Keepers of the Record: The History of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives

The Hudson's Bay Company Archives is one of the world's most complete archival collections and a national treasure. Protected in the vaults of the Archives of Manitoba, its documents trace the history of the fur trade, North American exploration, the growth of a retail empire, and the evolution of Canada as a country. Keepers of the Record offers the first comprehensive look at the development of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives over three centuries. Deidre Simmons places the archives within the historical context of the Company, England, and Canada, as well as British and Canadian archival traditions. Keepers of the Record is abundantly illustrated with archival photographs that evoke the texture and slightly musty smell of soft leather and crisp vellum and the ghostly presence of the people who created the pristine script, writing by candlelight in unheated (or overheated, depending on the season) dwellings in the wilderness of Hudson Bay or in the centre of London.