Yardstick
Yardstick

Yardstick

Object

Accession Number
2016.010.001
Description
Wooden yardstick.Branded Mellor Bros, Victoria on the front. Back advertises painting and wallpaper hanging services.
Narrative
This wooden yardstick was found by the donor in the house she purchased from the estate of Clementine Laseur, daughter of the first owner of 1272 Walnut Street, Victoria, BC. The 1896 house was purchased fully furnished with the original family’s possessions.

The yardstick bears the printed trade name and address for Mellor Bros., a painting and decorating firm that was advertising in Victoria newspapers as early as 1890. The company address printed on the yardstick is 70 Fort Street. This address for the company first appears in the 1905 Victoria city directory. After 1905, the City of Victoria changed the numbering of Fort Street addresses. The yardstick was therefore probably made in 1905. The Dunsmuir household at Craigdarroch, like any household, probably had sticks and tapes used for measuring distances for various domestic purposes.
History of Use
This yardstick was used and stored by the Laseur family at their house at 1272 Walnut Street, Victoria, B.C., built in 1896. It was donated to The Castle Society by the second owner of the house. 
Date
1905 – 1906
Dimensions
0.5 cm x 2.5 cm x 91 cm
Material
Wood