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
Scrapbook consists of newspaper clippings pertaining to King George VI's coronation and Queen Elizabeth; newspaper clippings relating to British West Indies, Australia and other Empire colonies as well as related stories. Scrapbook also includes articles relating to King George VI and family. Also …
Scrapbook consists of newspaper clippings pertaining to King George VI's coronation and Queen Elizabeth; newspaper clippings relating to British West Indies, Australia and other Empire colonies as well as related stories. Scrapbook also includes articles relating to King George VI and family. Also included are two file folders containing:
four postcards bearing images of the King and Queen's visit to Belfast, troops inspections and two publications titled: "Their Majesties' Canadian Visit, 1939" and a timetable of Pilot train and boats and itinerary of activities [placed in a mylar sleeve and file folder].
booklet and b&w photographs relating to King George VI and Queen Elizabeth's Royal Visit, 1939 [placed in a file folder].
File consists of one postcard scrapbook containing 325 postcards. Content pertains to various topics including Canadian landscapes, Indigenous peoples from Alberta, British Columbia, and Northwestern Canada [mostly unidentified] including members of Blackfoot, Squamish, Piegan, Cree, Sarcee and Sto…
Photographs produced by W.G. Macfarlane, Montreal Litho. Co. Ltd., John Innes, T.N. Hibben & Co., Thompson's Studio, Warwick Bros. & Rutter Ltd., Bailey Bros. Ltd., an J.W. Vought
Date Range
1903
1904
Physical Description
ca. 325 prints : b&w and col. postcards ; 9 x 14 cm
Scope & Content
File consists of one postcard scrapbook containing 325 postcards. Content pertains to various topics including Canadian landscapes, Indigenous peoples from Alberta, British Columbia, and Northwestern Canada [mostly unidentified] including members of Blackfoot, Squamish, Piegan, Cree, Sarcee and Stoney communities; horses and ranching scenes in Western Canada; cattle and farming; wildlife; hunting and snowshoeing; and hotels and scenic views within the Bow Valley. Named individuals include Piegan Chief Crow Eagle and Winnipeg Jack [Blackfoot], most individuals not identified.
Material Details
Scrapbook contains unidentified white powdery substance between a few pages near middle of album.
Sub-series consists of textual and visual materials pertaining to the history of Southern Alberta. Includes personal accounts, day books and diaries, genealogical research, records of livestock and other trade, and portrait and group photographs depicting early settlers of Southern Alberta. Materia…
29 cm of textual records -- 29 photographs (28 b&w prints, 1 tintype) ; 20 x 25 cm or smaller
Scope & Content
Sub-series consists of textual and visual materials pertaining to the history of Southern Alberta. Includes personal accounts, day books and diaries, genealogical research, records of livestock and other trade, and portrait and group photographs depicting early settlers of Southern Alberta. Materials in sub-series believed to have been collected by Eleanor Luxton, possibly on behalf of the Southern Alberta Pioneers' and Old Timers' Association or as part of Eleanor's personal research.
File consists of one scrapbook containing postcards likely collected by Eleanor Luxton during national and international travels. Locations include Hawaii, Hong Kong, San Francisco, New York, Montreal, Panama, and Japan. scrapbook has small textual page attached to inside titled "Interesting Facts …
Some items produced by Curt Teich & Co., Nikkosha, Western Publishing & Novelty Co., and H.S. Crocker Co., Inc.
Date Range
[ca. 1935 - ca. 1940]
1939
Physical Description
1 scrapbook (158 prints : b&w and col. postcards ; 9 x 14 cm -- 1 textual record)
Scope & Content
File consists of one scrapbook containing postcards likely collected by Eleanor Luxton during national and international travels. Locations include Hawaii, Hong Kong, San Francisco, New York, Montreal, Panama, and Japan. scrapbook has small textual page attached to inside titled "Interesting Facts About Canada" with statistics from 1936.
File consists of one scrapbook containing photograph prints, postcard prints, newspaper clippings, and two typed pages pertaining to John McDougall and the "Indian Uprising" in Alberta in 1880, and Marion Carson. Visual content pertains to various members and friends of the Luxton family attending …
1 scrapbook (59 b&w and col. prints ; 16.5 x 21.5 cm or smaller -- 3 newspaper clippings - 2 textual records)
Scope & Content
File consists of one scrapbook containing photograph prints, postcard prints, newspaper clippings, and two typed pages pertaining to John McDougall and the "Indian Uprising" in Alberta in 1880, and Marion Carson. Visual content pertains to various members and friends of the Luxton family attending domestic and international trips between 1954 and 1970, including trips to Victoria, B.C., Hawaii, Italy, Egypt, Hong Kong, Japan, Ireland, India, Greece and England.
Notes
Some items are heavily annotated on back, some dates and locations provided on pages of scrapbook
File consists of one scrapbook containing ca. 200 attached postcard prints and commercial postcards, as well as two portrait photograph prints and two souvenir booklets. Content pertains to scenic views of the Canadian Rockies including Moraine Lake, Lake Louise, Maligne Lake, Revelstoke and the At…
Some items produced by George S. Cladds [?], Byron Harmon, Gerta Christoffersen, Detroit Publishing Co., and A.C. Leighton
Date Range
[ca. 1925 - ca. 1940]
1932
Physical Description
1 scrapbook : ca. 200 b&w and col. postcards ; 14 x 21.5 cm or smaller
Scope & Content
File consists of one scrapbook containing ca. 200 attached postcard prints and commercial postcards, as well as two portrait photograph prints and two souvenir booklets. Content pertains to scenic views of the Canadian Rockies including Moraine Lake, Lake Louise, Maligne Lake, Revelstoke and the Athabasca River; portrait paintings of unidentified Indigenous girls by artist Gerta Christoffersen; scenes from Australia, Brussels, Venice, Bermuda, Fiji, Portugal, London, Windsor Castle, California, Mexico, the Grand Canyon, Montana, Niagara Falls, Maine, Ohio and Pennsylvania; and sketched art by A.C. Leighton depicting horses and riders. Many postcards are colorized.