A Brief History of The Beaver Magazine
The Beaver “... is essential reading for all those interested in Canadian history.”
Margaret Atwood, Toronto
“There is no other Canadian publication I hold in higher esteem, and I regard it as one of our greatest national institutions.”
Paul Vuksanovich, Victoria, BC
The Beaver was founded in 1920 by Hudson's Bay Company and was something of a birthday present to itself. It was one of the many activities in celebration of HBC's 250th anniversary. It was seen as a staff publication “devoted to The Interests of Those Who Serve the Hudson's Bay Company.”
The first issue appeared in October 1920, under the banner, The Beaver, A Journal of Progress, the “successful name” in a staff competition. 5000 copies were printed and distributed at a total cost of $570 — less than what is paid today for a standard 2000 word article.
According to Charles Sale, who became the 29th Governor of HBC, there was a “purely personal and domestic character” to the initial magazine. Sale felt this approach was too narrow.
He envisioned The Beaver as “... one of exceeding use to ...Staff; but also a publication that could ...be distributed to customers to their benefit and is, at the same time a practical reminder (through advertising) of the Company's existence and of the goods which it offers.”
The model magazine for his ideas was Valve World, published by the Crane Company of America — the plumbing people.
Beginning with the December, 1923 issue, the Company began making the magazine available to "those not in the service" at a rate of one dollar a year, a rate still in effect well into the '30s. The following year, the magazine ceased being a monthly publication and became a quarterly.
The 1930s Through 1980Significant changes took place in 1933 with the September issue. The original digest format was replaced by the standard magazine design. The revised focus was spelled out on the masthead. “A Journal of Progress” became “A Magazine of the North.”
The content of the new Beaver was broadened to “... include the whole field of travel, exploration and the trade in the Canadian North as well as the current activities and historical background of the Hudson's Bay Company and all its departments throughout Canada.” Staff news was de–emphasized and would be handled by other company publications.
Over the next fifty years, the magazine came into its stride. The Beaver came to offer a wealth of information on Canada's social, cultural, economic and commercial past.
Stephen Leacock graced its pages in 1936 with his “Reflections on the North” written specifically for the magazine.
Margaret Mead wrote for the magazine on two occasions in the 1950s. Her article “The Eskimos” appeared in 1959.
The March issue, 1954, commemorated “the discovery, by Chief Factor John Rae, M.D., of the fate of the Franklin Expedition.”
In 1967, to commemorate Canada's centennial, The Beaver published a special issue on Inuit Art. Canada's leading historians have written for the magazine:
- Pierre Berton
- Michael Bliss
- Jack Bumstead
- Donald Creighton
- Jack Granatstein
- Desmond Morton
- W.L. Morton
- Peter C. Newman
- Veronica Strong–Boag
- Christopher Moore
The Beaver was one of the first magazines to publish the works of wildlife artist Clarence Tillenius and Arctic photographer Richard Harrington.
The 1980s
In 1986, The Beaver became a bimonthly magazine. The publisher decided to break with tradition and expand the focus of the magazine to include all Canadian history — introducing Atlantic and Central Canadian stories for the first time. The masthead was revitalized to say “Exploring Canada's History.”
Over the years The Beaver built upon its solid reputation for authoritative, well–written articles by expanding its mandate again, from the Bay and the North, to Canada, from sea–to–sea.
This was The Beaver that Canada's National History Society acquired from the Hudson's Bay Company in 1994. The History Society was founded that same year.
It was conceived as a popular history society to bring history to a wider audience. Now subtitled “Canada's History Magazine”, it continues publication of The Beaver's bimonthly mix of engaging features, columns, reviews, notes and commentary.
Today
Under the leadership of the Society, with its added benefits of general store discounts and museum admission offers, the magazine has modernized its production and promotion programs bringing The Beaver fully into the 21st century.
In 2004, the Society launched its "baby" Beaver, Kayak: Canada's History Magazine for Kids [French version available quarterly as an insert in Les Debrouillards]. Every issue introduces children to the who, what, when, where, why and how of Canada’s fascinating stories, and shows them our history in a way that children find engaging, relevant and fun.
Access to the full Beaver archive was achieved through the creation of an online index. With close to 15,000 records entered, visitors can conduct searches free–of–charge and read over five decades of articles. The creation of the index made it possible to participate in the Canadian Content Online Program and use The Beaver archive to highlight Canada's fur trade history with the digital project Fur Trade Stories.
