Peaks and People

                                     Preserving McDougall Family Documents In the spring of 2017, Alberta lost an important historic place when the McDougall Stoney Mission Church in Morley was destroyed by fire. However, as fate would have it, important historical documents from another branch of the McDougall family have been rescued and preserved for future generations. Archival Assistant Sara Min from the University of Manitoba will relate the contents of the recent acquisition by the Whyte Museum Archives, as well as the archival process she undertook to both preserve and make accessible these important documents. On June 19, 2017, Archival Assistants  Nicole Ensing, Brittany Watson, and myself accompanied the Whyte Museum’s Head Archivist, Jennifer Rutkair , to Drumheller, Alberta to appraise archival materials donated by Ed and Faye  Hnetka . Ed told us that he found ...

The Portraits of Nicholas de Grandmaison Igor and Andrei admiring Nicholas de Grandmaison's painting of his wife Sonia.  Three weeks ago author Igor Krasnov stopped at the Whyte Museum while on vacation to view the artworks of the man he'd been researching and writing about for the last decade: Nicholas de Grandmaison. What began as an interest in learning about his new home in Victoria, B.C. after emmigrating from Russia, evolved into a journey to discover the story of fellow Russian immigrant and renowned artist Nicholas de Grandmaison.  His quest began at his local library where he discovered the famous Canadian painter Emily Carr. Known for her modernist depictions of the Pacific Northwest Coast lifestyle, Carr's lack of Indigenous Peoples portrayed in her paintings surprised Krasnov. Upon further research Krasnov discovered a story in one of her books explaining why she didn't paint portraits of Indigenous Peoples. According to Carr, she once tried...

Many people think that prior to photo-editing software like Photoshop it was impossible to manipulate photos. However, photographers have been experimenting with photo manipulation since the 19th century. An example of this was found in our Archives by staff looking into an inquiry from a researcher. The image is a lantern slide from the Mary Schaffer fonds, and was part of her collection of slides used to lecture on various topics related to the mountains and their history. The image (see below) is that of a man standing in front of a small wooden shack. The image was taken in 1883, and has been identified as William "Billy" McCardell at the Cave and Basin site. McCardell with the first "hotel" at the Cave and Basin, 1883 (V527 / PS 1 - 230) William McCardell was one of the 3 men who are widely considered as the discoverers of the hot springs at the now Cave and Basin site in 1883. Accompanied by fellow CPR workers Franklin McCabe and William's brothe...

"I must admit that I have attacks of qualms every time I look at the empty shelves in my office, but I know they are in good hands, and will be looked after better than I can, and that they will be occasionally used. The collector is the one who has received the greatest pleasure from the library and no one else can possibly capture that feeling." - Edward C. Porter in a letter to Vancouver Public Library librarian Elizabeth B. Walker on December 18th, 1963 The life of an object is something that museums, archives, libraries and galleries all try to discover because it tells a story. Whether that story is about a memory of a loved one or an epic mountaineering tale, it's the stories that give objects value.The following is the story of the Alpine Club of Canada's Library Collection and its' journey from the private collection of an avid mountaineer to The Alpine Club of Canada.   From the very beginnings of The Alpine Club of Canada it was intended that...