Notman Photographic Archives
Encyclopedia
The Notman Photographic Archives is an archive
of photograph
ic images originally collected by photographer William Notman
. It is conserved by the McCord Museum
of Canadian History in Montreal
, Quebec
. Institutions and researchers worldwide consult the archives. Through its thousands of images—landscapes, well-known people, families, places, events, and activities—these historically invaluable archives provide a visual history of Montreal, Quebec and Canada
from the 1840s to the present. As well as the iconographical
data bank of 1,250,000 photographs, the archives include various items of early photographic equipment and accessories.
), were taken by the Notman studio during its 78 years of operation. Each glass negative is accompanied by a print
that is identified, listed and classified in numerical order in one of 200 albums, and in alphabetical order in one of 43 other albums.
The principal period of this archive is 1840-1935.
About 800,000 images taken by other photographers (from the 19th century to the present), including such known figures as Alexander Henderson and John Taylor.
A small but important collection of photographic equipment.
Archive
An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
of photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
ic images originally collected by photographer William Notman
William Notman
William Notman was a Canadian photographer and businessman.Notman was born in Paisley, Scotland in 1826, the same year in which photography was born in France. William Notman moved to Montreal in 1856. An amateur photographer, he quickly established a flourishing professional photography studio on...
. It is conserved by the McCord Museum
McCord Museum
The McCord Museum is a public research and teaching museum dedicated to the preservation, study, diffusion, and appreciation of Canadian history...
of Canadian History in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. Institutions and researchers worldwide consult the archives. Through its thousands of images—landscapes, well-known people, families, places, events, and activities—these historically invaluable archives provide a visual history of Montreal, Quebec and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
from the 1840s to the present. As well as the iconographical
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
data bank of 1,250,000 photographs, the archives include various items of early photographic equipment and accessories.
Profile
More than 450,000 photographs (including 200,000 glass negativesPhotographic plate
Photographic plates preceded photographic film as a means of photography. A light-sensitive emulsion of silver salts was applied to a glass plate. This form of photographic material largely faded from the consumer market in the early years of the 20th century, as more convenient and less fragile...
), were taken by the Notman studio during its 78 years of operation. Each glass negative is accompanied by a print
Printmaking
Printmaking is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Printmaking normally covers only the process of creating prints with an element of originality, rather than just being a photographic reproduction of a painting. Except in the case of monotyping, the process is capable...
that is identified, listed and classified in numerical order in one of 200 albums, and in alphabetical order in one of 43 other albums.
The principal period of this archive is 1840-1935.
About 800,000 images taken by other photographers (from the 19th century to the present), including such known figures as Alexander Henderson and John Taylor.
A small but important collection of photographic equipment.