Rectangular box mounted on four curved legs, equipped with a guillotine-style blade at the front. Operated by a crank and gear mechanism. Transliteration: FAT. MAB & 1910

The object bears witness to a skill traditionally associated with or practiced by the Acadian population, namely tobacco cultivation in Bonaventure and the surrounding area. Tobacco production is recorded in several locations in Baie-des-Chaleurs, most of which are populated by Acadians: Bonaventure, Saint-Siméon, Caplan, to name but a few.

The object also bears witness to an Acadian family, the Arsenaults. The chopper is believed to have belonged to a man named Alphée Arsenault of Bonaventure.

Tobacco cultivation was present in many places in Quebec, particularly in Lanaudière, where Petite-Cadie de Saint-Jacques-de-L'Achigan is located. Cultivation began there around 1864 on the initiative of François-Louis Guenand and, a little later, Médéric Foucher. The Acadians in this region were already growing tobacco: "For a hundred years, many Acadians in the region have been growing it from seeds brought back from New England. The American Civil War caused prices to skyrocket. Foucher wanted to develop this market in Canada, taking advantage of the Acadians' expertise." (https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/hq/2014-v20-n1-hq01395/71741ac.pdf). Foucher and his brother-in-law Joseph-Odilon Dupuis set up nearly a dozen factories in the region. Until 1911, Quebec was the largest tobacco producer in Canada. By 1990, this production had almost entirely disappeared.