Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Hamilton and Gore Mechanics' Institute Collection
General material designation
- Textual record
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Fonds
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1944-1963 (Creation)
-
1839-1878 (Creation)
Physical description area
Physical description
16 cm of textual material.
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Administrative history
Mechanics’ Institutes were first established in London, England during the early to mid-nineteenth century, with the purpose of providing workers with practical knowledge and instruction in their trades through reading materials, lectures and evening classes. These institutes soon spread throughout the world including in Canada and by the 1840s, there were well-established institutes in places such as Kingston, Toronto, Brantford, Dundas and Hamilton. The Hamilton and Gore Mechanics’ Institute was established at a public meeting on Monday, February 27, 1839. As in Britain, the original purpose of the Institute was to further the technical and scientific education of the working class. In the first year of operation, there were 273 members and a total of 126 volumes in the collection. From 1839 to 1844, the Institute rented out space in the Engine House of the Board of Police and focused on its reading rooms and the circulation of material. This remained the primary focus from 1844 until 1853 while it continued to rent out space in a different building on King Street. When the Institute was incorporated in 1849, it started offering lectures and classes in subjects such as science, manufacturing and nature. With its membership growing, the Institute needed a more permanent location as the city was growing too so in 1853, the Mechanics’ Institute opened its new building at 33 James Street North at a cost of $4,000, which was mostly borrowed. The building contained a hall large enough to seat 1000 people and the reading rooms were spacious and well-furnished. With the extra space, the Institute expanded its offerings with fairs, festivals, concerts, exhibitions, and literary readings, along with regular book circulation, classes and lectures. Although classes were offered in reading, writing, math and technical skills, and were intended to be educational in nature, they were not well attended by the working class, who after a long 10-hour workday, had little time or energy to sit through a lecture on topics that often appealed more to middle-class members.
By 1881, the Institute had over 7,000 volumes and a membership of over 1000 individuals. Despite the numbers and volumes circulating, the Institute was struggling with the debt it incurred from borrowing money to construct the new larger building. Though the original function of the Institute was educating the working class, and there were members such as blacksmiths, machinists, printers and shoemakers among the ranks, the majority of members were employed as politicians, merchants, barristers, bookkeepers, physicians, architects, clerks, grocers, and teachers. The directors who ran the Institute were also men from the middle and upper classes and although they did recognize that the function and role of the Institute had shifted, they did little to rectify this and failed to adapt to the needs of the working class. The Mechanics’ Institute also did not receive much in the way of government funding, and relied mostly on the subscriptions and membership fees, as well as donations. The failure to adapt and reflect the needs of the community, the lack of regular funding, the financial debt incurred from overextending itself with a building that was too large and expensive for its original purpose, as well as the competition from private libraries and technical schools, all helped lead to the demise of the Mechanics’ Institute in 1882. That same year, the Free Public Libraries Act was passed by the provincial government, which allowed for the establishment, administration and maintenance of public libraries through tax-based government support. By 1889, city council voted to establish and construct a library and in February of 1890, residents of the city of Hamilton had access to their first free public library when the Hamilton Public Library opened its doors.
Custodial history
The minute book dated 1839-1851, was found among the legal papers of Andrew Steven, first Treasurer of the Hamilton and Gore Mechanics' Institute, and donated to the Hamilton Public Library's Local History and Archives department on June 7, 1945, by W.G. Welby. The advertisement for the Mechanics' Ball was donated by Mrs. E.B. Thompson on January 22, 1965. The rest of the older material dating from 1845 to 1878, has unknown provenance. The material dating from 1944 to 1963 belonged to Dr. Freda F. Waldon, former Chief Librarian of the Hamilton Public Library. Upon receipt of some of the older loose-leaf material, former staff combined it together and processed it into a clipping file. Earlier staff, unaware of the archival principle of provenance, placed the volumes and the loose-leaf material all together, breaching this rule. Due to the nature of the material and the small amount, a decision was made by the archivist to keep it together and process it as a general collection on the Hamilton and Gore Mechanics’ Institute.
