- Part Of
- Men's Clothing Manufacturers' Association of Ontario fonds
- Level
- Fonds
- Fonds
- 31
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- sound recording
- Date
- 1919-1988
- Physical Description
- 3.15 m of textual records
- 459 photographs
- 1 audiocasette
- Admin History/Bio
- The Men's Clothing Manufacturers' Association of Ontario (MCMAO) was formed and incorporated in 1919 under the name of the Associated Clothing Manufacturers. The Association's primary mandate was the representation of its membership in negotiations with the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and later, the Toronto Joint Board of the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union. The MCMAO membership was comprised of the manufacturing firms of men's clothing in Toronto and Hamilton and inlcuded companies such as Tip Top Tailors, Empire Clothing and Shiffer-Hillman among others. The Association was also involved in furthering the interests of the clothing industry in Ontario and with all matters pertaining to the clothing business in which the Association's membership was interested. The MCMAO was a represented member of the Apparel Manufacturers' Associatoin of Ontario and the Apparel Manufacturers' Council of Canada. The MCMAO ceased operation around 1989.
- Custodial History
- There is no information on the acquisition of these records. They came into the Archives in the early 1990s but the original source from the Association is unknown. The records were stored at the OJA's offsite storage location until 2008, when they were transferred to the OJA vault for processing.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of records documenting the Association’s role in negotiations with the employee’s union on behalf of their membership, as well as their work in lobbying senior levels of government on such matters as labour relations, tariffs and taxes, and other issues related to the production of men’s and boys’ garments. The records include legal documents; executive and committee meeting minutes; financial records; arbitration, mediation and negotiation reports and correspondence; collective agreements; labour statistics; general correspondence files; parliamentary briefs, submissions and reports; and seminar photographs. There are also files related to specific bodies that the Association collaborated or corresponded with, such as the Toronto Club of Clothing Designers. Of particular interest are the files of the Overseas Garment Workers Commission, which documents the Associations' role in helping bring over Jewish refugees and other Displaced Persons as tailors and garment workers.
- The fonds has been divided into twelve series: Legal; Board of Directors meeting minutes and agendas; Executive Committee / Executive Board meeting minutes and agendas; Annual and general meeting minutes and agendas; Negotiations Committee; Finance Committee; Public Relations Committee; Labour Relations Committee; Other committee meeting minutes and agendas; General correspondence; Parliamentary briefs, submissions, reports and correspondence; and Seminars.
- Name Access
- Men's Clothing Manufacturers' Association of Ontario
- Subjects
- Clothing trade
- Access Restriction
- Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.
- Related Material
- Queen’s University Archives holds records of the MCMAO dating from 1920 to 1969. These records appear to have originated from the same source and at one point the collection had been split in two. The fonds at Queen’s is complementary to the OJA’s fonds and together, the two fonds provide a complete picture of the MCMAO and its work.
- Library and Archives Canada holds the records of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America fonds.
- Creator
- Men's Clothing Manufacturer's Association of Ontario (1919-1989)
- Accession Number
- 2008-12-4
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Men's Clothing Manufacturers' Association of Ontario fonds
- Negotiations Committee series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 31
- Series
- 5
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1919-1987
- Physical Description
- 83 cm of textual records
- Scope and Content
- This series consists of records related to the activities of the Negotiations Committee. Included are the committee's meeting minutes and agendas, records of the negotiation proceedings, conciliation and arbitration hearings, Impartial Chairman's reports and correspondence, as well as collective agreements.
- Access Restriction
- Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.
- Accession Number
- 2008-12-4
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Men's Clothing Manufacturers' Association of Ontario fonds
- Finance Committee series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 31
- Series
- 6
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- [ca. 1933]-1984
- Physical Description
- 27 cm of textual records
- Scope and Content
- This series consists of the records of the Finance Committee. Included are the committee's meeting minutes and agendas, membership dues assessments, financial statements, and information on market and piece-work rates and consumer price index statistics.
