Hidden treasures: The punch bowl that tells the story of Montreal's first department store

To mark Montreal's 375th anniversary, curators from Montreal museums showus some of their favourite items hidden in their archives. This is the latest installmentin an ongoing series.

Want to know the story behindthe opening of Montreal's first department store? Look in the punch bowl.

Henry Morgan arrived in the city in1844 and, soon after,opened a dry goods store on Notre-Dame Street, in what was thenits bustling commercial centre.

Over the next decades, Morgan's store did so well, he decided to open a department store a little further north, on Ste-Catherine Street.

"At that time, on Ste-Catherine Street, we're talking about the1890s, there was not much large commercial activities up there," said LouisePothier, a curator and archaeologist atPointe--CallireMuseum.

"He built a huge building at that time in Montreal. His store on Ste-Catherine was compared to the Louvre in Paris, so nothing but the best ... I think it was so spectacular at that time for Montreal that it was celebrated as a very important event in history."

Built in 1891, that building still exists today, owned by the company who bought Morgan's department store: theHudson's Bay Company

Punch bowl commemorates 100 years

The punch bowl was made to celebrate Morgan's100thyear anniversary.

Its design shows the changes to the cityover those 100 years and the history of the vibrant city.

The department store wanted to highlight the city's bilingual nature by including portraits of Jean Baptiste and John Bullan imaginary figure meant to personify the spirit of theUnited Kingdom, much like Uncle Sam in the United States.

The story of Montreal's first department store

8 years ago

Duration 0:30

This punch bowl commemorates the 100th anniversary of Morgan's department store.

One side of the bowl shows the view from Mount Royal down onto the city in 1945, including skyscrapers that were beginning to go up. The other shows the view fromle Sainte-Hlne across the St. Lawrence River in 1845.

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