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  2. William James family fonds

William James family fonds

fonds1900-1970, predominant 1906 - 1939Fonds 1244

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Held by
City of Toronto Archives via City of Toronto Archives
Creator
James, William, 1866-1948
Dates
1900-1970, predominant 1906 - 1939 (indexed as 1900–1970)
Level
fonds
Extent
10,109 photographs; .5 cm of textual records
Scope & content
Fonds consists of photographs taken by members of the William James family, including William James, Sr. (1866-1948), and sons William James, Jr. and Norman James (1907-1992). The fonds has been arranged into four series, and includes nearly 5,000 negatives and prints, which were acquired from Norman James in 1976. Fonds also includes over 5,000 glass lantern slides acquired from the estate of William Victor Fraser (grandson of William James Sr.) in 1978 and from Norman James in 1991. Additionally, the fonds includes include a scrapbook documenting the life and career of Norman James, and a small series of photographs documenting the James and Rygate families.Although the work of three photographers is known to exist in this fonds, the majority of the photographs were taken by William James, Sr. During his long career, William James documented the life and times of his adopted home Toronto, covering all types of people, from newly arrived immigrants and impoverished residents of "the Ward" to visiting members of the Royal family; a wide spectrum of workers, from grocers and textile workers to bank messengers and construction workers; and a great diversity of locations, from Toronto Island to City Hall, the Bloor Street Viaduct, and the top of the Canada Life Building. He also shot innumerable events which occurred all over the city.Celebrities of all sorts were captured by James' camera, as well as anonymous players in the city's on-going daily dramas. In fact, as an early practitioner of human interest, candid photography, James' focus tended to be on people rather than settings, although James' settings have now attained considerable historic importance. For James, mud, water, steam, and smoke were part of his photographic palette, as were striking patterns, unusual angles, and dramatic light effects - even moonlight and an eclipse of the sun featured in his work. The Archives also has about 5,400 glass lantern slides, most of which feature Toronto, while about one fifth show other Canadian locations.Most of Norman James' photographs are held by the Toronto Star photographic archives, however this fonds includes such striking images as a 1941 double portrait of prime ministers Mackenzie King and Winston Churchill emerging from 10 Downing Street, and a 1949 shot of the passenger ship Noronic ablaze on Toronto Bay. The Archives also has photographs by Norman James of such well-known Toronto Star personalities as one-time Star reporter Ernest Hemingway, Joseph E. Atkinson, H.C. Hindmarsh, Greg Clark, and Gordon Sinclair.
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Subjects
James, Norman, 1907-1992; Casa Loma (Toronto, Ont.); Eaton (family); World War, 1914-1918; Toronto Star; Halifax Explosion, 1917; Noronic (passenger ship); Toronto Island (Ont.); Hanlan's Point (Toronto, Ont.); Sunnyside Ave (Toronto, Ont.); High Park (Toronto, Ont.); The Ward (Toronto, Ont. : Neighbourhood); Chorley Park (Toronto, Ont.); University of Toronto; Canadian National Exhibition; City Hall (Toronto, Ont., 1899-1965); Ontario Jockey Club; SPORTS; AVIATION; AUTOMOBILES; ROYAL VISITS; POLITICIANS; WATERFRONTS; HOSPITALS
Harvested
2026-10-22T08:12:45Z · source datestamp n/a · toronto
Original metadata as harvested (toronto)