Fonds constitutes the principal resource for the study of the history of Canadian mountaineering. It provides a wealth of information on individual alpinists, expeditions, mountains, national parks, conservation, climbing, alpine organizations, publications, guiding, scientific study and the Alpin…
ca.42 m of textual records. -- ca.12,500 photographs: prints, stereographic prints, transparencies, slides, negatives, postcards. -- 85 photograph albums. -- 8 motion pictures: films, video recordings. -- 3 sound recordings
History / Biographical
The Alpine Club of Canada, the national mountaineering club, was co-founded in 1906 by A. O. Wheeler and Elizabeth Parker, and other like-minded climbers. The club espoused scientific study and exploration, cultivation of art, public education, acquisition of climbing skills, and preservation of natural areas within the mountainous regions of Canada. Through a national executive, local sections and volunteer committees, the club provided climbing camps, clubhouse, huts, and publications, including the Canadian Alpine Journal. ACC expeditions and projects resulted in pioneer exploration, first ascents, and included mountain warfare training during the Second World War. In recent years, the club's membership has increased dramatically with the popularity of climbing and its programs have evolved to serve the needs of unguided climbers using sophisticated technical aids.
Scope & Content
Fonds constitutes the principal resource for the study of the history of Canadian mountaineering. It provides a wealth of information on individual alpinists, expeditions, mountains, national parks, conservation, climbing, alpine organizations, publications, guiding, scientific study and the Alpine Club itself.
The fonds consists of four Sous-fonds: I. Alpine Club of Canada records; II. Mount Everest Expedition (1982) records; III. Personal papers and photographs; IV. Other material. Club administration records (series I.A.) pertain to executive positions; head office; finance; camps, climbing and treks; expeditions; huts and properties; clubhouses; library; publications; photography; other committees; other activities; and other. Other club records include section records (series I.B.), hut registers and summit records (series I.C.).
The Archives General File is an artificial collection of accessions which do not constitute separate fonds or collections or cannot be placed within existing fonds or collections. Included in the collection are textual records of many types, such as manuscripts, reports, letters, diaries, speeches…
57 cm textual records. -- 50 cm of photographs : prints. -- 189 photographs (15 framed prints, 51 transparencies, 79 negatives; 44 copy negatives). -- 3 photograph albums (139 prints). -- 6 motion pictures. -- 9 sound recordings
Scope & Content
The Archives General File is an artificial collection of accessions which do not constitute separate fonds or collections or cannot be placed within existing fonds or collections. Included in the collection are textual records of many types, such as manuscripts, reports, letters, diaries, speeches, poetry, plans and others; photographs in the form of prints, negatives, transparencies, albums, postcards, etc.; sound recorded interviews and programmes; and motion pictures. Material pertains broadly to the Banff area and many other areas within the Archives collecting mandate.
Notable items include: Walter Wilcox letter; George Kinney report; interviews with Bill Round and Edward Feuz; original copy of Treaty Number Seven; Mary Schaffer material, including letters, notes, photograph and report; reports on the Nakimu Caves; film pertaining to Banff Winter Carnival; Georgia Engelhard letters and photos; plans for buildings and structures; George Noble photograph; W. S. Park photograph.
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 is primarily a broad-ranging commercial negative collection pertaining to Banff and area, including businesses, buildings, projects, events, people and scenic views; skiing, mountain travel and recreation; Sunshine Village Ski Area; warden activities in the mountain parks; national and provin…
ca.31,580 photographs: negatives, prints, and transparencies. -- 1 photograph album (ca.150 prints). -- 50 motion pictures: 1 original, 8 copies on 3 video cassettes, 41 film reels: 16mm, 35mm. -- 18 sound recordings: audio tape reels, audio tape cassettes. -- 5 electronic records: computer diskettes. -- 3 maps. -- 15 cm textual records.
History / Biographical
Bruno Engler, 1915-2001, was a mountain guide, ski instructor, photographer and film maker at Banff and Canmore, Alberta, Canada. Engler arrived from Switzerland in 1939 and initially worked as a mountain guide and ski instructor for the Canadian Pacific Railway, Sunshine ski area and for Deer Lodge at Lake Louise, Alberta. During the Second World War, he served as a mountain warfare instructor for the Canadian Army. Following the war, Engler worked as a free-lance photographer for the National Film Board and others; as coach of the University of Alberta Ski Team; and as a technical advisor, cameraman and actor for numerous movies made in the Banff area. Throughout his career, Engler worked as a still and motion picture photographer, both for the movie industry and for governments at all levels, as well as operating his own business, Alpine Films of Banff, Alberta.
