Login
Create Account
Canadian Store (CAD)
You are currently shopping in our Canadian store. For orders outside of Canada, please switch to our international store. International and US orders are billed in US dollars.
 |
A Vision Greater than ThemselvesThe Making of the Bank of Montreal, 1817-2017 |
eBook Available
A richly illustrated history of the making of Canada’s first bank revealed through carefully chosen images, themes, and objects.
For the past two centuries, the Bank of Montreal has been at the centre of Canada’s economic and financial development. Marking the bicentennial of Canada’s first bank, A Vision Greater than Themselves tells the story of the financial institution from its origins to the present through its iconography.
Exploring the Bank of Montreal’s past through images of objects, its leaders, key documents, and forgotten advertisements, Laurence Mussio illustrates how the Bank of Montreal emerged over time. He shares perspectives on leadership, culture, community, triumphs, and challenges to offer a glimpse into the bank’s personality, innovations, technologies, nation-building projects, and architectural legacy. The mosaic that emerges provides a unique understanding of the Bank of Montreal’s experience over the years. Individually, each visual reveals a self-contained story that is both entertaining and extraordinary. Collectively, these objects impart a much larger story. Throughout this volume’s pages, a picture emerges of a bank that has shaped and been shaped by Canada and the North Atlantic world.
Examining an astonishing range of material, A Vision Greater than Themselves celebrates the evolution of one bank and how it made its mark.
Exploring the Bank of Montreal’s past through images of objects, its leaders, key documents, and forgotten advertisements, Laurence Mussio illustrates how the Bank of Montreal emerged over time. He shares perspectives on leadership, culture, community, triumphs, and challenges to offer a glimpse into the bank’s personality, innovations, technologies, nation-building projects, and architectural legacy. The mosaic that emerges provides a unique understanding of the Bank of Montreal’s experience over the years. Individually, each visual reveals a self-contained story that is both entertaining and extraordinary. Collectively, these objects impart a much larger story. Throughout this volume’s pages, a picture emerges of a bank that has shaped and been shaped by Canada and the North Atlantic world.
Examining an astonishing range of material, A Vision Greater than Themselves celebrates the evolution of one bank and how it made its mark.
Details
272 Pages, 12 x 10 landscape
200 colour illustrations
ISBN 9780773548299
December 2016
Formats: Cloth, eBook
Laurence B. Mussio teaches at the Schulich School of Business at York University and Syracuse University in New York. He lives in Toronto.
CONTENTS
Foreword by William A. Downe ix
Introduction: A Vision Greater xi
PART ONE | THE BMO UNIVERSE 1
The Founders Through Time 3
Determining Destinies: Leaders and Leadership 11
The Written World of BMO: Defining Documents and Directions 27
A Growth Business: BMO and Its Canadian Acquisitions 41
Ten Days of Decision: Pivot Points 53
Currency, Cash, and Legal Tender: BMO’s Richly Denominated Legacy 65
Financial Innovations and Firsts 77
Speed, Distance, Access: BMO’s First-to-Market Technologies 87
A Sense of Place: A National Architectural Legacy 95
BMO’s Most Wanted: Protecting Your Money 125
In Hoc Signo: 200 Years of Royal Arms, Logotypes, and Trademarks 137
BMO Bankers and the Dream of Nation 145
Markets of the Mind: BMO Advertising and the Art of Persuasion 157
On the Playing Fields of North America: Sponsorships 169
From Charity to Philanthropy 181
