Fonds consists of textual and photographic records pertaining to Brewster Transport and its predecessor and subsidiary companies. Series are: I. James I. Brewster, 1892-1962; II. Brewster Brothers, 1905-1909; III. Brewster Transfer Company Ltd., 1909-1916; IV. Brewster Trading Co. Ltd., 1907-1926;…
ca.5 m of textual records : includes ca.50 v. -- ca.1280 photographs : prints, negatives, transparencies, proof sheets. -- 2 photograph albums. -- ca.100 sets of cartographic records : plans, blueprints. -- 11 motion pictures (10 videocassettes, 1 film reel). -- 11 sound recordings : audio cassettes
History / Biographical
Brewster Transport Company is a transportation company based at Banff, Alberta. Formally organized in 1900 as W. & J. Brewster, Guides and Packers, the company expanded in 1904 into commercial development in Banff and acquired the Canadian Pacific Railway livery concession at Banff in 1905. From 1909 until his death in 1947, Jim Brewster guided the company, with Lou Crosby handling finance. Beginning in 1917, Brewster Transport entered the motorized era with touring cars, later replaced with a succession of buses. From 1920 to 1933, Bill Brewster was general manager and during this period the company acquired Royal Hawaiian Transport and the Sunshine Ski development. The company amalgamated its transportation interests with Rocky Mountain Tours in 1957, and in 1965 the company passed out of the Brewster family's hands, being sold to Greyhound Lines of Canada. Brewster Transport continues to operate as Brewster Transportation and Tours, a diversified transportation and accommodation company in the Rocky Mountains.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of textual and photographic records pertaining to Brewster Transport and its predecessor and subsidiary companies. Series are: I. James I. Brewster, 1892-1962; II. Brewster Brothers, 1905-1909; III. Brewster Transfer Company Ltd., 1909-1916; IV. Brewster Trading Co. Ltd., 1907-1926; V. Brewster Hotel Company Ltd., 1909-1926; VI. Brewster Transport Company / Brewster-Rocky Mountain Grayline, ca.1900-1988; VII. Brewster Transportation and Tours Co. records, 1930s-1996; VIII. Other, 1956-1972.
Series VI is the major series, consisting of 146.5 cm of textual records (and ca.50 col), ca.700 photographs, and ca.100 sets of plans and blueprints. The series includes: Agreements, 1915-1974; Minutes, 1915-1963; Financial papers, 1915-1966; Operating, ca.1900-1988; Properties, 1906-1974; Subsidiaries, 1924-1962; Other, 1943-1977. Photographs, ca.1900-ca.1970, are mainly publicity photographs relating to Brewster Transport vehicles, tours, facilities, Sunshine Ski Lodge and area, Canadian Rockies hotels and scenic views, also Brewster family and Banff personalities; include 2 albums. Plans pertain to properties and facilities.
Fonds consists of papers, photographs and sound recordings of Peter and Catharine Whyte and the papers and photographs of their respective families. Consists of three sous-fonds: V683, S37 and M36. M36 and S37 consists of three series. Series I: Peter and Catharine Whyte, Series II: Robb and Morse …
25 m of textual records. -- ca.46,000 photographs : prints, albums, postcards, cased photographs, transparencies, negatives. -- 178 sound recordings : audio tape reels, audio tape cassettes. -- 6 motion pictures (and film strips)
History / Biographical
Peter and Catharine Whyte were artists, photographers, outdoor enthusiasts, travelers, philanthropists and cultural workers at Banff, Alberta, Canada. Peter Whyte, 1905-1966, was born at Banff in 1905 to pioneer merchant Dave White and Annie (Curren) White. He was an accomplished skier and ski jumper and one of the region's first native-born painters with an intimate knowledge of the mountains and was an active photographer from ca.1920 until the 1950s. Peter Whyte studied art at the Otis Art Institute, Los Angeles, 1923-1924, and at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Boston, 1925, where he met Catharine Robb. Catharine Robb Whyte, 1906-1979, was born in 1906 at Concord, Massachusetts and grew up amongst the wealth and creativity of the Robb and Morse families. She studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Boston, 1925-1929.
