An issue of the Society’s newsletter, transcribed from the original.
(8 pages, 1.3 MB)
the full-resolution scan, 23 MB, for close research
Page 1 — REMARKS BY PRESIDENT-ELECT - HAROLD WILSON
Canadian Leathercraft
Volume X No. 3 Spring, 1961
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT-ELECT - HAROLD WILSON ANNUAL MEETING, April 15th, 1961
Ladies and Gentlemen, it is really a sincere obligation I have taken on this morning. It is a privilege to be your new President. This is a duty I will carry out to the best of my ability.
I am not going along with the idea that I will fill Fred Brown's shoes - they would not fit me.
How has our Society existed - and where is it going? In the background we have had Deane Russell, Dr. Larmour, Jean Newton and Fred Brown. Four years ago, when Jean Newton gave up her office, she told us about cogs and wheels. Jean asked, "Are you the cog in the wheel that is going to make it work, or are you the squeak?" Was Jean right? Jean was right that we need the cog. I would like to see the Branches start to squeak. The new executive could stand to hear the squeaking so we can apply the oil. When you go back to your Branches, think and talk over, "What do I want as a member of the Leathercraft Society?" - and in turn squeak it along to the executive and tell them what you want.
As you saw these Associates come forward this morning,they are not just a member of a Branch, nor are they just a member of the Society but are the people who are trying to carry the leathercraft forward and upward. The only way you can do this, is to work as the new Associates have done.
cont'd
All material published in "Canadian Leathercraft" is the property of The Canadian Society of Creative Leathercraft, and may not be reprinted in any form without written permission of the Society. Editor of "Canadian Leathercraft" is Mrs. Margaret McFarlane, 45 Summerhill Gardens, Toronto 7, Ontario.
Page 2 — C.S.C.L. ANNUAL MEETING
Five years ago, with the exception of Bob Muma's work, the display of work looked nothing like today's display. The improvement is wonderful. When you go home try to plan your aims, and in turn let me know what they are so I may start to put these in force. The old reliables have carried on for the past 11 years, so let us get in and work together so that these people who have done so much for us will feel that we are carrying the flame on for them. Thank you.
C.S.C.L. ANNUAL MEETING
The 11th Annual Meeting of the C.S.C.L. was held Saturday,
April 15th, 1961 at WoodGreen Centre, Toronto.
Complete copies of the Programme, Reports and President's Remarks were on hand to keep the business meeting at a minimum and devote more time to the other activities of the day. If you were not at the meeting and have not yet received a copy of these reports through the mail, write to the Secretary, Mrs. Nina Wilson, 400 Charlton Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, for your copy.
Each year shows a decided improvement in design and workmanship and we hope this high quality work foretells an increase in candidates for Associate and Fellow memberships.
The Board of Selection was pleased to announce that 11 of our members successfully met the requirements for Associate membership and were awarded their certificates by Mrs. Nora Huyck, they are --
Mrs. Jean Carroll, London, Ontario. Mrs. Helen Caswell, Welland, Ontario. Winnifred Comfort, Hamilton, Ontario. Mrs. May Corbett, Barrie, Ontario.
James Courneya, Hannon, Ontario.
Elizabeth Henstridge, Hamilton, Ontario. Mrs. Lillian Neelands, Mono Rd. Station, Ontario. Mrs. Aileen Schooley, Hamilton, Ontario. Mr. Frank Torry, Hamilton, Ontario.
Mrs. Jessie Trew, Barrie, Ontario.
Mrs. Ethel Zimmerman, Hamilton, Ontario.
You will note there is one from each Branch. We have no one trying for Fellowship since 1958. Surely since that time there is someone coming along who could qualify as a Fellow. The Board of Selection would like to see more competitors next year.
Page 3 — BRANCH COMPETITION FOR THE WESTON TROPHY
BRANCH COMPETITION FOR THE WESTON TROPHY
Four Branches competed and rated higher than 75%. The Trophy was presented by Fred Brown who congratulated all the Branches on the number of very fine pieces that were entered in the competition and said that to raise the standard of leathercraft great emphasis must be placed on design. We must work on our own designs - a lot of the fun is in doing - in making our own designs and decorations.
