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(Left) Advertisement for a “Radium” Water Sold by Viauville Mineral Springs, 1913 (Right) Portrait of Daniel Bergevin, 1915

Montage of two images. On the left, a newspaper advertisement for "Radium" water. It states that it would be "the Empress of natural mineral waters" and that it possesses all sorts of curative qualities. It is sold by the company "Viauville Mineral Springs." On the right, a black and white photograph of a man dressed in a three-piece suit.

(Left) Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, La Patrie, December 6, 1913 (Right) Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, Montreal, Old and New, 1915

In 1912, Daniel Bergevin bought several plots of land in Viauville (a neighbourhood in Maisonneuve). He thus acquired a spring well known for its light yellow colour and salty aftertaste. Bergevin will be the first to officially sell this water as “Radium” water. Advertisements at the time boasted the water’s laxative, diuretic and purifying qualities. Bergevin sold the plots in 1925, which spelled the end of “Radium” water. Needless to say, the water never contained any radium, just a very high concentration of sulphides.