Following their marriage in 1930, the Whytes pursued a life of painting, photography, hiking, skiing and travelling. Their log home and studio in Banff became a focal point for their artist friends, Stoney Indians and local pioneers. Catharine shared Pete's involvement in skiing and hiking organizations and together they managed Skoki Lodge from 1932-1934. In following years, the Whytes travelled extensively. During the Second World War, Peter served in the reserve army, with the Royal Canadian Air Force as a photographer and, briefly, as an official war artist. Catharine continued to paint and maintain their home and, when possible, accompanied Pete to his military postings. In civilian life, Pete resumed his art career, explored new photographic techniques and sculpted.
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Whytes formulated plans for a foundation to preserve the art and history of the Canadian Rockies. Plans for a building to house an archives, public library and gallery were in preparation when Pete died in 1966. The Peter Whyte Foundation was named in his honour. Catharine immersed herself in the development of what is now the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, in the cultural community, painting, outdoor activity, travel and work with the Stoney First Nations. She became a more active photographer, recording her travels and outdoor pursuits. She served in an official capacity with numerous cultural and charitable organizations, was a patron to individuals studying art and music, and supported numerous causes relating to the Stoney First Nations. Catharine also supported causes related to multiculturalism, regional culture and recreation, and cancer research. Despite her modesty and often anonymous patronage of causes, Catharine was recognized with numerous awards and honours, including the Order of Canada in 1978. She died in Banff in 1979.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of papers, photographs and sound recordings of Peter and Catharine Whyte and the papers and photographs of their respective families. Consists of three sous-fonds: V683, S37 and M36. M36 and S37 consists of three series. Series I: Peter and Catharine Whyte, Series II: Robb and Morse families, Series III: White and Curren families. Within Series I, there are four Sub-series: Series: A. Catharine Robb Whyte papers; B. Peter Whyte papers; C. Peter and Catharine Whyte papers accessioned after 2017; D. Peter and Catharine Whyte sound recordings.
File consists of one photograph album containing 9 b&w prints. Photographs pertain to animal caretaker Adam Dalgleish with moose and antelope during winter season at the Banff Paddock [ca. 1900-1910]. Front cover of album has personal letter written to Norman Luxton from Mary Schaffer Warren [ca. 1…
File consists of one photograph album containing 9 b&w prints. Photographs pertain to animal caretaker Adam Dalgleish with moose and antelope during winter season at the Banff Paddock [ca. 1900-1910]. Front cover of album has personal letter written to Norman Luxton from Mary Schaffer Warren [ca. 1930?].
Notes
Date provided is estimate by Processing Archivist based on format and context of file contents.
Material Details
Album pages bound with light purple ribbon tied in bow
File consists of one personal photograph album [likely created by Eleanor Luxton]. Content pertains to staff members of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation Aircraft Division and related events including a dinner party in New York, as well as friends and relatives of the Luxton family. Includes images of…
Some photographs produced by Associated Screen News Ltd., Curtiss-Wright Corporation, Byron Harmon
Date Range
[ca. 1910]
[ca. 1920 - ca. 1930]
[ca. 1940 - ca. 1945]
1941 - 1944
1950
1954
1956
[ca. 1960 - ca. 1970]
1967 - 1969
Physical Description
1 album (193 b&w photographs ; 20 x 25.5 cm or smaller -- 2 textual records)
Scope & Content
File consists of one personal photograph album [likely created by Eleanor Luxton]. Content pertains to staff members of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation Aircraft Division and related events including a dinner party in New York, as well as friends and relatives of the Luxton family. Includes images of Eleanor Luxton as a child and as an adult, group and individual portraits of mostly unidentified individuals [likely immediate and extended family and friends of Eleanor, including Norman and Georgina Luxton], unidentified children playing, images from the Calgary Stampede parade [ca. 1940s], unidentified Indigenous groups and individuals [possibly Stoney Nakoda community members during Banff Indian Days], Dr. Casey's Ranch [1944], and a family picnic. File also includes one small textual record describing a 1943 Curtiss-Wright Corporation staff event, as well as an annotated Christmas card from Ruth and Frank Neustadt [n.d.].
