AGQ-F0102

Fonds Paul Bois. – 1957-2011. – 9 cm of textual records and other records.

 

 

Biographical sketch:

 

Paul Bois was born in Hébertville Station in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec, on 25 July 1933. He is the son of Pie-Hyacinthe Bois, an agronomist, and Laurette Savard. He attended primary school in his native village until Grade 11, then left Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean in 1951. He completed Grade 12 in science through evening classes at Cherrier School while working various jobs, including at the Windsor Hotel laundry. He also took drawing classes at the École des beaux-arts de Montréal. Starting in September 1954, he took a three-year course in instrumentation and control at the Trois-Rivières Paper Mill School, then worked in this field, including at the Rolland Paper Mill in Saint-Jérôme (1956), the St. Lawrence Company paper mill in Red Rock, Ontario (1957) and Price Brothers and Company in Kénogami (1957-1958). He then took correspondence courses in creative writing with writer Yves Thériault

 

In 1959, Bois travelled to England by boat via Southampton. In London, he stayed at the YMCA for three weeks, then rented a room with a family in the Bayswater neighbourhood. He worked in a hotel kitchen, among other jobs. In the spring of 1959, while a crowd of onlookers gathered around a car in the street, he met Graham Alfred Short (born 20 January 1933), with whom he developed a relationship. Bois returned to Montreal in July 1960 and corresponded with Short until early 1961. Bois was now working for the American company Bailey Meter, where he underwent a month of training before going on to work with an engineer in Quebec City, Bailey Meter’s representative in that city. Bois spent 1963 at Bailey Meter’s head office in Cleveland, Ohio, where he underwent further training before returning to Quebec City to resume his work.

 

In the autumn of 1966, he met his Quebec partner, with whom he would remain in a relationship until September 1981. In the winter of 1966–1967, they shared an apartment in Quebec City. On 4 July 1967, they left for London, where Bois’s partner undertook three years of specialised studies; they lived in an apartment on King’s Road. It was during this period that Bois, under an assumed name, approached the Home Office of the Republic of South Africa to find out Graham Alfred Short’s place of birth in that country. Between January and May 1970, Bois’s partner did internships in Paris and Rome. Upon their return from Europe, Bois and his partner settled in Montreal; Bois worked for Brian Engineering in Ville Saint-Laurent, then for Liquid Carbonic until 1975. In October 1970, he underwent training for this company in Stockholm. Bois was employed by the City of Montreal between July 1977 and October 1978, then worked on a freelance basis. Correspondence between Paul Bois and Graham Alfred Short resumed between 1979 and 1993. Since 1987, Paul Bois has been in a relationship with Pierre McComber. They were married in a civil ceremony in 2007.

 

 

Scope and content:

 

The fonds documents the life and activities of Paul Bois through his correspondence with his partners Short and ***, followed by classified advertisements published in the Club Contact newsletter and RG magazine: emotional feelings, physical preferences, work, travel..

 

The fonds contains correspondence, address lists and two photographs.

 

 

The fonds contains the following series:

 

  • AGQ-F00102/S1. Correspondance entre Paul Bois et Graham Alfred Short
  • AGQ-F00102/S2. Correspondance entre Paul Bois et ***
  • AGQ-F00102/S3. Correspondance relative aux annonces classées publiées par Paul Bois

 

 

Notes:

 

Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the fonds.

 

Physical description: The fonds also contains two photographs.

 

Immediate source of acquisition: The fonds was transferred to the AGQ on 7 November 2011 by the fonds’ creator (acquisition 2011-005).

 

Language: The files are in French and English.

 

Restrictions on access: Use of a pseudonym until 2030 to refer to Paul Bois’s Quebec partner between 1966 and 1981.

 

Finding aids: Digital inventory of the fonds in Excel format.

 

Accruals: Further accruals are expected.

 

 

 

 

 

            Dernière modification : 2025-09-08