Old Photographs of Canada From the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

The photographs from the Notman Photographics Archives are a priceless testimony to the history of Canada in the 19th and 20th centuries, from its people to its landscapes...

William Notman (1826-1891), his sons, and the photographic studio he founded in Montreal, documented Canadian life and her people from 1856 to 1936. The Notman studio, among others, was commissioned by William Van Horne (general manager of the CPR) to record the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and to show Canadians the wonders of the western scenery and the majestic Rocky Mountain ranges, with a view to encouraging immigration to the West.

A quiet nook, Victoria Park, Truro, NS, probably 1915

Lighthouse at Matane, QC, 1915

C.P.R. Mount Stephen House, Field, BC, 1909

Banff Springs Hotel, AB, 1904

Yonge Street looking north, Toronto, ON, about 1890

Asulkan Glacier, Glacier Park, BC, painted photograph, 1890

Esquimault Dry Dock near Victoria, BC, 1887

Douglas pine tree, Vancouver, BC, 1887

City Hall and Volunteer Monument, Winnipeg, MB, 1887

Bank of Montreal, Regina, SK, 1884

Lumber piles, Ottawa, ON, 1872

Tranquille Mills, Kamloops Lake, BC, 1871

Shipping, St. John harbour, NB, 1870

Railway over suspension bridge, Niagara, ON, 1869

Suspension bridge, Niagara, ON, 1869

Aboriginal people portaging goods, Slave River, NT, about 1900

Breakneck Steps, Quebec City, QC, about 1870

Main Street, Dawson, YT, 1899

Hudson Bay Co's Transport loaded with fur, Fort Smith, Slave River, NT, about 1900

S. S. Wringley at the junction of the MacKenzie and Liard Rivers, Hudson Bay Co., NT, 1901 ()

Tents on the prairie, west of the settlement, Red River, MB, 1858

Street scene in Whitehorse, YT, 1901

Collision between two engines, Bay of Quinte Railway, ON, 1892

Dawson City and the Klondike River, YT, about 1898

Whitehorse, In, 1901

View from Signal Hill, St. John's, NL, about 1900

The Great Glacier, Selkirk Mountains, BC, about 1890

Aboriginal family near Prince Albert, SK, 1919

Massawippi Falls & mill, Eastern Townships, QC, about 1865

Horseshoe Falls from above, Niagara, ON, 1869

Rideau Falls, Ottawa, ON, 1869

St. John, looking towards Carlton, NB, 1870

Chaudière Falls, Ottawa, ON, 1870

Lumbermen's camp on the Nashwaak River, NB, 1871

H.D. Reid's automobile at Cabot Tower, Signal Hill, St. John's, NL, 1908

Montreal Garrison at Regina with Chief Piapot and five other chiefs, SK, about 1885

Revillon Freres post servants at Kangiqsujuaq (Wakeham Bay), QC, 1909

Aboriginal encampment near Calgary, AB, about 1925

Drying codfish, St. Johns, NF, about 1900

House of Parliament, Ottawa, ON, about 1878

Indian Head Station, Indian Head, SK, 1884

Major Bell's farm house, Indian Head, SK, 1884

Flour mill and elevator, Portage La Prairie, MB, 1884

Harbour, Sault St. Marie, ON, 1884

C.P.R. station, Winnipeg, MB, 1884

Main Street, Winnipeg, MB, 1887

Steam threshing, Portage La Prairie, MB, 1887

Wheat stacks and wagon load of grain, Portage La Prairie, MB, 1887

Kamloops on the C.P.R., BC, 1887

Aboriginals dugout canoes, New Westminster, BC, 1887

Calgary from Elbow River, AB, 1889

Yonge Street, Toronto, ON, about 1890

Percé Rock, QC, 1898 ()

Great cedar tree, Stanley Park, Vancouver, BC, 1897

Victoria from cathedral tower, BC, 1897

Harbour, St. John, NB, about 1898

Bake oven, Murray Bay, QC, 1898

Sydney, Cape Breton, NS, 1901

Vancouver from Fairview, BC, 1904

Halifax from Citadel, NS, 1901

Alma, Lake St. John, QC, about 1903

Upper Bonnington Falls near Nelson, BC, 1903

Field and Mount Stephen, BC, 1904

Percé, QC, about 1900

Lover's Lane, Wilmot Park, Fredericton, NB, 1905 ()

Quebec City from Parliament Buildings, QC, 1908

At Point Pleasant Park, Halifax, NS, about 1908

Haying at Pictou, NS, about 1908

Portugal Cove, NL, 1908

St. John's, NL, 1908

Cape Charles, Labrador, NL, 1908

Birchy Cove, Bay of Islands, Labrador, NL, 1908

Drying fish, Burgeo, NL, 1908

Lake Louise, Banff, AB, 1909

Illecillewaet Glacier, Glacier Park, BC, 1909

Charlottetown from Southport, PE, 1910

Fishing boats, Souris, PE, 1910

Chéticamp harbour, Cape Breton, NS, about 1914

Kingston, ON, about 1910

Schooners, Glace Bay harbour, Cape Breton, NS, about 1914

Manoir Richelieu, Pointe-au-Pic, QC, about 1915

Barrington Street, Halifax, NS, about 1915

Rustico Beach, PE, 1916 ()

Lake Ainslie, Cape Breton, NS, about 1914

Lac Baker, near Edmunston, NB, 1916 ()

Edmunston, showing St. John River, NB, 1916 ()

Amos, Quebec, QC, 1916 ()

Reid's Wharf, Summerside, PE, 1915 ()

Mill pond on the Breadalbane Stream near Hunter River, PE, 1915 ()

Harvesting at Selkirk, PE, 1915 ()

Ship at foot of King Street, St. John, NB, 1915 ()

Calling the ferry, St. John River, NB, 1915 ()

Boys fishing in the harbour, Georgetown, PE, 1915 ()

Lethbridge from hotel, AB, 1904

Cutting grain on the Prairies, AB, about 1920

Grain elevators and train, Claresholm, AB, 1918

View of the harbour, Montreal, QC, 1884

Wheat near Standard, AB, about 1920

Winnipeg, MB, 1887

Murray Village, QC, about 1895

(via McCord Museum )