- Accession Number
- 2008-12-4
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Men's Clothing Manufacturers' Association of Ontario fonds
- General correspondence series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 31
- Series
- 10
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1922-1987
- Physical Description
- 77 cm of textual records
- Scope and Content
- This series consists of the general correspondence files created by the MCMAO's executive director. The records consist of correspondence to other committee members, manufacturers, the general membership, as well as other men's clothing associations.
- Accession Number
- 2008-12-4
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Men's Clothing Manufacturers' Association of Ontario fonds
- Parliamentary briefs, submissions, reports and correspondence series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 31
- Series
- 11
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1954-1988
- Physical Description
- 20 cm of textual records
- Scope and Content
- This series consists of the records documenting the MCMAO's work in lobbying the federal government on issues related to the men's clothing industry. Included are parliamentary submissions on behalf of associations of which the MCMAO was a member, such as the Apparel Manufacturers Association of Ontario and the Canadian Apparel Manufacturers Council.
- Accession Number
- 2008-12-4
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Men's Clothing Manufacturers' Association of Ontario fonds
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 31
- File
- 8
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1985
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Admin History/Bio
- Sam Fax was the manager of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers' Union of America.
- Accession Number
- 2008-12-4
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Jewish Immigrant Aid Services of Toronto fonds
- Administration series
- Correspondence sub-series
- Level
- Sub-series
- Fonds
- 9
- Series
- 5-2
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1935-1986, predominant 1942-1980
- Physical Description
- 28 cm of textual records
- Scope and Content
- Sub-series consists of correspondence maintained in the central registry file system of the JIAS Central Region office. It contains letters exchanged with other agencies and individuals, and well as with the National JIAS headquarters in Montreal and the Western Region office in Winnipeg. Sub-series also contains files named for JIAS presidents and executive members, which contain incoming and outgoing correspondence created by, and in some cases about, the individual. The sub-series is arranged in its original alphabetical-chronological order.
- Access Restriction
- Records in off-site storage; advance notice required to view.
- Partially closed. Researchers must receive permission from the OJA director prior to accessing some of the records.
- Arrangement
- This sub-series was created by the archivist from records originally part of series MG2 I1a K2 "Immigration Files - Administration, Projects." In the JIAS office, files were maintained in a central registry system of random numerical classification (these original numbers remain on the files).
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Benjamin Dunkelman fonds
- Level
- Fonds
- Fonds
- 2
- Material Format
- multiple media
- Date
- 1898, [192-?]-1997
- Physical Description
- 80 cm of textual records and other material
- Admin History/Bio
- Benjamin Dunkelman (1913–1997) was a successful businessman and president of Tip Top Tailors. He had a distinguished military career in both the Canadian Army during the Second World War and in the Haganah during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
- Benjamin was born in Toronto to David Dunkelman (1883–1978) and Rose (née Miller, 1889–1949). He had three sisters and two brothers: Joseph, a movie executive; Ernest, a manufacturer; Zelda; Veronica; and Theodora. His father, David, was a successful entrepreneur who established Tip Top Tailors in 1910. Both David and his wife Rose were fervent Zionists.
- Benjamin attended Upper Canada College and, at the age of eighteen, visited Palestine for the first time. While in Palestine, he worked for a year on a kibbutz, mostly as a guard. During the Second World War, he served as a major in the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada; as major, he gained respect for his knowledge of mortars. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in 1945 for his role in the final Allied assault on Germany. Two years later, Benjamin returned to Palestine to join the Haganah in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. As a commander, he captured Nazareth and brought northern Galilee under Jewish control. Near the end of the war, he met and married Yael Lifshitz (m. Dunkelman), a corporal in the Israeli army. Benjamin was elected national commander of the Jewish War Veterans of Canada in 1977.
- In addition to his work as a soldier, Benjamin was a successful businessman. He served as president of Tip Top Tailors after his father stepped down; he was also director of Colonial Finance Corporation, president of Cloverdale Shopping Centre, and president of Renforth Developments. Besides operating the Dunkelman Gallery, Benjamin and his wife, Yael, ran the Constellation Hotel and Dunkelman’s Restaurant.