Scope & Content
Fonds is primarily a broad-ranging commercial negative collection pertaining to Banff and area, including businesses, buildings, projects, events, people and scenic views; skiing, mountain travel and recreation; Sunshine Village Ski Area; warden activities in the mountain parks; national and provincial parks; scenic views of western Canada, particularly mountain landscapes; some portraits and candid shots of local and international personalities. Photographs pertaining to film making include helicopter rescue; highway construction; Norquay, Sunshine, and Lake Louise ski areas' histories; Banff events and buildings; Canmore events and buildings; professional and amateur ski races; scenic mountain and wildlife; mountaineering and highway accidents; mountain guiding trips including Pierre Trudeau, Roland Michener and Peter Lougheed. Fonds consists of four series: Photography, Motion Pictures, Sound Recordings, and Textual records. Photography series consists of four sub-series established by the photographer: I. Old file, 1949-1970; II. Main file, alphabetical A - Z, 1950-1976; III Sunshine file, [1939], 1950-1975; IV. Warden file, 1954-1976.
Motion pictures on video cassettes are footage of skiing at Sunshine, 1930s; Clifford White films, 1930s, from WMCR Archives collection (V682); "Snow Capers" by Thomas Mead, 1946, includes Engler; "Ski Pro's Holiday" by George Encil, 1950?; "Mount Bulyea" by George Encil, 1950?, includes Engler; "Diary of a Mountain Man," a CBC documentary feature on Bruno Engler broadcast on "20/20" in 1965 (ca.27 minutes); "Great Days in the Rockies" by National Film Board of Canada, 1983; "Mountain Man" by Banff Centre, 1985, re Engler. Original film is "Sunshine 1940" and includes Brewster Transport ski buses travelling from train station to Sunshine Lodge, skiers, guide, lessons, games, rope tow, ski action, slalom, Bruno Engler, other. 16mm and 35mm film reels, 1946-1964 are films produced by the National Film Board.
Sound recordings, electronic records and and related textual material pertain to interviews with Bruno Engler, 1987, done by Brian Patton and Jon Whyte for Bruno Engler autobiography project. Interviews covered Engler's life, but are not complete to 1987. Transcripts, prepared from recordings by Brenda Goeres, are not verbatim. Audio tape cassettes consist of portions of content of audio tape reels.
Textual records include corporate records, newspaper clippings and magazine articles pertaining to film making, cast and crew listings and schedules for various movies, ski racing, mountain guiding trips and ski race listings. Also included is documentation pertaining to film making with producer National Film Board including letters, film stock footage, press releases, and film summaries; maps indicate film location shots for Arctic Rampage.
Fonds documents Lillian Gest's visits and travels in the Canadian Rockies and elsewhere. Pertains to mountain travel, particularly pack trips, camps, mountaineering and recreation; Alpine Club of Canada; Sky Line Trail Hikers of the Canadian Rockies; natural and human history; the mountain landsca…
1.1 m of textual records. -- ca.7400 photographs : transparencies, prints, negatives, published photographs. -- 12 photograph albums (4208 prints). -- 47 motion pictures. -- 7 sound recordings : audio tape cassettes
History / Biographical
Lillian Gest, 1897-1986, of Merion, Pennsylvania visited the Canadian Rockies almost every summer for sixty years, beginning in 1921. She was an active participant in "Off the Beaten Track" trips organized by Caroline Hinman between 1923 and 1933, in which young people camped, hiked, hunted and went horseback riding throughout the region between Mount Assiniboine and Mount Robson. During the 1930s, Gest attended hikes of the Skyline Trail Hikers of the Canadian Rockies and developed mountaineering skills at Alpine Club of Canada annual camps. Christian Hasler Jr. often served as her guide. Gest also belonged to the American Alpine Club, the Philadelphia Trails Club and the Lake O'Hara Trails Club. She spent considerable time in the Lake O'Hara region and wrote "History of Lake O'Hara" (1961), "History of Moraine Lake" (1970), and "History of Mount Assiniboine" (1979).
Scope & Content
Fonds documents Lillian Gest's visits and travels in the Canadian Rockies and elsewhere. Pertains to mountain travel, particularly pack trips, camps, mountaineering and recreation; Alpine Club of Canada; Sky Line Trail Hikers of the Canadian Rockies; natural and human history; the mountain landscape; scenic views; family and friends.
Textual records include: I. Personal papers, 1925-1982, 36 cm., including A. Diaries and trip notes, B. Correspondence, C. Other; II. Activities, 1913- 1984, 50 cm., including: A. Writing (book projects, articles, memoirs and other writing), B. Nature study, C. Photography, D. Travel; III. Clubs and organizations, 1932-1984, n.d., 22.5 cm., including: A. American Alpine Club, B. Alpine Club of Canada C. Other (Skyline Trail Hikers of the Canadian Rockies, Lake O'Hara Trails Club, Philadelphia Trails Club); IV. Other, 1894-1968, n.d., 1.5 cm., including: A. Caroline Hinman papers, B. Miscellaneous papers.
