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We know little about Jean Cameron except that she was a school
teacher, and that she acquired this collection as a tourist travelling
on the Nascopie in the summer of 1939. Her travel diary allows
us to determine the specific places where she bought wooden and ivory
models of Inuit material culture. Her diary also conveys a sense of
the adventure of travelling to the North by ship.
"I wish I had words to describe the feeling of crashing the ice.
The ship slips up on a pan of ice, then crashes down and shudders and
shakes from stem to stern." Later on, she mentions to the captain
what fun it had been to watch the ice-breaking. The captain replied:
"Fun! When the old lady had to work so hard to get us
through?"*
In 1972, Ms. Cameron decided to donate her souvenirs from this trip
to the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Of the hardy adventurers who
make up most of the collectors, she is the only woman other than
Mrs. Wakefield.
*Unpublished diary from her trip, deposited at the Canadian Baptist
Archives, Hamilton, Ontario.
Model Knife, 1939
Akulivik (Cape Smith), Nunavik
Ivory
0.3 x 12.5 x 2.2 cm
CMC IV-B-1484
Gift of Jean L. Cameron, Cornwall, Ontario, 1972
Collected by Ms. Cameron while travelling on the Nascopie
in the summer of 1939
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Ms. Cameron is the only "tourist" among the collectors of
historic art at the CMC. To judge by her selection, she was interested,
as a teacher, in the ethnographic aspects of the miniature ivories.
She bought this elegant little knife because it was a snow knife,
"used for building igloos."*
*Unpublished diary from her trip, deposited at the Canadian Baptist
Archives, Hamilton, Ontario.
Model Komatik, 1939
Akulivik (Cape Smith) Hudson's Bay Company post, Nunavik
Wood, ivory, sinew
Sled: 5 x 26 x 7 cm
CMC IV-B-1481
Gift of Jean L. Cameron, Cornwall, Ontario, 1972
Collected by Ms. Cameron while travelling on the Nascopie
in the summer of 1939
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Ms. Cameron's diary entry from August 1, 1939 reads: "My
'komatik' (sled) is a perfect beauty. It is of wood, with ivory runners,
and an ivory gun, harpoon, bladder and sealskin ropes." In her
letter to the CMC in 1972, she emphasizes the fact that the ivory runners
have been fastened on with ivory pegs and the whole structure lashed
together with gut.*
*In her letter she attaches a list of "Eskimo Carvings brought
back in 1939 from Arctic Outposts" (Collector's file, CMC Archives).
Kayak Hunter, 1939
Kimmirut (Lake Harbour), Nunavut
Ivory, sealskin
6.4 x 33.5 x 2.5 cm
CMC IV-B-1485
Gift of Jean L. Cameron, Cornwall, Ontario, 1972
Collected b Ms. Cameron while travelling on the Nascopie
in the summer of 1939
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In her listing from 1972, Ms. Cameron makes it evident that she
put these artifacts to good use: "Kyack, 13″ long, with
Eskimo figure and all his weapons loosely attached. Unfortunately, the
paddle is broken, I'm sure because it has been handled by so many
school children ...."*
*List of "Eskimo Carvings brought back in 1939 from Arctic
Outposts." (Collector's file, CMC Archives).
Note: paddle from another piece should be added for photography
Polar Bear, 1939
Akulivik (Cape Smith), Hudson's Bay Company post, Nunavik
Ivory, black colouring
3 x 12 x 4 cm
CMC IV-B-1486
Gift of Jean L. Cameron, Cornwall, Ontario, 1972
Collected by Ms. Cameron while travelling on the Nascopie in
the summer of 1939
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Ms. Cameron's diary for August 1, 1939 reads: "Cape Smith.
Visited the HBC post where fortunately I was able to buy a few things ...
I also got another small kayak ... and a polar bear."* It is rare
indeed for the scholar to know of any item of historic Inuit art, the
exact day and place where it was originally purchased.
*Unpublished diary from her trip, deposited at the
Canadian Baptist Archives, Hamilton, Ontario.
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