This fonds consists of three parts - textual records; technical & cartographic records; and graphic records. Majority of the records entail the professional and/or business aspects of R.A. Davy's life (work, projects, etc.), however there are many items related to his personal life and affairs. The textual portion contains a large amount of correspondence, project-related documents such as estimates, calculation charts, contracts, reports and other documents, as well as notebooks and several publications (such as catalogues, price lists and timetables). It should be noted that some of the textual files contain technical and architectural drawings - mainly sketches and graphs that were made by hand. Note: some files/items were transferred to Volume 11 due to being oversized; see volume 11 description below.
Textual Records:
The textual records have been grouped thematically and fall under the following groups:
- Correspondence
- Work and project-related documents (Subject files & Alphabetical files)
- Notebooks
- Reports & Publications
Correspondence, 1872-1936 (60 cm): Majority of the correspondence can be found in volume 1 - 2 where they are arranged in chronological order by year. Most of the correspondence pertains to Davy's work on various railway and canal projects - this includes correspondence regarding provisions, documentation for bills/receipts, expenses, supplies, agreements, costs/calculations and various notes. It also includes personal correspondence with Davy's family (wife, daughter, son and brother), friends and acquaintances, as well as legal documents and bank or financial statements. Volume 1 also contains 2 files of professional certifications and letters of recommendations given to Davy. Certifications are related to Davy's credentials as an engineer and the letters are from various establishments, organizations and people; majority are from the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), one of Davy's employers.
Work and project-related documents, 1881-1927 (80 cm): Arranged in two sections - by Subject Files in Volumes 2 - 4 and Alphabetical Files in Volumes 5 - 6. The files arranged by subject are arranged chronologically by year and cover the major projects in which Davy was involved throughout his career, including ones with the CPR, Temiscouata Railway, St. Lawrence Canals and the Trent Canals. They contain some correspondence, estimates, specifications and contracts. The files arranged alphabetically, by name, contain information relating to smaller projects which Davy was involved with or interested in. These files include a range of project specifications, estimates and contracts. Also included in this section are documents related to various organizations which Davy belonged to.
Notebooks, 1879-1914 (30 cm): Found in part of volume 6 and all of volume 7. These files consist of various type of notebooks - log books, time books, letter books, address books, journals and profile books. They were used by Davy for both personal and business matters, which includes Davy's personal journal and notes, financial/banking information, survey notes and estimates. There are section books for work related to the CPR, Temiscouata Railway and the Trent Canals. Some notebooks also contain hand drawn sketches and graphed information.
Reports & Publications (90 cm): Found in volumes 8 - 10. These files contain Davy's collection of reports and published works. This includes various price lists, catalogues and reference materials related to railway and waterway systems and structures. Many of these items were published by manufacturing companies or their associated dealers. There are also several materials published by commissions and governmental departments (such as municipal and federal) that include details on regional infrastructure plans.
Volume 11: Oversized files and items - This volume contains items and files that have been transferred from Volumes 2 to 8 due to their oversized nature or fragility. Some files have been completely transferred to this volume, while some items have been transferred from the original files (which still remain). This volume contains mainly project-related documents such as summaries, estimates, calculations and specifications. It also contains Davy's legal documents regarding land ownership and a collection of advertising literature and other publications.
Technical & Cartographic Records:
This section consists of 216 engineering plans and maps that were prepared or collected by Davy for various railway and waterway engineering projects. They have been arranged by projects:
1. Intercolonial Railway
2. Canadian Pacific Railway
3. Temiscouata Railway
4. Northern Pacific Railway
5. St. Lawrence Canals
6. Trent Canal
7. General Waterways
8. Miscellaneous & Geological Survey of Canada Maps
These records mainly consist of technical drawings, but there are also several profiles and maps. The records illustrate several engineering structures, such as bridges, trestles, wharves, dams, canals, locks and stations, which were used to plan and create transportation and drainage systems and structures. All records are located in volumes 13 - 26. Volumes 13 - 16 and 20 - 26 are (or contain) oversized folders; volumes 17 - 19 contain rolled maps/plans. The largest items, in both width and length, can be found in volumes 17 - 18 and 24 - 26. The dimensions and scale measurements of some items are available in the finding aid.
Graphic Records:
This includes photographic material from 1 album, which contains 259 photographs. Majority of these photographs are black & white, but there are also 2 cyanotype images. These photographs showcase several different canals, locks, dams, bridges and other waterway constructions of which Davy presumably was involved with from 1898 to 1900. A large amount of the photographs showcase the structures during construction and/or renovation stages. There are also other photographs that pertain to Davy's personal life - photos of either friends, family, colleagues and others. There are several photographs of landscapes, bodies of water and various railway structures. Some of photographs include: photos of the Parliament and Parliament Hill, St. Lawrence Canals (Cornwall, Beauharnois, Iroquois, Soulanges Canal) as well as other Canadian landmarks and structures. The photo album can be located in volume 13.
