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Archival description
Carr, Emily Series
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Personal and family records

Series consists of personal and family records created and assembled by Jean Donald Gow in her career as an illustrator, artist, and wife of a Canadian naval officer while stationed in Victoria and elsewhere from the 1920s to the 1950s. The series also includes records relating to her father, Dr. David Donald, and research notes on Emily Carr, the Esquimalt Group of artists (with whom Gow was associated while living in Victoria in the 1920s), and the Maritime Museum. The series contains over 600 b&w photographs, the majority of which are housed in two albums: one which focuses on World War I and another which is a personal family album. There are loose photographs interfiled throughout (these are indicated in the file list). There is also one oversized exhibition record for "Jean Donald" from the Royal Drawing Society, which lists her awards obtained in 1921-1922, and 1924. A final line dated 1926 has been added in pencil.

Flora Alfreda Hamilton Burns papers

Flora Alfreda Hamilton Burns (1891-1983) was a freelance writer based in Victoria. This collection contains her research notes and correspondence and also material relating to her family. Her maternal grandfather, W.J. Macdonald, arrived in Victoria to work for the Hudson's Bay Company in 1851. He later became the mayor of Victoria, a member of the legislative assembly and finally a senator. Her father, Gavin Hamilton Burns, was the manager of the Bank of British North America in Victoria between 1889-1901. Her mother, Mrs. Gavin (nee Flora Alexandrina Macdonald) Burns, was a close friend of Sophie Pemberton (Beanlands/Dean Drummond). Emily Carr was a friend of both Flora Hamilton Burns and her mother. There are letters in this collection from the artist Sophie Pemberton to Flora Alexandrina Burns during her travels to California (1902), Europe (1902-1904) and later, her residence in England. The close friendship between the two results in a very informative correspondence. The letters from Emily Carr are equally interesting, revealing details of the artist's life and travels (1924-1943). The collection also includes a letter from Edith Carr to Mrs. Flora Burns (1891) and a letter from Lizzie Carr to Miss Flora Hamilton Burns (1924). Flora Hamilton Burns published a number of articles on Emily Carr and participated in exhibitions and other projects to commemorate the artist. Notes and drafts for the articles and other projects are in this collection. Boxes 3 and 4 of the collection contain material relating to Flora's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Gavin Burns. Their correspondence provides a glimpse of life in Victoria in the 1890s. Mr. Gavin Burns' notes on the history of the Bank of British North America are also included. Earlier accessions of Miss Burns papers include Add. MSS. 317 and MS-2663.

Sound recordings and interviews

The series consists of oral history interviews and reminiscences about Emily Carr and other Victoria area artists, recorded by Edythe Hembroff-Schleicher.

Hembroff-Schleicher, Edythe May, 1906-1994

Records relating to Emily Carr

The series consists of material accumulated by William Bowie who was the Director for the Emily Carr Arts Centre in Victoria, British Columbia. There are 4 black and white photographs, 3 of which are of Emily Carr, and one dating from 1901. The other photo is of a friend, Mrs. Redden. There is a memorial service program from 1980 for Richard Nicholles (Emily Carr's nephew). There is also a book titled Emily Carr: Her Paintings and Sketches that is signed "To Alice with love from Ira", dated 1945. The series also includes a souvenir program titled Canadian Premiere of Klee Wyck: The Emily Carr Film dated 1947, and assorted brochures.

Correspondence outward to Lawren Harris

The series consists of Emily Carr’s personal correspondence outward, primarily addressed to Lawren Harris. Other letters are addressed to Edna Parnell, Bess (assumed to be Bess Larkin Housser Harris, wife of Lawren Harris), and his trustors.

The records that are dated by Carr date between 1941-1944. Several records are not dated, but are assumed to have been written during the same time period. The majority of the letters are written from 218 St. Andrews Street, which served as Carr’s studio between 1940-1945.

Six newspaper clippings cover a plaque created to honour Emily Carr in 1955.

