Fonds consists of three sous-fonds: M573 / V797 / S60.
M573 consists of three series, 26 cm of textual records, 1924-2005. Series I: Personal Papers, 19 cm, ca.1930-2005 (including notebooks and drafts of various talks that Jean delivered and records related to her participation in the Trail Rider…
26 cm of textual records.-- 109 photographs (42 prints, 67 lantern slides). -- 2 sound recordings.
History / Biographical
Jean Alexandra Hembroff was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on April 5, 1908 to Walter B. Hembroff (d. 1945) and Sarah Jane Hembroff (d.1952). Jean was accepted to the MacPhail School of Music and Dramatic Art at the University of Minnesota, from which she graduated in 1927. She returned to Winnipeg to begin teaching courses in speech arts and drama. To establish herself, she first volunteered as the "story lady" at the Williams Avenue Public Library and quickly became known as an excellent speaker sought by many different organizations. She taught at St. Mary's Academy and the Evening Institute at the University of Manitoba, as well as offered private sessions. Many of her students used the skills they learned from Jean as they entered radio, television, politics, and business. Jean was also very active in organizing and adjucating Speech Arts festivals in Manitoba, often going to inaccessible places to give workshops. Her teaching, broadcasting, adjucating, coaching, and speaking career spanned more than 50 years.
Jean was hired by the Canadian Pacific Railway's promotions manager to give presentations and broadcast interviews across Canada and the United States. In 1937, Jean joined the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies and participated in their summer trail ride in the same year. For that year's issue of the Trail Rider's Bulletin Jean wrote an article - and became the first woman to ever do so. In 1938, during her lecture titled "Trail Riding in the Rockies" on January 18, 1938 at the Royal Alexandra Hotel, Jean met John David (Jack) MacDonald. Jack and Jean were married on June 18, 1938, and the couple had one son, Bruce Walter James MacDonald (August 28, 1946-August 25, 2016).
Jean participated in several trail rides with the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies and the Sky Line Trail, and produced articles reflecting her experiences. Jean loved to travel and visited places all around Canada and the United States, Borneo, Tangier, Montevideo, Stockholm, New Delhi, and Tonga. At the age of 102, Jean passed away on February 2, 2011 and is buried in Winnipeg.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of three sous-fonds: M573 / V797 / S60.
M573 consists of three series, 26 cm of textual records, 1924-2005. Series I: Personal Papers, 19 cm, ca.1930-2005 (including notebooks and drafts of various talks that Jean delivered and records related to her participation in the Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies and the Sky Line Hikers of the Canadian Rockies, particularly 1937-1939). Series II: Correspondence and Newspaper Clippings, 4 cm, 1924-2000 (including correspondence with John Murray Gibbon, former students, and attendees at various talks, as well as newspaper articles that Jean wrote about various subjects and articles of her achievements). Series III: Collected Materials and Ephemera, 3 cm, ca.1930-1950 (including a variety of collected poems and ephemera, as well as a copy of The Beaver Magazine from 1940, for which Jean wrote an article titled "On the Trail of Sir George").
V797 consists of two series, 24.5 cm of visual records, ca.1928-1939. Series I: Photograph Prints, 3 cm, ca.1928-1939 (includes personal photographs of Jean and her family and friends as well as photographs of Jean and Jack's visit to Lake Louise in 1939). Series II: Lantern Slides, 21.5 cm, ca.1937-1939 (Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies official ride of 1937 to Mt. Assiniboine; Sky Line Hikers of the Canadian Rockies official ride of 1939 to Ptarmigan Valley and Skoki; collection of trail ride songs).
S60 consists of two sound recordings, 1 cm, 2004 and 2007 (Winnipeg at Christmas, narrated by Jean, broadcasted on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).
The Nicholas Morant fonds consists of Morant's freelance work from his early days with the Winnipeg Free Press to his retirement from the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1981. It is national in scope and also includes some international material. The fonds is comprised of three series: I. Photograp…
Nicholas Everard Morant, 1910-1999, was a professional photographer based at Banff, Alberta, Canada. He was a Canadian commercial photographer of international repute and Canada's premier railway photographer of the 20th century.
