Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 26
Grubstake to Grocery Store: Supplying the Klondike, 1897-1907
by Margaret Archibald
Appendix J. Retail Prices, Dawson, 1897-1907.
This appendix gives the comparative retail prices for staple
commodities in Dawson, in outfitting centres and in the T. Eaton Company
catalogues from 1897 to 1907. The information has been gathered from
sources almost as widely spread as the bibliography itself, and for this
reason, no attempt has been made to footnote specific references. The
sources most heavily relied on were the Dawson Daily News
(1899-1907) and, of course, Eaton's catalogues for the years in
question. In the cases of many commodities there are, inevitably, gaps,
and in others there is such a plethora of suggestions as to the "actual"
price of an item that the choice is difficult. In the summer of 1898 the
market was so erratic that the wide range of prices quoted is quite
understandable.
Some attempt has been made to allow for the most obvious seasonal
variations by making a rough division of prices into two categories.
"Summer" and "winter" might be reasonably interpreted as "shipping
season" and "storage season." Even so, there are bound to be variations
within seasons. Where such variations are particularly pronounced, two
or more figures have been listed in chronological order. Prices during
the winter of 1902 show this trend.
"Outside 1897-98" is a general reference to the outfitting centres.
Prices in Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto, Seattle and San Francisco have
been used, and while there were great differences among them, the
variation is minimal compared to the prevailing prices inside.
The prices of the T. Eaton Company, as quoted in the company's annual
catalogues, have been used as something of a reference point. The area
which these catalogues covered was such that the prices they gave would
have been competitive across the country, and for that reason they may
be used here as a sort of national average — although the term is
used very loosely. Eaton's lists covered a wide variety of goods in
every area. In some cases two prices have been recorded to cover this
range.
This appendix covers the following years and areas:
1897-98: outside outfitting centres
1897: Dawson, summer and winter (this was Dawson's "Starvation
Winter")
1898: Dawson, summer
1900: Dawson, summer
1902: Dawson, summer and winter and Eaton's catalogue
1905: Dawson, summer and winter and Eaton's catalogue
1907: Dawson, summer and Eaton's catalogue.
Hopefully this selection will serve to show, first, the general trend
of retail prices in Dawson between 1898 and 1907; second, the variations
in Dawson prices on a seasonal basis, and third, the variation in prices
between Dawson and the outside both during and after the rush.
Unless otherwise stated, all prices are given per pound. The
following abbreviations have been used:
cs.: case
t.: tin
pck.: package
sp.: spring — that is, the price quoted during the last weeks
before breakup. If there was a shortage of this item, the price will be
higher than it had been during the winter, on the average; if there had
been a glut, it would be lower.
(click on table for a PDF version)
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