As part of celebrating Sir John A. Macdonald’s 199th birthday celebration, I put together a 3 part series about collecting items pertaining to Canada’s first Prime Minister. Part 1 was about collecting election items. Part 2 was about collecting other items from his lifetime. In this, part 3, I will look at more contemporary ways of collecting Macdonald items. I will also be giving you a heads up about how you’re going to want to spend his 200th birthday (hint: it’s in the Timmins Museum National Exhibition Centre).
Sir John A. was the first president of Manulife Financial, an insurance company in Canada. As such, his image has been used in the company’s promotional material. They have continued to do so. It is a relatively inexpensive way to collect Macdonald items…various advertising items, including an item currently available in the Shoppe.
Commemorative items are also popular. A button featuring Sir John A. and then Prime Minister Mackenzie King was produced to celebrate Canada’s golden jubilee in 1927. More common were the various items produced for Canada’s centennial in 1967.
The Conservative party (and it’s various incarnations) have used his image. Various riding associations through the years have produced buttons for sale as fundraisers. As well, the party delegate badge for it’s 1927 leadership convention used his image. In 1957 and 1958, the Progressive Conservative party produced a poster of their leader, John Diefenbaker, in front of a portrait of Macdonald. In 1976, Flora Macdonald used a picture of herself with Sir John A. on buttons and various sizes of posters as part of her leadership campaign. In 1983, John Crosbie, for his leadership campaign, produced a button with a picture of Macdonald, John Diefenbaker and himself (the 3 Johns).
There are numerous other items, but, I hope that the 3 parts of this series have given as broad a base as is possible for collectors to get started.
For his 200th birthday… On January 11, 2015 Canadians from coast to coast to coast will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Canada’s first Prime Minister. My home town of Timmins, Ontario will be no exception. In fact, Timmins will be hosting one of the most important exhibitions in the entire country to mark the occasion.
The genesis began before I even put any serious thought into launching Bill’s Political Shoppe. It was a casual conversation with the curator of the Timmins Museum. I asked her if she would like me to put on an exhibition of Sir John A. Macdonald items for the occasion. She was quite excited. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that, while I have a number of items, they tend to be on the smaller side, meaning it would be a smaller exhibition. Then it occurred to me that I could expand the exhibition to include his contemporaries. I asked her if she would be okay with this idea. Not only was she okay with the idea, she said that she was thinking the same thing, and added including international figures, too. Since I collect both Canadian and American items, I would be able to include numerous US items from his time.
So…why should you make sure that you come to Timmins for the celebration? Here’s a idea of some of the items that will be on display: numerous original photos (including some of the rarest ones out there), some hand written letters (which are all one of a kind), some election items and other items from his lifetime. Contemporaries will include original letters, original photos and other original items from personalities such as George Cartier, Hector Langevin, Thomas McGee, Lord Monk, Charles Tupper and many many more. There will be items from the time of his death. There will be items from his opponents such as Wilfrid Laurier, Edward Blake and Alexander Mackenzie. There will be contemporary items. There will also be US items from most of the US Presidents during his time in office including Abraham Lincoln (pre-confederation-Sir John A. led the government before hand), and Ulysses Grant. The Timmins Museum National Exhibition Center will be the first host, and the only host on his actual birthday for an exhibition we’re calling “Sir John A. Macdonald at 200 His Life And Times A History”. Plus, I’ll probably say a few words… I’m quite engaging. Hope to see you all there.
Final note: The picture for this week’s blog was taken at 24 Sussex Dr., inside the Prime Minister’s private office. It is me standing next to an original Macdonald painting that Prime Minister Harper has hanging directly across from his desk in the office.