- Dunkelman later wrote of his experiences in both wars in his autobiography "Dual Allegiance" (published by MacMIllan). As well as the DSO, Dunkelman was awarded the Fighter’s Decoration of the State of Israel (1970), and an Israel Bonds Award Dinner in Tribute to Ben Dunkelman (1977). He was a guest of honour both at a reception hosted by the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute of Science and the veterans of the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada (1976) and at a 7th Brigade Reunion in Israel (1991).
- Scope and Content
- Fonds consists of records documenting Benjamin Dunkelman's personal, business, and military activities. Included is personal and business correspondence and other records, maps, photographs, news clippings, and scrapbooks assembled by Dunkelman. The bulk of the records relate both to Dunkelman’s autobiography Dual allegiance and to his military career in the Second World War and in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Other records relate to his business work with Tip Top Tailors, the Constellation Hotel, Dunkelman’s Restaurant, and the Dunkelman Gallery, as well as to his Zionist actvities, his writing and public speeches, and his personal life.
- The fonds is organized into the following series: Personal records and correspondence, Zionist materials, Businesses, Second World War, Arab-Israeli War, Dual Allegiance, and Speeches.
- Notes
- Physical description note: Includes 218 photographs, 60 maps, 7 postcards, 5 architectural drawings, and 3 albums.
- Associated material note: see the Ben Dunkelman fonds at Library and Archives Canada.
- Name Access
- Dunkelman, Benjamin, 1913-1997
- Subjects
- Authors
- Israel-Arab War, 1948-1949
- World War, 1939-1945
- Related Material
- See fonds #39 (Rose Dunkelman fonds).
- Creator
- Dunkelman, Benjamin, 1913-1997
- Accession Number
- 2000-3-4
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Benjamin Dunkelman fonds
- Personal series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 2
- Series
- 1
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- [192-?]-1995
- Physical Description
- 10 cm of textual records
- 43 photographs
- 2 postcards
- Scope and Content
- Series consists of records documenting Ben Dunkelman’s family/private life and such hobbies as yachting and travel. Included are photographs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, invitations, certificates, speeches, a travel diary, a passport, and a scrapbook. The series is made up of two sub-series: 1. David and Rose Dunkelman (including biographies of those in the Dunkelman family) and 2. Theodora Dunkelman (Ben Dunkelman’s sister).
- Name Access
- Dunkelman, David, 1883-1978 (subject)
- Dunkelman, Rose, 1889-1949 (subject)
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Benjamin Dunkelman fonds
- Zionist series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 2
- Series
- 2
- Material Format
- graphic material
- textual record
- Date
- 1927-1996
- Physical Description
- 6 cm of textual records
- 2 photographs
- 4 postcards : b&w and col. ; 9 x 14 cm
- Admin History/Bio
- Dunkelman, like his parents, was an active Zionist throughout his life. As a young man from 1930-1931, he lived in Israel and later fought in the Arab-Israeli War. Following the war in 1948-49, he wrote articles, kept correspondence, encouraged investment, and gave speeches in support of Israel. He was also on the executive committee of Israel Speaks, an American publication, and was a member of the Zionist Organization of Canada (ZOC). In 1976, Dunkelman agreed to be the deputy president of the ZOC’s Charitable Fund.
- Scope and Content
- The series consists of records documenting Ben Dunkelman's Zionist activities. Included are legal papers, photographs, correspondence, articles and newspaper clippings.
- Notes
- Herb Mowat was a Canadian Zionist who maintained a correspondence with Dunkelman during the 1950s and 1960s. Dunkelman acquired some of his records.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Benjamin Dunkelman fonds
- Second World War series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 2
- Series
- 4
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- cartographic material
- Date
- 1942-1995
- Physical Description
- 6 cm of textual records and other material
- Admin History/Bio
- During the Second World War, Dunkelman served as a major in the Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada. After enlisting in 1940, he became a platoon commander. Dunkelman took part in the second wave of D-Day landings in 1944 and later assisted in the final Allied assault on Germany, earning the Distinguished Service Order. He left the army in 1945 after the war had ended. The Queen's Own Rifles Association and the Canadian Society for the Weizmann Institute of Science organized a reception in 1976 to honour the publication of Dunkelman's autobiography, Dual Allegiance.