We should take advantage of the opportunity of visiting art galleries, good craft shops and good home furnishing stores to get the idea of balance and line. If we do so often enough we are bound to learn a lot.
Toronto Branch won the Weston Trophy this year. Members participating were Bob Muma, Jean Newton, Dorothy Proctor, Sadie Roebuck and Mr. J. Zalitis.
Critical appraisal was given by Mrs. Anne Hook and Mrs. Nora Huyck. Mrs. Hook commented that it was a pleasure to judge such fine pieces and hoped they would continue to come each year.
The Question Box was again a popular feature. The panel answering the questions were: Ann Hook, Toronto; Nora Huyck, Newmarket; Bob Muma, Toronto; Clarice Packham, Weston.
The excellent noon dinner was again served by the women of Wood-Green United Church, who are noted for their efficiency and promptness, after which a meeting of the Branch representatives was held.
Demonstrations went on all afternoon by top craftsmen and were crowded as usual. They were - Moulded Trays by Bea Austin, Hamilton - Flower Jewellery by Clara Cavanagh, Barrie - Mongol Pencil Colouring by Sylvia Gerster, London - Turned Edges by Don MacKinnon, Toronto - Covering a Shoe Horn by Jean Newton, Toronto - Box Making by Frank Torry, Hamilton.
[These two paragraphs are printed split at the wrong point and run together out of order — the dinner paragraph ends mid-sentence and the demonstrations paragraph breaks off before naming half its demonstrators. Set out here rejoined into one correctly ordered paragraph, nothing dropped or added.]
Page 4 — 7th INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY
7th INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY
The 7th International Assembly of Leathercraftsmen held May 5,
6th and 7th this year at Vineland, Ontario was encouraging in its exhibition of finer leathercraftsmanship, its display of greater originality and the wide variety of uses to which leather is now being put.
Aside from the usual handbags, belts and billfolds and other leather accessories we have come to take for granted, there were this year, such things as coats, smoking stands, spoon racks and walking canes!
The Salon,including pieces selected by Mrs. de Pedery Hunt and Paul Payne from the general exhibit, is a good representative cross section of it. Following is a list of the pieces so honoured:
Bea Austin, Hamilton — Tray, golden brown, about 7 inches, softly moulded scalloped edge, with brown handle.
H. Frick, Michigan Leather —
1. Tote bag, plain brown, novelty leather straps supports, yellow and brown plastic straps with leather hand holds.
2. Brief case, no stitching, glued seams, light golden finish.
3. Heavy utility bag, carved line decoration, leather studs on base.
D. Fielding, Hamilton — Belt, dark brown with light lacing.
Huldy Gutekunst, Buffalo Guild — Cuff links, heavy leather, simple, well done decoration.
Anne Hook, Toronto — Coasters, design by lino cut, coloured background and splatter border.
[This page and p5 are a photo-illustrated Salon exhibit list, one name/branch pair and item description per entrant, printed interleaved with stray marks from the photos themselves and each pair broken across several short fragments. Set out below with each pair rejoined, nothing dropped. The page prints the names H. Frick, Huldy Gutekunst and D. Fielding; the archive does not read D. Fielding as the Rick or Richard Fielding named in the 1990s.]
Page 5
Lillian Neelands, Georgetown — 1. Belt, contour, 2 buckles, back fastening. 2. Tote bag, mahogany finish, heavy and beautiful, linen saddle stitching.
Jean Newton, Toronto — Waste basket. A beautiful heavy utility piece, solid and well made, with two opposite cutouts for handles.
Clarice Packham, Weston — 1. Ladies gloves. 2. Men's gloves.
Sadie Roebuck, Toronto — Smoking stand: base, pipe rack and match container made from sole leather. Humidor covered in calf with hammered design.
Endel Ruberg, Montreal — Correspondence folder, 3 tones of blue, with birds inlaid in white.
Carol Ruflin, Rochester — Doll, about 10 inches long, suede leather with loosely jointed soft body.
Jessie Trew, Toronto — Belt, quite plain with natural finish.
[Continuation of page 4’s Salon exhibit list, printed the same way.]
