This collection includes over 120 Canadian broadsides and printed blanks, predominantly pre-Confederation items from the Province of Quebec. Included are legal or judicial documents, including summons from the Quebec Court of Common Pleas, affidavits, court notices, warrants, property agreements, deeds of land sale and land applications; and military documents such as service records and return of provisions forms. Municipal printed forms issued from the City of Montreal or City of Quebec include building permits, house and property assessments, business tax assessments, and bills/receipts for water and gas rental. There are also cashier’s cheques and purchase receipts issued by the Bank of Montreal and Bank du Peuple. Among the numerous receipts gathered in the collection are those for shipping; college payments; church membership and pew rental; insurance premiums, including Alliance Life, Phoenix Fire Insurance, and the Quebec Fire Office; merchants James Ferrier, Moss & Brothers, and Robertson, Masson, Strange & Co.; post office rental; and payments issued to surveyors working under Alphonso Wells, Provincial Surveyor. Other material includes public notices, religious items such as prayer cards and church tickets, and ephemera from the St. Jean-Baptiste Society. A significant part of the collection is comprised of items relating to the early printing, publishing, and book-selling industry in Quebec. There are a number of bills and receipts issued for advertisements printed in the Montreal Gazette, Quebec Mercury, L’Aurore des Canadas, la Minerve, Montreal Herald, and Moniteur Canadien, as well as from Booksellers and Stationers such as Armour and Ramsay and William Neilson.
