Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Nicholas Morant fonds
General material designation
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Title notes
- Source of title proper: Title based on contents of fonds
Level of description
Fonds
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Edition area
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Class of material specific details area
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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
Physical description area
Physical description
ca.50,775 photographs: ca.23,795 negatives, ca.18,456 transparencies, ca.8524 prints and other material
Publisher's series area
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Nicholas Everard Morant, 1910-1999, was a professional photographer based at Banff, Alberta, Canada. He was a Canadian commercial photographer of international repute and Canada's premier railway photographer of the 20th century. Morant was born at Kamloops, British Columbia, the son of Francis and Mollie Morant. After attending the University School at Victoria, Morant served as Special Photographer to the CPR from 1929 to 1935 and again from 1944 to 1981. From 1935 to 1939, he was a cameraman for the Winnipeg Free Press, and from 1940 to 1944 worked with the Wartime Information Branch of the federal government (later to be known as the National Film Board Stills Division). Morant had a prolific career as a freelance commercial, portrait, magazine, landscape and documentary photographer. His work appeared in numerous books and magazines, including Time, Life, Liberty, Saturday Evening Post, (Toronto) Star Weekly, Northern Sportsman, Reader's Digest, Country Guide, The Standard, National Home Monthly, Canadian Photography, Outdoor Canada, National Geographic, the Globe & Mail, Winnipeg Tribune, New York Daily News, and the two Canadian Pacific Railway magazines, The Spanner and Rail News. Two wartime images were featured on postage stamps, while three landscape views appeared on Canadian $10, $50 and $100 bills. His images were also used for corporate annual reports, postcards, brochures, calendars and advertisements. From the 1950s to 1980s Morant gave public slide shows of his work, two of the most popular being "A Talk Without Words" and "The World At Your Feet". Morant married Ivy May "Willie" Young in 1936 when he was a photographer with the Winnipeg Free Press. Beginning in 1929, and until the end of her life, Morant's travelling and working companion was his wife, "Willie," 1910-1986.
Custodial history
Scope and content
The Nicholas Morant fonds consists of Morant's freelance work from his early days with the Winnipeg Free Press to his retirement from the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1981. It is national in scope and also includes some international material. The fonds is comprised of three series: I. Photography; II. Professional records; III. Personal and family records. I. Photography series consists of: A. Negatives and transparencies, B. Transparencies, C. Prints, D. Other photographs. II. Professional records series consists of: A. Working records, B. Career records, C. Topical files. III. Personal and family records series consists of: A. Nick and Willie Morant, B. Nick Morant funeral and memorial, C. Francis and Mollie Morant, D. Collected material
Notes area
Physical condition
Includes 11 photograph albums, ca.8.5 m + oversize textual records, and 125 sound recordings.
Immediate source of acquisition
Acquired by donation, 1967-1985, 2002, 2006;Gift of Nick and Willie Morant, 1967-1985. Gift of Margaret E. Morant, 2002, and the Margaret E. Morant estate, 2006 and the Nicholas and Betty Morant Estate 2006, Dave Morant, 2006.
Arrangement
Language of material
- Language is English
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Some restriction/s on access;Copyright, privacy, commercial use and other restrictions may apply
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
http://archivesalberta.org/findingaids/whyte/Morant/Morant_main.htm
Finding aids and reference tools: arrangement outline;series and file description;electronic and online finding aids
Associated materials
The Nicholas Morant fonds is related by provenance to NFB Stills Division wartime photographs by Nick Morant at the National Archives of Canada, and to Canadian Pacific Railway images (ca.13,000) residing at the Canadian Pacific Archives.
Accruals
General note
Record No. M300 / S20 / V500<br><br>
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
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Name access points
- Morant, Nicholas (Subject)