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

Bill Gibbons fonds

https://archives.whyte.org/en/permalink/descriptions582

Part Of: Bill Gibbons fonds

Scope & Content: Fonds consists of photographic business records of professional photographer Bill Gibbons in three series: I. Commercial black and white series, ca.1945-ca.1958, ca.5400 photographs; II. Canadian Rockies colour series, ca.1945-ca.1990, predominant ca.1966-ca.1972, ca.8000 photographs; III. Other …

Date Range: [ca.1945-ca.1990]

Reference Code: M532 / V227

Description Level: 1 / Fonds

GMD: Photograph; Negative; Photograph print; Postcard; Transparency; Textual record; Private record

Part Of: Bill Gibbons fonds

Description Level: 1 / Fonds

Fonds Number: M 532; V 227

Sous-Fonds: M 532; V 227

Accession Number: 194, 275, 1991, 2020, 5753, 5756, 6760, 7936, 7237

Reference Code: M532 / V227

GMD: Photograph; Negative; Photograph print; Postcard; Transparency; Textual record; Private record

Responsibility: Fonds consists of the private business records of Bill Gibbons. Some photographs may have been made by employees.

Date Range: [ca.1945-ca.1990]

Physical Description: ca.13,404 photographs: negatives, prints, transparencies, albums, postcards. -- 2.5 cm textual records

History / Biographical: W. J. L. "Bill" Gibbons, 1914-1994 , was a professional photographer at Banff, Alberta, Canada from 1945 until 1959. Gibbons came to Canada in 1941 and settled in Banff after the war with his wife, Ella Mae (Becker), a Banff native. He established British Photographic Laboratories, with partners Lou Crosby and Jack Anderson, in the basement of the Mount Royal Hotel, moving later to street-level. Bill and Ella Mae Gibbons travelled throughout the mountain parks photographing views for sale in the Banff shop. These were offered as hand-coloured prints, with much of the colouring done or supervised by Ella Mae.; Later the business expanded to include colour postcards and slide sets. Gibbons employed other photographers, such as Bruno Engler, for specialty work, such as ski photography, and the Banff studio also did portraiture. Gibbons himself did most of the 4 x 5 format landscape work and made extensive use of models, many of who were young women employed by his Banff store. In 1959, Gibbons sold his business to a group of Banff businessmen and moved to Vancouver. In subsequent years, he continued to be active as a photographer and in publishing, working in different areas of the world. He made several photographic trips through the mountain parks, ca.1966-1972.

Scope & Content: Fonds consists of photographic business records of professional photographer Bill Gibbons in three series: I. Commercial black and white series, ca.1945-ca.1958, ca.5400 photographs; II. Canadian Rockies colour series, ca.1945-ca.1990, predominant ca.1966-ca.1972, ca.8000 photographs; III. Other black and white series, ca. 1947, 4 photographs.; I. Commercial black and white series consists of six sub-series: A. Portraits and documentary views, 1945-1950, 2437 negatives (individual and group portraits, weddings, conferences, events, buildings, facilities and places; Banff and area); B. Banff School of Fine Arts, ca.1949, 277 negatives (privately produced views of classes, group portraits, activities, buildings and facilities); C. "S" sub-series, ca.1950, 1220 negatives (scenic views in the vicinity of Banff, Lake Louise, Banff-Jasper Highway, Jasper National Park, Radium and Columbia Valley, British Columbia and Pacific Coast, First Nations views); D. "T" sub-series, ca.1950, 482 negatives (scenic and commercial views, mainly Jasper, Banff-Jasper Highway and Lake Louise areas); E. Rolliflex and panorama negatives, 1949-1958, 584 negatives (Banff Winter Carnival, Banff School of Fine Arts, and Banff and area); F. Other, ca.1945-1951, 364 items (material similar to that in other series, some unidentified). Accompanied by small number of prints and postcards; also, publication: "Photographing the Canadian Rockies" by Bill J. L. Gibbons, 1948.; II. Canadian Rockies colour series consists of four sub-series: A. CR1 to CR84, ca.1966-ca.1972, ca.260 prints; B. CR1 to CR443, ca.1966-ca.1972, ca.5130 photographs; C. CR35-2 to CR35-81, ca.1966-ca.1972, ca.2310 photographs; D. Other photographs, ca.1945-ca.1990. Series consists primarily of commercial colour negatives and corresponding proof prints pertaining to Banff, Jasper and Yoho National Parks, also some transparencies and oversize display prints.; III. Other black and white series. Series consists of 2 black and white prints of crash landing at Sunshine with Al Gaetz and Dick Pike, 1947 and two copy negatives with prints of Bruno Engler and Ella Mae Gibbons, ca.1947.; Textual records are record book, 1945-1953, 62 p; and book layout.

