262
former slave and prominent leader of the black com-
munity in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
The fi rst known permanent daguerreotypist in Canada
was the portrait painter William Valentine who operated
a studio in Halifax from 1842 until his death in 1849.
Valentine had also advertised his services in Saint John
in 1841. His offer to teach the process resulted in the
establishment of a partnership with his student Thomas
C. Doane. In the spring of 1843, Valentine & Doane
set up business at the Golden Lion Inn in St. John’s,
Newfoundland. When their partnership dissolved,
Valentine remained in Halifax, and Doane moved to
Montreal (by way of the West Indies) where he ran a
successful business from 1847 to 1866. In Toronto, Eli
J. Palmer opened a photography studio in 1849 that
would continue to operate for thirty years. By the early
1850s, daguerreotype studios were established in every
major city. Photographic materials, such as plates and
cases, were imported, mainly from the United States.
Individuals from all walks of life had their likeness
recorded, from labourers to famous political fi gures.
Other subject matter included views of cities, business
establishments and natural scenery, the most popular of
which was Niagara Falls.
The daguerreotype process was in general use in
Canada until the early 1860s when it was replaced
by the wet collodion method. This latter process was
also used for the production of collodion positives, or
ambrotypes, which were popular from the late 1850s to
mid 1860s. By the late 1850s, commercial photography
studios using the wet collodion method had become es-
tablished in most major cities. The process also allowed
for the production of stereoscopic views that Canadian
photographic establishments began to market in the
late 1850s. The production of photographic imagery
using the calotype process, however, was practically
nonexistent, with one known exception, which will be
discussed below.
Certain works produced in the 1850s using the
collodion process are crucial to the history of image
making in Canada. In 1858, Humphrey Lloyd Hime
(1833–1903), of the Toronto fi rm Armstrong, Beere and
Hime, accompanied the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan
Exploring Expedition to take pictures of an area now
at the southern border of Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
The expedition represents the fi rst government use of
the medium. Subject matter included landscape views,
the inhabitants and buildings of the Selkirk settlement
(near the present day city of Winnipeg), and the area’s
aboriginal populace. The expedition’s leader, Henry
Youle Hind (1823–1908), also used the photographs
as the basis for illustrations in a book published on the
expedition. In addition, a portfolio of thirty prints was
made available for sale to the general public. Back east,
from 1858 to 1860, Samuel McLaughlin (1826–1914)
published small portfolios of photographic prints en-
titled The Photographic Portfolio: a monthly review
of Canadian scenes and scenery. However, it appears
that production of imagery was much less frequent
than promised as only a dozen photographs have sur-
vived from this business venture. McLaughlin’s most
famous commission, begun in the early 1860s, was the
documentation of the construction of Canada’s Parlia-
ment Buildings, a project that earned him the title of
“government photographist.”
The 1850s were noteworthy for other photographic
projects. In 1859, the London Stereoscopic Company
sent British photographer William England to North
America to create stereo views of Canada and the United
States. In November of the previous year, William Not-
man, who will be further discussed below, began docu-
mentation of the construction of the Victoria Bridge in
Montreal. The project lasted two years and resulted in
forty stereo views of what was considered the greatest
engineering feat in North America at the time. In the
late 1850s, Henry J. Cundall produced views of Char-
lottetown and surrounding area using the relatively rare
collodio-albumen, or dry plate process. From 1857–59,
Paul-Émile Miot an offi cer in the French navy took
photographs of the ports and fi sheries of Newfoundland,
Cape Breton Island and the French islands of St-Pierre
and Miquelon, as well as the area’s Micmac Indians.
The immense popularity of the carte-de-visite in the
early 1860s fully established photography as a viable
commercial activity. William Notman of Montreal capi-
talized on this interest, building large studios in Mon-
treal, Ottawa, Toronto and Halifax, as well as branch
companies in the United States. His title of “Photog-
rapher to the Queen” most likely resulted from his gift
to Queen Victoria of over fi ve hundred photographs of
Canadian scenery housed in a silver gilded box of bird’s
eye maple. Notman also promoted photography as a fi ne
art, producing two volumes of Notman’s Photographic
Selections in 1863 and 1865 that combined photographs
with reproductions of paintings. His studio became fa-
mous for its elaborate interior sets of hunting and winter
activities. The photograph from the Cariboo Hunting
series “A Chance Shot” appeared in the May 1866 edi-
tion of The Philadelphia Photographer along with much
adulation from the magazine’s editor, Edward L. Wilson
regarding its realism. Notman was also known for his
large composite photographs of a variety of subject mat-
ter, the most famous being the “Victoria Rink skating
carnival” (1870) which depicted a costume ball held in
honour of Prince Arthur’s visit to Canada in 1869. In the
case of his Ottawa fi rm, William J. Topley opened the
branch in 1867, bought the business fi ve years later, and
specialized in taking pictures of the city’s well known
personalities and politicians, in addition to the Parlia-
ment Buildings, monuments, and businesses. Notman’s