Notes from the Collective

Curated by Dr. Grace McNutt, SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow, Cape Breton University, School of Arts and Social Sciences In the very late hours of March 29, 1943, the Royal Airforce Force (RAF) squadrons of Bomber Command were able to launch 329 aircraft to bomb Berlin. Not long after they left the British Isles behind, storms began hampering their progress. Over 120 aircraft were forced to turn around. The rest carried on, including Short Stirling BK716, with a mixed British and C

In the Loop with Dr. Gerald Pocius, Professor Emeritus, Memorial University, and a member of the Royal Society of Canada. This spring (2026), I had the privilege of speaking with Dr. Gerald Pocius, Professor Emeritus, Folklore Studies at Memorial University. Dr. Pocius’ work has been a beacon in my own work and the work of my students, who I continue to point in the direction of his important 1991 edited volume Living in a Material World: Canadian and American Approaches t

New News We’ve had a busy spring at MCC! We welcomed the MCC’s inaugural steering committee, who have graciously offered to serve until July 1, 2027 (see a list of this year's committee members below). In addition, we have added in two new assistants, Jillian Moggy, an MA student at Dalhousie, who will manage our website, and Dr. Samantha Ruckenstein, Mount Allison and St. Thomas Universities, who will manage our social media (you can now find us on instragram and facebook).

Curated by Dr. Grace McNutt, SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow, Cape Breton University, School of Arts and Social Sciences Our next mystery object is a remnant of the aircraft, a Short Stirling BK716, and we invite you to examine the object's construction, materials and preservation to begin a conversation on the object's purpose, context and broader historiography in the comments below. We invite you to treat this post as a conversation rather than a quiz. There are no wrong answers

Curated by Amber Laurie, Senior Curator of Marine History, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic Sailor's Valentine - Maritime Museum of the Atlantic (M84.91.1) Sailor's valentines were typically made by Barbadian women and men in the post-emancipation Victorian period. Men would often craft the mahogany bases while women created the shell patterns. Sections are divided by coloured cardboard while the shells are glued on top of cotton backing. Newspaper could also be included in th

Curated by Amber Laurie, Senior Curator of Marine History, Maritime Museum of the Atlantic Can you help us? We know what this object is, why objects of this type were created, and where they were likely made. However, we do not have an exact date, know the identity of the sailor, or know the specific names of the shells used in its creation. In the comments, you can help us by answering the following questions: When was the Halifax-based photography studio (Moss Photograph C

What happens when we gather around objects? At the inaugural Material Culture of the Atlantic conference, nearly seventy-five participants came together at Dalhousie University to explore how material things—crafted, worn, built, and remembered—shape histories, identities, and everyday life.

Our first Mystery Object invites you to look closely, slow down, and speculate. What can this ensemble—its materials, construction, and signs of wear—tell us about labour, place, and everyday life? Share your guesses, and join us as we gather around the object ahead of the January reveal.