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…
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.
Fonds consists of the photographic records and sample materials of Byron Harmon Photos, the photographic business of Byron Harmon and his successors; as well as the personal photographs of Byron Harmon. I. Scenic / commercial, 1907-1975, ca.7600 items. Primary component of series is film and glass…
Byron Hill Harmon, 1876-1942, was a professional photographer and businessman at Banff, Alberta, Canada. He was born near Tacoma, Washington, USA and operated a portrait studio there for a time. In 1903, while travelling around the United States and Canada as an itinerant photographer, he decided to settle in Banff and by 1907 had produced enough mountain views to begin selling a line of postcards. Between 1906 and 1913, Harmon was official photographer for the Alpine Club of Canada and made trips in numerous mountain areas, such as the Bugaboos (1910) and Mount Robson (1911, 1913). Harmon personally financed trips into other areas, such as Tonquin Valley (1918) and Lake of the Hanging Glaciers (1920, 1922), producing both still photographs and motion pictures for commercial sale. After his last major expedition in 1924 across Saskatchewan Glacier, through to Maligne Lake and back to Banff by packtrain, Harmon devoted most of his time to photographing scenes along the railway, skiing in the Assiniboine and Skoki regions, and the annual rides and hikes of the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies and the Sky Line Trail Hikers of the Canadian Rockies. At the same time he managed several businesses, including a drug store, fountain lunch, theatre and book store. In his later years, Harmon spent much time travelling and photographing in other parts of the world. The business, Byron Harmon Photos, was managed successively by his son, Don Harmon, then his grand-daughter, Carole Harmon.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of the photographic records and sample materials of Byron Harmon Photos, the photographic business of Byron Harmon and his successors; as well as the personal photographs of Byron Harmon.
I. Scenic / commercial, 1907-1975, ca.7600 items. Primary component of series is film and glass negatives, 1907-1942, ca.6500 items. Also includes: postcard negatives and positives and production negatives to ca.1955; original prints; a wide range of sample products, such as postcards, enlargements and framing prints, calendars and viewbooks, mainly by Harmon business, some by other photographers; and lantern slides, ca.1913-192-, pertaining to Columbia Icefield Expedition, mountaineering, mountain landscapes, Indians, wildlife, Canadian Pacific Railway and Asian travel. Scenic / commercial series pertains to annual camps and expeditions of the Alpine Club of Canada in the Canadian Rockies and Selkirks, 1907-1913; private movie-making expeditions in the Canadian Rockies and Selkirks; mountain scenic views, primarily for postcard purposes; Banff events and development; skiing; birds and animals. Includes some material by Don Harmon and Lloyd Harmon, sons of Byron Harmon.
II. Personal, 189- to 194-, ca.370 items. Includes: family photographs and views received from others; motion picture out-takes pertaining to world travels, 1930s; and 35 mm. transparencies, ca.1940, pertaining mainly to world travels, also mountain and prairie scenics.
Notes
For more information on the Byron Harmon photographs, see "Great Days in the Rockies: The Photographs of Byron Harmon, 1906-1934" (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1978) or "Byron Harmon, Mountain Photographer" by Carole Harmon and Bart Robinson (Banff: Altitude Publishing, 1992)
Fonds pertains to Hinman's career and travels in the Canadian Rockies and consists of I. Photograph albums; II. Motion pictures; III. Photographs (prints, lantern slides, 35mm transparencies); and IV. Textual records. Photographs and motion pictures pertain to mountain tours and trips led by Hinman…
10 photograph albums (ca.3300 prints). -- ca.1600 photographs (574 prints, ca.1000 transparencies). -- 17 motion pictures. -- 4 cm of textual records
History / Biographical
Caroline Hinman, 1884-1966, was a trip/tour leader who worked out of Summit, New Jersey, USA. Hinman was first introduced to the Canadian Rockies in 1913, attending several early Alpine Club of Canada camps. For almost every summer following until ca.1960, she conducted pack trips and tours throughout the Rockies, chiefly in the area between Mount Assiniboine, British Columbia, and Jasper, Alberta. During winters, her parties travelled widely in Europe, Asia and Africa. Starting in the 1940s, Hinman offered a wide variety of motor and rail trips through the Rockies, fishing expeditions in British Columbia, as well as camping trips. Hinman's motto, "off the beaten track," became the hallmark of her adventures.
