Search Results - Research Collections - Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies

Dan McCowan and Mary McCowan fonds

https://archives.whyte.org/en/permalink/descriptions273

Part Of: Dan and Mary McCowan fonds

Scope & Content: Fonds consists of two series : I. Dan McCowan series; II. Mary E.(Fee) McCowan series. I. Dan McCowan series, ca.1905-1967?, ca.30 cm of textual records, ca.3400 photographs, 4 graphic records. Includes five sub-series: A. Correspondence; B. Writing; C. Photography; D. Professional activities; E…

Date Range: [ca.1885-1967?]

Reference Code: M55 / V408

Description Level: 1 / Fonds

GMD: Photograph; Negative; Photograph print; Transparency; Textual record; Diary; Private record; Published record

Part Of: Dan and Mary McCowan fonds

Description Level: 1 / Fonds

Fonds Number: M 55; V 408

Sous-Fonds: M 55; V 408

Accession Number: 323, 694, 3263, 6756, 6892

Reference Code: M55 / V408

GMD: Photograph; Negative; Photograph print; Transparency; Textual record; Diary; Private record; Published record

Date Range: [ca.1885-1967?]

Physical Description: ca.50 cm of textual records. -- ca.3400 photographs (ca.1000 negatives, ca.1540 lantern slides, ca.770 transparencies 35mm, 117 prints). -- 4 graphic records

History / Biographical: Dan McCowan, 1882-1956, was a naturalist, lecturer and writer at Banff, Alberta, Canada. McCowan came to Banff from Scotland in 1907. There he met Mary Ethel Fee, 1888-1973, a teacher, and they married in 1921. Mary McCowan shared an interest in Dan's work, hand-coloured his lantern slides and accompanied him on his tours. Dan McCowan was an active photographer and naturalist and lectured at hospitals during and following the First World War. He was later recommended to Sir Edward Beatty, CPR President and hired by the CPR to promote the scenic beauties and natural history of the mountains, which he did for 26 years. For a period his lantern slide presentations included motion pictures. During the 1940s, he used natural colour Kodachrome slide photography. While in England in 1936, McCowan was made a Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society. From ca.1907 onwards, he wrote for magazines and newspapers. The first of six books was published in 1936; the last in 1955. Beginning ca.1937, McCowan wrote and broadcast radio talks on natural history on CBC. These were heard widely in Canada and the United States. In 1939, McCowan accompanied the King and Queen on a portion of their railway tour through the mountains, providing information on natural history and residents. During the Second World War, he toured extensively on behalf of the YMCA. The McCowans retired to Cloverdale (now Surrey), B.C., ca.1951.

Scope & Content: Fonds consists of two series : I. Dan McCowan series; II. Mary E.(Fee) McCowan series.; I. Dan McCowan series, ca.1905-1967?, ca.30 cm of textual records, ca.3400 photographs, 4 graphic records. Includes five sub-series: A. Correspondence; B. Writing; C. Photography; D. Professional activities; E. Ephemera.; Correspondence includes incoming letters re writing, business and broadcasting. Writing is in the form of notes and notebooks, unpublished and published manuscripts, newspaper articles and other materials.; Photography includes negatives, lantern slides, 35mm transparencies and prints. Material pertains to flora, fauna, people, places and scenery, also family, activities and events. Photographs of Banff personalities and visitors are available in negative and lantern slide form, 254 items.; Lantern slides were designed for lectures such as: "On skyline trails in the Canadian Rockies"; "On nature trails at Banff and Lake Louise"; "A naturalist in the Canadian Rockies" (200 slides); "Snow peaks and flower meadows in the Canadian Rockies" (200 slides); "Over the hills and far away: a pictorial review of the Canadian Rockies"; "Victory Day, May 8th 1945, Dan McCowan presents: Bye-gone days in Banff" (exact titles were based on title slides).; II. Mary E. (Fee) McCowan series consists of diaries, 1926-1957, photocopied from 12 volumes (19 cm); and letters from Dan McCowan, 1943. Diaries discuss joint travels, activities, lecture tours for CPR (Canada, U.S., U.K.), Banff, trail rides, skyline hikes, and Royal Visit, 1939

Notes: Both Dan and Mary McCowan have written identifications on the slide mounts

Name Access: McCowan, Dan; McCowan, Mary

Subject Access: Environment; Exploration, discovery and travel; Family and personal life; Natural resources; Sports, recreation and leisure

Access Restrictions: Some restrictions on access to originals; Copyright, privacy, commercial use and other restrictions may apply

Language: Language is English

Finding Aid: Finding aids and reference tools: arrangement outline; series and file description; in-house electronic finding aid; online finding aid; item list and modern reference prints for photographs of Banff personalities and visitors

Related Material: Related by provenance to McCowan family photographs (V407)

Creator: McCowan, Dan; McCowan, Mary

Category: Environment; Exploration, discovery and travel; Family and personal life; Natural resources; Sports, recreation and leisure

