Research Services
Photograph Collection
The University Archives photograph collection contains over 12,000 images, and deals primarily with the growth and development of the University of Saskatchewan. Images of faculty, students, alumni, buildings, equipment, and various events and activities constitute the majority of the collection. An online database of descriptions of these photographs is in progress, and many are featured in virtual exhibits
.In addition to the general photograph collection, the University Archives also has photographs that are not related to the University of Saskatchewan itself, but rather reflect the research or avocational interests of former faculty or other groups. Such collections include:
- L.G. SAUNDERS:
- A professor of biology, Dr. Saunders was an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society of London and had his work displayed in galleries in Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. The University Archives holds images relating to Saunders' research as well as his travels in Egypt, Ceylon, Brazil, Hong Kong, and North America.
- SASKATOON WOMEN'S CALENDAR COLLECTIVE (HERSTORY):
- For over thirty years, this Collective has been publishing calendars highlighting the achievements of Canadian women. The University Archives holds photographs of hundreds of Canadian women who have appeared in the pages of "Herstory" since 1974. For a sample, check out "Herstory: An Exhibition."
- INSTITUTE FOR NORTHERN STUDIES:
- From 1960 to 1981, the Institute for Northern Studies operated as a multi-disciplinary unit dedicated to research on the Canadian North and other circumpolar regions, with a special emphasis on northern Saskatchewan. This collection includes over a thousand images of the Canadian North and its peoples.
- HANS DOMMASCH:
- Hans Dommasch, an award-winning photographer and Professor Emeritus of Art and Art History, has studied the Canadian Arctic and the prairie landscape in great detail. His book, "Prairie Giants", depicting grain elevators of the prairie landscape, was published in 1986. The lecture entitled "Canada North of Sixty" has been presented in Germany, Scotland, England, the Czech Republic, the United States and Canada. The photographic exhibition of the same name has been displayed in Canada and the Czech Republic. The photographic material in this fonds covers a wide range of subject matters, with particular emphasis on medicine, natural history, the Canadian arctic, and grain elevators. For some of his photographs of the north, see the virtual exhibit Hans S. Dommasch: Canada North of 60; a selection of his photographs of grain elevators are also featured in the exhibit The Changing Face of the Saskatchewan Prairie.
- JOANNE ABRAHAMSON:
- Since 1984, Joanne Abrahamson has travelled extensively throughout Saskatchewan, and has documented virtually every city, town, village, and hamlet in the province, from Aberfeldy to Xena. Her photographs are primarily of grain elevators, schools, churches, railway stations, town offices; in some instances she has returned to a site after a period of several years, providing documentation of changes over time. This collection includes over 17,000 negatives. A selection of her photographs of grain elevators are featured in the exhibit The Changing Face of the Saskatchewan Prairie.
- JOHN REEVES:
- Well known particularly for his portrait photography, John Reeves' work has appeared in virtually every Canadian periodical. This colection contains contains images of Canadian women of achievement; most were taken during the celebration of the International Year of the Woman (1975) and formed part of the exhibition, "30 Portraits of Women." A selection of these photographs is in the virtual exhibit John Reeves: Portrait of the Woman.
- KEITH EWART:
- Keith Ewart is a Saskatoon photographer who has published two volumes of his photographic documentation of railway stations and railway buildings. This collection includes over 1,000 photographs of schools, churches, and railway buildings, primarily in Saskatchewan. It also includes glass plates from a Moose Jaw photographer, ca. 1815-1900.
The Archives will reproduce photographs for the purpose of research. Researchers are advised that it is their responsibility to obtain copyright permission to publish or otherwise reproduce or distribute archival material.