Fonds consists of textual, visual and sound materials pertaining to Norman Luxton, Eleanor Luxton and their family members and friends (including Georgina Luxton, Norman's parents and siblings, and members of the Ross, Graham and McDougall families). Includes correspondence, personal and profession…
ca.32.1 m of textual records (29.3 m textual records, 47 scrapbooks) -- ca.7290 photographs (ca.5300 b&w and col. prints, ca.1915 negatives, 75 transparencies, 2 tintypes) -- 17 albums -- ca.74 cm sound recordings (29 CDs, 45 audio cassettes, 17 R120 DAT tapes, 1 VHS, 8 voicewriter discs)
History / Biographical
The Norman Luxton family was a prominent family in Banff, Alberta, Canada from 1904 until 1962. Daughter Eleanor Luxton maintained the family's position in the town until her death in 1995.
Publisher and businessman Norman K. Luxton, 1876-1962, was the son of Winnipeg Free Press co-founder William Luxton. After working for the Winnipeg Free Press, Norman Luxton travelled, then joined the Calgary Herald for eight years. In 1901, he journeyed 10,000 miles on the Pacific in the dug-out canoe Tilikum. After becoming ill, Luxton abandoned the trip in Fiji and came to Banff to recuperate. The around-the-world trip was subsequently completed by his sailing partner, Capt. John Voss.
Luxton bought Banff's Crag and Canyon newspaper in 1902 and remained as publisher until 1951. Also in 1902, he established the Sign of the Goat Curio store which specialized in Stoney Indian handicrafts and taxidermy specimens. Other significant Luxton businesses were the King Edward Hotel and Livery, Luxton Bros. insurance (with brother Louis Luxton) and the Lux Block, which included a hotel, the Lux Theatre and retail stores.
In 1904, Norman Luxton married Georgina (Georgie) Elizabeth McDougall, 1870-1965, of the pioneer missionary McDougall family of Morley, Alberta. In addition to her McDougall connections, Georgie Luxton was related by marriage to Senator George Ross. Norman and Georgie Luxton had one child, Eleanor Georgina, born in Banff in 1908.
The Luxtons were important Banff "boosters" with involvement in numerous local organizations and events. Norman Luxton managed the Banff Indian Days from 1909 to 1950, was a founder of Banff Winter Carnival and was involved with native events at the Calgary Stampede for 25 years. In 1953, Norman established a museum to house his native artifacts. The Luxton Museum was built in co-operation with Eric Harvie of the Glenbow Foundation of Calgary. After Luxton's death, the museum continued to be managed by the Glenbow until 1992.
Eleanor Luxton, 1908-1995, was a writer, historian, researcher, engineer, teacher and business woman. After graduating from high school in Banff in 1926, she attended the University of Alberta from 1926 until 1939, receiving degrees in history (BA '30, MA'33), a Diploma in Education (1931) and subsequent education, biology and natural history courses during the summers.
Between 1937 and 1956, Eleanor received further degrees and certificates from studies at Garbutt Business College (Calgary), St. Stephen's College (Edmonton), Ottawa Technical High School, Havergal Ladies College (Ontario), St. George Williams College (Montreal), McGill University (Montreal) and the Banff School of Fine Arts. Subjects studied included office practices, shorthand, machine draughting, English, civil engineering (BSc '46), German, broadcast writing, management, commerce, accounting and commercial law.
Eleanor Luxton's extensive education overlapped and preceded a long and varied professional career. Her teaching career extended from high school teacher in Alberta (Banff and Sexsmith), 1933-1940, to university lecturer in Montreal in the 1950s. During the 1940s, she worked in locomotive design for the CPR in Montreal. Beginning in 1956 and continuing until 1965, when she returned to Banff to care for her mother, Eleanor worked throughout southern Alberta as a field researcher for Calgary's Glenbow Foundation. From 1965 until her death in 1995, Eleanor remained in Banff in her family home and pursued an active career in writing and research.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of textual, visual and sound materials pertaining to Norman Luxton, Eleanor Luxton and their family members and friends (including Georgina Luxton, Norman's parents and siblings, and members of the Ross, Graham and McDougall families). Includes correspondence, personal and professional records, financial documents, organization and volunteer records, business and property records, scrapbooks and albums, research materials, candid and professional portraits, various collected materials, and other related content.