Title Source: Title based on contents of fonds

Processing Status: Processed

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Mary Schaffer fonds

https://archives.whyte.org/en/permalink/descriptions341

Part Of: Mary Schaffer fonds

Scope & Content: Fonds consists of three series: I. Personal, literary and research papers, 1907-ca.1935; II. Mary Schaffer photographs, 1893-ca.1920; II. Other, 1895-1928. I. Papers series consists of four sub-series: A. Correspondence, 1908-1922; B. Literary manuscripts (original and published), 1907-ca.1925; …

Date Range: 1893-[ca.1935]

Reference Code: M79 / V527

Description Level: 1 / Fonds

GMD: Photograph; Album; Negative; Photograph print; Transparency; Textual record; Diary; Map; Private record; Published record

Part Of: Mary Schaffer fonds

Description Level: 1 / Fonds

Fonds Number: M79 / V527

Series: V527

Sous-Fonds: V527

Accession Number: 275, 439, 573, 2685, 2764, 2933, 2996, 3284, 3302, 5248, 7202, 7731, 7737

Reference Code: M79 / V527

GMD: Photograph; Album; Negative; Photograph print; Transparency; Textual record; Diary; Map; Private record; Published record

Other Title Info: Also known as Mary Schaffer Warren fonds

Date Range: 1893-[ca.1935]

Physical Description: 35 cm of textual records. -- ca.2025 photographs (ca.1550 transparencies, ca.400 negatives, 75 prints). -- 7 photograph albums (ca.1760 prints)

History / Biographical: Mary Schaffer, 1861-1939, also known as Mary Schaffer Warren, was an American explorer, photographer and artist who visited the Canadian Rockies and Selkirk Mountains frequently beginning in 1888, finally settling in Banff, Alberta in 1912. Born Mary Townsend Sharples to moderately wealthy Quaker parents at West Chester, Pennsylvania, she first visited the Canadian Rockies and Selkirk Mountains in 1888 with her friend Mary Vaux. She returned the following year with her husband, Dr. Charles Schaffer, and until Charles died in 1903, the Schaffers travelled annually to the mountains to study botany. Using Dr. Schaffer's data and her drawings and photographs, Mary Schaffer and Stewardson Brown completed "Alpine flora of the Canadian Rocky Mountains" in 1907.; Schaffer continued to travel in the Canadian mountains, often through remote regions. In 1908, she reached Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, Alberta, and returned in 1911 to survey the region. "Old Indian Trails of the Canadian Rockies," 1911, recounts her adventures of 1907 and 1908. Schaffer settled in Banff in 1912 and married her guide, Billy Warren, in 1915.

Scope & Content: Fonds consists of three series: I. Personal, literary and research papers, 1907-ca.1935; II. Mary Schaffer photographs, 1893-ca.1920; II. Other, 1895-1928.; I. Papers series consists of four sub-series: A. Correspondence, 1908-1922; B. Literary manuscripts (original and published), 1907-ca.1925; C. Maps of Maligne Lake; D. Other, 1905-ca.1935. Literary manuscripts pertain to the Athabasca River, Maligne Lake, Howse, Yellowhead and Athabasca passes; hunting; Dr. Gilbert Atkin and Nurse Fulcher's medical mission to Ya Ha Tinda Ranch; Banff, Revelstoke BC, Saskatchewan River; Stoney Nakoda; Palliser Expedition; and Mary Schaffer life and activities.; II. Photographs series consists of four sub-series: A. Lantern slides; B. Photograph albums; C. Negatives; D. Prints. Lantern slides pertain to Mary Schaffer's trips to Maligne Lake and Yellowhead Pass, mountain scenics, nature subjects (animals, birds, flowers); and includes Mary Schaffer's lantern slide presentations "In the Heart of the Canadian Rockies", accompanied by scripts; Philip Moore's Indigenous lecture series, mainly copies from books and other graphic sources; and Mary Schaffer's slides of China and Japan. Photograph albums, 1908-ca.1921, pertain mainly to trips in the Canadian Rocky and Selkirk Mountains, especially expeditions to the Yoho and Ptarmigan Valleys, Nakimu Caves, North Saskatchewan River, Wilcox Pass and Maligne Lake. Two albums pertain to travels in Mexico and Asia. Negatives pertain mainly to Schaffer's trips and explorations, Glacier House and environs, alpine flora and fauna, mountain views, portraits, Sampson Beaver family, 1902-1911.; III. Other material series consists of diaries of Molly Adams, 1908, and Mrs. H. H. Sharples, 1911, and original manuscripts and published reports by other writers, 1895-1928.

Name Access: Adams, Molly; Schaffer, Mary

Subject Access: Arts; Environment; Exploration, discovery and travel

Access Restrictions: Some restrictions on access to originals; Copyright, privacy, commercial use and other restrictions may apply

Language: Language is English

Finding Aid: Finding aids and reference tools: arrangement outline; series and file description for processed material; electronic finding aid; item list for lantern slides; copies of literary manuscripts; modern reference prints for lantern slides