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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
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- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- b&w silver print on photographic paper
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.03
- Description
- In the center of the rectangular image frame there is a female shown from the chest up facing the viewer. This woman has her eyes closed and her head tilted a bit to her right. Behind the figure is a field of sunflowers and in the far distance is a few clumps of trees, bushes and a power line runni…
1 image
- Title
- Untitled
- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- b&w silver print on photographic paper
- Dimensions
- 35.4 x 27.6 cm
- Description
- In the center of the rectangular image frame there is a female shown from the chest up facing the viewer. This woman has her eyes closed and her head tilted a bit to her right. Behind the figure is a field of sunflowers and in the far distance is a few clumps of trees, bushes and a power line running from the left to the right. The sky is a very even pale grey.
- Credit
- Gift of Barb Spohr, Calgary, 1996
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.03
Images
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potentially offensive content.
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- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- b&w silver print on photographic paper
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.04
- Description
- In the center of this vertical image is a female figure wearing a swimsuit looking directly at the viewer. The woman's arms are extended outwards to each side and are cut off by the image frame. Around the neck of this female figure is a necklace with a star in the center. The background is a seasc…
1 image
- Title
- Untitled
- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- b&w silver print on photographic paper
- Dimensions
- 35.4 x 27.6 cm
- Description
- In the center of this vertical image is a female figure wearing a swimsuit looking directly at the viewer. The woman's arms are extended outwards to each side and are cut off by the image frame. Around the neck of this female figure is a necklace with a star in the center. The background is a seascape with some land in the distance. This photograph has been printed in black and white.
- Credit
- Gift of Barb Spohr, Calgary, 1996
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.04
Images
This material is presented as originally created; it may contain outdated cultural descriptions and
potentially offensive content.
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- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- type C - print on photographic paper
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.05
- Description
- In the center center there is a very large rock that extends out in a v shape to each side and then in again to the top center. In the bottom third of the photograph is another rock with the lower half of a female figure entering the frame from the bottom and about to step on the rocks. The womans …
1 image
- Title
- Untitled
- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- type C - print on photographic paper
- Dimensions
- 50.6 x 40.5 cm
- Description
- In the center center there is a very large rock that extends out in a v shape to each side and then in again to the top center. In the bottom third of the photograph is another rock with the lower half of a female figure entering the frame from the bottom and about to step on the rocks. The womans shoe is black with a strap in the front, her sock is white, her skirt is blue and the rest black. In the tr corner and in the tl corner are two more large rocks.
- Credit
- Gift of Barb Spohr, Calgary, 1996
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.05
Images
This material is presented as originally created; it may contain outdated cultural descriptions and
potentially offensive content.
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- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- type C - print on photographic paper
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.06
- Description
- Hanging on the wall is a mirror. In the mirror is a figure holding a camera photographing herself. The wall paper around the mirror is a floral pattern with lots of colour. The room featured here is a bathroom. Under the mirror is a soap container attached to the wall and directly under that is a …
1 image
- Title
- Untitled
- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- type C - print on photographic paper
- Dimensions
- 49.0 x 35.5 cm
- Description
- Hanging on the wall is a mirror. In the mirror is a figure holding a camera photographing herself. The wall paper around the mirror is a floral pattern with lots of colour. The room featured here is a bathroom. Under the mirror is a soap container attached to the wall and directly under that is a sink that has been cut off by the image frame.
- Credit
- Gift of Barb Spohr, Calgary, 1996
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.06
Images
This material is presented as originally created; it may contain outdated cultural descriptions and
potentially offensive content.
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- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- type C - print on photographic paper
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.07
- Description
- Down through the center of the photograph there is a figure standing with there hands reaching out together holding a green artifical seashell. There is sand in the seashell and also surrounding the figure. The woman in this photograph is dressed in black.
