Written by Delia Oltean –

“Servants, fetch some snow from the mountain. Bring honey and fruit juice!” 

A legend says that the Roman Emperor Nero, who lived from 37 to 68 AD, sent his servants to fetch ice from the mountain tops to be sprinkled with a sweetening element, thus creating an early version of the ice cream known to all today. 

However, the first known appearance of this tempting dessert does not date back to the time of Emperor Nero. In China, nearly 2000 years ago, sorbet was created by mixing fruit juice or wine with snow and saltpetre (also called potassium nitrate to lower the freezing point of water).

Initially made of ice, ice cream had to wait until the greed of Catherine de Medici and the inventiveness of her chefs to find cream as a substantial ingredient. It seems then that ice cream takes more and more popularity during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries among the wealthier classes (Neyrat. 2017).

It was at the turn of the 1700s that the frozen dessert appeared in the United States, provoking a huge craze in its favour, as can be seen in the first milk bars (around 1800), peddlers (around 1820) or ice cream cutting inventions (Barriault. 2002. p. 16). Quite visible in the kitchen of the Maison Hurtubise, an ice cream maker reminds us that this invention was created in 1846 by the American Nancy Johnson. Consisting of a watertight bucket used to hold ice and salt, the ice cream maker has a metal container in the middle to hold the cream or sorbet (L’histoire de la sorbetière : entre tradition et innovation. 2020). A crank turns the container and after about thirty minutes, the desired result appears!

In Quebec, it was not until the 20^th century that this dessert became popular, as the rather small-scale machinery reduced the quantity of ice cream produced, thus inflating the price of the dessert (Barriault. p. 17). With industrialization and new ways of speeding up the ice cream making process in factories, more affordable prices allowed the less affluent population to access it more frequently. It is interesting to note that struggles for mandatory pasteurization of milk led to clear standards for ice cream in the so-called Adulteration Act of 1910. 

In Quebec, the 1950s marked the end of the association of ice cream as a luxury food when the government removed its tax on it.

Sources:

• Neyrat, P. (22 juin 2017). Glaces et sorbets : l’histoire d’une fraîcheur millénaire. Académie du goût. https://www.academiedugout.fr/articles/glaces-et-sorbets-lhistoire-dune-fraicheur-millenaire_3246 
• L’histoire de la sorbetière : entre tradition et innovation. (24 juillet 2020). Hubert Cloix. https://www.hubertcloix.com/lhistoire-de-la-sorbetiere-entre-tradition-et-innovation/ 
• Barriault, F. (2002). Quel délice ! La crème glacée ! Cap-aux-Diamants. Cap-aux-Diamants,(71).16-17.https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/cd/2002-n71-cd1044845/7479ac.pdf

Written by Delia Oltean –

The branches feeding the fire crackle softly around the house and mingle with the sound of water bubbling in a large pot over the fire. It is mealtime and along with the soup, some vegetables need to be washed. Under a window is a large, somewhat hollow stone: the sink.

If you go back in time and follow the popular Latin, you will realize that the word “évier” (sink) originates from the word “aquarium”, which refers, according to Le Petit Robert, to “eau” (water). In fact, kitchen sinks have existed for a long time and have changed shape over time, adapting to the needs and technologies available. Visible in French castles dating back to the Middle Ages, the sink was already used “to discharge outside the water used to wash dishes” (Dictionnaire raisonné de l’architecture française du XIe au XVIe siècle/Évier, 2014, par. 1). This kitchen element consisted of a hollowed-out stone, usually placed in front of a window. A hole was drilled in the wall from which the water used for washing dishes and fruit and vegetables flowed out. 

Since running water was not yet available at the time of the construction of the Hurtubise House in 1739, the water used for cooking was drawn by hand and contained in a pitcher or bucket (Varin, 1991, p. 50) before being used. Once soiled, the water was drained through the hole in the wall before being recovered and used for other purposes such as the maintenance of the vegetable garden. In order not to leave a permanent hole in the wall of the house, a wooden peg covered the hole when it was not in use (Séguin, 1972, p. 207). It is not uncommon to find that the “évier” (sink) was also called a “lévier” or even “lavier” (Dunn, 1880). 

It was not until the 19th century that some wealthier families were able to build sinks with pumps connected to them, which greatly facilitated access to water. Initially made of stone, the late 1800s saw the diversification of sink construction materials, with pressed steel and even enamelled metal replacing stone (Varin, 2007, p. 53). Taps also added to the comfort of the kitchen, allowing the use of running water. 

The Hurtubise House has retained its stone sink for a very long period due to the delay in the installation of running water by the family. Despite the modern plumbing used today, it is possible to see this interesting feature in its original state.

Sources:

• Dictionnaire raisonné de l’architecture française du XIe au XVIe siècle/Évier. (7 février 2014). Dans Wikipedia. https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionnaire_raisonn%C3%A9_de_l%E2%80%99architecture_fran%C3%A7aise_du_XIe_au_XVIe_si%C3%A8cle/%C3%89vier
• Dunn, O. (1880). Glossaire Franco-Canadien et vocabulaire de locutions vicieuses usitées au Canada. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/13230/13230-h/13230-h.htm 
• Évier, Le Petit Robert, https://petitrobert12.lerobert.com/robert.asp 
• Séguin, R-L.(1972). L’habitation traditionnelle au Québec. Les Cahiers des dix. https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/cdd/1972-n37-cdd01426/1025297ar.pdf 
• Varin, F. (2007). Leçons de plomberie. https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/continuite/2007-n112-continuite1055840/17492ac.pdf 
• Varin, F. (1991). Les cuisines anciennes. https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/continuite/1991-n51-continuite1052517/17732ac.pdf

First of all, we hope you are all well.

