Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Cy and Mary Hampson fonds
General material designation
- Multiple media
Parallel title
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Title statements of responsibility
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Level of description
Fonds
Repository
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Edition area
Edition statement
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Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
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Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
Physical description area
Physical description
2.04 m of textual records and other material.
Includes 2665 photographs. – 878 negatives. – 31 film reels : 16mm.
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Cyril (Cy) Hampson was born in Lacombe, Alberta in May, 1914. He became a teacher in Whitecourt during the Great Depression and later became a professor at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary, completing his PhD thesis on the locomotion of northern flying squirrels in 1966.
In addition to his teaching career, Cy Hampson was an avid wildlife researcher, photographer, writer, and documentarian. His photographs of flora and fauna, particularly birds and Arctic species, have been used to illustrate several publications on Albertan and northern Canadian wildlife. Hampson also wrote several books on Canadian wildlife, including Into the Woods and Beyond (1971) and With Ptarmigan and Timber Wolves (1991), and wrote a weekly column entitled Outdoors Unlimited on birds and other wildlife for the Peninsula News Review of Sidney, British Columbia.
During his tenure at the University of Alberta, Hampson also produced Question Mark Trail, a radio program distributed through Alberta School Broadcasts that focused on Alberta wildlife.
Cy Hampson died in July, 1997.
Custodial history
The records were maintained by Cy and Mary Hampson until their deaths, at which point their son, Michael, took possession until donating the records to the PAA in 2012.
Scope and content
The fonds consists of research material (including field journals and dissertation material), copies of publications, original manuscripts, correspondence, scrapbooks of wildlife-related clippings, scrapbooks of Outdoors Unlimited articles, pamphlets for Question Mark Trail, and files of the Hampson owned Cymar Films.
The majority of the photographs and negatives depict flora and fauna from around Alberta and northern Canada, with particular emphasis on birds and Arctic animals. The photos are skillfully composed by Cy Hampson and were developed by Mary Hampson. Many of the images were used by Cy Hampson in his research and teaching.
The films were created by Cy Hampson during the course of his doctoral research and depict flying squirrels and motion studies of other animals such as dogs and horses.
The fonds also consists of poetry journals, an extensive collection of programs from Edmonton and area theatrical productions, unpublished play scripts, and a scrapbook of Alberta drama and dance material created or collected by Mary Hampson.
The fonds also consists of films that were created under the Cymar Films label. There are other films that were co-produced with Mary Hampson and focus on a number of topics related to nature and wildlife. The films are all release prints or answer prints, with the exception of a few reels of work prints that have no corresponding release/answer prints. There are also production files related to these productions including licensing agreements, correspondence, project files, and broadcast agreements.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
The fonds is arranged into the following series:
Series 1: Cy Hampson
Series 2: Mary Hampson
Series 3: Cymar Films
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Audiovisual records must be duplicated prior to access.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Permission for use required. Subject to the Copyright Act.
Finding aids
File lists are available.
Associated materials
Hundreds of slides created by Cy Hampson that depict flora and fauna native to Alberta are held by the Royal Alberta Museum.
Accruals
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
PR3711