Morant was born at Kamloops, British Columbia, the son of Francis and Mollie Morant. After attending the University School at Victoria, Morant served as Special Photographer to the CPR from 1929 to 1935 and again from 1944 to 1981. From 1935 to 1939, he was a cameraman for the Winnipeg Free Press, and from 1940 to 1944 worked with the Wartime Information Branch of the federal government (later to be known as the National Film Board Stills Division).
Morant had a prolific career as a freelance commercial, portrait, magazine, landscape and documentary photographer. His work appeared in numerous books and magazines, including Time, Life, Liberty, Saturday Evening Post, (Toronto) Star Weekly, Northern Sportsman, Reader's Digest, Country Guide, The Standard, National Home Monthly, Canadian Photography, Outdoor Canada, National Geographic, the Globe & Mail, Winnipeg Tribune, New York Daily News, and the two Canadian Pacific Railway magazines, The Spanner and Rail News.
Two wartime images were featured on postage stamps, while three landscape views appeared on Canadian $10, $50 and $100 bills. His images were also used for corporate annual reports, postcards, brochures, calendars and advertisements. From the 1950s to 1980s Morant gave public slide shows of his work, two of the most popular being "A Talk Without Words" and "The World At Your Feet".
Morant married Ivy May "Willie" Young in 1936 when he was a photographer with the Winnipeg Free Press. Beginning in 1929, and until the end of her life, Morant's travelling and working companion was his wife, "Willie," 1910-1986.
Scope & Content
The Nicholas Morant fonds consists of Morant's freelance work from his early days with the Winnipeg Free Press to his retirement from the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1981. It is national in scope and also includes some international material. The fonds is comprised of three series: I. Photography; II. Professional records; III. Personal and family records.
I. Photography series consists of: A. Negatives and transparencies, B. Transparencies, C. Prints, D. Other photographs. II. Professional records series consists of: A. Working records, B. Career records, C. Topical files. III. Personal and family records series consists of: A. Nick and Willie Morant, B. Nick Morant funeral and memorial, C. Francis and Mollie Morant, D. Collected material
Notes
Full summary of sub-sub-series levels:
I / A : 1) Darkroom Files [ a) Negative Albums b) Black/White Series I and II c) Colour Series I and II
d) Leica Negs ]
2) GD Files
I / B : 1) Presentations [ a) Topical Files b) Thematic Files ]
2) General Files
3) Other
I / C : 1) Print Files
I / D : 1) Exhibition and Display Prints
2) Photographs used by John Garden
3) Other Photographs
II / A : 1) Log Books
2) Notebooks
II / B : 1) Career Binders [ a) Postcards b) Brochures and Advertising c) clippings and articles
d) Calendar Photographs ]
2) Scrapbooks [ a) Content 1933 - 1946 b) Content 1940 - 1980 ]
II / C : 1) Numbered / Titled Files [ a) Group A b) Group B c) Group C d) Group D e) Group H
f) Group P g) Group R ]
2) Other Topical Files [ a) Railway; i) Timetables ii) Publications iii) Other
b) Photography; i) Textual Records ii) Print Material
c) Travel d) Exhibitions and Galleries e)Personal f) Other ]
3) Postcards, Greeting Cards and Ephemera Collection
4) Published Images and Text
5) Professional Photography
6) Promotional Items, Awards and Correspondence
7) Presentation and Interview Materials
III / A : 1) Correspondence
2) Personal Papers [ a) Personal Records b) Notes and Notebooks c) Lists and Card Files
d) Awards and Retirement ]
3) Personal Photographs
4) House Records [ a) Construction b) Household Records ]
5) Business, Financial and Legal Papers
6) Interviews, Reminiscences Personal Recordings
7) Other Records (Signs, Cartoons, Drawings, etc.)