With the health regulations regarding COVID-19 finally having changed, we are able to reopen La Maison Hurtubise to the public and we are very excited about that.

As you already know, the year 2021 marked the 65^th anniversary of the preservation of Hurtubise House (Circa 1739) by the Canadian Heritage of Quebec. The preservation of the Hurtubise House is at the origin of our organization.

To mark this anniversary, we have been working for over a year on a remarkable exhibition. It is an exhibition on some of the photographs taken by Dr. Léopold Hurtubise around 1901–1908 with his new “Premo” camera. Nearly 20 photographs will be exhibited at the Hurtubise House, all of which were taken from old glass negatives. Close to 300 of them are in our archives.

We can finally invite you to come and see this exhibition as well as to visit the Hurtubise house. The schedule for the 2022 summer season will be as follows: from July 7 to August 18, three days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). It will be necessary to reserve your guided tour by writing to the following address: coord@hcq-chq.org.

And that’s not all: a second piece of good news allows for a great start to the 2022 season…

A series of articles will be published twice a week to delve more deeply into specific topics that will complement any visit to the house. From the origins of ice cream to the early history of the City of Westmount, there is an interesting story for everyone.

Be on the lookout for these weekly news capsules on our website, on La Maison Hurtubise Facebook page  and Instagram.

We look forward to meeting you this summer.

The Wooton desk is a variation of the fall front desk.

History

An Indianapolis, Indiana, entrepreneur (who was later to become a Protestant preacher) called William S. Wooton obtained patents for his design and established a company in 1870. Production continued until about 1884. The Wooton desk is their better known secretary desk; the Wooton desk company also produced a so-called rotary desk, which is in fact a pedestal desk whose pedestals have segments which turn on themselves to expose more drawers and nooks.

The Wooton desk was introduced at the end of the 19th century, at a time when office work was changing in a drastic fashion with an increase in paperwork that led to the introduction of filing cabinets, among other things. The white-collar worker invaded the office in huge numbers. The new reservoir based fountain pen and the typewriter were used to produce greater quantities of office documents than ever before. In this context, desks which required users to fold and title each letter or document and place it in a pigeon hole, or small nook, were simply not efficient. It was faster to place an unfolded piece of paper in a folder and place the folder in a file cabinet or file drawer.

Wooton desks in good condition are sometimes sold in auctions for the same price as a top of the line luxury automobile.

Design

Wooton desks were probably not the costliest desks in series production, but they were possibly the ones with the most drawers, nooks and crannies imaginable. Only a few examples of the cupboard desk had more divisions, but they were of a very utilitarian different style, and were often produced by the very families or communities which used them, such as the Shakers. The armoire desk is the closest modern relative to the Wooton, and despite the use of rich veneers by some makers, it is a much more practical piece of furniture.

The Wooton secretary desk usually rests on a four-legged quadruped support equipped with casters. The main body of the desk is filled with dozen or several dozen (depending on the model) of small drawers and nooks for papers and small objects.

As in a «secrétaire à abattant» or in a Fall front desk the main working surface or desktop is hinged and lifted completely from the horizontal to the vertical in order to lock up the desk, forcing the user to gather up and store all papers and implements beforehand. Unlike the «secrétaire à abattant» however, the Wooton desktop hides only a few of the small drawers and nooks. The real lockup is done by closing two massive hinged panels which are themselves as deep as the desk and are like it filled with small drawers and nooks of all sizes.

References

• Boyce, Charles, Dictionary of Furniture, 2nd ed. New York: Roundtable Press Book, 2001.
• Gloag, John, A Complete Dictionary of Furniture, Woodstock, N.Y.: Overlook Press, 1991.
• Showalter, Camille, and Janice Driesbach, Wooton Patent Desks: A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place (1983) ISBN 0-253-28930-0
• Walters, Betty Lawson, The King of Desks: Wooton’s Patent Secretary, Smithsonian Studies in History and technology #3, Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1969.

For August 2021 on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday afternoons starting at 1:30 pm. Come to discover the treasures of the house and barn. By reservation only at coord@hcq-chq.org. Entrance fee: $8,00/Adult

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The technical aspect of artisanal milling at Les Éboulements Mill (flour) : On September 9^th and 10^th. For information and registration, please consult the file attached at the bottom of the photos. Please take note that this training session will be in French only.

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Premier événement du genre au Québec, le Sommet est un grand rassemblement des forces vives du patrimoine bâti. Il se veut une occasion unique de convergence entre tous les intervenants, groupes, associations, chercheurs, institutions et citoyens intéressés par le patrimoine local, régional ou national.

L’événement a pour objectifs de :

• Sensibiliser les citoyens à l’importance du patrimoine dans leur quotidien, dans leur environnement, et susciter leur engagement;
• Positionner les organismes nationaux auprès des citoyens, des élus et des promoteurs immobiliers en tant qu’acteurs de première ligne, compétents et accessibles;
• Favoriser les échanges et la collaboration entre les différents acteurs;
• Dégager les enjeux majeurs qui seront identifiés à travers les différents types de patrimoines;
• Définir des priorités d’action à l’échelle nationale.

Il est initié par la Table de concertation qui réuni une dizaine d’organismes de portée nationale impliqués à leur façon dans la sauvegarde et la mise en valeur du patrimoine bâti au Québec.

Source : https://sommetpatrimoinebati.ca/