Newcombe family papers

Correspondence, notebooks, subject files, accounts, annotated books, etc., of C.F. Newcombe and his son W.A. Newcombe, reflecting their interest in the ethnology, natural history and history of British Columbia. Newcombe family papers. The G.T. Emmons collection, consisting of correspondence, notes and manuscripts, mainly on the Tlingit Indians. Maynard family papers, consisting of diaries and papers of Richard and Hannah Maynard, Victoria photographers, and their son Albert. Papers of Emily Carr, and re her estate, of which W.A. Newcombe was an executor.

Volumes 21 to 30 were arranged by the BC Archives in 1975.

Volumes 31 to 59 were arranged by the Royal BC Museum, ca. 1970. BC Archives volume and file numbers have been added to the these volumes.

Volumes 239/240 were Found In Collection in the Archives in 2022 and added to the collection.

  • An asterisk beside a file number indicates that the file contains letters to or from both C.F. Newcombe and W.A. Newcombe.

Table of Contents: Box/file

Table of Contents: Microfilm reels

Detailed box and file list

Books given to Flora Burns by Emily and Alice Carr

This unit consists of 7 printed books and one bank note.
Two of the books were presents from Emily Carr to Flora Hamilton Burns, and the other five were given to Burns by Alice Carr in 1947. The only book with annotations other than the inscription is book number seven, which does contain some underlining.
The bank note was countersigned by Flora Hamilton Burn's father, Gavin H. Burns, who was the manager of the Bank of British North America in Victoria 1889-1901.

Letters from Ira Dilworth

The series consists of letters to Emily Carr, from Ira Dilworth, written between 1944 and 1945 and kept by Carr in a CBC envelope marked "IRA'S LLTTERS [sic]". There is also a letter from Charles Comfort [?] dated 1937 and one from Katherine Joly or Daly [?] dated 1945.

The series also includes two essays or chapters written by Emily Carr: White Currants and Time. These are typed, undated copies that eventually formed part of "The Book of Small".

Emily Carr papers

Emily Carr (1871-1945) was a British Columbia artist and writer. The Emily Carr papers in MS-2763 (sometimes known as the Parnall collection) consist of approximately half of the papers and books which Emily Carr bequeathed to Ira Dilworth, her helpmate and literary executor. When Dilworth died in 1962 Emily's papers were divided between his two nieces and adopted daughters, Mrs. Edna Parnall and Mrs. Phylis Inglis. The Inglis collection (MS-2181) is also held by the BC Archives. The two collections are complementary, containing correspondence from the same people over the same period of time.

The Parnall collection includes diaries, notebooks, correspondence, a scrapbook and a collection of books and pamphlets. The diaries, notebooks and correspondence are a rich source of detail regarding Emily's life and travels. The correspondence dates from 1890 to 1945, the bulk having been received between 1941 and 1944. The inward correspondence series includes letters from fellow artists Lawren Harris, J.W. G. Macdonald and A.Y. Jackson, her publisher, Oxford University Press, and Mr. Ira Dilworth. There are also letters from family, fans, and birthday congratulations from many Victoria organizations. The majority of the books relate to the study of art, writing and poetry. Most of books contain annotations, providing interesting insights into her thoughts. There are sketches and photographs in some of the books, as noted in this finding aid. With the exception of one book in Box 7 - How to see modern pictures - the books and pamphlets have not been microfilmed.

Letters from or about Emily Carr

The series consists of three letters written to Patricia Keir (and one to "Peggy") between 1941 and 1945. The letters are as follows:
Emily Carr at 218 St. Andrews St., Victoria to Pat, probably written around January 1941.
Emily Carr at 218 St. Andrews St., Victoria to Peggy, dated March 26, 1942.
"Millie" Carr at Mayfair Nursing Home, 1037 Richardson St., Victoria to Pat, dated January 14, 1943.
"Flinkers" (probably Flora Hamilton Burns) at Victoria to Pat, dated May 18th 1945, letter re Emily Carr and her works.
The series also contains an undated clipped newspaper article about Emily Carr.

