Chronology

The Notman Photographic Archives are composed of about 200,000 glass plate negatives, 400,000 prints and hundreds of record books and ledgers produced by the Montreal studio founded by William Notman in 1856 and operated by his sons until 1935. Born in Scotland in 1826, Notman was a visionary entrepreneur who saw the great commercial, technological and artistic potential of photography and sought to exploit its various dimensions to the full.

1823

On 23 September, William Notman senior and Janet Sloan are married in Paisley, Scotland. The couple will go on to have seven children: William junior (1826-1891; hereafter William Notman), Jessie (about 1828-?), John Sloan (1830-1879), Helen (1835-?), Robert (1837-1882), Margaret (1846-1873) and James (1849-1932).

1826

Birth of William Notman on 8 March in Paisley, Scotland.

1840

The Notman family moves from Paisley to Glasgow, where they live on Grafton Street. William Notman starts practising photography as an amateur.

1851-1855

William Notman becomes a partner in his father’s dry-goods business, William Notman & Company, while also working as a travelling salesman for Marling, Strachan & Company, a textile firm based in Gloucestershire, England.

1853

On 15 June, William Notman marries Alice Merry Woodwark (1832-1906) in Stroud, Gloucestershire. The marriage will produce seven children: Frances Elizabeth (1855-1867), William McFarlane (1857-1913), Jessie Sloane (1859-1942), Alice Richenda (1863-1881), Emily Mary (1865-1946), George Richard Woodwark (1868-1921) and Charles Frederick (1870-1955).

1856

The family business in Glasgow is facing serious financial difficulties. To save the situation, the young William Notman begins doubling some of the orders to their suppliers, Marling, Strachan & Company, with the idea of selling the unused surplus cloth to pay off the debt. When the fraud comes to light, accusations are brought against both father and son.

On 23 June, with legal proceedings under way, William Notman the younger leaves Glasgow and sets sail for Canada (then called the Province of Canada).

He arrives in Montreal on 1 August and soon finds employment with the wholesale dry-goods firm of Ogilvy, Lewis & Co. (13 Joseph Street, Montreal).

In early November he is joined by his wife Alice and their daughter Frances (Fanny), and they move into the house Notman has rented at number 11 Bleury Street. By the end of the year he has installed a photography studio at the back of the house and launched his business. A loan from his employers enables him to purchase the necessary equipment from the leading American photographic supplier of the time, Anthony’s of New York (308 Broadway).

1857

On 2 August William Notman becomes a member of the Zion Church on Sainte-Radégonde Street in Montreal, led by the Reverend Henry Wilkes (1805-1886).

From 16 to 18 September, Notman exhibits a selection of portraits at the Exposition provinciale, Agricole et industrielle held in Montreal.

1858

In March, William Notman receives a major photographic contract from James Hodges (1814-1879), chief engineer of the Victoria Bridge, built between 1854 and 1859. Notman documents the last two years of construction.

On 2 July the Bleury Street studio is damaged by fire. Rebuilt and enlarged, it reopens on 5 August.

Notman takes part in the Exposition provinciale, agricole et industrielle held in Montreal from 29 September to 1 October. He is awarded two cash prizes and an honourable mention.

1859

In September, William Notman’s parents leave Scotland to settle in Montreal.

1860

On 11 January the first meeting of the Art Association of Montreal (now the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts) is held in William Notman’s Bleury Street studio. In March, Notman enlarges his studio by renting an adjacent building (9 Bleury Street). He will purchase numbers 7 and 9 Bleury Street from brothers David and Edward Moss in February 1862.

In August, the Victoria Bridge is officially opened by Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (1841-1910). The Canadian government presents him with a maple box containing two large portfolios of Notman photographs entitled Canada West and Canada East. To mark the royal visit, the Lower Canada Board of Arts and Manufactures presents an exhibition in Montreal’s Crystal Palace.

William Notman shows a selection of photographs and wins two medals, a silver and a bronze. Notman establishes an Art Department at his Bleury Street studio. Headed by the artist John Arthur Fraser (1838-1898), the department is responsible for painting backdrops, creating studio decors, executing large composite works and hand-colouring photographic prints (painted photographs).

In an advertisement for the studio published in December, Notman proclaims himself “Photographer to the Queen.” This phrase will subsequently be inscribed over the entrance to the Bleury Street studio, as well as appearing on the back of the carte-de-visite and cabinet photographs, and in much of the studio’s promotional material.

1861

A system for numbering and identifying the photographs taken at the Montreal studio is introduced, with the information henceforth recorded in the Picture Books and Index Books.

1862

In July, William Notman takes part in the Great London Exposition, exhibiting prints of photographs included in the portfolios presented to the Prince of Wales

in 1860, stereographs and about ten portraits. He is awarded a bronze medal.

1863

William Notman buys Clydeside Cottage, a summer home located on Lower Lachine Road (now LaSalle Boulevard), in Verdun. The property will be put up for sale in September 1866.

On 25 April Notman hires the accountant Benjamin Franklin (?-about 1920), who will serve as the firm’s bookkeeper until 1917.

