Name/Title
DE MORTUIS NIL NISI SMELLUM Coat of Arms. Cartoon related to UCBC rat infestation in Douglas Street ClubhouseEntry/Object ID
2001.02.13Description
Drawing
This is a humourous cartoon related to rodent infestations at The Union Club of British Columbia, at its second venue on Douglas Street, drawn by the then Club Secretary, ca. 1912. This image depicts a "Coat of Arms" with three rats, deceased, on their backs on a shield with two workman supporters, a crest at the top and a motto as follows, “DE MORTUIS NIL NISI SMELLUM”. This motto is a play on the Latin phrase, "De mortuis nil nisi bonum", roughly equivalent in English to "Speak no ill of the dead". The explanatory text at the bottom follows traditional heraldic description of the components - shield, supporters, a crest, and a motto.
Founded in 1879, the Union Club is a landmark institution in the heart of downtown Victoria, considered the foremost business, social and cultural club in the city. It is now located in its third venue on Gordon Street at Humboldt. In 2017, the building was declared a National Historic Site by the Government of Canada.Artwork Details
Medium
Pen and ink on paperSubject Place
Region
Pacific NorthwestContinent
North AmericaContext
Members using the Club's facilities were responsible for paying their dues and any applicable board bills or surcharges. For example, members using the card room after 1:30 a.m. ca. 1910 were required to pay a substantial surcharge (five dollars/hour for the room) and after 2:30 a.m. the charge was applied on a per person basis. This is in contrast to the four-legged "members", who enjoyed the entire Club for free, paying no dues, bills, fees or surcharges. These infestations are said to have significantly contributed to the Club’s decision to build its new home on Gordon Street.
See Susan Mayse, "The Union Club of British Columbia - Our First 125 Years" (Victoria, B.C.: The Union Club of British Columbia, 2004), and Paul L. Bissley, "Early and Late Victorians: A History of the Union Club of British Columbia" (Sidney, B.C.: Review Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd., 1969). Both publications are available in the UCBC Library.
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A coat of arms is traditionally unique to a person, family, state, organization, school or corporation. Originally appearing on shields or flags, coats of arms were once used as a way of distinguishing one knight from another on a battlefield. There are strict formal rules governing which colors and symbols are depicted on coats of arms and how they are arranged. The coat of arms on an escutcheon or shield forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, or display, of all the components to which the bearer of a coat of arms is entitled, which consists of a shield, supporters, a crest, and a motto.
From the The Public Register of Arms, Flags, and Badges of Canada, Canadian Heraldic Authority, The Governor General of Canada (see Web Links below).Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
UCBC Secretary Major William St. John Beale (1864-?)Role
ArtistDate made
1912Time Period
20th CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Born in England, the son of the reverend of Hopton Castle in Shropshire, William St. John Beale attended Charterhouse School, one of the nine "great" English public [private] schools. Originally founded in 1611 on the old Carthusian monastery site in London, it moved in 1872 to its present location in Godalming, Surrey. Beale joined the Norfolk Regiment in 1883, serving in the Bechuanaland Expedition (now Republic of Botswana) in 1884/85 and in The Boer War in South Africa, 1889-1902. He achieved the rank of major, retiring from the military in 1903. His previous links to Canada, if any, are unknown; however, Major Beale became the secretary of the Union Club (ca. 1909) after his military service at least until 1912.
Beale is first listed in Victoria in the 1909 Directory of Vancouver Island as Major William Beale, Sec. of the Union Club. As of later 1911, Major and Mrs. [Lucy R.] W. Beale are listed living at 645 Battery Street in the James Bay neighbourhood. In November 1912, he volunteered his services as adjutant for the city's newly formed military unit, the 88th Regiment Victoria Fusiliers. In 1915 he enlisted in the U.K., at the age of 51, in the 48th Canadian Expeditionary Force, Infantry Battalion and was attached to several battalions in the U.K. He resigned his commission in 1917 due to a back injury. His later life is unknown.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
Signature, Date, InscriptionLocation
Titled lower centre: DE MORTUIS NIL NISI SMELLUM
Signed lower right: SB/12
[SB = Secretary Beale, Major William St. John Beale, and 12 = 1912]
Inscription at bottom of image:
ARMS: On a field of Liverpool Virus, sable, three rats, mort. Lying on their backs, with toes turned up, all proper. Motto – “De mortuis nil nisi smellum.”
SUPPORTERS: Dexter et Sinister, Two V.I.W.W.s (two very Independent Workers of Wood) each holding his tool, improper.
CREST: Issuing from a hole in the floor, & full as to flavour, a stench most improper. Second motto “Union is….?”Acquisition
Acquisition Method
GiftNotes
Legacy collection
Presented to the UCBC by Major William St. John Beale, 1912Relationships
Related Entries
Notes
By Major S. Beale, UCBC Secretary, ca. 1910
2001.02.12 “Members who have paid no dues..” (cartoon)
2001.02.13 DE MORTUIS NIL NISI SMELLUM (cartoon)
2001.02.14 “Ain’t seen no bill lately…” (cartoon)Web Links and URLs
The Union Club of British Columbia, Internet Archive: The Daily Colonist, April 29, 1969: Remember the Rat Hunts? by D. Gain, page n24, Canadian Heraldic Authority, Charterhouse Register, Tercentenary edition, Vol. I, 1872-1891, Listing for Major William St. John Beale, page 153, Canadian Great War Project: William St. John Beale