Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- [ca. 1850-1860]. (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
2 boxes (79 slides)
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Gilbert Prout Girdwood was a medical doctor, chemist, and a professor of Chemistry at McGill University in Montreal. Girdwood was born in England and after coming to Canada with the military, decided to settle in Montreal in 1864. He was an expert in the detection of forgeries in criminal cases, and developed the magnesium flare as a lighting source for photography. He was also one of the first to use stereoscopic x-ray photography in the identification of foreign objects, and an expert at the stereoscopic microscopy of crystals. He was also a leader in the introduction of practical chemistry to university instruction.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Gift of F.W. Moore, 1978.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Collection consists of 79 stereoscopic and panorama glass negatives taken by Girdwood and by commercial photographers, one of whom was possibly American photographer James Thomson. Fifteen of the slides depict scenes in and around Niagara Falls and are mounted with descriptions. Other locations depicted include Montreal and Ottawa, however, in many cases there is no information about either the photographer or location. Some of the negatives have been split into two pictures as each side contained a different image, and some of the negatives have only one image as they were taken as panoramas instead of stereo images.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Material may be requested in person at the Fisher Library Reference Desk, or in advance using our online stack retrieval request form: https://aeon.library.utoronto.ca
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
View online on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasfisherlibrary/sets/72157628042164413/with/6359856633/