Fonds MG 1 vol. 3265-3277; MG 3 Vol. 632-638, 3872, 3874-3875, 3877, 3918-3974, 5005-5016, 5024-5028 ; 2011-013 - Wm. Stairs, Son & Morrow Limited fonds

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Title proper

Wm. Stairs, Son & Morrow Limited fonds

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    Fonds

    Reference code

    MG 1 vol. 3265-3277; MG 3 Vol. 632-638, 3872, 3874-3875, 3877, 3918-3974, 5005-5016, 5024-5028 ; 2011-013

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    Statement of scale (cartographic)

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    Statement of scale (architectural)

    Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

    Dates of creation area

    Date(s)

    • 1771-1986, predominant 1827-1969 (Creation)
      Creator
      Wm. Stairs, Son & Morrow Limited

    Physical description area

    Physical description

    8 m textual records.
    30 cm architectural drawings.
    20 cm of photographs.
    5 film reels.

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    Archival description area

    Name of creator

    (1810-1975)

    Administrative history

    William Stairs (1789-1865), general merchant, established his store in Halifax in 1810. By 1825 business had expanded and William re-located to the corner of George Street and Bedford Row. His son W.J. Stairs (1822-1906) became a partner in 1841 and the firm was named Wm. Stairs and Son, changing to Wm. Stairs and Sons three years later when William's other son John entered the partnership. Its name changed again to Wm. Stairs, Son and Morrow in 1854 when William's son-in-law Robert Morrow joined the firm. At the time of William's death in 1865 when W.J. succeeded him as head of the business, the firm had diversified its product line and branched into the shipping business. By 1880, the firm owned or managed thirty-two vessels. In 1869, the Dartmouth Rope Works factory was established as a branch plant and remained a wholly owned subsidiary until 1892. The firm was incorporated by an Act of the Legislature in 1900 but was liquidated in 1926 with a new company organized under the same corporate name. By 1970, Wm. Stairs, Son and Morrow, in addition to its subsidiaries and its wholesale hardware distributorship, consisted of four divisions and had branch offices in Sydney, N.S. and Moncton, N.B. The most lucrative component of the Stairs group was N.S. Tractors and Equipment, which continues to operate. The firm existed until 1975 when it merged with J.W. Bird and Co. of Fredericton. The former Stairs family firm survives under the name Bird-Stairs, a division of J.W. Bird and Company of Fredericton.

    Custodial history

    The majority of the records were donated by the firm, first in 1968 as it was moving to its new quarters in Strawberry Hill, and later in 1977. Other business records of Wm. Stairs, Son and Morrow were found among the Stairs family papers deposited by Arthur D. Stairs in 1970 and later donated through his wife Norma Stairs in 1992.

    Scope and content

    Fonds consists of records documenting the operation and management of Wm. Stairs, Son and Morrow, its predecessors and subsidiaries. Contains business correspondence, 1820s-1931; legal documents, 1771-1919; shipping papers, 1840-1899; annual reports,1946-1972; financial statements and statistical reports, 1886-1903, 1943-1972; cash books, 1843-1945; accounts ledgers, 1890-1925; sales journals and reports, 1887-1923; several scrapbooks, some with clippings on company history and others with advertisements, 1915-1928; a company prospectus, 1940s; and management and training manuals. There are also numerous photographs of company offices, events, ships, and people, 1898-1968; and early blueprints and plans for Stairs and Morrow properties in Dartmouth, mills, warehouses, store facades and renovations, 1860s-1930. Subsidiary companies represented include Dartmouth Manufacturing Co., N.S. Tractor and Equipment, A.M. Bell and Co., Maritime Paper Products., and C.P. Moore Ltd., Sydney, Nova Scotia.
    The fonds also includes a later accrual, described as a separate series, of Advertising Manager's memos, correspondence, photographs and video of construction of new store.

    Notes area

    Physical condition

    Some scrapbooks and ledgers are in fragile condition.

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      Script of material

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        Copyright held by company, for records still under copyright.

        Finding aids

        Partial file list available.

        Associated materials

        Additional records of Wm. Stairs, Son and Morrow are held by Dalhousie University Archives and Special Collections (MS-4-6).

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