Proof sheets and photograph collections
- MS-3190
- Series
- [194-?] – 1987
Part of Okanagan Helicopters Ltd. fonds
The series consists of photographic proof sheets, prints, negatives, transparencies and slides maintained by Okanagan Helicopters Ltd and a collection of photographs compiled by chairman and president John Pitt that date from the mid-1960s to 1976. The proof sheets depict various operations and technical shots of Okanagan aircraft. The series encompasses the entire scope of Okanagan’s activities. Notably the series includes several images from Okanagan’s first flight in 1947, as well as photographs from the Kemano work site project in the 1950s and the 1970s High Arctic polar bear contract. Many of the photographs appear to have been taken across BC, including Vancouver, Prince George, Kemano, and Campbell River, as well as Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. The photographic proofs were originally in binders, and many were accompanied by a short index indicating where the images were taken and what they show.
John Pitts’ photo collection, which included several small envelopes of photographs, was comprised of numerous images of heli-skiing operations and general shots that are assumed to have been taken in BC during the 1970s. Also included in the collection are some general aircraft photos and several proof sheets for photographs taken of Pitts for the 1976 annual report. One group of photographs in Pitts’ collection appears to have been taken in England between 1967 and 1970 at the Autair Helicopter hangar, most likely in the vicinity of Luton Airport. Other images depict offshore drilling rigs that were most likely part of a 1970s operation based in Gander, Newfoundland.
Several of the photographs in the general photographic collection show evidence of use in newspaper publications, notably the Vancouver Sun, Prince George Citizen, and the Toronto Telegram.
Although the photographs demonstrate considerable overlap with other series, including MS-3180 MS-3188, MS-3189, MS-3190, and MS-3197 they have been arranged in this series as, due to the varied nature of the files, it would have been impossible to adequately arrange the images in other series.
Proof sheets originating with other companies can be found in MS-3178.