Handle with care: Moving centuries-old Hudson’s Bay charter a delicate operation

TORONTO — In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the royal charter that created Canada’s oldest company was loaded onto a private plane in Toronto.

Protected by a durable case that was not too hot, not too cold and sheltered from bright light, the 350-year-old document that birthed the Hudson’s Bay Co. made its way to Winnipeg aboard the aircraft. It was accompanied by a member of the retailer’s staff and a conservator specializing in paper documents — and its own armed security team, who never took their eyes off the artifact.

When they landed, the charter was escorted to the Manitoba Museum, where more gloved conservators pored over every millimetre of the five-page vellum artifact and its wax seal, making detailed notes about the condition on arrival and any damage it may have sustain