8) Personal Correspondence and Notes
9) Travel Documents and Maps
III / B : 1) Nick Morant Funeral, Memorial and Estate
III / C : 1) Mollie Morant Papers
2) Other Family Papers
III / D : 1) Sound Recordings
2) Biographical Material
3) Other Papers and Photographs [ a) Burton Wheatley Family b) Other ]
4) Personal and Family Photography
5) Personal Interest and Gifts
Transparencies returned from Miller Services, Toronto (photographic agency). Views were among Morant's most marketable work. They are related to those in file V500 / B3 / 55b : "To show J. G" [John Garden]
I.B. Photography : transparencies : 2. General files
Sous-Fonds
V500
Reference Code
V500 / B3 / 56
Other Title Info
Parallel title is original title
Date Range
[between 1940 and 1980], predominant 1959-1971
Physical Description
108 photographs : transparencies, 35mm
Scope & Content
Transparencies returned from Miller Services, Toronto (photographic agency). Views were among Morant's most marketable work. They are related to those in file V500 / B3 / 55b : "To show J. G" [John Garden]
Geographic Access
Alberta
British Columbia
Nova Scotia
Saskatchewan
Title Source
Title based on contents of file
Content Details
File consists of :
Banff National Park AB views, including autumn colours in the Bow Valley, trees, Vermilion Lakes, Mount Rundle including winter scenes, Fairholme Ranch building, teepees at Banff Indian Days, Bow Peak, Bow Lake, Lake Louise, Willie Morant at Peyto Lake, passenger train near Castle Mountain;
Glacier National Park BC views including snowshed in Rogers Pass, Mount Sir Donald, Moberly Peak
Mount Assiniboine
Other, including: harvesting, grain elevators and prairie landscapes; moose, woodpacker, flowers; Roberts Bank Kaiser coal operations; Peace River area; coastal British Columbia; Nova Scotia lighthouses, fishing boats, seascapes, shrine
File consists of 4 audiotape film reels with music content recorded by Nicholas Morant. Pertains to music/audio used in slideshow presentation series "A Talk Without Words" by Nicholas and Ivy "Willie" Morant (see "History/Bio"). Items (in order) are labelled "Introduction", "Showtape", "Introducti…
"A Talk Without Words" was an original presentation by Nick and Ivy "Willie" Morant featuring some of their photographs taken while travelling across Canada for work, as well as photographs from their travels in Peru. The presentation involved a brief introduction by Nick and Willie, followed by an approximately one-hour long slideshow accompanied by music which was recorded by Nick. The couple presented this slideshow, and similar variations, to the public for about 15 years (ca. 1950 to ca. 1965).
Scope & Content
File consists of 4 audiotape film reels with music content recorded by Nicholas Morant. Pertains to music/audio used in slideshow presentation series "A Talk Without Words" by Nicholas and Ivy "Willie" Morant (see "History/Bio"). Items (in order) are labelled "Introduction", "Showtape", "Introduction B" and "Showtape B".
Notes
Item S20/II/C/7/1 originally stored in brown paper Canadian Pacific mailing envelope with shipping label: "INTRODUCTION NICHOLAS MORANT BOX 1288 BANFF, ALBERTA CANADA"
Items S20/II/C/7/2 to 4 were attached by string tied around them.
Item S20/II/C/7/2 has label taped to inside of clear plastic container reading: "SHOWTAPE. Nova Scotia 123 Trees Prairies Quiet Places World at Feet Mountains 123 Exit Music."
Item S20/II/C/7/3 and S20/II/C/7/4 were in brown paper Canadian Pacific envelope labelled: "SHOWTAPE B INTRODUCTION B Excludes - Peru - Soundpix"
S20/II/C/7/3 in "Scotch Tape" brand box labelled "Introduction B .... Okay for Revere or Magnecord."
S20/II/C/7/4 in "audiotape" brand box labelled "Showtape B. Okay for Revere and Magnecord."
https://www.whyte.org/nicholas-morant-later-career
Also referenced in book "Nicholas Morant's Canadian Pacific" by John F. Garden (Revelstoke: Footprint Publishing, 1991) under chapter "A Talk Without Words"
File consists of 45 negative photographs (b&w, colour) and 33 colour transparencies. Content pertains to Canadian Pacific Railway hotels: Algonquin Hotel, St. Andrew's NB; Digby Pines Hotel, Digby NS; Ascot Hotel, Montreal QC(?); and Le Baron Hotel, Sherbrooke QC.
78 Photographs: negatives and transparencies; b&w and colour
Scope & Content
File consists of 45 negative photographs (b&w, colour) and 33 colour transparencies. Content pertains to Canadian Pacific Railway hotels: Algonquin Hotel, St. Andrew's NB; Digby Pines Hotel, Digby NS; Ascot Hotel, Montreal QC(?); and Le Baron Hotel, Sherbrooke QC.