Page 6
7th INTERNATIONAL ASSEMBLY
This year's Assembly was also given a new dimension in the unique feature of an Antique Leather Display which was loaned by C.S.C.L. members and the nearby Jordan Historical Museum of the Twenty.
To many, this excellent collection of old pieces may well have been the most significant part of the Assembly; for here was history in leather - leather with its human element worn into its fibres - a technique that only time can accomplish. Here in these old and worn books, cases, handbags, wallets, reticule, stamp case, bracelet case, writing case, boots and shoes etc., one became poignantly aware of the intimacy of leather in our lives,an intimacy that we do not feel so keenly aware of in an exhibition of new pieces, which although hand made, have not yet experienced the human touch that has made them live. It is to be hoped that the success of this part of our show will not be ignored in the planning of future Assemblies.
DEMONSTRATIONS
Demonstrations took place on Saturday morning and afternoon and on Sunday morning. Altogether there were 24 demonstrations, four different demonstrations taking place at a time. They were held in the spacious rooms and although plenty of chairs were available, it seemed thay many were so interested to learn all they could, they stood as close as possible to the demonstration tables. Each demonstration was fully attended by an eager audience.
The top craftsmen demonstrators were from various parts of the United States and Canada, demonstrating the following: Bookbinding, showing decorative techniques; Moulded jewellery; four different demonstrations on colouring using various techniques, including spray dyeing, unusual dyeing and use of colour pencils; Wallets, calf leather and morocco; Gloves, individual patterns and advice on various types of glove leather; there was an interesting demonstration on how to make and cover Cardboard Boxes which could be made in a variety of shapes and sizes to custom fit leather items for gifts Decorative Cutting, making a design freehand with swivel knife; two different kinds of Saddle Stitching; Suede Flowers, among them very realistic poinsettas; Estonian and Finland technique; Bags, designs and techniques for assembly;interesting Tote Bags: unusual coasters; Monograms without initials; Moulded Trays; Stamping; and Braiding and Lacing.
Grateful acknowledgement: to Sherle Bottrill, Anne Hook, Ella Teasdale and Bob Muma for their assistance in covering the 7th International Assembly.
Page 7 — CANADIAN HANDICRAFT GUILD; STRATFORD SHAKESPEAREAN FESTIVAL; MEMBERSHIP FEES
CANADIAN HANDICRAFT GUILD
After serving five years Mr. J. Edgar Stone retired as President of the Guild. During his term of office he served the Guild faithfully and well, always helpful and constructive.His successor is Mr. Harold Burnham, a professional weaver. and an Assistant Curator at the Royal Ontario Museum.
The Guild also have a new General Manager, Mr. E.J. McKell replacing Mr. S.G. Hazell who retired this year after nine years with the Guild. Mr. Hazell worked constantly to achieve the aims of the Guild and was co-operative and helpful to C. S. C. L. at all times. The Society wishes him all happiness in his retirement.
STRATFORD SHAKESPEAREAN FESTIVAL
At this unique Festival the Canadian Handicrafts Guild are invited to exhibit Canadian Crafts and once again some of our members had their work on display at this prestige Exhibition of superior Canadian craftsmanship at Stratford. Members who visited Stratford this year agree that the crafts were exhibited much better than last year but that leather still was not displayed to best advantage. Those whose work was exhibited are as follows:
J.B. Cornyea, Hamilton; Irva Ford,Hamilton; Anne Hook, Toronto Nora Huyck, Newmarket; Daphne Lingwood, Caledon; Jean Newton, Tor s Clarice Packham, Weston; Sadie Roebuck, Toronto; Endel Ruberg, Montreal; Olivia Smith, Toronto; Helen Wheaton, London; J. Zalitis, Toronto.
2 Se
MEMBERSHIP FEES
MEMBERSHIP FEES WERE DUE AND PAYABLE AT THE ANNUAL MEETING APRIL 15th, 1961. Members are reminded that only paid-up members will receive bulletins and notices of special meetings etc.
Page 8
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AN ALL-CANADIAN COMPANY SERVING CANADIANS SINCE 1913
For the Leathercraftsman:
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Edge Dressing
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