In September, William Notman participates in an exhibition held at Montreal’s Crystal Palace.

In December, he publishes the first instalment of the first volume of Photographic Selections.

1864

In October, William Notman publishes North American Scenery, Being Selections from C. J. Way’s Studies, 1863–64. The book will be presented the following year at the International Exhibition of Arts and Manufactures in Dublin, Ireland, where it earns an honourable mention.

In December, he makes contact with the American Edward L. Wilson (1838-1903), editor of the magazine The Philadelphia Photographer (1864-1888), to which Notman will become a major contributor.

1865

The second volume of Photographic Selections is published.

In March, William Notman takes part in an exhibition organized by the Art Association of Montreal, held at the Artisans’ Institute.

In April, he begins experimenting with magnesium lighting for interior shots. The Bleury Street studio undergoes major renovations.

The first instalment of the first volume of Portraits of British Americans is published in May. The various fascicles will be subsequently bound into three volumes.

1866

William Notman begins producing and promoting “cabinet card” photographs (measuring approximately 10.8 × 16.5 cm). The cabinet card format, employed first by George Washington Wilson (1823-1893) for landscapes, was adapted for portraits in 1866 by Frederick Richard Window (1824-1875).

John Sloan Notman opens the J. S. Notman & Co. photographic studio on Trenton Street, in Boston, with financial support from his brother William and in partnership with John M. Gatehouse (dates unknown). The studio will close two years later.

William Notman embarks on a series of photographic portfolios bearing the general title of Sports, Pastimes and Pursuits of Canada. Seven portfolios are planned, but only two are fully completed: Moose Hunting and Cariboo Hunting.

1867

William Notman purchases a house called Rosebank, situated at 1 Charlotte Street, in Longueuil. He begins attending St. Mark’s Church, at 340 Saint-Charles Street West, just a few blocks away.

Notman exhibits cabinet card portraits and hunting scenes at the Exposition universelle d’art et d’industrie, in Paris. The jury awards him a bronze medal.

The second volume of Portraits of British Americans is published.

1868

The third volume of Portraits of British Americans is published.

In June, William Notman opens a studio at the intersection of Wellington and Metcalfe Streets, in Ottawa. The photographer William James Topley (1845-1930), who initially serves as manager, will buy the business in 1872.

William Notman leaves the congregation of the Zion Church, in Montreal.

In the fall, Notman and John Arthur Fraser form a partnership and open the Notman & Fraser studio, at 120 King Street East, in Toronto. The studio will remain open until 1883.

Henry Sandham (1842-1910) becomes head of the Montreal studio’s Art Department.

William Notman begins advertising a new style of portraiture, the “photorelievo” technique developed in 1866 by Walter Bentley Woodbury (1834-1885).

1869

William Notman continues to expand his business activities, opening a studio at number 39 George Street (corner of Barrington), in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The studio is run by Alex B. Almour (active about 1866-1869) with the assistance of the photographer William Webb (active about 1863-1879), who trained under William Notman in Montreal. In 1870 Webb takes over management of the studio, continuing to run it alone until 1876. He will be replaced that year by Oliver Massey Hill (active from 1869-died 1923), who purchases the studio in 1891, shortly after the death of William Notman.

Notman obtains a contract to photograph the students and campus of Vassar College, a women’s school located in Poughkeepsie, New York.

In October, George-Édouard Desbarats (1838-1893) and William Augustus Leggo (1830-1915) publish on the front page of the Canadian Illustrated News (1869-1883) a halftone reproduction of a photograph by William Notman of H.R.H. Prince Arthur (1850-1942). The reproduction constitutes a world premiere.

1870

The composite entitled Skating Carnival, Victoria Rink is created on the occasion of Prince Arthur’s visit to Montreal.

1871

William Notman assigns his photographer Benjamin Franklin Baltzly (1835-1883) to accompany the expedition led by the geologist Alfred Selwyn (1824-1902) to help plan the proposed railway in British Columbia. The expedition lasts from 26 June to 26 December. Baltzly documents Selwyn’s geological findings and takes photographs of the landscape, some of which are sold at the Montreal studio.

1872

William Notman begins operating temporary studios in the northeast U.S.

Remaining open for the duration of a contract or a season, these studios are aimed at clienteles of students and vacationers. The schools for which Notman provides this service include Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania; Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire; Princeton University, New Jersey; Amherst College, Massachusetts; Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts; Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut; Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts; and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Starting in the 1880s, he will operate temporary studios in the resorts of Poland Spring, Maine, and Magnolia, Massachusetts. All the American studios operate under the name of the Notman Photographic Company.

In March, a Notman studio opens on Prince William Street in Saint John, New Brunswick, under the management of James Notman, William’s brother. Destroyed in the great fire of 1877, the studio will reopen in 1878 in premises on Princess Street, remaining in business until 1890.

1873

The first meeting of the Ontario Society of Artists is held at the Notman & Fraser studio in Toronto.

In October, William McFarlane Notman begins working with his father at the Montreal studio.

