Exhibitions

As part of the exhibition series DISCOVER YOUR PAST, the ETRC is opening its archives to share the treasures of several fonds and collections with the broader public. The exhibitions showcase a small selection of the thousands of remarkable photographs in the ETRC’s collection.

Black Histories in the Eastern Townships

The Black history of the Eastern Townships is often glossed over by historians and popular understandings of history alike, and yet the Townships have been an important territory for Black history in the Americas. Black Histories in the Eastern Townships proposes a collection of historical snapshots that shed light on important chapters in the Black history of the region, including slavery, the Underground Railroad, blackface minstrel performances, sports cultures, the jazz scenes of the 1920s and 1950s, changes to the linguistic and cultural demographics of the Black population of the Townships in the 1960s and 1970s, and Black activist movements in the Townships today.

The material archive of Black life in the Townships is fragmented and incomplete. Moreover, Black people have seldom been the authors or protagonists of official histories in the Americas. Rather than proposing a definitive or “complete” history, Black Histories in the Eastern Townships is an unfinished work that extends an invitation to viewers to continue to fill in the gaps in the collective memory of Black life in the region. As a “Call for Participation,” this exhibit hopes to plant seeds for future conversations, research, activist interventions, and artistic responses. As such, Black Histories in the Townships turns towards the past to ask questions about the present. What can the Black Histories in the Townships teach us about how and by whom the region has been shaped over time? Or about the realities of Black life in the Townships today? And how can we respond to these histories from the perspective of “now”?

The outdoor exhibit be visited for free on the Bishop’s University campus in Quad till April 30, 2022 or online.

Virtual Exhibition

Oddities and curious tales

Bringing commercial engravings to life

In the Eastern Townships, commercial engraving is a form of visual art that used since the nineteenth century in papermaking and advertising. This type of art was used to promote merchants’ products and expertise. In spite of its utilitarian function, our eyes are immediately drawn to the pure, delicate lines that make up the engraving: it is a remarkable sight.

This virtual exhibit, entitled “Oddities and curious tales: bring commercial engravings to life,” gathers fourteen engravings from local businesses and institutions. The event aims to shed light on the beauty and the history of the Eastern Townships’ built heritage. Certain buildings featured in this exhibit no longer exist, while others are still easily recognizable today, although their vocation may have changed over the years.

Did you know that several stories also underlie commercial engravings? Accidental deaths, bankruptcies, athletic achievements, ghost stories, giants, curses and other oddities: you will discover all of these! Come let yourself be swept away by this happy mélange of historical facts and anecdotes!

The virtual exhibit is both interactive and streamlined. Though the StoryMap JS app, you will be offered two ways of exploring its contents. You may choose to follow a predefined trajectory that will take you through all fourteen engravings and introduce you to each of their stories, or you may meander through the contents at your own leisure by using the Eastern Townships map to identify what interests you most.

Virtual Exhibition

This project was undertaken by Master’s students in History at the Université de Sherbrooke in Fall 2018. It is the fruit of a collaboration between the Eastern Townships Resource Centre (ETRC) and the Sherbrooke branch of Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec – BAnQ.

A Hair Affair

A Hair Affair is an exhibition that brings to light an often overlooked subject of history: beards and mustaches. Through old photographs, this exhibition illustrates what male facial hair could have represented between the end of the 19^th century and the beginning of the 20^th century in the Eastern Townships. Through photographs of men of diverse social backgrounds proudly wearing a beard and a mustache, new questions surface. Are beard and mustache styles related to social classes? Is the mustache a sign of prosperity? In short, what does facial hair teach us about society? With this unusual theme, History is decidedly really fun!

Styles of beards and mustaches

From huge side burns to small mustaches, to prominent beards, it is easy to see the great diversity of facial hair styles in the 19^th and 20^th centuries. This remarkable variety composes the social landscape of the era. Actors, singers and politicians influenced fashion, and men easily adapted their facial hair style to those of the public figures they admired or identified with. Think of Elvis Presley’s sideburns or Clark Gable’s mustache – two public figures who were tremendously popular among men at different periods of time. Unlike the impact that public figures have on the appearance of many gentlemen, the career and social ranking seems to only slightly influence the adopted beard styles. Indeed, except for the military mustache, sported by almost all members of the British Army in the 19^th century, beards and mustaches seem to be a matter of personal choice… and generosity of nature.