Notes
Some of photographs are duplicates. Negatives and transparencies stored in separate file boxes.
File consists of 85 b&w prints and 1 colour print, various sizes. Content pertains to CPR, construction sites, horses and ranching, wildlife/landscapes, Indigenous art, and images from scenes in several provinces across Canada (BC, AB, NB, NS, QC) created for use in Canadian Pacific travel promotio…
Produced by Nicholas Morant and Ivy 'Willie' Morant
Date Range
[ca. 1935 - ca. 1940]
[ca. 1950 - ca. 1960]
[ca. 1980 - 1986]
Physical Description
86 Photographs: prints; b&w and colour
Scope & Content
File consists of 85 b&w prints and 1 colour print, various sizes. Content pertains to CPR, construction sites, horses and ranching, wildlife/landscapes, Indigenous art, and images from scenes in several provinces across Canada (BC, AB, NB, NS, QC) created for use in Canadian Pacific travel promotions. Also contains three portrait images of Stoney Nakoda chiefs including John Hunter and Jacob Two-Young-Man, and two images of an older Nicholas Morant (at least one taken by Ivy 'Willie' Morant, depicting Nicholas Morant in train tunnel holding camera equipment). Many images in this file are stamped on the reverse side as property of Miller Services Ltd.
Storage Range
In file box V500 / II / C / 5 / PA - 326 to V500 / II / C / 5 / PA - 648
File consists of a scrapbook containing newspaper and magazine clippings, magazine articles and covers, and pamphlets featuring leisure activities and travel/tourism activities across Canada.
Includes some ads featuring Morant's photographs and a newspaper article about a murder investigation in Br…
File consists of a scrapbook containing newspaper and magazine clippings, magazine articles and covers, and pamphlets featuring leisure activities and travel/tourism activities across Canada.
Includes some ads featuring Morant's photographs and a newspaper article about a murder investigation in British Columbia.
File consists of 126 colour transparencies, various sizes, most of which are individually titled. Content pertains to numerous landscape views across Canada (including scenes in British Columbia, Alberta, the Canadian prairies, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia), with a majority depicting the Canadia…
File consists of 126 colour transparencies, various sizes, most of which are individually titled. Content pertains to numerous landscape views across Canada (including scenes in British Columbia, Alberta, the Canadian prairies, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia), with a majority depicting the Canadian Rockies regions. Content also includes other assorted images pertaining to the Stoney Nakoda community, as well as Canadian Pacific tourism-related images.
Storage Range
In file box V500 / II / C / 5 / NS - 410 to 535 and V500 / III / D / 4 / NS - 1 to 9
File consists of 24 large printed posters, colour. Content pertains to promotional tourism imagery produced by Nicholas Morant, depicting various Canadian landscapes and sights. Most of posters depict regions in or close to the Rocky Mountains, with additional images featuring areas in Nova Scotia …
File consists of 24 large printed posters, colour. Content pertains to promotional tourism imagery produced by Nicholas Morant, depicting various Canadian landscapes and sights. Most of posters depict regions in or close to the Rocky Mountains, with additional images featuring areas in Nova Scotia and Quebec and some which do not mention locations in their titles.
Notes
Items originally stored together in large poster tube, labelled :
"Montreal Quebec - 8 I '63 Canada Postage 15 [cents]"
"Mr. Nick Morant, P.O. Box 1288, Banff, Alberta. Department of Publc Relations Canadian Pacific Railway Company Windsor Station - Montreal 3, Quebec"
"OLD CP VIEWS - Kodaks - "
"CP Airline Plane / Chateau Frontenac / Sulphur Mt. Skyline View / Evangeline Church / Kick. Horse - Mt. Field / Kick Horse Canyon with Train / Empress Hotel / BS Hotel from Sulphur Mt. / Quebec Windmills / Yoho Valley Hi-Line Trail / Peggy's Cove / Thompson River View / Moraine Lake Scenic / Icefields / Yoho Valley / Lake Louise / Lake O'Hara / 'Canadian' Stoney Cr. / Freight nr. Lake Louise / Empress of Britain (painting)"
Storage Range
In oversize storage as V500 / II / C / 6 / PA - 14 O.S. to V500 / II / C / 6 / PA - 37 O.S.