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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
This material is presented as originally created; it may contain outdated cultural descriptions and
potentially offensive content.
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Bert Riggall fonds
https://archives.whyte.org/en/permalink/descriptions587
- Part Of
- Bert Riggall fonds
- Scope & Content
- Fonds includes seven series: I. Personal and professional, 1884-1959; II. Business and financial, ca.1910-1959; III. Professional photography, 1900-1955; IV. Writing, 1906-1957; V. Natural history, 1904-1954; VI. Other interests, 1913-1956; VII. Riggall family, ca.1865-1959. Personal and pro…
- Date Range
- [ca.1865]-1959, predominant [ca.1890]-1959
- Reference Code
- M376 / V26
- Description Level
- 1 / Fonds
- GMD
- Photograph
- Album
- Negative
- Photograph print
- Transparency
- Textual record
- Diary
- Map
- Private record
- Published record
- Part Of
- Bert Riggall fonds
- Description Level
- 1 / Fonds
- Fonds Number
- M 376
- V 26
- Sous-Fonds
- M 376
- V 26
- Accession Number
- 5777, 7200, 7201, 7772 (unproc)
- Reference Code
- M376 / V26
- GMD
- Photograph
- Album
- Negative
- Photograph print
- Transparency
- Textual record
- Diary
- Map
- Private record
- Published record
- Date Range
- [ca.1865]-1959, predominant [ca.1890]-1959
- Physical Description
- ca.13,100 photographs: ca.7080 prints, ca.5310 negatives, ca.700 transparencies. -- 9 photograph albums. -- ca.2 m textual records, print material and graphic records. -- 33 cartographic records
- History / Biographical
- Frederick Herbert (Bert) Riggall, 1884-1959, was a mountain guide, outfitter, hunter, trapper, rancher, naturalist, photographer, writer and gunsmith/loader in southern Alberta. Born in 1884 at Gayton-le-Wold Grange, Lincolnshire, his family moved to Grimsby where his father was an auctioneer and, in 1905, served as Mayor. In England, Riggall was an athlete, avid sportsman and naturalist. He was exposed to alpine country on school holidays in Switzerland and, determined to visit Canada, left for North America in 1904.
- Upon arriving in western Canada, Riggall worked for a year at Craighurst Farm near Calgary. There he met Dorothea (Dora) Williams, 1877-1951, an Irish Quaker ranch cook who had emigrated with her sister Anna in 1902. In 1905, Bert worked on the Correction Land Survey in southwestern Alberta and explored Waterton Lakes. Bert and Dora married in 1906 and until 1946 they homesteaded and ranched adjacent to Waterton Lakes National Park.
- Initially, Bert and partner Jack Hazzard built boats and guided fishing parties on Waterton Lakes. In 1909, with partner Cyril Watmough, the Riggalls began guiding and outfitting summer and fall hunting and fishing trips for numerous repeat clients, especially, after 1913, four Minneapolis, Minnesota families: Bovey, Crosby, Bennett and McKnight. Hunts involved Big Horn Sheep, goats, black and grizzly bears. Bert served as chief guide and Dora as camp cook. Prior to 1911, the Riggalls worked at Gloyne's oil camp and Oil City to supplement their income. In 1911, Bert and partner Cyril Watmough made a 1000 mile (1600 km) exploratory trip from Fort Steele, B.C. to the Yellowhead Pass and beyond. Following that trip, Riggall concentrated guiding activities on the continental divide as far north as the Highwood region, but primarily in the upper Oldman River Valley and Gap in the Livingstone Range. Their outfit grew to include numerous saddle and pack horses.
- Of five children, only two daughters survived infancy. Kay Riggall (Russell), 1909-1984, and Doris (Babe) Riggall (Burton), 1910-1999, were both able riders, markswomen and packtrain workers. They accompanied their parents on summer back country trips starting in 1918. Bert Riggall was renowned for his knowledge of botany, geology, zoology, wilderness life and lore as well as literature and current affairs. He was especially endeared to his clients for his skill as a raconteur and campfire storyteller. He wrote articles for magazines such as: Arms and the Man, American Rifleman, Field and Stream and the Boone and Crockett Club's book: North American Big Game. Riggall was an accomplished semi-professional photographer who specialized in wildlife studies, panoramic landscapes, Dufaycolor and later Kodachrome transparencies. His photographs appear in Department of Interior Reports and other publications.
- Bert's heart problems forced the Riggalls to move to Pincher Creek in 1947. Daughter Kay and son-in-law Andy Russell continued the packtrain and guiding business until 1960. After Dora's death, Bert experienced medical problems and lived with or close to Doris.
- Scope & Content
- Fonds includes seven series: I. Personal and professional, 1884-1959; II. Business and financial, ca.1910-1959; III. Professional photography, 1900-1955; IV. Writing, 1906-1957; V. Natural history, 1904-1954; VI. Other interests, 1913-1956; VII. Riggall family, ca.1865-1959.
- Personal and professional series consists of diaries and notes, correspondence and personal papers.
- Business and financial series consists of guiding and ranching records, gunsmithing, shooting and loading records; and legal and financial records.
- Professional photography series consists of standard photographs, panoramas, transparencies and textual records
- Writing series contains manuscripts, published magazines, book outlines, newspaper articles and letters to the editor
- Natural history series contains bird and plant records, and other natural history papers
- Other interests series consist of clippings, annotated books and collected material
- Riggall family series contains Bert and Dora Riggall family papers and photographs, Williams family photographs, Frederick W. and Fanny Riggall papers and photographs, and Allan Riggall papers and photographs. Negatives and transparencies pertain to Andy Russell as a young man with Bert Riggall.
- Notes
- Some transparencies in V110 Dick Russell are marked Andy Russell, some marked 64 dup; V110 - original transparencies have full set of duplicates (2 sets were made, 1 for Dick Russell and the other is part of this accession)
- Name Access
- Riggall, Bert
- Subject Access
- Arts
- Environment
- Exploration, discovery and travel
- Family and personal life
- Sports, recreation and leisure
- Access Restrictions
- Some restriction/s on access
- Copyright, privacy, commercial use and other restrictions may apply
- Language
- Language is English
- Finding Aid
- basic description for processed material
- Related Material
- Related to the Andy Russell fonds (M153/S43/V555) and the Kay Russell family fonds (M63/V63)
- Creator
- Riggall, Bert
- Category
- Arts
- Environment
- Exploration, discovery and travel
- Family and personal life
- Sports, recreation and leisure
- Title Source
- Title based on accession record and contents of fonds
- Processing Status
- Processed / Unprocessed
This material is presented as originally created; it may contain outdated cultural descriptions and
potentially offensive content.
Read more.