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
File consists of photographs pertaining to the Connaught Tunnel, mountain scenery, Banff area people and buildings. Includes views along the Canadian Pacific Railway by R. H. Trueman, Trueman and Caple and A. B. Thom. Also includes some photographs by Nick Morant
III.D. Personal and family records : collected material
Reference Code
V500 / E / 6, 7 (PA, NA)
Date Range
[ca.1890-ca.1972]
Physical Description
36 photographs : prints, negatives
Scope & Content
File consists of photographs pertaining to the Connaught Tunnel, mountain scenery, Banff area people and buildings. Includes views along the Canadian Pacific Railway by R. H. Trueman, Trueman and Caple and A. B. Thom. Also includes some photographs by Nick Morant
Related Material
Portions of this file are related by provenance to the A. B. Thom fonds (V13) and the R. H. Trueman fonds (V528)
File consists of correspondence re estate of W. A. Wylde, 1953; medical insurance pay stubs, 1964-1966; note signed by H. S. Alexander Esq., March 10, 1902]
III.C. Personal and family records : Francis and Mollie Morant
Reference Code
M300 / D / 68
Date Range
1902-1966
Physical Description
1 cm of textual records
Scope & Content
File consists of correspondence re estate of W. A. Wylde, 1953; medical insurance pay stubs, 1964-1966; note signed by H. S. Alexander Esq., March 10, 1902]
File pertains mainly to Canadian Pacific Railway engineer, Burton Wheatley, and his death in a railway accident on the Field Hill, 1894. Includes CPR Solicitor’s Office Release re death of Burton Wheatley, 1895, 3 p. The Wheatley family was related to Willie Morant. File also contains notes and o…
III.D. Personal and family records : collected material
Reference Code
M300 / D / 74 to 77
V500 / E / 5 (PA)
Date Range
1884-1903
Physical Description
5 cm of textual records. -- 2 photographs : prints
Scope & Content
File pertains mainly to Canadian Pacific Railway engineer, Burton Wheatley, and his death in a railway accident on the Field Hill, 1894. Includes CPR Solicitor’s Office Release re death of Burton Wheatley, 1895, 3 p. The Wheatley family was related to Willie Morant. File also contains notes and other material pertaining to railway history, tunnels, other
Sub-series consists of postcards, greeting cards and ephemera collected by Nick Morant. Ephemera includes notes and lists, ration cards, blank notecards and stationery, cigarette cards, attendance cards, photographs, clippings, labels, silk samples, curiosities,$1 and 25 cent bills, other publishe…
Sub-series consists of postcards, greeting cards and ephemera collected by Nick Morant. Ephemera includes notes and lists, ration cards, blank notecards and stationery, cigarette cards, attendance cards, photographs, clippings, labels, silk samples, curiosities,$1 and 25 cent bills, other published items
Material is mainly in files numbered 1 to 102 by Morant (missing: #10, 29, 44, 45, 53, 88). Also includes one un-numbered file and 10 cm of postcards not in files
Title Source
Title based on contents of s-s-series
Content Details
LIST OF FILES (M300/C3 / 1 to 104) :
1. Old time cards: C.P. steamers, B.C.C.S., Great Lakes, lakes boats (.5 cm)
2. Gowen Sutton miniatures: Vancouver Hotel, Vancouver City
3. Old time cards: Old C.P.R. hotels: Banff Springs, Digby Pines, Empress Hotel, Chateau Frontenac, Sicamous Hotel - see also 78 (.5 cm)
4. Old time cards: Lake Superior, Fort William, Ontario (.5 cm)
5. Old time cards: Vancouver, Totems at Duncan, Siwash Rock, Toronto Union, Nova Scotia ships, Montreal, Malahat Drive (.5 cm)