1876

William Notman sells his house in Longueuil and purchases a property located at 557 (now 51) Sherbrooke Street West, in Montreal. He joins the congregation of St. Martin’s Anglican Church, located on the corner of Saint-Urbain and Prince-Arthur Streets and built in 1874. The church will be demolished in 1954.

On the occasion of the Centennial International Exhibition, held in Philadelphia from 10 May to 10 November, William Notman founds the Centennial Photographic Company in association with Edward L. Wilson, publisher of the magazine The Philadelphia Photographer. The agency obtains the exclusive right to take photographs on the exhibition site for the duration of the event. Notman has the innovative idea of creating “photographic tickets”—photo IDs designed to keep track of the exhibitors and employees allowed free access to the site. The photographs of the Centennial Photographic Company win a gold medal, and Notman earns a bronze medal and a gold medal for his own photographs.

In October, Notman relinquishes his shares in the company and puts an end to his partnership with Wilson.

1877

William Notman takes part in the Intercolonial Exhibition in Sydney, Australia. He is awarded a bronze medal.

In partnership with his brother James and with Thomas Campbell (active 1864-1880), Notman opens a first permanent studio in the U.S., Notman & Campbell, located at 4 Park Street, in Boston. The studio is co-managed by James Notman and Campbell. The partnership with Campbell is dissolved in 1880, and the studio is renamed the Notman Photographic Company. It will finally close in 1930.

In September, Notman opens a studio in Albany, New York, which will remain in operation until 1898. During the 1880s other permanent studios will be opened in U.S. cities, including Newport, Rhode Island, Saratoga, New York, and New Haven, Connecticut. All will bear the name of the Notman Photographic Company.

Also in September, William Notman and Henry Sandham enter into partnership and the Montreal studio is renamed Notman & Sandham. The partnership will be dissolved in 1882 when Henry Sandham leaves for Boston, where he intends to pursue his career as a painter.

1878

William Notman takes part in the Exposition universelle in Paris. He receives a silver medal for the composite photograph Montreal Snowshoe Club.

The Windsor Hotel opens at 1170 Peel Street, in Montreal. Notman, who is one of the hotel’s promoters and shareholders, opens a photography studio in the establishment, gaining access to a large tourist clientele. The studio will remain open until 1917.

1882

In September, William McFarlane Notman becomes his father’s partner. The name of the Montreal studio is henceforth Wm.. Notman & Son.

1883

William Notman obtains a major contract to produce promotional photographs for the Travelers Insurance Company, based in Hartford, Connecticut. He will undertake several other projects for Travelers in the years to come.

1884

Between June and August, William McFarlane Notman makes his first trip to western Canada, to photograph the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). The trip is the object of an agreement between William Notman and William Van Horne (1843-1915), the general manager of CPR, allowing the company to make use of the photographs to promote colonization and tourism. The Notman studio retains the negatives and the copyright. William McFarlane Notman would make further trips to the Canadian West in 1887, 1889, 1897, 1901, 1903, 1904 and 1909.

1886

In May, William Notman takes part in the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London, England. The jury awards him a bronze medal.

1891

A photography studio is opened at 315 Madison Avenue, at the corner of 42nd Street, in Manhattan, under the directorship of William McFarlane Notman and the management of his brother George.

In November, William Notman visits New York. Shortly after his return, on Wednesday 25 November, he dies of pneumonia. He is sixty-five years old. The funeral is held at St. Martin’s Anglican Church on Saturday 28 November. He is buried in the family plot in Montreal’s Mount Royal Cemetery. His son William McFarlane Notman becomes head of the studio.

1894

In March, Charles F. Notman becomes his brother William McFarlane Notman’s junior partner. The Montreal studio moves from Bleury Street to Phillips Square, where it occupies the same building as the Henry Birks jewellery store.

1906

On 2 January Alice Woodwark Notman, William Notman’s widow, dies of pneumonia at the age of seventy-four.

1913

On 1 May William McFarlane Notman dies of liver cancer.

1918

Charles F. Notman sells the American studios to the photographer Dennis Bourdon (1853-1933), who has been working for the William Notman firm since 1868.

1919

Charles F. Notman changes the name of the Montreal studio to William Notman & Son Ltd.

1935

On 2 April Charles F. Notman sells the William Notman & Son Ltd. studio to the Associated Screen News production company. He will continue to work for William Notman & Son Ltd. as a director and vice-president until 1954.

1954

George Dudkoff (1924-2012) and Niels J. Montclair (?-1971) purchase the William Notman & Son Ltd. studio from Associated Screen News, renaming it William Notman & Son Registered.

1955-1956

Following the death of Charles F. Notman, which occurs on 28 February 1955, Associated Screen News negotiates the sale of the archives of William Notman & Son Ltd. At the instigation of McGill University, a consortium composed of the Maxwell Cummings Family Foundation, Empire-Universal Films Ltd. and Maclean’s magazine purchases the archives and donates them to McGill. The archives are henceforth kept at the McGill University Museum’s Canadian history division, the McCord Museum.

1970

George Dudkoff becomes the sole owner of the William Notman & Son Registered studio, which he will continue to operate until 1993.