Fonds PR-2188 - Gus A. Maves fonds

Fermentation tanks, Victoria Phoenix Brewery, Government Street at Discovery, Victoria Brew kettle, Victoria Phoenix Brewery, Victoria Strawberry pickers Girl and duck at Shoal Bay near Victoria

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Gus A. Maves fonds

General material designation

  • graphic material
  • textual record
  • multiple media
  • object

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Title statements of responsibility

Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the fonds.

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

PR-2188

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

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Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • [ca. 1920-1944] (Creation)
    Creator
    Maves, Gus A.

Physical description area

Physical description

ca. 3000 photographs and other material

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1882-1942)

Biographical history

Gustave Adolph Maves was born in Pembroke Ontario on March 2nd, 1882. He married Margaret Jane Crawford in York, Ontario in 1905. In 1902 Maves began to work in the photography business and owned a lithographic plant in Toronto. Gus and Margaret moved to Victoria in February 1919 and spent the rest of their lives there, living at 395 King George Terrace in Oak Bay. Gus continued his work as a commercial photographer producing photographs and postcards of house interiors, scenic views, still life photos of fruits, vegetables and flowers and other agricultural and industrial photographs. Many of his photographs were coloured by Margaret. Gus Maves died on January 28th, 1942 and was cremated at the Royal Oak Crematorium in Saanich.

Custodial history

Donated to the BC Archives in 1982 by Diana Barr, daughter of Gustave and Margaret Maves.

Scope and content

The fonds consists of photographs created by Gus A. Maves in his commercial business between ca. 1920 and 1944. At this time Maves, and his wife Margaret, lived in Oak Bay, near Victoria. Maves created most of the negatives using 8 x 10 nitrate film and these were numbered and entered into his index books by number and by subject. He also created two separately numbered negatives series for negative sizes 4 x 5 and 5 x 7. Many of these negatives were copies of the 8 x 10 negatives and were used to create postcards and other commercial products. A selection of copy negatives masked and titled for printing cards, calendars and other commercial products exist within the fonds. Maves created photographic prints and proofs from most of his negatives and arranged many of them in either number or subject order in four albums. These albums, which often include the negative number and caption under the print, may have been used as order or sample books for his commercial business. There are also a considerable number of loose photographs with many duplicates including some glass plate negatives, lantern slides, transparencies, prints and artworks hand coloured by Margaret Maves. The main subject of the photographs are landscapes, particularly Butchart Gardens, Beacon Hill Park, Oak Bay Golf Club and mountain and ocean scenic shots; still life photos of fruit, vegetables and flowers, agricultural and industrial photographs and interior and exterior photographs of homes. Most of the photographs were taken in the Greater Victoria and Vancouver Island area but there are also some photographs taken in the Okanagan. The fonds also includes textual records including three indexes to the 8 x 10 negatives (two arranged by number and one by subject), an order book, publications featuring artwork by Gus and Margaret Maves, miscellaneous advertising signs, two wood printing frames, a stand for darkroom work and a “No parking” stand with coloured transparency of still life with fruit.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Arrangement

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Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

Conservation restriction: material in cool or cold storage requires special retrieval and handling.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Finding aids

Detailed box and file information available in accession file 89-0969. Photocopies of original negative envelope with file number and caption also available in accession file.

Associated materials

Related materials

Accruals

No further accruals expected.

General note

Archives code(s): 198303-041 (89-0969).

General note

Accession number(s): 198303-041

Conservation

Nitrate negatives has been frozen for preservation.

Physical description

Includes photographs, nitrate negatives, glass plate negatives, textual material and several objects.

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