The Records of the Department of the Provincial Secretary (RG8-1-1)

Among their many ongoing projects, Preservation Services staff has begun a multi-year project to prepare the general correspondence records from the now-defunct Department of the Provincial Secretary (RG8-1-1) for microfilming. These records were created between Confederation in 1867 and 1910, and consist of approximately 190 metres of material (measured by the length of the shelf space they take up). The Department of the Provincial Secretary was a ‘super’ ministry with a wide range of responsibilities involving matters of health, corrections, justice, business incorporations, license certification and appointments. It is a rich collection of records that provides a comprehensive view of early government administration in Ontario.

Some of these records have not been looked at for over a hundred years, and because they have been packed tightly folded have become too fragile to allow access. In addition, some of the records are mouldy and pose a health risk.

A standard container found in many archives is this Document box, typically used for storing textual records. One document box contains approximately 100 dockets from RG 8-1-1.

A “docket” is basically a folded file of all the correspondence relating to a particular topic or incident. As such, it may contain several types of paper, and sometimes parchment, all folded together tightly. After many decades of storage under these conditions pages become brittle and difficult to separate.

Once the folded dockets have been taken out of the document box and any fasteners (such as staples and pins) removed, they are placed inside a Micro-Climate Generator. This piece of equipment allows the conservator to gently raise or lower the relative humidity (RH) to a desired level (in this case, the RH is raised to approximately 80%). The dry brittle paper fibres absorb the moisture enough to allow the folds to “relax”. Pages are then flattened and dried under pressure. Once dry, they are ready for repair and re-housing.

The goal in archival paper repair is to stabilize the page so that it can be safely used by the researcher or copied if necessary. Most repairs are done with Japanese paper and high-grade wheat-starch paste. These materials have been used for hundreds of years and are proven to be inert and reversible (safely removed).

Dockets sometimes yield surprising formats and materials such as this 53cm-long corporate record printed on poor-quality newsprint and the handwritten parchment certificate below right.

The newsprint has been encapsulated in an inert polyester sleeve so that it can be safely handled and viewed.

The parchment is in much more robust physical condition and has been placed in a custom-made four-flap folder to protect the document and particularly its wax seal.

After flattening and repair work is completed the documents are re-housed in archival quality folders in this standard acid-free, corrugated cardboard Record Storage Box.

Each of these boxes will hold about 250 dockets. Oversize items like the ones shown above must be kept flat and they are stored separately in map cabinets with large shallow drawers.

Records from the John Beverley Robinson Family fonds (F44)

Routinely, the Preservation Services Unit is called upon to inspect and assess the condition of incoming private donations as part of the appraisal process. Once custody of the records has transferred to the Archives, records come through the lab for stabilization treatment, reformatting preparation or re-housing if necessary.

In 2002, two rolled parchment documents with attached seals and cases were donated to the Archives. These two documents were an addition to the John Beverley Robinson Family fonds (F44), already a part of the Archives’ collection. The existing fonds consists of records from the family of Sir John Beverley Robinson, Attorney-General, Solicitor-General of Upper Canada, and Chief Justice of Upper Canada. Other family members held various positions such as chancellor of Trinity University, provisional Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada and Commissary-General of Nova Scotia.

The two rolled parchment documents were accepted as an accrual to this fonds. One parchment document, dated 1854, is a family arms issued by the College of Heralds in London, England. The other document grants the title of Baronet to John Beverly Robinson and dates to the mid-nineteenth century.

Sir John Beverly Robinson, Chief Justice,
Upper Canada, [ca. 1840]
Hoppner Meyer
Print
Reference Code: C 281-0-0-0-143
Archives of Ontario, I0003072

Each of the documents had been rolled since they were created about 150 years ago and they needed to be flattened in order to make them accessible. The document granting the title of Baronet consisted of two sheets of parchment attached along their bottom edges to a seal with a continuous yarn braid that could not be detached.

The wax seal in its metal container could not be safely humidified, and the two parchment sheets had to be separated so that the media would not run and/or stick to the adjacent sheet.

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The top piece of parchment was placed on a plastic grid raised to the desired height, and held with blotters and clips.

A sealed chamber was created with a source of humidity underneath the parchment (not extending under the seal).

Then, clear plastic was placed over higher supports so that it would not come into contact with the document.

Once sufficiently humidified, the parchment was dried under tension. Blotters and clips were placed along all edges of the two sheets.

The elastics attached to the clips on the lower sheet were pinned into the soft, dense board beneath.

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Another board was placed at 90 degrees to this so that the top sheet could be elevated slightly by pinning the elastics into the board above the tabletop.

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Document granting the title of Baronet to
John Beverley Robinson, 1854
John Beverley Robinson fonds (F 44)
Archives of Ontario Accession # 43186

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Document granting the title of Baronet to
John Beverley Robinson, 1854
John Beverley Robinson fonds (F 44)
Archives of Ontario Accession # 43186

Once the documents were dry, they were ready for reformatting and access. Both pages of this document, granting the title of Baronet to John Beverley Robinson, can be viewed and photographed safely now.

The image to the right is a detail of the seal attached to the document above. This seal is the Great Seal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

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After treatment, custom-fitted boxes were made to safely store the documents.

The family arms had 2 seals attached to it and it is shown here with white Foamcore inserts to prevent the seals from moving. The corrugated board inserts and cotton twill tape prevent movement of the item during retrievals.