1 image
- Title
- Untitled
- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- type C - print on photographic paper
- Dimensions
- 39.0 x 37.0 cm
- Description
- Down through the center of the photograph there is a figure standing with there hands reaching out together holding a green artifical seashell. There is sand in the seashell and also surrounding the figure. The woman in this photograph is dressed in black.
- Credit
- Gift of Barb Spohr, Calgary, 1996
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.07
Images
This material is presented as originally created; it may contain outdated cultural descriptions and
potentially offensive content.
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- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- type c print on photographic paper
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.14
- Description
- Most of this image is very dark in colour with the exception of the center area where two glasses sit on a surface with strong shadows and light. Also sitting on the table surface is a plastic bag that has the shoe man printed on it. One glass is blue in colour and the other is red. A light sourc…
1 image
- Title
- Untitled
- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- type c print on photographic paper
- Dimensions
- 60.8 x 50.7 cm
- Description
- Most of this image is very dark in colour with the exception of the center area where two glasses sit on a surface with strong shadows and light. Also sitting on the table surface is a plastic bag that has the shoe man printed on it. One glass is blue in colour and the other is red. A light source from outside the image is casting some light through this middle area and creating some unique shadows and atmosphere
- Subject
- still life
- glasses
- table
- Credit
- Gift of Barb Spohr, Calgary, 1996
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.14
Images
This material is presented as originally created; it may contain outdated cultural descriptions and
potentially offensive content.
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- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- type c print on photographic paper
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.17
- Description
- The border of the photograph is a blue colour with writing below and above the retangular photographic image in the center. The image in the center is a scene looking threw a window. Around the window on the inside is a number of different plants. Outside you can see a white house with trees and hi…
1 image
- Title
- Untitled
- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- type c print on photographic paper
- Dimensions
- 50.5 x 60.7 cm
- Description
- The border of the photograph is a blue colour with writing below and above the retangular photographic image in the center. The image in the center is a scene looking threw a window. Around the window on the inside is a number of different plants. Outside you can see a white house with trees and hills in the background. The plants on the inside are almost totally in silhouette.
- Credit
- Gift of Barb Spohr, Calgary, 1996
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.17
Images
This material is presented as originally created; it may contain outdated cultural descriptions and
potentially offensive content.
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- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- type c print on photographic paper
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.18
- Description
- Sitting in the center of a table is a drinking glass with two flowers in it. Off to the left there is a sponge rabbit shape and behind the glass is a window covered with a light brown shade. Most of the space around the flowers is dark.
1 image
- Title
- Untitled
- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- type c print on photographic paper
- Dimensions
- 60.8 x 50.7 cm
- Description
- Sitting in the center of a table is a drinking glass with two flowers in it. Off to the left there is a sponge rabbit shape and behind the glass is a window covered with a light brown shade. Most of the space around the flowers is dark.
- Credit
- Gift of Barb Spohr, Calgary, 1996
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.18
Images
This material is presented as originally created; it may contain outdated cultural descriptions and
potentially offensive content.
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- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- type c print on photographic paper
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.20
- Description
- In the foreground are two girls wearing striped dresses. One girl has a purple and white striped dress and the other has a red and white striped dress. The two girls are wearing day packs on there backs. Behind the girls are two jackets lying on the ground and a brown house in the far background. B…
1 image
- Title
- Untitled
- Date
- prior to 1987
- Medium
- type c print on photographic paper
- Dimensions
- 50.6 x 40.3 cm
- Description
- In the foreground are two girls wearing striped dresses. One girl has a purple and white striped dress and the other has a red and white striped dress. The two girls are wearing day packs on there backs. Behind the girls are two jackets lying on the ground and a brown house in the far background. Between the girls and the house are a number of trees with few leaves. The border around the rectangular photographic image is red in colour and also text above and below the image.
- Credit
- Gift of Barb Spohr, Calgary, 1996
- Catalogue Number
- SpB.18.20
Images
This material is presented as originally created; it may contain outdated cultural descriptions and
potentially offensive content.
Read more.