Drum's Cabinet and Chair Steam Factory; Quebec City, Quebec; ca. 1860; height: 153.5 cm. CMC 981.50.1

Canada had its first taste of royal fever in 1860, when the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, toured what is now Eastern Canada. Officials from cities throughout this region felt it was important that the Prince receive "royal" treatment; therefore, many of them had furniture made solely for the Prince's visit.

In Quebec City, for example, officials commissioned William Drum, a prominent furniture maker, to build a set of furniture for the apartments where His Royal Highness would be staying while in the city. Some believe that this elaborately decorated cabinet, which may have been made around the time of the Prince's visit, is the one that the Prince received from the Governor General during his stay in Montreal.

William Drum (1808-1876) owned one of the most prosperous furniture manufacturing companies in Quebec in the second half of the nineteenth century.