Social role

Before the mid-19^th century, beards were strongly associated with the most radical groups in society, such as Socialists and Chartists. It is only in the second half of this century that beards and mustaches spread throughout society. Bourgeois, workers and aristocrats sport them to represent their masculinity. During the industrial era, men are massively called to work outside the house, while women ensure the smooth running of the home. Men use their facial hair to affirm their authority, their independence and their role as households’ patriarchs, thus helping to define a certain masculine model.

At the beginning of the 20^th century, beards and mustaches are losing favor in America. Several factors contribute to this transformation. Scientific discoveries, like those of Louis Pasteur in regards to the role of microorganisms in spreading contagious diseases, spurrs the evolution of personal hygiene practices. Beards and mustaches come to be seen as a haven for germs, while a clean-shaven face is synonymous with health and cleanliness. Moreover, a new masculine type focusing on youth, energy, sociability and discipline emerges, and these qualities are associated with a shaved face. This reconfiguration of masculine codes is especially clear in politics. Beards and mustaches are perceived as masks concealing the true personality of a man and as signs of unconventional individualism. On the contrary, a clean-shaven appearance represents honesty, reliability and discipline. Women, who gained voting rights during the same period, appear to be very sensitive to what male facial hair could foreshadow of the candidates’ commitment to the community. Paradoxically, beards and mustaches did not disappear. In the cultural imagination of Hollywood, for example, a well-maintained mustache continues to represent virility, forceful individualism, and a certain kind of toughness which is not without any charm.

Barbershops

Since antiquity, barbershops are important places of sociability. Men meet there to discuss more masculine topics, such as sports or politics. This was particularly true in the late 19^th and early 20^th century when beards and mustaches were highly popular and needed to be well groomed. Sunday was probably the only day when barbershops were not busy. In fact, in 1885, the City of Sherbrooke authorities forbade the opening of barbershops on Sundays.

During that period, the barbers’ trade became more professional in Quebec and in the Eastern Townships. Created in 1896, the “Corporation des barbiers” of Québec required of its members to pass an entrance examination. In the 1920s, the barbers of the Eastern Townships set up a joint committee responsible for ensuring proper hygiene practices among its members through a compulsory certification. Beginning of 1948, barbers were even asked to complete their eighth grade before entering the trade.

Newton Brookhouse

Pioneer in Townships Photography

Due to the overwhelming success of the exhibition series DISCOVER YOUR PAST, the Eastern Townships Resource Centre is excited to unveil its next instalment. “Newton Brookhouse: Pioneer in Townships Photography” is an exhibition with photographic masterpieces pulled from the archives of the Eastern Townships Resource Centre (ETRC). Brookhouse is revealed to be a Townships’ photographer, thriving in the very early days of photography. The amazing quality of his pictures perfectly preserves the daily life and history of the Eastern Townships into spectacular images.

150 years Coaticook

A photographic journey

150 years Coaticook – A photographic journey” presents the daily life in Coaticook over the last 15 decades. For the city’s anniversary, the Eastern Townships Resource Centre and the Coaticook Historical Society searched their archives for the most beautiful and significant photographs to show how life was in the past.

Discover how Main Street has changed over the years, how train and car made their first appearance in the city and what it meant to live in Coaticook and the surrounding area. Visit the bar of the Half-Way-Hotel to have drink with the travelers, see the proud Coaticook Fire Brigade and observe the changes marked by the style of clothing, architecture and the quality and setting of the photographs.

Kids!

Children of the Eastern Townships between 1890 – 1930

Kids! is a photograph exhibition that displays the life of children in the Eastern Townships of Quebec and takes you on a journey back in time. Kids! celebrates children and the unique environment they had growing up in our region.  Boys out riding in wintertime, girls playing in the hay or fishing at the river: These children were fortunate to be surrounded by an undeniably distinct landscape that affected how they were reared. The rich topography with vast fields, endless lakes and rivers, and beautiful mountains was, and is still, a phenomenal playground for children. Discover the changes marked by the style of clothing, the toys the children played with, and the quality and setting of the photographs. Although the exhibit’s time frame from 1890 to 1930 reflects these changes throughout the decades, the timeless aspect of what it means to be a child in the Townships has remained the same.

Go with the flow

Life by the water

Go with the Flow – Life by the water in the Eastern Townships is a photograph exhibition that displays the life along rivers and lakes in the Eastern Townships of Quebec and takes you on a journey back in time.

Go with the Flow is an exciting look into the past of the Eastern Townships. Discover the changes marked by the style of clothing and the quality and setting of the photographs. Although the exhibit’s time frame from 1890 to 1950 reflects these changes throughout the decades, the timeless aspect of what it means to live in the Townships has not changed.