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 Writing is in the form of notes and notebooks, unpublished and published manuscripts, newspaper articles and other materials.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
Fonds consists of personal, professional and literary papers and photographs. Personal papers date from 1954 to 1959. Professional papers include: National Blue Baby Association, 1951-1955; and David Thompson Memorial Foundation, 1957-1959. Literary papers include: general papers, 1956, 1959; an…
39 cm of textual records. -- 29 photographs : prints. -- 1 photograph album (46 prints)
History / Biographical
Mabel Brinkley, d.1959, also known as Mrs. R. D. Brinkley and Ruth Brinkley, was a writer who lived in the United States and at Banff, Alberta, Canada. Brinkley claimed to have had a successful career as a writer before coming to Canada in 1955. She came to Banff to work on a local history to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the inauguration of Alberta. A manuscript for one of several planned volumes was completed, but never published.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of personal, professional and literary papers and photographs. Personal papers date from 1954 to 1959. Professional papers include: National Blue Baby Association, 1951-1955; and David Thompson Memorial Foundation, 1957-1959. Literary papers include: general papers, 1956, 1959; and Banff Jubilee Books, 1955-1957.
Literary papers consists mainly of notes and drafts for "In The Shadow of the Peaks," a Banff local history based on extensive interviews and submissions by and about long-time Banff residents, including Charlie Beil, Jim Boyce, Nicholas de Grandmaison, Dan McCowan, Ike Mills, Casey Oliver, Dorothy Oxborough, Walter Painter, Carl Rungius, Andrew Sibbald, George Simpson, D. M. Soole and Tom Wilson.
Photographs collected by Mabel Brinkley, probably in the course of her research, pertain to Banff and area, people, places and scenic views; also Indians, unknown location.
Fonds pertains to the McCowan family, mainly the McCowan brothers and John and Jen (McCowan) Wilson. Content includes Banff personalities and places; activities, including curling, hockey, curling and fishing; events, including floods and fires in the town; Banff personalities and places. Also p…
Fonds includes photographs by Bill McCowan and Dan McCowan. Negatives are mainly by Dan McCowan. Wilson-McCowan photograph album was assembled by Bill Waterworth
Date Range
1908-1981, predominant 1908-[ca.1950]
Physical Description
80 photographs (40 negatives, 38 prints, 2 transparencies). -- 2 photograph albums (ca.800 prints). -- 1 textual record (1 v.)
History / Biographical
Bill McCowan, 1897-1975, was a government employee at Banff, Alberta, Canada. McCowan came to Banff from Scotland with his family in 1911. His brother, Dan McCowan, was a renowned naturalist and writer. Other siblings were Marie, Jim, Duncan, Rae, Jock and Jennie. Jennie McCowan (1894-1984) married John Clark Wilson (1888-1932), son of Tom and Minnie Wilson. Their daughter, Bernice, married Bill Waterworth.
Scope & Content
Fonds pertains to the McCowan family, mainly the McCowan brothers and John and Jen (McCowan) Wilson. Content includes Banff personalities and places; activities, including curling, hockey, curling and fishing; events, including floods and fires in the town; Banff personalities and places. Also pertains to World War I events and 82nd Battalion; royal visits; Calgary, Alberta places and events; scenic views, Banff and area, Rocky Mountains; Margaret Ashley, Henry and Mrs. Fonda. Textual item is Jock McCowan scrapbook, 1913-1981.
File consists of 12 black and white photograph prints, 23 x 18 cm or smaller. File pertains to Jean's personal photographs of various family and friends. File documents Jean and Jack's trip to Lake Louise in 1939 with their sister-in-law, Anna Cran; a portrait of Jean, aged 20-21 (ca.1928); Jean an…
File consists of 12 black and white photograph prints, 23 x 18 cm or smaller. File pertains to Jean's personal photographs of various family and friends. File documents Jean and Jack's trip to Lake Louise in 1939 with their sister-in-law, Anna Cran; a portrait of Jean, aged 20-21 (ca.1928); Jean and a friend from Washington, Lucille Tucker, at the Empress Hotel in Victoria, B.C.; and artist, Dan McCowan.
Notes
Several of the photograph prints are annotated on the back.