Notes
Fonds consists of three sous-fonds:
I. Norman Luxton sous-fonds, [ca.1880]-1962, ca. 7.5 m. of textual records and photographs in four series: A. Correspondence, B. Business, financial and legal, C. Personal, D. Personal and professional, E. Collected materials.
II. Eleanor Luxton sous-fonds, [ca.1890]-1995, ca. 15 m. of textual records, sound recordings and photographs in six series: A. Correspondence, B. Professional, C. Personal, D. Business, financial and legal, E. Travel and events, F. Collected materials.
III. Luxton family sous-fonds, 1836-1972, ca.6.5 m. of textual records and photographs in four series: A. Norman Luxton family series, [ca.1900-ca.1970]; B. Georgina Luxton series, [ca.1890]-1967; C. Related family series, [ca.1890]-1972; D. Other material series, 1836-1970; E. Luxton family home records [1996].
Sub-series consists of business and personal letters, written mainly to Norman Luxton by family, friends, acquaintances and business contacts. First portion, 1900-1902, 12 cm, consists of letters written to Luxton by family, friends, acquaintances and business contacts before, during and after Til…
Sub-series consists of business and personal letters, written mainly to Norman Luxton by family, friends, acquaintances and business contacts. First portion, 1900-1902, 12 cm, consists of letters written to Luxton by family, friends, acquaintances and business contacts before, during and after Tilikum voyage. Includes letters of news and concern from Luxton's parents, siblings and family friends; letters from individuals met during preparations in British Columbia and post-voyage stay at Sydney and Port Manly, Australia; letter from Norman Luxton to George Perry in Vancouver, Canada, describing the voyage, November 1901; and a sample of envelopes, 1901-1902.
FILES #1-359 ARE IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. See Scope Note 2B for file number matched to the date
LETTERS FROM: A-Al
A. and M. Hurtig Furs 1935
A. C. Baker Registered 1952-1956, 1958, 1959 a.k.a.: A. C. Baker Company Limited
A. J. Williamson 1942 a.k.a. "A. J. Williamson and Son"
Abbott, Clifton 1946, 1947
Abbott, Margaret L. 1953
Abercrombie, Mabel 1953
Abraham, (Mrs) Silas 1930
Abraham, Silas 1930, 1950
Acheson, Barclay 1952
Acheson, Thomas S. 1952
[Ackie?] 1941
Acme Glass Cement Company 1937
Acme Printing Company 1946, 1947
Acousticon Dictagraph Company of Canada
Limited 1948
Acousticon International 1946, 1947
[?], Ada 1955
Adam, Dinnit 1939
Adams, A. C. L. A. 1927
Adams, Cedric 1950
Adams, E. D. 1908
Adams, F. C. 1935
Adams, Fred 1905, 1908
Adams, H. J. 1907
Adams, (Mrs) C. R. 1951
Adams, Norman E. 1960
Adams Radio Parlors 1943
Adams, S. A. 1919
Adamson, J. G. 1912
Addison, William (Billy) 1939, 1940, 1942-1947
Administration and Trust Company 1935
Adolf Hujer Commercial and Export Company 1949
Adolph, Emily 1940
Aeulut, Bob 1922
Agnew, J. E. 1931
[?], Aida 1938
[---aig?], Guy 1949
Airth, Andy 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954
Airth, Elsie 1954-1958
