Series 4 - Musk Collection - Vessels - Information, photographs, personnel and research

5.37 linear metres of textual records and other material

The series consists of materials gathered by CP historian George Musk during his long time employment with the Company and for his research efforts. There are four kinds of files: vessel biographies; vessel and general shipping photographs; research materials and ephemera; and files on personnel. Vessel biographies provide technical details and a brief history of each vessel by way of newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs, research notes and official CP correspondence. They are organized as per Musk’s original order, which reflects the sequence each vessel entered into service with Canadian Pacific. The files often had multiple file schemes noted on the documents, and have been renumbered based on the ship number as assigned in Musk’s books.
The series also contains photographs of the various vessels, mostly professional images by or for Canadian Pacific, which Musk collected over his years of employment with CPS in London. These files have been arranged alphabetically by vessel name, for ease of access. There are also more general images depicting activities associated with the shipping industry. Many of the images were mixed together and had to be separated out by vessel by the archivist.
Musk’s research materials include histories; articles and newspaper clippings; financial reports; forms; technical information (electrical , hull and machinery specifications); vessel information in the form of deck plans, postcards, travel brochures, shipping registers, bills of sale, certificates of inspection, crew agreements, scrapbooks, and CP publications about the fleet; and a large collection of books dealing with shipping, in general and specific to CPS. The majority of the book material has been transferred to the Library and/or Trade Literature department, and are searchable in Horizon, our in house catalogue.
The final group contains records of the careers of some of the employees of Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd, as gathered by George Musk. Each individual has their own file, arranged alphabetically, which may contain photographs, newspaper clippings and /or other biographical details of the subject and his career at CPS. The majority of the records deal with ship captains, and only a few focus on other positions, such as a purser. Also included in these records are two “employment files” which contain official company documentation of the individuals concerned (i. e. Gilfillan, John (x121) and MacDonald, Allan C (x114)).
While the majority of these records/files were found grouped together, there were a few files interspersed with other materials and these have been brought back to the main body of the series by the archivist. Originally there were two forms of ‘personnel’ files – 1) the biographical information and 2) photographic files, which were never indexed. Where a photo file existed alongside a biographical file, the two have been amalgamated and a note placed in the general notes for that entry.