Fonds 1373 - Herb Nott Photography fonds

789 black and white photonegatives, mostly measuring 3"x4" or 4"x5"

This accession consists of virtually all of the photonegatives taken by Herb Nott Photography for the University of Toronto over a period of four decades. The images date from 1948 to 1981; bulk dates are from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Presumeably, the University received prints from the negatives when the photographic orders were completed, although these prints have not been located in Archives holdings. The negatives remained in the Nott company until it was bought out by Eric Trussler Photography, which in turn donated them to the University Archives in 1990.

This accession consists of approximately 789 black and white photonegatives, mostly measuring 3"x4" or 4"x5". Having been commissioned by the University, the images are mainly documentary, serving as a visual record for the University of campus people, places and events. Within this 'official' record are a variety of subjects, including:
-awards
-buildings
-buildings and grounds
-ceremonies
-conferences and seminars
-convocations
-exhibitions
-people (including students, faculty, visitors to campus, etc.)
-student activities

These negatives were arranged and listed chronologically at Herb Nott Photography. Each photographic order was assigned a numeric code consisting of the last two digits of the current year, followed by a second number. For 1948 and 1949, the negatives were numbered consecutively each year, so that each negative had a different code number, even negatives from the same job order. For example, negatives 48-1175 and 48-1176 belong to the same job order. From 1950 on, each job order was assigned a single number and the negatives were numbered from one to infinity within this job number. For instance, one job order was assigned negatives numbered 51-179-1, 51-179-2, 51-179-3, etc.

At the time an order was done, an entry consisting of the date, job order number, and a short description or title was typed on a card labelled "University of Toronto". A new card was made for each year. The cards thus serve as a title access to the job order groups of negatives, as well as a chronological listing. The cards were sent to the Archives along with the negatives.

The preliminary finding aid for the collection consists of a photocopy of these cards, with corrections indicated on the copy in cases where negatives were missing or incorrectly numbered.

The negatives have been kept in their original chronological order. They arrived at the Archives in glassine enclosures, with all the negatives per job placed in one enclosure. The enclosures are labelled with the job order number. Each negative has been transferred individually to an archival enclosure.

Box list

B1990-0039/001: 48-1175 to 58-2737-6
B1990-0039/002: 58-2768-1 to 62-582-5
B1990-0039/003: 62-807-1 to 81-1256-8

Open

-Added to AtoM by Karen Suurtamm, October 2016