A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. printed its first seed catalogue in 1896. This catalogue contained listings of Field grains - Peas, Beans, Flax and Corn, Field grasses, clovers and alfalfa, Field root seed, Lawn grass mixtures and miscellaneous items such as household flour, grain and cereal products for stock, hay, and sack and bags of all kinds. In 1900, with their 4th annual catalogue, McKenzie Seeds added Garden Seeds (both Vegetable and Flowers) for the first time. Up until the late 1960's, at which time the Company began withdrawing from the Field seed market, McKenzie Seeds continued to print an annual catalogue with similar listings to that described above.
In the mid 1960's, McKenzie Seeds discontinued its catalogue in order to nurture the growth of the catalogue printed by its subsidiary McFayden Seeds. When McKenzie Seeds first acquired McFayden Seeds in 1941 the two companies continued to exist independently, printing their own catalogues. However as the home gardening industry grew, the decision was made to focus on McFayden due to its established and growing reputation of as a leader in the mail order industry. In 2001 McKenzie Seeds continued to print both the McFayden catalogue as well as the catalogue of one of its other subsidiaries, McConnell Seeds. These catalogues are distributed to over one million Canadian homes every year.
Custodial History
See fonds level description of custodial history of A. E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd.
Scope and Content
This sub-series contains a variety of records related to marketing, including catalogues for McKenzie Seeds, and a number of other seed businesses, seed packets, sales literature and miscellaneous marketing papers.
Catalogues within the sub-series include those for the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co., McFayden Seed Co., as well as a number of catalogues published by McKenzie Co. suppliers and competitors. These included Lindburg Seeds, Vesey's, Stokes, Gill Bros. Seed Company, Robertson Seeds, Burpee, Ferry Morse, Keith's Seeds, Harris Seeds, and the Dominion Seed House. Fonds also includes a number of catalogues from companies that became part of McKenzie Seeds, such as McConnell, Brett-Young Seeds and Pike & Co. The McKenzie catalogues from approximately 1901 to 1915 are particularly high in production values.
Within the sub-series a variety of seed packets, divided into vegetables, flowers and herbs, sold by McKenzie Seeds/McKenzie Steele Briggs Seeds are included. In addition, there are also seed packets sold by Steele Briggs, Pike & Co., Card Seed Co. (Fredonia, N.Y), McFayden Seeds, and Wm. Reenie Seeds.
This sub-series also includes sales literature used by McKenzie Seeds, McKenzie Steele-Briggs Seeds, and McFayden Seeds. Some of the McKenzie literature is in French. In addition, there is some sales literature from America and Europe, particularly Holland and Denmark.
As well, the sub-series contains three miscellaneous papers, dealing with marketing. The Salesman's Booster, and The Salesman's Manual, were both edited and/or written by A.E. McKenzie. The third paper is a survey by D.N. Whittam entitled An Independent Survey and Analysis of the U.K. Seed Market with recommendations for launching a new brand for McKenzie Steele Briggs Seeds, Brandon, Manitoba'.
This sub-series also includes one file containing contracts between McKenzie Seeds and the Mortimer Co. Ltd. pertaining to the printing of the McKenzie Catalogue from 1926-1933.
The sub-series is divided into four sub sub series, including: (1) Catalogues; (2) Seed Packets; (3) Miscellaneous Sales Literature Documents; and (4) Miscellaneous Marketing Papers/Reports.
Notes
Specific dates for some of the catalogues in this series can be found below.
McKenzie Catalogues -- 1897-1898, 1900, 1904-1906, 1908-1912, 1914-1933, 1961, 1964-1966
McFayden Catalogues -- 1933-1935, 1954-1959, 1961-1966, 1968-1974, 1978-1995
Pike & Co. -- 1957-1970, 1972-1984
McConnell -- 1990-1995
Brett-Young Seeds -- 1974
Storage Location
RG 3 A.E. McKenzie Company fonds
McS 2 Office of the President/General Manager
Related Material
Information on both McKenzie Seeds catalogues and The Salesman's Booster are located in the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds in Series 2 (Office of the President/GM), sub-series 2 (J. Lasby Lowes). File 2 contains materials relating to The Salesman's Booster while files 8 (Tape 22), 9, 10 (Tape 23) and 34 include information relating to McKenzie seed catalogues.
Additional information about the printing of the McKenzie catalogue and seed packets can be found in the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds in Series 2 (Office of the President/GM), sub-series 1 (A.E. McKenzie) in the file of correspondence between McKenzie and The Mortimer Co.
Originals and reproductions of various catalogues and sales literature are located in Series 6 (Miscellaneous), sub-series 1 (Centennial Exhibit) of the A.E. McKenzie Seed Co. Ltd. fonds.
Arrangement
The sub-series is arranged as follows:
Catalogues (1897-1995; 51 cm)
Seed Packets (c. 1939-c.1990's; 64 cm)
Miscellaneous Sales Literature (no dates; 24 cm)
Miscellaneous Papers (1928, 1942, 1981; 2.3 cm)
Consists of the BCSA constitution, electoral procedure documents, nomination forms, the Brandon College Crests and Awards Board constitution, the Brandon College Finance Board constitution, the Brandon College Athletic Board/Athletic Council constitution, the Brandon College Board of Publications constitution, the Brandon College Literary Board constitution, the Sigma Mu constitution, and BCSA statistical summary of Committee meetings.
See fonds level description of RG 4 for history/bio of MPE
Scope and Content
This sub-series consists of summaries of elevator operations. The records include the following:
Box 1:
Summary of Operations 1925-1968 Alexander-Gretna
Summary of Operations 1925-1968 Hamiota-Morris
Summary of Operations 1925-1968 Napinka-Woodnorth
Box 2:
Association Financial and Debt Repayment Summary 1925-1963
Association Financial and Debt Repayment Summary 1925-1963
Box 3:
Summary of Operations 1964-1968
Summary of Operations 1964-1968
Summary of Operations 1964-1968
Box 4:
Summary of Operations A-K 1925-1996
Summary of Operations L-Z 1925-1996
Elevator Points Closed A-L 1926-1987
Elevator Points Closed M-Z 1926-1987
See fonds level description of RG 4 for history/bio of MPE.
Scope and Content
Sub-series MPE B.4 consists of local association financial statements.The statements are bound in uniform hardcover volumes. The statements is organized chronologically, and alphabetically by local association name within each individual year.
The records for each individual local's fiscal year consists of: 1) letter of certification from the auditors; 2) summary of income and expenses of said local association.
A copy of a Local Associations (later the Local Pool Committees) would be sent to the Central Office, where it was stored until a microfilm copy could be made. Records were only transferred to microfilm until 1957.
Custodial History
Local Association records recieved by the Central Office dating from 1925 to 1957 are on microfilm. Records subsequent to 1957 are hardcopies.
Scope and Content
Sub-series MPE B.3 consists of Local Association records from the formation of the association until 1993 or said association's closure. See Box level entries for B.3 for detailed contents of records.
Notes
Description by Jillian Sutherland (2009). Records contained in Series B.3 on microfilm or in hardcopy may also be contained in Series A.