Cultural Capital: Bankers and Art 189
PART TWO | TWO CENTURIES OF BANKING BY THE NUMBERS 203
Assets 205
Deposits 206
The Trajectory of Wealth Generation 207
Loans 208
Customer Base 209
Employees 210
Branches and Access 211
Mapping Global Operations 212
Branch Network 213
Community Giving 214
Women in Leadership 215
Investment in Technology 216
Employee Giving 217
Investment in Human Capital 218
Banking System Stability and Soundness 219
PART THREE | THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF BMO BANKING 221
The “Miller” Chest 223
Deposit Ledger No.1: The First Database 224
The Certificate of Stock 225
The Bank’s Corporate Seal 226
The William Notman Albums, 1884 227
The Dictograph, 1970s 228
Memorials to the World Wars: Montreal Head Office, 1923 and 1951 229
The Circular 230
The Passbook 231
Times Lords: The John Wood Clock 232
The Bank of Montreal Centenary Medal 233
Rules and Regulations for the Branches 234
The Gold Scale 235
The Protectograph 236
The Blickensderfer Typewriter 237
Ledger for Foreign Agents, 1885 238
Victorial Cryptography: Telegraph Codebooks 239
Minute Book H, 1905-09 240
Money Boxes 241
Championship Trophy, Montreal Bankers Hockey League 242
The Pension Fund Society Seal, 1884 243
Manual for Tellers, 1965 244
“that thou mayest prosper”: The Bank of Montreal/Waskaganish Belt, 1994 245
M-Bar Chic? The Promotional Bow Tie, 1977 246
BMO Harris’s Lionheart: Hubert T. Lion 247
Epilogue 249
Acknowledgments 251
Foreword by William A. Downe ix
Introduction: A Vision Greater xi
PART ONE | THE BMO UNIVERSE 1
The Founders Through Time 3
Determining Destinies: Leaders and Leadership 11
The Written World of BMO: Defining Documents and Directions 27
A Growth Business: BMO and Its Canadian Acquisitions 41
Ten Days of Decision: Pivot Points 53
Currency, Cash, and Legal Tender: BMO’s Richly Denominated Legacy 65
Financial Innovations and Firsts 77
Speed, Distance, Access: BMO’s First-to-Market Technologies 87
A Sense of Place: A National Architectural Legacy 95
BMO’s Most Wanted: Protecting Your Money 125
In Hoc Signo: 200 Years of Royal Arms, Logotypes, and Trademarks 137
BMO Bankers and the Dream of Nation 145
Markets of the Mind: BMO Advertising and the Art of Persuasion 157
On the Playing Fields of North America: Sponsorships 169
From Charity to Philanthropy 181
Cultural Capital: Bankers and Art 189
PART TWO | TWO CENTURIES OF BANKING BY THE NUMBERS 203
Assets 205
Deposits 206
The Trajectory of Wealth Generation 207
Loans 208
Customer Base 209
Employees 210
Branches and Access 211
Mapping Global Operations 212
Branch Network 213
Community Giving 214
Women in Leadership 215
Investment in Technology 216
Employee Giving 217
Investment in Human Capital 218
Banking System Stability and Soundness 219
PART THREE | THE MATERIAL CULTURE OF BMO BANKING 221
The “Miller” Chest 223
Deposit Ledger No.1: The First Database 224
The Certificate of Stock 225
The Bank’s Corporate Seal 226
The William Notman Albums, 1884 227
The Dictograph, 1970s 228
Memorials to the World Wars: Montreal Head Office, 1923 and 1951 229
The Circular 230
The Passbook 231
Times Lords: The John Wood Clock 232
The Bank of Montreal Centenary Medal 233
Rules and Regulations for the Branches 234
The Gold Scale 235
The Protectograph 236
The Blickensderfer Typewriter 237
Ledger for Foreign Agents, 1885 238
Victorial Cryptography: Telegraph Codebooks 239
Minute Book H, 1905-09 240
Money Boxes 241
Championship Trophy, Montreal Bankers Hockey League 242
The Pension Fund Society Seal, 1884 243
Manual for Tellers, 1965 244
“that thou mayest prosper”: The Bank of Montreal/Waskaganish Belt, 1994 245
M-Bar Chic? The Promotional Bow Tie, 1977 246
BMO Harris’s Lionheart: Hubert T. Lion 247
Epilogue 249
Acknowledgments 251
