1 In British Columbia between 1895 and 1935 women performing domestic work in the home were the largest single occupational group in the province. Because this work had no economic value as recorded by government and because there were neither strikes nor labour organizations, it has not been a focus of research. The first step in examining this "invisible" labour force has begun within a museum context in the form of a pilot project, "Domestic Food Preparation in British Columbia, 1895-1935", conducted during the summer of 1981 in Vancouver and Victoria, B.C. This joint collaboration between the History Division, National Museum of Man, and the Modern History Division of the British Columbia Provincial Museum focussed on food preparation in order to examine and document domestic work.

2 Sources used for more conventional labour force studies were not useful because they omitted unpaid domestic work. Direct primary sources also proved to be lacking for this subject since few women left records of their daily work or of the technological improvements which affected it. Consequently the summer's objective was to survey a range of historical sources which were considered potentially useful in documenting the working situation and attitudinal context of unpaid domestic labour.

3 The following documentary sources were sampled:

1. retail and wholesale catalogues published in British Columbia and Ontario;
2. records of the Vancouver Board of Trade, Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Manufacturers Association;
3. trade directories;
4. cookbooks published, used, or available in British Columbia;
5. records of B.C. Electric Railway;
6. B.C. Retailer,
7. newspapers: ads for kitchen objects and domestic help, articles on nutrition and kitchen improvements, women's columns;
8. programmes of fairs and exhibitions featuring food competitions;
9. records of the B.C. Departments of Agriculture and Education;
10. records of B.C. Women's Institutes.

4 In addition collections of photographs and artifacts at the Vancouver City Archives, Vancouver Public Library, and Vancouver Museum were examined and an experimental oral/material history study of selected artifacts was conducted in Victoria.

5 Of the various sources examined, three proved to be the most useful:

1. records dealing with the establishment and teaching of home economics in the province revealed much about the perceptions of women and society in general vis-à-vis domestic roles and responsibilities;
2. records of those organizations which were concerned with women in the home were a rich source of information because so much of the material came from personal experience or aspirations;
3. an oral/material history study of selected artifacts representing technological change provided concrete information on the knowledge, practices, and physical labour involved in domestic food preparation.

6 Based on this initial evaluation of sources, a concluding phase of the pilot project will use home economics in order to concentrate on two specific research topics. The first is the rhetoric concerned with establishing and teaching home economics in B.C. schools, an issue which exposed attitudes and theories about the domestic role of women. Documentary sources to be examined in depth will include newspapers, papers of women's organizations such as Women's Institutes, YWCA, WCTU, and church groups, and records of the Department of Education and school boards. The second topic will use an oral/material history study to determine the real work in B.C. kitchens as revealed by those who participated in home economics classes. Former teachers and students will be interviewed and relevant material, such as kitchen tools and appliances, photographs, and school books will be examined. The collection of this data will be organized in collaboration with the B.C. Provincial Archives and the B.C. Provincial Museum in order to ensure the preservation of the historical record.

7 The results of this pilot project will produce concrete information on the tools, techniques, and technology used by women working in the kitchen and will provide insight into the roles which society expected them to fulfill in carrying out their work. It will be possible, in a limited way, to compare the rhetoric with the reality of domestic labour. Finally, the information collected will assist in establishing a basis for developing an acquisition programme to preserve material illustrative of domestic work and its changes over time.

8 It is hoped that the project's approaches and findings will be applicable to research on domestic labour in other regions of the country. Those interested in learning more about the study are invited to contact either the History Division, National Museum of Man, or the Modern History Division of the British Columbia Provincial Museum for further information.

9 During the past few months, the Ontario Historical Society, with support from the Ontario Ministry of Culture and Recreation, has begun a study of research in material culture in Ontario, concentrating on crafts and industries. The study will review the research carried out to date on the history of the province's industries and crafts during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. I have been appointed as the society's writer-researcher to carry out the project.

10 An annotated bibliography of Ontario's material history is to be compiled along with an inventory of unpublished research, work in progress, archival sources, and locations of major collections relating to particular industries and crafts. It is expected that the bibliography and resource list will be completed by July 1982. Copies of the completed report will be made available to historical societies and museums through the Ministry of Culture and Recreation.

11 Although the bibliography and resource inventory are intended primarily as finding aids for material culture researchers, it is hoped that they will also suggest directions for further research and provide information on attitudes material culture research in Ontario. A long-term goal of the study is to assist community museums, historical societies, and other groups in identifying the significant industries and crafts of their region; they can then develop guidelines for collecting and interpreting material.

12 Although a published report is planned, the bibliographic and archival information is being assembled on cards so that the bibliography and resource index can be maintained as an open-ended project. The Ontario Historical Society would appreciate your help in making the inventory as complete as possible. If you are doing research on any industry or craft in Ontario, or if you are aware of unpublished research or archival material relating to individual manufacturers or craftsmen in Ontario, please contact me at the offices of the Ontario Historical Society, 78 Dunloe Road, Toronto, M5P 2T6.

13 Ce programme de recherche en ethnologie historique regroupe un ensemble d'études faisant partie d'un programme majeur de formation de chercheurs et d'action concertée (FCAC). Trois équipes de chercheurs réunissant une dizaine de professeurs et une trentaine d'étudiants à la maîtrise et au doctorat ont commencé à travailler en juin 1979. Ce projet de recherche en arts et traditions populaires d'une durée de trois ans a été subventionné par la Direction de l'enseignement supérieur du ministère de l'Education du Québec.

14 Ces recherches veulent reconstituer les traditions du geste et de la parole, en analysant les différentes facettes du genre de vie traditionnel: les faits de culture représentés par la littérature orale, les habitudes de vie et par les expressions rythmiques et musicales, et les manifestations matérielles de la culture examinées dans les principales traces laissées par les techniques et les créations esthétiques.

15 Parmi les genres de la littérature orale, on avantagera la prose (le conte et la légende), la poésie populaire, les coutumes et les croyances (rites de passages de la vie et habitudes associées aux fêtes religieuses et calendaires). En ce qui concerne la science populaire, la météorologie, la médecine populaire et les proverbes retiendront l'attention. Les danses seront mises en rapport avec les occasions qui favorisent de tels divertissements et on tentera de démontrer quelles sont leurs fonctions sociales.

16 La culture matérielle, représentée par des procédés techniques et des objets ethnographiques, prendra corps sous les différents aspects d'une typologie simple: celle de la vie domestique (abri, alimentation et costume) et celle des occupations que révèlent les procédés d'acquisition, de production, de fabrication et de transport. De plus, l'art populaire sera étudié au point de vue des formes et des motifs décoratifs. Finalement, une étude de synthèse viendra coiffer cet ensemble de travaux ayant la tradition comme objet d'étude; une introduction générale aura auparavant précédé le corpus. De juin 1979 à décembre 1981, quatorze études ont été réalisées et plusieurs autres sont en cours de préparation.

17 D'autres organismes participent au financement de ce programme à titre complémentaire: le ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec, le Musée national de l'Homme, l'Université Laval, etc. Dans chacun des ouvrages, il est fait mention de ces participations.

18 L'équipe de chercheurs est soutenue par des conseillers scientifiques, des techniciens, une coordonnatrice de projets et par une responsable administrative.