Aitkens, Harry A. 1942, 1943 a.k.a. "Aitkens, Harry"
Aitkens, Jo Aitkens, Harry 1941
Aitkens, Jo 1946, 1949, 1955 a.k.a. "Aitkens, Joey"
Alaska Furriers 1932
Alaska-Yukon Pioneers Reunion 1932
Alaskan Yukon Club 1941
Albee, Fred H. 1915
Albert Britnell Book Shop 1942
Alberta. Board of Industrial Relations 1948
Alberta. Bureau of Statistics 1960
Alberta. Canadian Vocational Training 1946
Alberta Clay Products Company Limited 1939
Alberta. Department of Agriculture 1938-1941
Alberta. Department of Economic Affairs, Cultural Activities Branch 1957
Alberta. Department of Industries and Labour, Bureau of Statistics 1952, 1954-1956
Alberta. Department of Industries and Labour, Bureau of Statistics 1957
Alberta. Department of Lands and Forests 1951, 1953, 1954. 1957, 1958
Alberta. Department of Lands and Mines 1942,1943, 1945, 1946, 1949, 1950
Alberta. Department of Provincial Secretary, Motor Vehicles Branch 1950
Alberta. Department of Public Health, Division of Cancer Services 1959
Alberta. Department of Public Works 1948
Alberta. Deputy Provincial Secretary, Theatres Branch 1937
Alberta Directory Enterprises Company Limited 1953
Alberta Field Trials Club 1936-1940, 1942
Alberta Fish and Game Association 1939, 1942
Alberta Furniture Company Limited 1940, 1941,1943
Alberta. Game Commissioner, Edmonton 1935, 1936
Alberta Government Telephones 1951, 1955, 1960
Alberta. Highway Traffic Board 1950
Alberta Historical Review 1962
Alberta Job Press Limited 1942
Alberta. Judicial Offices 1941
Alberta Linseed Oil Company Limited 1957
Alberta Live Stock Associations 1941
Alberta Locker Service 1949
Alberta Motor Association 1932-1943, 1948-1951, 1953, 1954
Alberta. National War Finance Committee 1943, 1945
Alberta. Office of the Lieutenant Governor 1955
Alberta. Provincial Mental Hospital, Ponoka 1939
Alberta Provincial Trapshooting Association 1938
Alberta. Public Administrator 1948
Alberta. Public Trustee 1956, 1960
Alberta Raw Fur Merchants Association 1944, 1945
Alberta. Southern Alberta Land Registration District 1945
Alberta Stock Yards Company Limited 1954
Alberta. Treasury Department 1938, 1944
Alberta Tuberculosis Association 1952, 1955
Alberta Wood Products 1949
Alberta. Workmen's Compensation Board 1952, 1953
Alberta. Workmen's Compensation Board 1953
The Albertan 1949, 1951
Alcock Downing and Wright Limited 1946, 1947
Aldhelm-White, E. 1961
Aldrich, A. H. 1910
Alexander, Antasia 1958
Alexander, F. H. 1908, 1909
Alexander, Gaby G. 1907
Alexander, J. A. R. 1910
Alexander, (Mrs) James 1954, 1955, 1960
Alexander, R. 1915
Alexander, Virginia 1955
Alexander, W. 1928, 1937, 1941
Alexo Coal Company Limited 1933, 1935, 1937, 1940
Alfred Cloutier Limited 1952
[?], Alice 1946, 1947
Alkim, (Mrs) Michael 1956
All Canada Insurance Federation 1951
Allan, Edwin H. 1920
Allan, Edwin (Sandy) 1932
Allan, H. W. 1907, 1908
Allan, John A. (J. A.) 1929, 1930, 1933
Allan, Mabel 1920
Allan, Norman 1946
Allan, S. 1929
Allan, Thorburn 1914, 1915
Allard, Charles 1912
Allen, Annie 1908, 1909, 1910, 1911, 1925
Allen, Bill 1946
Allen, F. B. 1952