Scope & Content
Fonds pertains to Hinman's career and travels in the Canadian Rockies and consists of I. Photograph albums; II. Motion pictures; III. Photographs (prints, lantern slides, 35mm transparencies); and IV. Textual records.
Photographs and motion pictures pertain to mountain tours and trips led by Hinman, 1913-1960. Content includes Hinman, her associates and clients, activities and camps, and Banff and area and Rocky Mountain scenics.
Textual records, 1915-1960, include diaries, notebooks, manuscripts, trip accounts, advertising materials, and other material. One of the diaries refers to an early trip (1915) with Mary Jobe and Curly Phillips, Robson Pass. The tour literature includes form letters, pamphlets, etc. containing itineraries for most of Hinman's trips in the Canadian Rockies.
Fonds consists of letters, 1929-1972, including letters to Leslie Peters, 1929-1972 and Julius Peters, 1931-1938; Christmas cards from Beil to members of the Peters family; miscellaneous brochures, pamphlets, etc. illustrated with Beil's works; photographs. Papers discuss Banff Winter Carnival ice…
3 cm of textual records. -- 80 photographs : prints, postcards
History / Biographical
Charlie Beil, 1894-1976, was an artist at Banff, Alberta, Canada. Beil pursued his interest in art after meeting artist Charlie Russell in Glacier Park, Montana, USA. Prior to that, he worked as a cowboy and served in the U.S. Cavalry. Beil came to Banff in 1930 and settled there permanently in 1934. He established a studio and began to produce murals, dioramas and bronze sculptures. Beil was well-known for the latter and was active as an artist until his death. Charles Beil married Olive Luxton (1915-1983), ca.1940.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of letters, 1929-1972, including letters to Leslie Peters, 1929-1972 and Julius Peters, 1931-1938; Christmas cards from Beil to members of the Peters family; miscellaneous brochures, pamphlets, etc. illustrated with Beil's works; photographs. Papers discuss Banff Winter Carnival ice sculptures, Olive Beil, Grey Owl, and Beil's life and work as an artist, particularly in the 1930s and 1940s as he was becoming established in Banff. Photographs pertain to paintings, models and sculptures by Charlie Beil; also Calgary Stampede, Banff and Sunshine area views.
Fonds consists of interviews, research notes,manuscripts, printed and digital photographs, and other materials produced and collected by Chic Scott between 1982 and 2021. Content pertains to Chic's various publications and research projects, the Canadian Himalayan Foundation, the Canadian '82 Evere…
Sound recordings: 224 audio tape cassettes, 7 audio tape reels. -- 78 CD-ROM. with digital files -- Moving images: 148 videocassettes: 133 Hi8, 15 VHS. ; 149 DVDs -- 4.2 m textual records
History / Biographical
Charles (Chic) C. Scott, b.1945, is a mountaineer, mountain guide and writer based in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Scott climbed extensively in the western Canada and the Himalayas until the mid-1970s. He guided extensively in the European Alps for five seasons, ca.1970, and worked as a climber for "The Eiger Sanction," a Hollywood movie starring Clint Eastwood. Scott resumed climbing in 1988, after a period working at the University of Calgary. His publications include "Alpinism," editor, "Ski Trails in the Canadian Rockies," "The History of the Calgary Mountain Club", "Summits and Icefields", "Pushing the Limits: the Story of Canadian Mountaineering", "Powder Pioneers : Ski Stories from the Canadian Rockies and Columbia Mountains", and "Deep Powder and Steep Rock : the Life of Mountain Guide Hans Gmoser".
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of interviews, research notes,manuscripts, printed and digital photographs, and other materials produced and collected by Chic Scott between 1982 and 2021. Content pertains to Chic's various publications and research projects, the Canadian Himalayan Foundation, the Canadian '82 Everest Expedition, and collected and personal materials. Items in fonds are arranged mostly by individual projects/areas of research.
