INTRODUCTION

Ramsay Traquair: The Architectural Heritage of Quebec is an attempt to convey the multi-faceted achievements of Ramsay Traquair, the third Director of the School of Architecture at McGill University. During his tenure (1913-39), he made significant contributions to teaching, historic preservation, cultural awareness, and establishment of a library for the profession of architecture.

The collection of photographs that Traquair purchased for the University, and added to, are a valuable resource to architects, architectural and art historians, photographers, and other interested researchers. The measured drawings, produced under his tutelage, complement the photographs in recording historic buildings and details, some of which no longer exist.

The Traquair archive is an invaluable resource for researchers working in a variety of disciplines: architects, architectural and art historians, photographers, and other interested researchers. The archive at the John Bland Canadian Architecture Collection consists of architectural and silver artifact photographs, hereby made available for the first time as a searchable database. Selected drawings, teaching tools, and heraldry designs for Boy Scouts round out the archive component of the website.

The biography component of this website has been divided into four sections, chronicling his contribution as an architect, a pedagogue, a historian, and a bibliophile. Traquair's multiple collaborations with his mother, Phoebe Anna Traquair, on design and with colleagues on publications show his diversity in working with other professionals to achieve a high standard. It is with the deepest gratitude that the John Bland Canadian Architecture Collection acknowledges Professors Emeriti John Bland and Norbert Schoenauer for their kindness in granting interviews, speaking about the life and times of Ramsay Traquair.

Publications feature the John Bland Canadian Architecture Collection 2-volume guide, the two seminal books published by Traquair, an unpublished chapter about furniture, and milestones of Old McGill involving him in university associations. The bibliography covers primary and secondary source publications, lectures by Traquair, and also his unpublished material. Donations highlights the important contributions Traquair made to McGill's libraries, including his involvement with the Gordon Home Blackader Library of Architecture Committee.