AND BY NOVEMBER OF THAT YEAR HOUSED 13,341 PRISONERS. THE CAMP WAS DIVIDED INTO SIX SECTIONS, EACH WITH SIX DORMITORIES, MESS HALLS, KITCHENS, AND ENTERTAINMENT FACILITIES. MEALS WERE IN SHIFTS WITH PRISONERS SERVING AS COOKS. TAILOR, BARBER AND SHOE REPAIR SHOPS WERE ALSO STAFFED BY PRISONERS, AND NON-COMBAT POWS PRACTICED THEIR PRE-WAR PROFESSIONS AS MEDICAL DOCTORS AND DENTISTS. HOUSING AND RATIONS WERE THE SAME STANDARD AS FOR THE CANADIAN ARMED FORCES, WHICH SOMETIMES CAUSED RESENTMENT AMONG LETHBRIDGE CIVILIAN RESIDENTS, WHO WERE UNABLE TO OBTAIN MANY OF THE SAME SUPPLIES ON THEIR STRICT WARTIME RATION ALLOWANCES. WITH MANY YOUNG LOCAL MEN AWAY AT WAR, LOCAL FARMERS BEGAN TO REQUEST LABOUR ASSISTANCE FROM THE CAMP, ESPECIALLY FOR THE SUGAR BEET INDUSTRY. BY 1943 AN AGREEMENT WAS REACHED AND SOME OF THE PRISONERS WORKED ON FARMS THROUGHOUT SOUTHERN ALBERTA. MOST OF THESE PRISONERS WENT FROM THE CAMP TO THE FARMS DAILY, BUT SOME WERE KEPT AT 'LODGES' AT THE MORE DISTANT FARMS FOR DAYS AT A TIME, WITH MINIMAL GUARDING. FOR THEIR LABOUR, THE PRISONERS WERE PAID 50 CENTS PER DAY. WITH WAR'S END, CAMP 133 CLOSED IN DECEMBER 1946 AND ITS PRISONERS WERE SENT BACK TO GERMANY. THE AREA WHERE THE CAMP STOOD EVENTUALLY BECAME AN INDUSTRIAL PARK AND PART OF THE FEDERAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CENTRE. FOR MORE INFORMATION, INCLUDING A COPY OF THE OBITUARY AND LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES ON LETHBRIDGE CAMP 133, PLEASE SEE PERMANENT FILE.

Catalogue Number

P20210007000

Acquisition Date

2021-08

Collection

Museum

Less detail