Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Riley and McCormick fonds
General material designation
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Fonds
Repository
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
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Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
Physical description area
Physical description
1.25 m of textual records. -- 30 photographs. -- 45 sound recordings
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Riley and McCormick Ltd. was founded in Calgary, Alberta in 1901 by partners Eneas McCormick and William James Riley. It opened as a wholesale and retail business and factory that specialized in custom-made saddles, boots and other leather goods. In 1903, the company added a mail order catalogue department so goods could be sold more widely. The firm was incorporated in 1905. Around 1912, Riley retired and McCormick took over the business, retaining the original name. When Eneas died in 1956, management of the company passed to daughter and son-in-law, Mary Isabelle McCormick and Urban Guichon. Under Urban’s direction, the business grew during the 1960s and 1970s to 33 stores throughout Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Montana. The company suffered the effects of the economic downturn in Calgary during the early 1980s and went into receivership in 1983. After a hard-fought legal battle, the family retained the original firm and one store. Three of the Guichon children, Greg, Carolyn and Brian, took on the task of rebuilding the business with the help of Urban in a supporting consultative role until his death in 1993. In 2001, Riley and McCormick celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Custodial history
Scope and content
The fonds consists of correspondence, financial records including account books, mail order catalogues, advertising and promotional material, newspaper clippings about the history and development of the company, and photographs of stores, displays, and saddles.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Gift of Carolyn Guichon, 2013.
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
No restrictions on access.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Inventory available. Please consult before requesting material. http://www.glenbow.org/collections/search/findingAids/archhtm/saddlery.cfm
Associated materials
Accruals
General note
Call numbers. Please consult inventory.
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
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Description record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules or conventions
Status
Final
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
Record added by Susan Kooyman, March 20, 2015.
Language of description
- English