6. Old time cards: Kamloops, Train along Main Street - see also 17, P-4 (.5 cm)
7. Byron Harmon: 20 pack set (1 cm)
8. Prairies: harvesting with tractor engines, old time cowboy, Canmore Opera House (1900) (.5 cm)
9. Old London cards: circa 1900 (.5 cm)
11. Old time cards: Coronation, violets, Xmas pc, etc., totems at Duncan (.5 cm)
12. Old U.S.:. R.R. pc's (.5 cm)
13. Swiss art (1 cm)
14. The travelling salesman: the typical travelling salesman of the early 1920s ....one Harry Spencer
15. Sample of Mourning writing paper: circa 1900 (1 cm)
16. Insects
17. Old time cards: railroad scenes (1.5 cm)
18. British Museum: locomotive exhibits (.5 cm)
19. Peru postcards (.5 cm)
20. Peruvian art (.5 cm)
21. Cats (.5 cm)
22. Swedish flower designs: to keep (1 cm)
23. Oriental cards
24. U.S. postcards: Desert, Oregon, etc. (.5 cm)
25. Tennant postcards
26. Christmas cards: European designs (.5 cm)
27. Xmas cards: Dwart's (2 cm)
28. Yoho Slide: Slide at Yoho, B.C., Aug. 9, 1925 re Seth Partridge Story - see 57-323 contains later accident (.5 cm)
30. Christmas cards: bird house, Swiss R.R.
31. World War II: ration cards, ARP (.5 cm)
32. Description of Christ: old religious tract
33. Old cigarette cards: 1945? (.5 cm)
34. Old time Xmas "gift" card
35. Old time school attendance card: old time (1890 or earlier) card given to schoolboy for "good attendance"
36. Indigenous letter
37. Old "dry goods" advertising: Silk samples
38. "Shin-Plaster": 25 cent bill
39. Micro-filmed bible: 1977
40. RR historic: free meal check given out by Stewards on dining cars to passengers whose train had been delayed in transit. I was travelling to pass over Canadian National tracks from Raith, Ontario, to Winnipeg, due to derailment of freight ahead of us
41. Nick's gall bladder
42. Old time aviation postcard
43. British postcards (.5 cm)
46. Some very old letters (1890?): no information available
47. Canoe etching by Palenske (.5 cm)
48. Animals etc.: Mr. ? (.5 cm)
49. Christmas transparencies: personal (.5 cm)
50. Old time photofinishing: envelopes
51. Peter Whtye Christmas cards (1.5 cm)
52. Beil Xmas cards (1.5 cm)
54. Art gallery postcards (1 cm)
55. Mexican art cards (1 cm)
56. Art cards
57. Marine art cards
58. Medical advertising cards: Nick Morant illustrations (.5 cm)
59. Rail roading cards (1 cm)
60. Xmas cards: from Bob Reck, Miriam Ellis, Hugh MacLennan, Soulsby's, Mrs. Joe Daem, miniature (.5 cm)
61. Baggage stickers: Alaska, Peru
62. Third Dimension: "moving picture" cards for kids 1965
63. Christmas cards on silk: from German Embassy (.5 cm)
64. Greenland (silk) postcard
65. Postcards: Taillon vaults, Quebec City (.5 cm)
66. Christmas cards (1 cm)
67. Cowboy (unidentified): Kamloops B.C. origin
68. Silverware reference materiel: also on rugs (.5 cm)
69. Humourous photo: men raising statue
70. Tim ffrench photo: etc.
71. Postcards: sternwheelers, S.S. Klondike, U.S. ship in Iowa - see also R- 19
72. Morant coat of arms: "Resurgam" I will rise again - negative filed P-69
73. Postcards: old CPR locomotive at Golden Mill
74. References to Wylde: portraits in house (.5 cm)
75. Wlyde - Morant family history references from "Burke's Peerage" etc. - see also 72, 74, 44, P-6, B-3, B-4, P-1
76. Postcards 1914-20: John Bull war card 1916, Thanksgiving & Hallow'en, "Telescope" card
File consists of 2 published books. Contains a copy of 'The Rockies of Canada' by Walter Dwight Wilcox (1906) with 2 attached poems (clippings) and paper with author's signature inside front cover; also one copy of 'Mountaineering and Exploring in the Selkirks' by Howard Palmer (1914) with attached…
File consists of 2 published books. Contains a copy of 'The Rockies of Canada' by Walter Dwight Wilcox (1906) with 2 attached poems (clippings) and paper with author's signature inside front cover; also one copy of 'Mountaineering and Exploring in the Selkirks' by Howard Palmer (1914) with attached regional map inside.
Storage Range
In file box M300 / III / D / 5 / 20 to M300 / III / D / 5 / 21
File consists of 4 published books. Contains 1 copy of 'New World Ballads' by John Murray Gibbons (1939) with a note to Nicholas Morant from the author inside; 1 copy of 'Tom Brown's School Days' (1894) with a certificate attached labelling the book as a prize for Mollie Wylde (Morant) dated 'Xmas …
John Murray Gibbons , Mollie Morant , R.C. MacBeth , Stephen Coleridge
Date Range
1894
1896
1921
1923
1931
1939
Physical Description
4 Textual Records: books
Scope & Content
File consists of 4 published books. Contains 1 copy of 'New World Ballads' by John Murray Gibbons (1939) with a note to Nicholas Morant from the author inside; 1 copy of 'Tom Brown's School Days' (1894) with a certificate attached labelling the book as a prize for Mollie Wylde (Morant) dated 'Xmas 1896'; 1 copy of 'The Romance of the Canadian Pacific Railway' by R.C. MacBeth (1931) signed by author and annotated by Nicholas Morant; 1 copy of 'Letters to My Grandson' by Stephen Coleridge (1921) with writing prize certificate for Nicholas Morant from the Victoria University Boys' School, dated 1923.
Storage Range
In file box M300 / III / D / 5 / 26 to M300 / III / D / 5 / 29
File consists of 4 published books. Contains 1 copy of 'The Curiosities of Natural History' by Frank Buckland (1891) with handwritten message inside, 'From C. French [?] to R. French [?]' ; 1 copy of 'Birds of Canada's Mountain Parks' by Edmond Cloutier (1950), with handwritten note cards between p…
File consists of 4 published books. Contains 1 copy of 'The Curiosities of Natural History' by Frank Buckland (1891) with handwritten message inside, 'From C. French [?] to R. French [?]' ; 1 copy of 'Birds of Canada's Mountain Parks' by Edmond Cloutier (1950), with handwritten note cards between pages 70 and 71; 1 copy of 'The Geological Story of Jasper National Park Canada' by E.M. Kindle (n.d., originally published 1929) with charts attached inside; and 1 copy of 'Book of Knots' with attached mail order book, with redone cover annotated by Nicholas Morant.
Storage Range
In file box M300 / III / D / 5 / 38 to M300 / III / D / 5 / 45