Zone du titre et de la mention de responsabilité
Titre propre
Dénomination générale des documents
Titre parallèle
Compléments du titre
Mentions de responsabilité du titre
Notes du titre
Niveau de description
Dépôt
Cote
Zone de l'édition
Mention d'édition
Mentions de responsabilité relatives à l'édition
Zone des précisions relatives à la catégorie de documents
Mention d'échelle (cartographique)
Mention de projection (cartographique)
Mention des coordonnées (cartographiques)
Mention d'échelle (architecturale)
Juridiction responsable et dénomination (philatélique)
Zone des dates de production
Date(s)
-
1771-1986, predominant 1827-1969 (Production)
- Producteur
- Wm. Stairs, Son & Morrow Limited
Zone de description matérielle
Description matérielle
8 m textual records.
30 cm architectural drawings.
20 cm of photographs.
5 film reels.
Zone de la collection
Titre propre de la collection
Titres parallèles de la collection
Compléments du titre de la collection
Mention de responsabilité relative à la collection
Numérotation à l'intérieur de la collection
Note sur la collection
Zone de la description archivistique
Nom du producteur
Histoire administrative
William Stairs (1789-1865), general merchant, established his store in Halifax in 1810. By 1825 business had expanded and William re-located to the corner of George Street and Bedford Row. His son W.J. Stairs (1822-1906) became a partner in 1841 and the firm was named Wm. Stairs and Son, changing to Wm. Stairs and Sons three years later when William's other son John entered the partnership. Its name changed again to Wm. Stairs, Son and Morrow in 1854 when William's son-in-law Robert Morrow joined the firm. At the time of William's death in 1865 when W.J. succeeded him as head of the business, the firm had diversified its product line and branched into the shipping business. By 1880, the firm owned or managed thirty-two vessels. In 1869, the Dartmouth Rope Works factory was established as a branch plant and remained a wholly owned subsidiary until 1892. The firm was incorporated by an Act of the Legislature in 1900 but was liquidated in 1926 with a new company organized under the same corporate name. By 1970, Wm. Stairs, Son and Morrow, in addition to its subsidiaries and its wholesale hardware distributorship, consisted of four divisions and had branch offices in Sydney, N.S. and Moncton, N.B. The most lucrative component of the Stairs group was N.S. Tractors and Equipment, which continues to operate. The firm existed until 1975 when it merged with J.W. Bird and Co. of Fredericton. The former Stairs family firm survives under the name Bird-Stairs, a division of J.W. Bird and Company of Fredericton.
Historique de la conservation
The majority of the records were donated by the firm, first in 1968 as it was moving to its new quarters in Strawberry Hill, and later in 1977. Other business records of Wm. Stairs, Son and Morrow were found among the Stairs family papers deposited by Arthur D. Stairs in 1970 and later donated through his wife Norma Stairs in 1992.
Portée et contenu
Fonds consists of records documenting the operation and management of Wm. Stairs, Son and Morrow, its predecessors and subsidiaries. Contains business correspondence, 1820s-1931; legal documents, 1771-1919; shipping papers, 1840-1899; annual reports,1946-1972; financial statements and statistical reports, 1886-1903, 1943-1972; cash books, 1843-1945; accounts ledgers, 1890-1925; sales journals and reports, 1887-1923; several scrapbooks, some with clippings on company history and others with advertisements, 1915-1928; a company prospectus, 1940s; and management and training manuals. There are also numerous photographs of company offices, events, ships, and people, 1898-1968; and early blueprints and plans for Stairs and Morrow properties in Dartmouth, mills, warehouses, store facades and renovations, 1860s-1930. Subsidiary companies represented include Dartmouth Manufacturing Co., N.S. Tractor and Equipment, A.M. Bell and Co., Maritime Paper Products., and C.P. Moore Ltd., Sydney, Nova Scotia.
The fonds also includes a later accrual, described as a separate series, of Advertising Manager's memos, correspondence, photographs and video of construction of new store.
Zone des notes
État de conservation
Some scrapbooks and ledgers are in fragile condition.
Source immédiate d'acquisition
Classement
Langue des documents
Écriture des documents
Localisation des originaux
Disponibilité d'autres formats
Restrictions d'accès
Délais d'utilisation, de reproduction et de publication
Copyright held by company, for records still under copyright.
Instruments de recherche
Partial file list available.
Éléments associés
Additional records of Wm. Stairs, Son and Morrow are held by Dalhousie University Archives and Special Collections (MS-4-6).