Name Access: Gibbons, Bill

Subject Access: Arts; Buildings and facilities; Commerce and industry; Education; Environment; 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: Finding aids and reference tools: arrangement outline; series and file description; electronic finding aid; selected modern reference prints

Creator: Gibbons, Bill

Category: Arts; Commerce and industry; Education; Environment; Family and personal life; Sports, recreation and leisure

Title Source: Title based on accession records and contents of fonds

Processing Status: Processed

This material is presented as originally created; it may contain outdated cultural descriptions and potentially offensive content. Read more.

Bruno Engler fonds

https://archives.whyte.org/en/permalink/descriptions174

Part Of: Bruno Engler fonds

Scope & Content: Fonds is primarily a broad-ranging commercial negative collection pertaining to Banff and area, including businesses, buildings, projects, events, people and scenic views; skiing, mountain travel and recreation; Sunshine Village Ski Area; warden activities in the mountain parks; national and provin…

Date Range: [ca.1886]-1998, predominant ca.1940-1995

Reference Code: M323 / S40 / V190

Description Level: 1 / Fonds

GMD: Machine-readable data file; Motion picture; Film; Video; Photograph; Album; Negative; Photograph print; Sound recording; Cassette; Reel to reel; Textual record; Corporate record; Map; Private record; Published record

Part Of: Bruno Engler fonds

Description Level: 1 / Fonds

Fonds Number: M 323; S 40; V 190

Sous-Fonds: M 323; S 40; V 190

Accession Number: 188, 1300, 2622, 2998, 3468, 3496, 5507, 6200, 6770 (unproc), 7045(unproc), 7436 (unproc)

Reference Code: M323 / S40 / V190

GMD: Machine-readable data file; Motion picture; Film; Video; Photograph; Album; Negative; Photograph print; Sound recording; Cassette; Reel to reel; Textual record; Corporate record; Map; Private record; Published record

Date Range: [ca.1886]-1998, predominant ca.1940-1995

Physical Description: ca.31,580 photographs: negatives, prints, and transparencies. -- 1 photograph album (ca.150 prints). -- 50 motion pictures: 1 original, 8 copies on 3 video cassettes, 41 film reels: 16mm, 35mm. -- 18 sound recordings: audio tape reels, audio tape cassettes. -- 5 electronic records: computer diskettes. -- 3 maps. -- 15 cm textual records.

History / Biographical: Bruno Engler, 1915-2001, was a mountain guide, ski instructor, photographer and film maker at Banff and Canmore, Alberta, Canada. Engler arrived from Switzerland in 1939 and initially worked as a mountain guide and ski instructor for the Canadian Pacific Railway, Sunshine ski area and for Deer Lodge at Lake Louise, Alberta. During the Second World War, he served as a mountain warfare instructor for the Canadian Army. Following the war, Engler worked as a free-lance photographer for the National Film Board and others; as coach of the University of Alberta Ski Team; and as a technical advisor, cameraman and actor for numerous movies made in the Banff area. Throughout his career, Engler worked as a still and motion picture photographer, both for the movie industry and for governments at all levels, as well as operating his own business, Alpine Films of Banff, Alberta.