Notes
Fonds consists of 15 series:
Series I : Pushing the Limits
Series II : Mountain Romantics
Series III : Summits and Icefields
Series IV : Powder Pioneers
Series V : Deep Powder and Steep Rock
Series VI : Ski Trails of the Canadian Rockies
Series VII : Hans Gmoser Film Collection
Series VIII : The Canadian Himalayan Foundation
Series IX : The Book of Mortimer
Series X : Tommy and Lawrence
Series XI : The Yam
Series XII :Calgary Mountain Club
Series XIII : Young at Heart
Series XIV : Chic Scott personal records
Series XV : A LIFE IN THE WILD: The Story of Mountain Explorer John Baldwin
Access to interviews limited to VHS reference compilations.
Fonds consists of professional papers, 1921, 1949-1950; financial papers, 1932-1946; other papers, 1939-1953; and photographs, ca.1909-ca.1947. Textual records pertain mainly to Walker's later career re the Eastern Rockies Forest Conservation Board, Coleman-Savana Creek Highway, and income tax. Al…
5 cm of textual records. -- 23 photographs : prints
History / Biographical
Claude Melville Walker, 1883-1952, was a surveyor and engineer who had a thirty-five year association with Banff National Park. He served with the Surveys Branch engineering service and was supervising engineer of the western parks from 1936 to 1948. He was involved in the survey of the Banff townsite, superintendent of construction, Big Bend Highway, and supervised construction of the Icefields Parkway, and major highways in British Columbia and the North West Territories. In later years he did private engineering and consulting work. Walker was married to Mabel Arnold Walker, 1883-1970
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of professional papers, 1921, 1949-1950; financial papers, 1932-1946; other papers, 1939-1953; and photographs, ca.1909-ca.1947. Textual records pertain mainly to Walker's later career re the Eastern Rockies Forest Conservation Board, Coleman-Savana Creek Highway, and income tax. Also includes miscellaneous papers and ephemera of Mabel Walker's re gardening. Photographs pertain to C. M. Walker, family, associates and activities, ca.1909-ca.1947. Also includes prints collected by Walker
Fonds consist of eight separate series: A. Moving Images; B. Photographs; C. Banff - Lake Louise - Chamber of Commerce Plaques; D. Printed Materials; E. Newspaper Clippings; F. Sunshine Village Lodge & Skoki Ski Lodge; G. Written Materials; H. Phone List. Fonds consists of records pertaining primar…
7 cm textual records. -- 24 photographs: prints. -- 2 motion pictures: 16mm film, video
History / Biographical
Clifford Jackson White (II), 1929-2003, was born in Banff, Alberta, the son of Clifford and Mildred (Jackson) White and the grandson of Dave White. Clifford J. White attended public and high school in Banff and in 1951, married Beverly Pogue of Calgary. Together they have four children: Clifford (III), Tara, Bradford, and Tristan. Cliff White was thirteen years old when he guided for his father at Mount Temple, and he operated the bulldozer for Sunshine Village from 1946 to 1949. From 1949 to 1953, Cliff White was assistant to the general manager of Snowmobile Tours at the Icefields, and 1953-1963, he owned a service station in Banff. In 1960, White purchased Sunshine Village ski resort, sold it in 1966 and remained the manager there until 1977. White succeeded his aunt, Catharine Whyte as President of the Board of Trustees, Peter and Catharine Whyte Foundation, 1979-1993. White was a member of the Kiwanis Club at Banff, and was the director of the Banff Chamber of Commerce. He was a Cub pack leader from 1953 to 1956.
