Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Bamber Studio fonds
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- Source of title proper: Title based on contents of fonds.
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Fonds
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Physical description area
Physical description
ca. 10,000 negatives and other materials
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
William Harry Bamber was born on September 20, 1885 in Coburg, Ontario to William Frederick and Sarah Martha (nee Smith) Bamber. He moved with his family to Mount Pleasant, Michigan in the United States and finally to Michigan Centre, south of Leduc, Alberta in 1896 where the family took up a homestead at Section 12, Township 49, Range 26 West of the 4th Meridian (12-49-26-W4). In 1903 he moved to Edmonton, Alberta and became a butcher for Gallagher and Hull, and in 1909 he moved to Leduc, Alberta and began work as a carpenter and photographer. In 1912 he built a studio under the name Bamber Studio. He became known for his expertise in portrait photography and in 1925 built a new studio with a skylight to increase the quality of the portraits he took. He married Alinda Elsie Klein on August 10, 1912 and together they had two children, Alwin and Martha. Bamber closed his studio during World War Two for six years and managed his son's photography business in Edmonton, Alberta while he was serving overseas. At the same time Bamber's wife and daughter moved to Calgary to manage another studio while its owner was serving overseas, and in 1947 the Bambers all returned to Leduc. Bamber re-opened his studio and ran it until his retirement in 1964 when his wife and children continued the business. Bamber died on June 3, 1971 and his daughter Martha took over the studio until it closed in 1977.
Custodial history
The Provincial Archives of Alberta purchased the bulk of the records from Mrs. Alinda Bamber in 1976. The Archives also purchased an accrual of records from Norman Forester in 1984 and accepted a donation from Ms. S. Lucille Koshure in 1987. The relationships of Mr. Forester and Ms. Koshure to Harry Bamber are unknown.
Scope and content
Fonds consists of the business records of Bamber Studio, and records pertaining to the Bamber family and includes correspondence, customer accounts, financial records, advertising materials, technical and equipment manuals, and photocopied newspaper clippings. Also includes negatives, photographs, photographic collages, a lantern slide and glass plate negatives that depict various people, places and views in Alberta. The photographs are divided into two main series, the working series (Ba), consisting of images of people at work and the Leduc area; and the portrait series (BaP). There are 787 negatives in the working series and 9473 negatives in the portrait series. Bamber divided his portraits into series one and series two.
Notes area
Physical condition
Includes 76 photographs, 0.09 m of textual records, and 10 transparencies.
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Language of material
- The material is in English.
Script of material
Location of originals
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Restrictions on access
Access Conditions: None. Use Conditions: Permission for use required. Subject to the Copyright Act.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Inventory available. There is also an item list available of the portrait photos (BaP), listed by family name.
Associated materials
Accruals
Further accruals are not expected.
General note
Reference prints of photographs from this fonds can be found in Ba File under location numbers Ba.001-Ba.787. Information for the biographical sketch was taken from the records and from <em>Who's Who in Alberta: A Biographical Directory and From Frontier Days in Leduc and District: 65 Years of Progress, 1891-1956,</em> located in the Provincial Archives of Alberta Reference Library under location numbers 920.07123 W62 PAA and 971.233 st76 PAA respectively.<br><br>Record No. Fonds consists of the following accessions: PR1976.0383<br><br>
Alternative identifier(s)
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Name access points
- Bamber Studio (Subject)