Blank Ontario Drawing Book No. 1

One sketchbook PDP08791 originally containing PDP08792 through PDP08820 containing still lifes, geometric studies, coastal and forest, landscapes, monumental poles and canoes.

Correspondence

Letters from Emily Carr (46 letters); also 2 letters from Emily Carr to Fred Brand. The typed transcript and the notes attached to them are by Edythe Hembroff-Schleicher.

Hembroff-Schleicher, Edythe May, 1906-1994

Blank Ontario Drawing Book No. 1.

One sketchbook with 32 drawings by Emily Carr and 6 blank pages. The drawings are all untitled and have no dates applied. They have been dated by Carr scholars as between 1930 to 1939. The sketches include brief unfinished graphite impressions, stylistic landscapes and forest interiors and some First Nations subject matter. At times the pages hold more than one sketch.

Books

The series consists of three published books given to or acquired by Emily Carr in 1904, 1905 and ca. 1933.
The Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson vol. III: note on flyleaf in Emily Carr's handwriting reads M. Emily Carr from M.O.R.P. Scotland July 14, 1904.
The Poetical Works of Goethe: note on flyleaf in Alice Carr's handwriting reads Emily Carr from A.M.C. Dec. 13th, 1905.
French's Catalogue of Plays, 1933: notes in unknown hand on flyleaf (cover missing).

Sketchbook

One sketchbook with 9 pages of drawings both watercolour and graphite. All are untitled so titles are based on subject matter. Originally the sketchbook would have held many more pages. The back cover is not extant.

Indian Designs from Boas

One sketchbook with 30 drawings by Emily Carr. The drawings are of First Nations designs and landscapes including Alert Bay dating from 1930 to 1939. The drawings are copied from illustrations in Franz Boas, Primitive Art, published in Oslo, Norway, 1927. Carr copied them as a means of familiarizing herself with the forms and artistic conventions of First Nations monumental art of the Northwest Coast of British Columbia. Information matching each sketch to a page in Primitive Art was provided by Carr scholar Dr Gerta Moray and is filed in the documentation file for PDP05647.

Books & odments

One sketchbook with 29 pages of drawings by Emily Carr. The drawings are of First Nations subject matter and landscapes.

Sketchbook

One sketchbook with 34 drawings by Emily Carr. The drawings are in the main abstract forest and tree designs and dating from 1930 to 1939.

Nootka

One sketchbook with 43 drawings by Emily Carr. The drawings appear to have been created on her 1929 trip up the west coast of Vancouver Island to Nootka Sound and another in 1930 to Quatsino Sound. They include sketches of landscapes, settlements, beaches, and stylized interpretations of forests and trees, along with a handful of copies she made of First Nations designs on the Captain Jack pole at Yuquot. Several pages have notations about colour, geographical locations or descriptions of scenery.

Kitwancool

One sketchbook containing 54 pages of drawings or sketches by Emily Carr. The drawings and watercolour sketches principally relate to her 1928 trip to the Gitxsan villages of Gitanyow (Kitwancool), Gitwangak (Kitwanga), Kispiox and other locales in the vicinity and include images of totem poles, villages and landscapes, her renditions of First Nations design motifs.

Blank Ontario Drawing Book No. 1. Ottawa sketchbook.

One sketchbook comprising 38 sketches made while on a trip to Ottawa in 1927 when she met members of the Group of Seven. Drawings are of objects on display in the collection of the National Museum, particularly those with Northwest Coast aboriginal designs that Carr copied for reference. Carr's notes regarding colours and design aspects are also present on the drawing pages.

Blank Ontario Drawing Book No. 1. Ottawa 3658

One sketchbook comprising 26 sketches made while on a trip to Ottawa in 1927 when she met members of the Group of Seven. Drawings are of objects on display in the collection of the National Museum, particularly those with Northwest Coast Indigenous designs that Carr copied for reference. Carr's notes regarding colours and design aspects are also present on the drawing pages.

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