Scope & Content
Fonds consist of eight separate series: A. Moving Images; B. Photographs; C. Banff - Lake Louise - Chamber of Commerce Plaques; D. Printed Materials; E. Newspaper Clippings; F. Sunshine Village Lodge & Skoki Ski Lodge; G. Written Materials; H. Phone List. Fonds consists of records pertaining primarily to Sunshine ski area. Textual records include a speech: "The Human History of Skiing at lake Louise," Feb. 8, 1992. Discusses origins of skiing in Banff, 1920s, the establishment of Skoki and Mt. Temple Chalet, and the first chair lifts. The remainder of the speech deals with White's recollections of a typical "ski week" in 1943 when he worked as a licensed ski guide at Mount Temple Chalet. Also includes a list of significant dates and events in Lake Louise ski history, 1894-1991. Textual records also include personal and legal records, Sunshine ski area pamphlets, 1960 - ?, correspondence, certificates, clippings, and pamphlets. Photographs consist of 20 prints re Clifford J. White, Beverly White and their children; Clifford White Sr. and ski development history. Motion pictures include a film "Top of the World," ca. 1970, 16mm, sd., col., ca. 500 ft., ca. 14 minutes. "A Jim Rice Production." Sunshine Village promotional film: skiing, lodge, lifts, helishots, etc. interspersed with 1930s footage of Skoki area skiing (some of which exists in this fonds). Film was property of Sunshine Village. Clifford J. White supplied some historical film footage by or collected by his father, Clifford White, for this film.
Fonds consist of four separate series: A. Transparencies; B. Negatives; C. Photograph; D. Photograph Albums. Fonds consists of correspondence, personal papers, photographs, sound recordings and ephemera regarding Banff history, organizations and individuals, skiing history, events and winter sports…
13 cm of textual records. -- 183 photographs : negatives, prints, transparencies, tintype. -- 4 photograph albums: 536 prints. -- 3 sound recordings : audio tape reels
History / Biographical
Cyril and Mary Paris were restaurant owners and skiers at Banff, Alberta, Canada. Cyril Paris, 1904-1981, was son of George Harrison Paris, 1872-1960, who settled in Banff in 1892. George Paris worked as an attendant at Dr. R. G. Brett's Grandview Hotel bathhouse, and, by 1903, Paris had established his own barber shop. He married Ida Winberg and they opened a summer tea house and ice cream parlor on Banff Avenue. In 1922, a restaurant was added to the Paris Tea Room. George Paris was active in the Banff Curling Club and the Banff Skating Club and taught figure-skating. He was an accomplished amateur photographer. George and Ida Paris had four children - Cyril, Georgina (Georgie) and twins, Herb and Ted. Cyril and his brothers were active in the early development of skiing in the Rockies. Cyril Paris was a member of the Banff Ski Club and the Ski Runners of the Canadian Rockies, and was involved with the early days of Skoki Lodge. With his wife, Mary (Howard) Paris, 1910-1989, he shared interests in skiing, winter sports and local affairs.
Scope & Content
Fonds consist of four separate series: A. Transparencies; B. Negatives; C. Photograph; D. Photograph Albums. Fonds consists of correspondence, personal papers, photographs, sound recordings and ephemera regarding Banff history, organizations and individuals, skiing history, events and winter sports. Also includes miscellaneous materials of and pertaining to Paris family members. Photographs pertain mainly to Cyril Paris, skiing, family, friends and associates, local events and personalities. Sound recordings are interviews with George Paris by Cyril and Mary Paris, 195-. Recordings discuss the early days of Banff, the Paris family, Banff development, etc.
Fonds consists of family and military photographs, ca.1890-ca.1935, most of which are unidentified; military papers, 1914-1919; poems and expressions of appreciation to Major Child [sic] Late Chief Armor Plate Department , Ministry of Munitions of War, Glasgow and London; Speech to "Girls and Boys …
16 photographs : prints. -- 1 photograph album (ca.70 prints). -- 2 cm of textual records
History / Biographical
Lt. Col. Cyril G. Childe, d.1973, of Banff, Alberta, Canada was in the 1st Division Cyclists during the First World War and was active in militia and Legion activities in peace time.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of family and military photographs, ca.1890-ca.1935, most of which are unidentified; military papers, 1914-1919; poems and expressions of appreciation to Major Child [sic] Late Chief Armor Plate Department , Ministry of Munitions of War, Glasgow and London; Speech to "Girls and Boys of Banff", n.d. re history of Union Jack and explanatory flag diagram; letter dated Dec.4, 1941 from J. D. Hansen to Sylvia Childe re rental property. Also includes some publications.
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…
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