- Scope and Content
- Series consists of records documenting Ben Dunkelman's involvement in the Second World War. Included are newspaper clippings, maps, photographs, and correspondence. Some files deal with Dunkelman's experiences during the war; others relate to Dunkelman's relationship with veterans after the war and, in one case, with his memories of the war. The files cover such subjects as The Queen's Own Rifles, Veterans, the liberation of The Netherlands, Aubrey Cosens (a soldier under Dunkelman’s command who was killed in battle but later honoured with the Victoria Cross), and the prosecution of Nazi war criminals.
- Notes
- Physical description: Includes 85 photographs, 1 album, and 10 maps.
- Name Access
- Cosens, Aubrey, 1921-1945 (subject)
- Subjects
- Canada--Armed Forces
- World War, 1939-1945
- Related Material
- See fonds 2, series 6 for more information on Dunkelman's involvement in the Second World War.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Benjamin Dunkelman fonds
- Arab-Israeli War series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 2
- Series
- 5
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- cartographic material
- Date
- 1943-1991
- Physical Description
- 15 cm of textual records
- 28 photographs
- 20 maps
- Admin History/Bio
- Dunkelman joined the Machal (foreign fighters for Israel) in 1948 at the onset of the First Arab-Israeli War and was active in helping the fledgling Israeli Army break out of Jerusalem and find a road to Tel Aviv. The Burma Road—named after a Second World War Burma supply route—was a makeshift route from Jerusalem to Tel-Aviv. Israeli soldiers, including Dunkelman, drove a convoy at night along a little-used route to reconnect the two cities. Later in the war, commanding the 7th Brigade, he captured Nazareth and northern Galilee. After Dunkelman had left the Israel Defense Forces in 1949 to seek work as a businessman, he kept in contact with the armed forces of Israel through such organizations as the Jewish War Veterans of Canada, the 7th Brigade Veterans Fund, American Veterans of Israel, the Association of Jewish War Veterans, and the Mahal Association.
- Scope and Content
- Series consists of reports, clippings, correspondence, photographs, and maps and documents recording Ben Dunkelman's involvement in the First Arab-Israeli War. The series branches into the following topics in this order: Machal; the 7th Brigade; Operation Hiram; Operation Dekel; the Burma Road; the Israel Defence Forces; a Profile of Ben Dunkelman; and Arab-Israeli War veterans.
- Subjects
- Israel-Arab War, 1948-1949
- Physical Condition
- Some records are fragile.
- Related Material
- See fonds 2, series 6 for more information on the war. Dunkelman wrote an autobiography, Dual Allegiance, based on his experiences in the First Arab-Israeli War and the Second World War.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Benjamin Dunkelman fonds
- Business series
- Level
- Series
- Fonds
- 2
- Series
- 3
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- architectural drawing
- Date
- 1898, 1941-1988
- Physical Description
- 56 photographs and other material
- Admin History/Bio
- Ben Dunkelman’s involvement in business was wide-ranging. He served as president of Tip Top Tailors after his father and as president of Cloverdale Shopping Centre. Along with his wife, Yael, he also opened the Dunkelman Gallery for modern art and Dunkelman's restaurant.
- Scope and Content
- Series consists of photographs, correspondence, pamphlets and papers documenting Benjamin Dunkelman’s business activities. The files are organized into three sub-series: Tip-Top Tailors, Constellation Hotel, and Dunkelman Gallery.
- Notes
- Physical description: Includes 6 cm of textual records, 5 architectural drawings, and 1 postcard.