Allen, George H. 1914
Allen, H. Hershall 1943
Allen, H. J. 1915
Allen, J. D. 1905, 1906
Allen, John A. 1926
Allen-Kirkpatrick, Mignon 1940, 1942
Allen, M. 1916
Allen, M. E. 1955
Allen, Newton (Shorty) 1907
Allen, Norman 1946
Allen, W. B. 1914
Allied Display Company 1953, 1954, 1955
Allin, Nellie 1957
Allison, Harry 1942, 1948, 1949
Allison, Tannis 1942
Allister, J. G. M. 1909
Alloway, Robert 1951, 1952
Allport, John 1944
Alpine, L. G. 1946
Alpine, Lucy 1949
Alpine, (Mrs) Noah 1949, 1950, 1951
Alpine, N. 1948
Alsco Limited 1957
Alton, H. Ed. 1925
Alton, T. 1929
Norman Luxton correspondence files:
LUX / 1 / A - 1 to 12 1900 – 1902
LUX / 1 / A - 13 to 24 1903 – May 1907
LUX / 1 / A - 25 to 38 June 1907 – January 1908
LUX / 1 / A - 39 to 51 February – September 1908
LUX / 1 / A - 52 to 62 October 1908 – August 1909
LUX / 1 / A - 63 to 77 September 1909 – 1910
LUX / 1 / A - 78 to 89 1911 – June 1912
LUX / 1 / A - 90 to 100 July 1912 – August 1913
LUX / 1 / A - 101 to 111 September 1913 - 1914
LUX / 1 / A - 112 to 125 1915 - 1916
LUX / 1 / A - 126 to 140 1917 – June 1922
LUX / 1 / A - 141 to 153 July 1922 – 1926
LUX / 1 / A - 154 to 161 1927 – May 1928
LUX / 1 / A - 162 to 169 June - December 1928
LUX / 1 / A - 170 to 177 1929
LUX / 1 / A - 178 to 184 January 1930 – June 1931
LUX / 1 / A - 185 to 191 July 1931 – August 1932
LUX / 1 / A - 192 to 199 September 1932 – December 1933
LUX / 1 / A - 200 to 208 January 1934 – May 1935
LUX / 1 / A - 209 to 216 June 1935 – August 1936
LUX / 1 / A - 217 to 224 September 1936 – December 1937
LUX / 1 / A - 225 to 232 January 1938 – April 1939
LUX / 1 / A - 233 to 240 May 1939 – August 1940
LUX / 1 / A - 241 to 248 September 1940 – December 1941
LUX / 1 / A - 249 to 255 January 1942 – June 1943
LUX / 1 / A - 256 to 261 July 1943 – September 1944
LUX / 1 / A - 262 to 268 October 1944 – February 1946
LUX / 1 / A - 269 to 275 March 1946 – April 1947
LUX / 1 / A - 276 to 283 May 1947 – June 1948
LUX / 1 / A - 284 to 290 July 1948 – August 1949
LUX / 1 / A - 291 to 297 September 1949 – August 1950
LUX / 1 / A - 298 to 304 September 1950 – December 1951
LUX / 1 / A - 305 to 310 1952
LUX / 1 / A - 311 to 316 1953
LUX / 1 / A - 317 to 322 1954
LUX / 1 / A - 323 to 328 1955
LUX / 1 / A - 329 to 334 1956
LUX / 1 / A - 335 to 340 1957
LUX / 1 / A - 341 to 349 1958 – June 1959
LUX / 1 / A - 350 to 361 July 1959 - 1962
File consists of Christmas, birthday and Father's Day cards sent to Norman Luxton. Includes Christmas cards from D[onald] "Dan" H. Bain, Eleanor Luxton, Karen Williamsen[?], Red Cathcart and "Pete"; an undated birthday card from Eleanor; and two Father's Day cards from Eleanor [ca.1950-1960?]. Card…
File consists of Christmas, birthday and Father's Day cards sent to Norman Luxton. Includes Christmas cards from D[onald] "Dan" H. Bain, Eleanor Luxton, Karen Williamsen[?], Red Cathcart and "Pete"; an undated birthday card from Eleanor; and two Father's Day cards from Eleanor [ca.1950-1960?]. Card from D. H. Bain has photograph printed on front and personal letter on back.