Scope & Content: Fonds is primarily a broad-ranging commercial negative collection pertaining to Banff and area, including businesses, buildings, projects, events, people and scenic views; skiing, mountain travel and recreation; Sunshine Village Ski Area; warden activities in the mountain parks; national and provincial parks; scenic views of western Canada, particularly mountain landscapes; some portraits and candid shots of local and international personalities. Photographs pertaining to film making include helicopter rescue; highway construction; Norquay, Sunshine, and Lake Louise ski areas' histories; Banff events and buildings; Canmore events and buildings; professional and amateur ski races; scenic mountain and wildlife; mountaineering and highway accidents; mountain guiding trips including Pierre Trudeau, Roland Michener and Peter Lougheed. Fonds consists of four series: Photography, Motion Pictures, Sound Recordings, and Textual records. Photography series consists of four sub-series established by the photographer: I. Old file, 1949-1970; II. Main file, alphabetical A - Z, 1950-1976; III Sunshine file, [1939], 1950-1975; IV. Warden file, 1954-1976.; Motion pictures on video cassettes are footage of skiing at Sunshine, 1930s; Clifford White films, 1930s, from WMCR Archives collection (V682); "Snow Capers" by Thomas Mead, 1946, includes Engler; "Ski Pro's Holiday" by George Encil, 1950?; "Mount Bulyea" by George Encil, 1950?, includes Engler; "Diary of a Mountain Man," a CBC documentary feature on Bruno Engler broadcast on "20/20" in 1965 (ca.27 minutes); "Great Days in the Rockies" by National Film Board of Canada, 1983; "Mountain Man" by Banff Centre, 1985, re Engler. Original film is "Sunshine 1940" and includes Brewster Transport ski buses travelling from train station to Sunshine Lodge, skiers, guide, lessons, games, rope tow, ski action, slalom, Bruno Engler, other. 16mm and 35mm film reels, 1946-1964 are films produced by the National Film Board.; Sound recordings, electronic records and and related textual material pertain to interviews with Bruno Engler, 1987, done by Brian Patton and Jon Whyte for Bruno Engler autobiography project. Interviews covered Engler's life, but are not complete to 1987. Transcripts, prepared from recordings by Brenda Goeres, are not verbatim. Audio tape cassettes consist of portions of content of audio tape reels.; Textual records include corporate records, newspaper clippings and magazine articles pertaining to film making, cast and crew listings and schedules for various movies, ski racing, mountain guiding trips and ski race listings. Also included is documentation pertaining to film making with producer National Film Board including letters, film stock footage, press releases, and film summaries; maps indicate film location shots for Arctic Rampage.

Name Access: Engler, Bruno

Subject Access: Arts; Environment; Exploration, discovery and travel; Family and personal life; Government; 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: Finding aids and reference tools: basic description; electronic finding aid

Related Material: Duplicate or further transcripts for sound recordings are found in Jon Whyte fonds (M88).

Creator: Engler, Bruno

Category: Arts; Environment; Exploration, discovery and travel; Family and personal life; Government; Sports, recreation and leisure

Title Source: Title based on accession records 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.

3 unknown people and Tom Kaquitts (Sûga Wakâ) (Dog God) (right)

https://archives.whyte.org/en/permalink/descriptions49205

Part Of: Bill Gibbons fonds

Scope & Content: Item consists of three unknown individuals and Tom Kaquitts (Sûga Wakâ) (Dog God) (right) posed together in a group photo.

Date Range: 1950

Reference Code: V227 / 5283

Description Level: 6 / Item

GMD: Photograph; Negative

1 image

Part Of: Bill Gibbons fonds

Description Level: 6 / Item

Fonds Number: V227

Sous-Fonds: V227

Accession Number: n/a

Reference Code: V227 / 5283

GMD: Photograph; Negative

Date Range: 1950

Physical Description: 1 Negative

Scope & Content: Item consists of three unknown individuals and Tom Kaquitts (Sûga Wakâ) (Dog God) (right) posed together in a group photo.

Notes: Note: Any descriptive information or identification of people has been provided by research done through the Recognizing Relations

Name Access: Gibbons, Bill; Kaquitts, Tom

Subject Access: First Nations; Indigenous Peoples; Stoney Nakoda; Stoney

Geographic Access: Alberta

Language: English

Related Material: Recognizing Relations number: RR 296

Creator: Gibbons, Bill

Title Source: Stoney Nakoda Elders provided naming and other culturally relevant information during interviews held for Recognizing Relations, an archives initiative active from 2014-2023.; The goal of this initiative was to name local Indigenous peoples in photographs held in the WMCR archives as well as encouraging access for Indigenous communities to these images.