Linoleum blocks used to print front and back covers of the pamphlet, 'The Antigonish Way.'

Adult education
Agriculture, Cooperative
Antigonish movement
Cooperation
Linoleum block printing
Nova Scotia -- Antigonish County
Relief printing
St. Francis Xavier University-- Extension Dept

Two linocut blocks, hand-carved by Sister Irene (Mary Anselm) Doyle in 1940. The linocuts utilize the “multi-block” printing technique, in which each color in a print is made from a different block. They feature thematic representations of Nova Scotian production of the era: fishing, agriculture, handcrafts, mining, and industry. The blocks were used to print an array of material, including sharkskin drapery, posters, and notably the front and back cover for the pamphlet, The Antigonish Way.
Based on a series of radio broadcasts and published by the Extension Department at Saint Francis Xavier University, The Antigonish Way illustrates the history of the Antigonish Movement and its guiding principles. In the early 20th century, the Antigonish Diocese in eastern Nova Scotia experienced the dramatic decline of its resource based economy and extensive poverty. Diocesan clergy, Dr. Moses Coady and Father Jimmy Tompkins, advocated for adult education as a means of improving these social and economic concerns. This became commonly known as the Antigonish Movement and took the form of study clubs that would identify a community’s unique strengths and weaknesses, and then formulate collaborative solutions, such as cooperatives and credit unions.
Then in 1928, Saint Francis Xavier University established the Extension Department, led by Dr. Coady, to teach and implement the methods of the Antigonish Movement in the wider community. Marthas were tasked with heading the Women’s Division, dedicated to encouraging women’s involvement in the movement. Sister Irene (Mary Anselm) Doyle, a talented artist, oversaw the Handicrafts Section which promoted traditional crafts such as weaving, knitting and other textile work, woodworking, canning, leatherwork, pottery, and printmaking.
Sisters also supplied book-keeping services, established lending libraries, arranged study clubs, classes, and conferences, and aided in the production and distribution of Extension literature, such as the pamphlet, The Antigonish Way. It was one of many instructional publications the Extension Department offered to communities around the world that sought cooperative solutions to reduce poverty and strengthen local economies. Sister Irene Doyle’s block prints – a handicraft that illustrated Nova Scotian production and self-sufficiency, were perfectly suited for the cover.
The legacy of the Antigonish Movement perseveres to this day—the Coady International Institute at St. Francis Xavier University, continues to teach its principles, fostering community-based development and leadership education at an international level.

Sister Irene (Mary Anselm) Doyle, CSM, Artist

Congregation of the Sisters of St. Martha, Antigonish Nova Scotia.

The prints were featured on the front and back cover for the pamphlet, The Antigonish Way, published in Antigonish, N.S. : Extension Dept., St. Francis Xavier University, 1943.

1940

Extension Department of St. Francis Xavier's University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia

Online access is provided for research purposes only. Permission for reproduction or use requests must be obtained. Please contact: CSM Archives, Congregation of the Sisters of St. Martha, 75 Marian Drive, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada, B2G 2G6.
This permission is valid only insofar as CSM Archives, as owner or custodian, has any rights in the matter and does not remove the responsibility of the author, editor, and publisher to guard against the infringement of any rights, including copyright, that may be held by others.

Linoleum blocks
32 cm (height) x 23 cm (width) x 2 cm (depth)

English

Physical Object

N/A

1940-1943
Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada
Coordinates:
Lat: 45 39 00 N degrees minutes Lat: 45.6500 decimal degrees
Long: 062 00 00 W degrees minutes Long: -62.0000 decimal degrees