Notes
Card from Donald H. Bain signed with nickname, "Dan"
Material Details
Christmas card from "Pete" has small brown feather attached to front on bottom left corner
File consists of portraits and other photographs pertaining to Norman Luxton, his extended relatives and friends. Name individuals include: Eleanor and Georgina Luxton; George, Ada and Patricia Luxton (Norman's brother, sister-in-law and niece); Louis Luxton, Harry Addison Luxton and Harold Malloch…
Some photographs produced by: Algot Anderson (St Paul), Byron Harmon (Banff), Nelson Photo Studios (St Paul), Ambassador Atelier (St Paul), Zintsmaster (Minneapolis), Frank Cooper (London, Ontario), Steele and Co [Coy?] (Winnipeg), A.H. Opsahl (Minneapolis), Rembrandt Grand (St Paul), Geo. E. Luxton (Minneaplos Times), Reynolds Studio (Minneapolis), Perkins, J. Douglas Eckhert (St Paul), Calgary Photo Supply Co, Pringle & Booth (Toronto), Glenbow Foundation, J [Rosrit?] Calgary Herald Photographer, Robert Lefroy
Date Range
1886
[1890-1900]
1894
1899
[ca.1900]
1904
1906-1907
1920-1921
[1920-1930]
1930
1937
1939-1940
1950
[1950-1960]
1962
Physical Description
63 photographs : b&w and col. prints ; 25 x 20.5 cm or smaller
Scope & Content
File consists of portraits and other photographs pertaining to Norman Luxton, his extended relatives and friends. Name individuals include: Eleanor and Georgina Luxton; George, Ada and Patricia Luxton (Norman's brother, sister-in-law and niece); Louis Luxton, Harry Addison Luxton and Harold Malloch Luxton (Norman's brothers); Mary Hosking Groeber (Norman's niece); Olive Luxton Hosking (Norman's sister), her husband Edgar and her daughter Dorothy; and Eleanor "Nellie" Luxton Foster (Norman's sister).
Notes
Some photographs are annotated.
PA-15 is annotated at Emerald Lake, this is now known as Lake Louise
File consists of 8 photographs pertaining to members of the Southern Alberta Pioneers and Old Timers' Association. Individuals in photographs include Norman Luxton, George Ross, David Hardisty McDougall and Annie (McKenzie Hall) McDougall.
Photographs LUX/I/D6/PA-3 and 4 attributed to Harry Befus and Jack De Lorme, Calgary Herald photographers
Date Range
[ca.1940-1960]
Physical Description
8 photographs : b&w prints ; 36 x 31 cm
Scope & Content
File consists of 8 photographs pertaining to members of the Southern Alberta Pioneers and Old Timers' Association. Individuals in photographs include Norman Luxton, George Ross, David Hardisty McDougall and Annie (McKenzie Hall) McDougall.
File consists of photographs pertaining to businesses, tourist attractions and natural views in and around Banff. Includes images of backcountry camps in Banff National Park; the Bow River Boat House; Beaver Lodge and Bampton Cottage [both located on Beaver Street in Banff]; fires at Breton Hall Ho…
50 photographs ; b&w prints ; 25 x 20.5 cm or smaller
Scope & Content
File consists of photographs pertaining to businesses, tourist attractions and natural views in and around Banff. Includes images of backcountry camps in Banff National Park; the Bow River Boat House; Beaver Lodge and Bampton Cottage [both located on Beaver Street in Banff]; fires at Breton Hall Hotel and Banff Springs Hotel; the Park Museum and Information Bureau; early views of Banff Springs Hotel [1904]; Vermillion River Bungalow Camp and the Lake Louise Chalet; Paddy J. Nolan’s home [built by Norman Luxton]; a postcard print titled “Starved Bachelors Retreat Banff Alberta"; swimming at the Cave and Basin[?] and Banff Upper Hot Springs; the Crag and Canyon office [ca.1905]; Skoki Lodge; and the office of photographers Wilson and Fear [1896-1898].
Notes
Photographs LUX/I/D6c/PA-181 and 182 [depicting Wilson and Fear storefront] are copies of the same image but annotated with different dates [ca.1896 and ca.1898]. Based on context and dating of related images in Whyte Museum archives, actual image date may be closer to [ca.1894].
Material Details
LUX/I/D6c/PA-173 has three red sun-shaped stickers attached to back left corner, red ribbon attached to back right corner