Photographs include: I. Transparencies, 1939-1981, 7153 items; II. Photograph albums, 1919-1958, 12 v. (4208 prints); III. Motion pictures, 1928-1942, 47 reels; IV. Prints and negatives, [ca.1912]-1980, 194 items; V. Published photographs, [ca.1930-ca.1980], n.d., 17 items. Images are well identified.
Accompanied by sound recordings of portions of diaries.
Fonds consists of material pertaining to the mountain parks of western Canada. I.A. Banff National Park photograph collection, 1903-1965 (predominant 1920s-1950s), ca.1756 prints and negatives. Pertains mainly to Banff townsite and developments and facilities within the park. Included are private …
Parks Canada administers national parks in Canada. The agency has been administered by several government departments and undergone numerous name changes over the years. Most recently it was known as the Canadian Parks Service. Parks Canada is responsible for the administration of mountain parks and, in some cases, townsites within these parks. Until 1990, it administered the town of Banff in Banff National Park. Parks Canada provides a variety of services to visitors and residents pertaining to interpretive and visitor information; trail, resource and wildlife management; fire protection, mountaineering search and rescue and avalanche control; facilities and utilities; townsite services etc.
Scope & Content
Fonds consists of material pertaining to the mountain parks of western Canada.
I.A. Banff National Park photograph collection, 1903-1965 (predominant 1920s-1950s), ca.1756 prints and negatives. Pertains mainly to Banff townsite and developments and facilities within the park. Included are private and government buildings, dwellings, roads and utilities; resource and wildlife development and management; visitor facilities; lodges, hotels and bungalow camps; warden and fire protection activities; Banff events; Norman Sanson trips and expeditions.
I.B. Banff National Park warden service photographs, motion pictures and documentation pertaining to wardens, warden activities and cabins, wildlife management; ca.11,000 items. Series includes 2 National Parks Service motion pictures "Hunting without a gun",1930 and Stalking big game", 1930.
I.C. Lantern slides, 2 sets (accn.3783); includes CPR lecture set, ca.1915, 145 items, and Canadian Rockies lecture set, ca.1920, 54 items, accompanied by lecture notes (stored with textual material M317).
I.D. Cave and Basin project; copies of mainly snapshot prints acquired by the Cave and Basin restoration and re-development project, 1981-1985, from various individuals, 204 items.
I.E. Yoho National Park collected photographs, ca.90 photographs : prints, pertain to Yoho National Park landscape, scenery, railway, places and facilities, including Field. Accompanied by 3 letters. Collected from numerous donors, including Kevin Hargadon, T. Lees, Ernie Plant, F. W. Yeats and Millie Adamson.
I.F. Other, ca.90 items?; prints, transparencies, copy negatives, video recording. Includes: colour transparencies by Jack Holroyd and Bruce Gordon, 1966-1974, re Banff buildings and Protection Mountain mine; photographs of Bankhead, its people and activities used for project Bankhead: The Twenty Year Town by Ben Gadd, 1989; video recording, "Saskatchewan Glacier Clean-up 1994"; VHS cassette copy of National Parks of Canada films produced in the 1930s, including Winter Wonderland, Skiing at Lake Louise, Skiing in Cloudland, Sunshine and Powder Snow, When Winter Comes and "She Climbs to Conquer" by William J. Oliver featuring Georgia Engelhard and Swiss Guide, Ernest Feuz, 1932. CD-ROM includes scanned images from a photograph album "Public Works Projects 1930s Banff National Park" ; Tom Boon's photographs of Mount Royal Hotel fire, 1967, and photograph of C.A. (Alfred) Boon, Union Oil representative at Field and Banff, 1935.
II. Sound recordings series, 1977-1985, ca.55 sound recordings : audio tape cassettes, audio tape reel. Series consists of: A. Yoho National Park human history study, 1977, 20 cassettes. B. Memoirs of the Warden Service oral history project, 1984, 15 interviews (29 cassettes). Project was conducted by Maryalice Harvey Stewart. Accompanied by report. C. Other, 1980-1985, 3 items, includes rededication ceremonies for Kootenay National Park and for the Park Museum, Banff, also recording pertaining to the Castleguard Caves.
III. Textual records series, [ca.1887]-1994, ca.250 cm of textual records. Series consists of unpublished reports and management plans; visitor registers, summit registers, cabin and fire lookout registers (some with photographs); register of pack parties, Banff National Park, 1922-1933; maps and plans, including annotated warden service maps; warden records; surveyor notebooks; and transcripts and ephemera pertaining to ceremonies and events. Reports pertain to archaeological sites and research, national parks history, warden service, coal mining in the Bankhead area, predator studies, Cave and Basin, Radium Hot Springs, Ya Ha Tinda Ranch and other sites.
Notes
Original photograph album of the scanned images on CD-ROM is located in the Warden's office, Banff National Park Archival Room, cabinet 4, entitled "Public Works Projects 1930s Banff National Park"
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.