Scope and content
The material in the collection consists of administrative records, including a meeting minute book containing the proceedings of the Managing Committee of the Hamilton and Gore Mechanics' Institute, a register recording the names of members and the books loaned by the Institute, rules and regulations of the Institute, memberships and subscriptions, lending cards, and an annual election card. There is also some publicity and newspaper clippings pertaining to the Institute and its events and holdings, as well as records created by Dr. Freda Farrell Waldon, former Chief Librarian of the Hamilton Public Library, who researched the history of the early libraries and mechanics' institutes. The records include correspondence, research notes and resources, as well some publications.
Notes area
Physical condition
Most of the material in the collection is in good condition, with the exception of the two volumes, which are fragile and wrapped. One of the volumes has damage to the spine. A few of the loose-leaf documents in the collection are also fragile and torn.
Immediate source of acquisition
Various donors
Arrangement
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
No
Restrictions on access
The material is open to researchers. There are no restrictions on access.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Records are in the public domain. There are no restrictions on reproduction for research and private study.
Preferred citation: Hamilton and Gore Mechanics’ Institute Collection, 00018, Hamilton Public Library, Hamilton, Ontario.
Finding aids
File list is not applicable.
Associated materials
The following related material can be found in the Local History & Archives (LH&A) department at the Hamilton Public Library pertaining to the Hamilton and Gore Mechanics’ Institute Collection:
CF – Hamilton – Libraries – Hamilton and Gore Mechanics’ Institute
Freda F. Waldon fonds (Accession #00212) – Currently unprocessed and unavailable to the public.
Houghton, Margaret. “Mechanics’ Institutes: City had many private libraries.” In Vanished Hamilton, Vol. 4, edited by Margaret Houghton, 119-120. Burlington: North Shore Publishing Inc., 2012. – Library Call Number: 971.352 VAN
Waldon, Freda F. “Early Provision for Libraries in Hamilton.” In Wentworth Bygones: From the Papers of the Head-of-the-Lake Historical Society, No. 4., 22-35. Hamilton: Walsh Publishing Services, 1963. – Library Call Number: 971.352 HEA
Weaver Pamphlet Files (thesis paper) – Kutcher, Jan. “The Mechanics’ Institutes,” April 18, 1975.
Weaver Pamphlet Files (thesis paper) – Hall, Cheryl. “Good Intentions: A Study of the Programs and Membership of the Hamilton and Gore Mechanics’ Institute, 1839-1882,” submitted in 1973.
Accruals
Further accruals are not expected.
General note
Some of the documents in the collection were previously processed as clipping files and they are currently still marked as such. These markings can be ignored as they no longer apply to the arrangement and description of the items. Previous staff also glued what appears to be construction paper to the back of some of the material. Since removing this would destroy the original material, which is fragile, the paper has been left attached to prevent further damage.
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Control area
Description record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules or conventions
Status
Final
Level of detail
Full
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
The collection was processed in 2024 by Archives Technician Kelly Bucci.
Language of description
Script of description
Sources
Houghton, Margaret. “Mechanics’ Institutes: City had many private libraries.” In Vanished Hamilton, Vol. 4, edited by Margaret Houghton, 119-120. Burlington: North Shore Publishing Inc., 2012. – Library Call Number: 971.352 VAN
Waldon, Freda F. “Early Provision for Libraries in Hamilton.” In Wentworth Bygones: From the Papers of the Head-of-the-Lake Historical Society, No. 4., 22-35. Hamilton: Walsh Publishing Services, 1963. – Library Call Number: 971.352 HEA
Weaver Pamphlet Files (thesis paper) – Kutcher, Jan. “The Mechanics’ Institutes,” April 18, 1975.
Weaver Pamphlet Files (thesis paper) – Hall, Cheryl. “Good Intentions: A Study of the Programs and Membership of the Hamilton and Gore Mechanics’ Institute, 1839-1882,” submitted in 1973.