The following is being distributed at the request of The Rooms Corporation:

The Rooms Celebrates Cupids 400 with New Exhibition Showcasing
Rare Original Documents on Loan from UK and US

As a part of the Cupids 400 celebrations, The Rooms will today (Thursday, June 17) open Here to Stay: Cupids 1610. The exhibition explores the early decades of English colonization in the region using rare original documents - on loan and display for the first time ever in the province — and archaeological artifacts that tell the story of Cupids and its settlers, as well as the challenges they faced during their early days. The exhibition also delves into the impact that the first generations of English Newfoundlanders and Labradorians had on the province and on what would later become Canada.

Some notable documents that will be exclusively on display at The Rooms include an original 1620 Petition to Put Down Piracy, on loan from the National Archives of the United Kingdom. In this original document by Captain John Mason, the second governor of Cupids Colony Plantation to the British Admiralty Court in London, Mason complains about piracy in Newfoundland waters, including Conception and Trinity Bays.

Also on display will be the 1624 Encouragement to Colonies by Sir William Alexander, on loan from the John Carter Brown Library, Brown University, Rhode Island, US. In his book Alexander provided a brief description of the colonies in Newfoundland. This is the first known document that refers to the Colony as Cupids Cove and states clearly that there were people living and thriving in Cupids at the time it was written.

These documents are accompanied by 17th century documents on loan from the Centre for Newfoundland Studies and from The Rooms collection.

"We are very proud to be able to complement the Cupids 400 celebrations with this exhibition," said Dean Brinton, CEO, The Rooms Corporation. "This is a great example of the collaboration which exists in the cultural sector in this province, and how we all have a role to play in telling the stories so dear to everyone's hearts. We wish the Cupids 400 Committee and everyone who has worked so hard on these celebrations the very best and great success in the months ahead."

Anne Chafe, Director, The Rooms Provincial Museum Division added: "We are very pleased that our peer institutions in the UK and the US, and the Centre for Newfoundland Studies were so co-operative and worked with us to bring these rare, original documents to the province where they will be displayed together for the first time ever. These documents are significant to the legacy of the Cupids settlement, and will assist the museum is telling this fascinating story."

A public reception for Here to Stay: Cupids 1610 will be held at The Rooms tonight at 7:30 pm. All are welcome. The exhibit will be on view at The Rooms until January 2011.

Additional information on Cupids 400 celebrations and related events can be found at: www.cupids400.com/english/index.php. 

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Media contact:
Deanne Fisher
Director of Marketing and Development
The Rooms Corporation
709-757-8070
deannefisher@therooms.ca

BACKGROUNDER
Historic Documents Exclusively on View in the Exhibition,
Here to Stay: Cupids 1610

Petition to Put Down Piracy, 1620, National Archives of the United Kingdom
A long letter/petition written in 1620 by Captain John Mason, the second governor of Cupids Colony Plantation to the British Admiralty Court in London. In this document Captain John Mason complains about piracy in Newfoundland waters, including Conception and Trinity Bays. Mason recommends certain actions be taken by the Admiralty to counter the pirates. This document will be on display at The Rooms from June 17 until October 17, 2010.

The Commission to put down Piracy [commission/letter; short title], 1620, National Archives of the United Kingdom
A letter written by an official in the British High Court of the Admiralty May 29, 1620 to Captain John Mason. The Admiralty lists the actions to be taken to control piracy; principally to offer Captain John Mason an armed ship to command and to patrol said waters affected by the pirates. This document will be on display at The Rooms from June 17 until October 17, 2010.

Encouragement to Colonies by Sir William Alexander [book], 1624, John Carter Brown Library, Brown University, Rhode Island, USA
In his book Sir William Alexander provides a brief description of the colonies in Newfoundland at the time. This is the first known document that refers to the Colony as "Cupids Cove" and it states clearly that there were people living and thriving in Cupids. This document will be on display at The Rooms from June 17 until September 19, 2010

John Guy News Sheet, 1611 [Broadsheet], January 1611, Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland
A hand-written news sheet distributed from London, England, which includes a very early report of John Guy's attempt to establish a colony in Newfoundland. This document will be on display at The Rooms from June 17 until mid-January 2011.

Quodlibets, Lately Come Over from New Britaniola, Old Newfound-land: Epigrams and other small parcels, both Morall and Diuine by Robert Hayman [book of poetry], 1628, Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University of Newfoundland
This considered first book of poetry to be written in English in the New World. Written at Harbour Grace in 1628 by Robert Hayman, governor of the Bristol's Hope colony established in 1618 at Bristol's Hope, it contains dedications and poems to a number of people who were involved in early 17th century Newfoundland settlement including Cupids governor John Mason and his wife Anne; Elizabeth Guy (the wife of John Guy's brother Philip) and Sir Richard Whitbourne. This document will be on display at The Rooms from June 17 until mid-January 2011.

(Engraving) The Rooms Provincial Archives Division, MG 168.1, 1628
Description of the 1610 sighting by Captain Richard Whitbourne of a strange creature, possibly a mermaid, in St. John's Harbour, Newfoundland [German text] / Matthaeus Merian, Dreyzehender Theil Americae, das ist, Fortsetzung der Historien von der Newen Welt (Frankfurt: Caspar Rétel, 1628) 193.

(Engraving) The Rooms Provincial Archives Division, MG 168.2, 1628
Description of native moose hunt at Mansell Mountain, Maine [German text] / Matthaeus Merian, Dreyzehender Theil Americae, das ist, Fortsetzung der Historien von der Newen Welt (Frankfurt: Caspar Rétel, 1628) 198.

(Engraving) The Rooms Provincial Archives Division, MG 168.3; 1634
Description of the 1612 meeting between John Guy and the Beothuk of Newfoundland at Trinity Bay [Latin text] / Matthaeus Merian, Decima tertia pars Historia Americae (Frankfurt: Caspar Rétel, 1634), 5.

These three very important engravings, two of which relate directly to the island of Newfoundland, depict important recorded incidents: John Guy trading with the Beothuk and Richard Whitbourne encountering a mermaid in St John's Harbour. The third has regional connections to Aboriginal practices of the era. All three engravings will be on display at The Rooms from June 17 until mid—January, 2011

Other important documents will be displayed as high quality reproductions:

Henry Crout's Diary, 1612 — 1613
Henry Crout was an early agent helping to establish colonies in Newfoundland. He kept a diary of his work for John Guy in "Cupers Cove" and in it he described a journey across the peninsula from Cupids to Trinity Bay.

Nicholas Guy letter to Sir Percival Willoughby, 1631
Nicolas Guy was an early resident of the Cupids Colony. He later moved to Carbonear where, by 1631, he had become a successful colonist. In this letter Guy urges Sir Percival Willoughby, a major investor in the Newfoundland Company, to grant Guy a commission to assist would-be colonists to settle in the area.

These two documents are from the Willoughby Papers [letters, journal, business documents, business records] housed in The Lord Middleton Collection, at the Manuscripts and Special Collections, University of Nottingham Library, University of Nottingham, UK and will be on display at The Rooms from June 17 until mid— January, 2011.

Letter from John Guy to John Slany, 1611, The British Library
John Guy's first letter from Cupids to England was sent to John Slany, treasurer of the Newfoundland Company and is dated May 16, 1611. In this document Guy summarizes the activities of the Cupids colonists over the previous ten months. This document will be on display at The Rooms from June 17 until mid-January 2011.

2010 06 17                                                 11:30 a.m.