Notes
Some items are annotated on back
Items not in chronological or other clear order
Material Details
Album has clear plastic layer on surface of front and back covers
Green plastic stitched around border of both covers and side bindings
File consists of one photograph album containing 54 photograph prints and 2 newspaper clippings pertaining to Norman Luxton winning a turkey shooting contest [ca. 1940] and an Old Timers Association event attended by Eleanor Luxton in Calgary in 1964. Photographs pertain to Eleanor Luxton as a baby…
1 album (54 b&w prints ; 9 x 14 cm or smaller -- 2 newspaper clippings)
Scope & Content
File consists of one photograph album containing 54 photograph prints and 2 newspaper clippings pertaining to Norman Luxton winning a turkey shooting contest [ca. 1940] and an Old Timers Association event attended by Eleanor Luxton in Calgary in 1964. Photographs pertain to Eleanor Luxton as a baby and young child with her parents, posing with chickens and a turkey on a farm, with other small children [unidentified] and standing by the Bow River; portrait photographs of Eleanor as a young girl [roughly ages 5 to 12 years old]; a wedding celebration [possibly that of Norman and Georgina Luxton in 1904]; and images of a pregnant woman and a man on a farm [likely Georgina Luxton and possibly her father, David McDougall, ca. 1908]
Notes
One photograph of Eleanor Luxton as a young child, posing alone and smiling in a dark dress, was moved to its current location from album LUX / III / A3 / PD - 2.
[Girl's last name was Rider, she married into the Benjamin family]*
*Information provided by Stoney Elders during the Recognizing Relations project, and archives initiative undertaken in 2014 to identify First Nations people in photographs held in the Whyte Museum archives.
[Girl's last name was Rider, she married into the Benjamin family]*
*Information provided by Stoney Elders during the Recognizing Relations project, and archives initiative undertaken in 2014 to identify First Nations people in photographs held in the Whyte Museum archives.
Information provided by Stoney Elders during the Recognizing Relations project, and archives initiative undertaken in 2014 to identify First Nations people in photographs held in the Whyte Museum archives.
File consists of one album containing 28 colorized postcard print images, 227 black and white prints and one annotated hand-drawn diagram on paper. Content pertains to a boat cruise attended by Eleanor Luxton to Hawaii, Japan and China [1937]. Includes images of the interior and exterior of the cru…
1 album (255 b&w and col. prints ; 13.5 x 19.5 cm or smaller -- 1 diagram ; 6 x 4 cm)
Scope & Content
File consists of one album containing 28 colorized postcard print images, 227 black and white prints and one annotated hand-drawn diagram on paper. Content pertains to a boat cruise attended by Eleanor Luxton to Hawaii, Japan and China [1937]. Includes images of the interior and exterior of the cruise ship, as well as cruise staff members and on-board entertainment; landscapes, monuments and buildings; surfing; historic sites; dockyard scenes with unidentified workers; local individuals and families; and fishing and harvesting. Album also includes small tissue-like paper sheet with hand-drawn diagram of mechanical parts and measurements with annotations [possibly belonging to Eleanor Luxton, n.d.]
Notes
Most photographs are annotated on the lower front in white text with contextual information - location, name of landmark, etc.
Date provided is based on dating of similar items pertaining to cruise to Hawaii, Japan and China collected by Eleanor Luxton. Photographs are likely from the same trip, but not confirmed.
Information provided by Stoney Elders during the Recognizing Relations project, and archives initiative undertaken in 2014 to identify First Nations people in photographs held in the Whyte Museum archives.
File consists of one album containing travel photographs, mostly captioned. Content pertains to Eleanor Luxton's national and international travels between ca. 1935 and 1940. Locations include the United States, Ontario, Quebec, Panama and Cuba. Subjects include unidentified Indigenous families and…
1 album (ca. 360 b&w and col. prints ; 9 x 14 cm or smaller)
Scope & Content
File consists of one album containing travel photographs, mostly captioned. Content pertains to Eleanor Luxton's national and international travels between ca. 1935 and 1940. Locations include the United States, Ontario, Quebec, Panama and Cuba. Subjects include unidentified Indigenous families and local scenics in Panama, buildings and landscapes, the 1939 World Fair in New York, boats and dockyard views, art portraits, Niagara Falls, monuments and statues. Most items are captioned with their respective subjects / locations, 4 items are colorized [rest are b&w].
Notes
Some items are postcard prints, vast majority are photograph prints
Material Details
Photographs are secured with paper corner fasteners attached to pages with adhesive