- Subjects
- Business
- Physical Condition
- Most photographs are warped.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Benjamin Dunkelman fonds
- Personal series
- David and Rose Dunkelman sub-series
- Level
- Sub-series
- Fonds
- 2
- Series
- 1-1
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- [192-?]-1991
- Physical Description
- 5 cm of textual records
- 3 photographs
- Admin History/Bio
- Rose and David Dunkelman, Benjamin Dunkelman's parents, were staunch supporters of Toronto's Zionist community. David was a leader of the Zionist Organization of Canada for more than 50 years, while Rose was publisher and first managing editor of the Jewish Standard, a Toronto-based Zionist magazine she founded with her husband. In addition, she was the first vice-president of the Hadassah Organization of Canada and president of the Hadassah Organization of Ontario. Both fervently supported Zionist projects.
- Scope and Content
- Sub-series consists of photographs, clippings, obituaries, correspondence and biographical information in connection with Rose, David and Ben Dunkelman. The sub-series contains a pamphlet from the Toronto Zionist Council in 1957 celebrating the council’s 50th anniversary and praising Rose Dunkelman. There are also copies of articles about Rose Dunkelman by H.M. Kaiserman and Meyer W. Weisgal.
- Name Access
- Dunkelman, Rose, 1889-1949
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Benjamin Dunkelman fonds
- Correspondence sub-series sub-series
- Level
- Sub-series
- Fonds
- 2
- Series
- 1-5
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- 1948-1995
- Physical Description
- 2 cm of textual records
- Admin History/Bio
- Dunkelman maintained private correspondence with a wide variety of friends, from well-known people such as composer Leonard Bernstein, former Israeli defence minister Shimon Peres and former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin to his father David, the lawyer Carl Goldenberg and his father-in-law, David Lifshitz. One correspondence is with Fred Johnson, an acquaintance from the end of the Arab-Israeli War. Fred Johnson helped Ben and Yael establish themselves in Israel in the years following the war. Johnson wrote to Dunkelman in 1975 and they resumed correspondence.
- Scope and Content
- Sub-series contains 12 files of personal correspondence between Benjamin (and sometimes Yael) Dunkelman and family, friends and acquaintances on such subjects as Ben and Yael's marriage, buying a new apartment, condolences for the death of a friend's mother, Yitzhak Rabin's assassination and a retirement application.
- Subjects
- Letters
- Creator
- Dunkelman, Benjamin
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Benjamin Dunkelman fonds
- Personal series
- David and Rose Dunkelman sub-series
- Level
- File
- Fonds
- 2
- Series
- 1-1
- File
- 9
- Material Format
- textual record
- Date
- [195-?]-1996
- Physical Description
- 1 folder of textual records
- Admin History/Bio
- The file emphasizes the importance of the Dunkelman family to Ontario's Jewish community. Ben was a distinguished soldier, a successful businessman and a Zionist; David was founder of Tip Top Tailors and a Zionist leader; and Rose was a Zionist leader, publisher of the Jewish Standard and heavily involved in Hadassah and Youth Aliyah.
- Scope and Content
- File contains biographical information about Benjamin Dunkelman, including entries for himself and his parents Rose and David Dunkelman in the New Encyclopedia of Zionism and Israel, edited by Geoffrey Wigoder.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions
- Part Of
- Benjamin Dunkelman fonds
- Business series
- Tip Top Tailors sub-series
- Level
- Sub-series
- Fonds
- 2
- Series
- 3-1
- Material Format
- textual record
- graphic material
- Date
- 1898, 1941-1988
- Physical Description
- 4 cm of textual records
- 16 photographs
- Admin History/Bio
- David Dunkelman, Benjamin's father, started Tip Top Tailors in Toronto in 1909, and by 1950 it had become a thriving business, with more than 1000 outlets across the country. During the 1930s, Ben had worked for the company, and following the Arab-Israeli War in 1948-49, he returned to Tip Top. He took over as company CEO in the 1950s until the company was sold to Dylex Ltd. in 1967.
- Scope and Content
- Sub-series consists of photographs, correspondence and clippings documenting David and Ben Dunkelman's involvement in the family firm, Tip Top Tailors.
- Name Access
- Tip Top Tailors
- Physical Condition
- Most photographs are warped.
- Source
- Archival Descriptions