In any museum collection there are bound to be objects that are rare or unusual. Most of the time a little investigation will reveal a story just as interesting as the object itself. But sometimes you run across an object with a story that is so elusive it may never be fully discovered.
This is one such object from deep within Hagley’s collection. A hand sewn adult-sized robe, or maybe a jacket, created entirely out of the purple velvet bags used to package Crown Royal Canadian Whisky. Hagley Museum and Library is the holder of the records of the now dissolved, Seagram Company, Ltd. This robe is one of several objects that came with that collection.
According to Crown Royal’s parent company the whisky was introduced to commemorate the 1939 visit to Canada of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of England. The royal purple presentation bag with its gold colored embroidery and drawstring quickly became the product’s hallmark. And now 50 million of these bags are produced every year. That’s a lot of purple. Almost from the beginning, fans of Crown Royal have been repurposing the regal looking bags into quilts, pillows, Christmas stockings and even clothing.
Is this jacket a witty piece of marketing, a clever up-cycling project or a fan letter to a beloved product? We may never know the answers but it certainly is an outstanding example of one person’s creativity and ingenuity.
Sarah Snyder is the Museum Collections Manager at Hagley