Davis Tannery Documents

I took a trip through time while visiting the Queen's University Archives last week. Consider that this business is now closed, its tannery buildings demolished, and the site currently proposed for development. Yet in these shelved files, it's as if the business is still conducting business, issuing collective agreements, corresponding by letter, and preserving its detailed tanning procedures. Researchers who are interested in Kingston businesses, as I am, are fortunate to have these resources carefully organized and preserved! This post includes samples of these documents that I photographed.

Though the tannery was unionized, there seemed to be constant chafing against the union, American Federation of Labour organizer Harry Simon, and the tannery's fortunes justifying tough negotiations and conciliation to worker wages (above). Then I found the diamond-in-the-rough! Two typewritten waybill-type documents showing what I believe to be outbound loads of finished products (below). The two cars listed are CN(alternately NYC) 141278 and C&S 13870 in 1949 and 1948 respectively. It's exactly these kinds of railway-related connections I'm seeking in industry archives!

Looking into the 141278 car, it's not Canadian National because CN only had gondola cars in that series New York Central boxcars seem to start around the 170000's. So, I can't reliably pin it to a specific car, but the lading is the lading, nonetheless! Here's a photo of a similar Colorado & Southern boxcar, part of the Burlington Route car fleet:

A sample tanning procedure. I don't expect to become an expert in the process or the appearance of these products, nor the machinery and solutions used. I am, however, interested in how they got to and from the plant by rail!

I read through half a bound 6x7-inch notebook of these employee instructions. Signed by Mr Davis, they are addressed to the appropriate foreman, duplicate, with room for resolution sign-off of the issue. By today's terms, they would be termed micro-management, but remembering this was a family business, they're not surprising. One even asked the maintenance foreman to plane the office door, as it wasn't closing completely! I found this one especially micro, and cost-cutting. Why produce more wattage if not needed?

Stephen Davis' 'bible' of methods, from the time of sale of the plant to Dominion Tanners in 1973:

I couldn't believe this diagram. Hand-drawn, coloured, immaculate lettering, graph paper stapled to cardboard, 1965. A real one-shot work of art!

Earlier collective agreements showed an 8-minute break morning and afternoon, now just afternoon in the 1968 agreement. Lunch was 45 minutes.

As requested, here are four pages of the tannery's 1965 seniority list, starting from Page 4:

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