{"id":2330,"date":"2015-05-10T17:06:50","date_gmt":"2015-05-10T21:06:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.musee-mccord-stewart.ca\/?page_id=2330"},"modified":"2025-12-11T17:00:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T22:00:13","slug":"photography","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.musee-mccord-stewart.ca\/en\/collections\/photography\/","title":{"rendered":"Photography"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Photography collection encompasses over 2.1 million images that primarily document the social history of Montreal, but also that of Quebec and Canada<\/strong>. Its holdings range from daguerreotypes created in the 1840s to contemporary digital images.
\nExplore the collection online<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

The Notman Photographic Archives<\/a> form the core of the collection<\/strong> with about 200,000 glass plate negatives, 400,000 prints<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0hundreds of record books and ledgers<\/strong> from the Montreal studio founded in 1856 by William Notman (1826-1891) and run by his sons until 1935.<\/p>\n

From glass negatives and original prints to stereograms, composites and painted photographs, these images record Canada\u2019s growth in the latter half of the 19th<\/sup>\u00a0century, Montreal\u2019s leading role in the country\u2019s social and economic development, westward expansion, and the construction of the transcontinental railway. The Notman Photographic Archives<\/a> are listed on\u00a0UNESCO Memory of the World International Register<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

The collection also contains thousands of photographs grouped in albums, series and portfolios, created by professionals, amateurs and artists. It is a rich source of vernacular photography and images of Indigenous people.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In addition, the Museum holds a number of cameras and accessories that illustrate technical developments in photography, along with viewing devices like stereoscopes, magic lanterns and modern projectors that were or are used in Canada.<\/p>\n