Object Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2022.2.12.1-2 |
Object Name |
Sculpture |
Title |
Toronto |
Date |
c. 1942 |
Creator |
Canadian Wineries Limited |
Place of Origin |
Cooksville/Mississauga/Ontario/Canada |
Description |
A ship in a bottle (.1) sitting on a red and yellow painted wooden stand (.2). The back of the bottle has been painted blue and white to act as the sky, in front of which sits painted models of mountains and a village scene. The bottom has been painted to look like the sea. There are two boats on this painted water, including one large three-mast ship with the name "Toronto" glued onto its haul. In front of the large ship in a smaller tug boat with plumes of cotton wad appearing to come from its smoke stack. The bottle is closed with a metal screw top and the bottle in embossed with grape vines and leaves. The bottom of the bottle is embossed with the maker's mark, "Canadian Wineries Limited". |
History |
This ship in a bottle was made by an unknown German prisoner of war from the merchant marine prisoner of war camp at the Cooksville brickyard during the Second World War. During the war, the brickyard housed 50 German prisoners of war from the merchant marine who had been taken prisoner off the coast of Canada. Barracks and rations were supplied to the POWs who worked at the brickyard from 1942-1945. The POWs enjoyed a great deal of freedom to participate in many social and recreational activities within the brickyard and surrounding communities. Interestingly, a well-known pass time for German POWs interred in Canada was the making of ships in bottles. Aside from being a way to pass the time, POWs soon learned that if they could sell or trade their handicrafts with others, they would receive certain benefits. POWs found they could be traded with other POWs, guards, camp staff, and local residents to augment their rations as their status as POWs did not allow them to be paid for their labour while interred. According to Historian Michael O'Hagan, "For some of those working in isolated, low-security labour projects like bush camps or farms, POWs also traded and sold with Canadian civilians, providing them access to Canadian currency or forbidden items like radios or even cameras." Eventually, most internment camps allowed the sale of handicrafts, some even allowing civilians to enter camps to view and purchase POW-made items with the proceeds being credited to the artist in the form of canteen chits. These ships ranged from simple to extravagant, but often included pastoral seaside town scenes reminiscent of their homes back in Europe. Most had inscriptions, which could be utilizing words cut from lacal newspaper or hand painted. This ship in a bottle reads "Toronto", likely after Toronto Township (historic Mississauga) where the artist was interred. Even the bottle itself hints at its local origins. Produced by Canadian Wineries Limited between 1928 and 1940, this company reflects the history of winemaking in Cooksville, Mississauga. The first Canadian vineyard was in the village by Johann Schiller, and later developed by Henry Parker and his brothers, who expanded the vineyard and wine vaults. This led to the founding of the Canada Vine Growers Association (CVGA) in 1866, the first commercial winery association in Canada. Over time, the vineyard flourished but eventually declined, and the CVGA was acquired by Canadian Wineries Limited in 1928, which later rebranded as Château-Gai Wines Limited in 1940. Therefore, the "Canadian Wineries Limited" bottle was likely produced between 1928 and 1940, and later sold or acquired by a German POW in Cooksville. Sometime between 1942-1944, an unknown German POW traded this handmade ship in a bottle at the Erindale General Store, owned and operated by Delmar Barker (1899-1944), for a pack of cigarettes. His daughter, Delamary "Mary" Wilkinson (nee Barker), cherished this ship in a bottle as a lasting memento of her father who passed away unexpectedly when she was only four years old in 1944. For many years, it was set on the Erindale post office desk until in 1975, Delamary's home caught fire. The desk and the ship were saved from the fire. Around 1978, Delamary took the ship in a bottle with her whilst teaching young children at various schools in Mississauga, including St. Timothy School. After her retirement and into her senior years, the ship continued to be a prized possession of hers, going everywhere with Delamary until her death in 2023. |
References |
Bell, Robert. "Wines of Canada: Wines and Wineries Behind the History of Winemaking in Canada". Retrieved from: https://winesofcanada.com/history_wineries.html Jarrell, Richard A. "Clair House, Cooksville and the Beginnings of the Ontario Wine Industry", Heritage Mississauga, 2018. Retrieved from: https://heritagemississauga.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Clair-House-Cooksville-and-Wine-Industry-Part-1-by-Richard-Jarrell.pdf Jarrell, Richard A. "The Clair House Winery: the Slow Fade to Black", Heritage Mississauga, 2018. Retrieved from: https://heritagemississauga.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Clair-House-Winery-Fade-to-Black-Part-2-by-Richard-Jarrell.pdf Kathleen Hicks, Erindale: Early Times to Evolution, 2009 O'Hagan, Michael. "All Bottled Up", POWs in Canada, 2014. Retrieved from: https://powsincanada.ca/2014/03/06/a-ship-in-a-bottle/ O'Hagan, Michael. "All Bottled Up – Ships in Bottles Revisited", POWs in Canada, 2021. Retrieved from: https://powsincanada.ca/2021/08/23/all-bottled-up-ships-in-bottles-revisited/ |
People |
Barker, Delamary Barker, Delmar |
Site |
Cooksville Brickyard |
Search Terms |
Cooksville Cooksville Brickyard Erindale Erindale General Store |
Relation |
Show Related Records... |