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Description
Item · 1991
Part of Prairie Ephemera Collection

Poster soliciting submissions for the 1991 Medicine Hat Print Show. Provides entry details. Background image is a reproduction of the lithograph “Outback” by Alexandra Haeseker, from the 1987 Medicine Hat Print Show, depicting a dog tied to a fence.

Без названия
Item · 1939
Part of Prairie Ephemera Collection

The album documents the 1939 visit of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth to Canada and the United States. Approximately 100 of the images were taken during the Alberta portion of the tour, including pictures of events in Calgary, Banff, Bassano, Edmonton, Medicine Hat, and Lethbridge. The remaining images capture the Royal Couple in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and the United States.

Item · 1916-1919
Part of Prairie Ephemera Collection

Although several captions list the individual pictured as "self" or "myself," the creator of the album does not appear to be explicitly identified. Nonetheless, several pieces of ephemera in the album - including passes and a voucher for a railway ticket - refer to a S.W. Kerley. One item carrying Mr. Kerley's name is accompanied by the caption "My last ration book in Blighty." Internal references suggest that the soldier served with the 31st Battalion, Alberta Regiment, and a S.W. Kerley is included in the nominal roll. For more information on the Regiment, please see its entry in the Canadian Great War Project Web site (available online at http://www.canadiangreatwarproject.com/Regimental/31stBattalion.asp [accessed on 10 December 2018]).

The album documents the experiences of an Alberta soldier during World War I from recruitment to his return from Europe. The majority of photographs capture Mr. Kerley and his fellow soldiers in a variety of settings from training in Alberta to the battlefields of Europe. The album contains portraits of soldiers taken in Calgary, Medicine Hat, Edmonton, Bramshott, England, as well as in Germany and Belgium. Many of the soldiers are identified at least by surname and, in some cases, more fully. There are also images of major Canadian battlefields such as Arras-Cambrai Road, Ypres, Passchendaele, and Vimy Ridge.

The 31st Battalion did not return to Canada until May of 1919, remaining in Germany to serve as part of the occupying forces. The album also documents this phase of the war, containing four photographs dated January 1919 with the accompanying captions "Outpost duty in Germany." Several pieces of ephemera also appear to be from Mr. Kerley's service during the occupation. These include the address of a German family, laundry lists, and a theatre programme from Namur, Belgium, dated 4 March 1919.

As with the photographs and postcards, the printed ephemera document many aspects of Mr. Kerley's military service. The album contains materials from the ship voyages to and from Europe, including menus, a concert programme, and a card listing berth and mess information. There is also a card from the Canadian Pacific Railway for soldiers travelling in Canada following repatriation.

Mr. Kerley also collected a number of miscellaneous souvenirs from his time in Europe, including currency and an identity card used by French and Belgian workers during the German occupation. Documents specifically related to his military service - such as a menu from a 1917 Christmas dinner, a programme from the Canadian Corps Championship (a multi-sport athletic competition held on 1 July 1918), and German and Canadian field-letter cards - are also present.

In a few cases, captions indicate the provenance of individual items, some of which appear to have been taken as souvenirs of combat. Several photographs are listed as having been found on battlefields. For example, three photographs are accompanied by these captions:
• “German N.C.O.’s found on an N.C.O. during the Amiens Drive, Aug.-1918”
• “’A German Fraulein’ found on a Hun soldier found at Neuville Vitasse”
• “Found this photo laying beside this soldier’s body after our capture of Rosiers on the Somme – 1918 Aug.”

Без названия
Item · 1910
Part of Prairie Ephemera Collection

A photograph album created by an unknown person, documenting the 1910 train trip completed by Sir Wilfrid Laurier, as Prime Minister, across western Canada. In July and August, Sir Laurier traveled on a special Grand Trunk Pacific train from Fort William, ON to Prince Rupert, B.C. and back, returning to Ottawa September 7, 1910. He was accompanied by numerous colleagues, including his private secretary, E. J. Lemaire; Minister of Railways and Canals, George Perry Graham, M.P.; Edward Mortimer Macdonald, M.P.; and Frederick Forsythe Pardee, M.P.

The B&W photographs are captioned in white on the black paper pages of the album. The photographs are only roughly in chronological order. The owner of the album titled the first page, "The Grand Trunk Pacific Trip." The acronym "G.T.P." is used for Grand Trunk Pacific railway throughout the album. Minister Graham is identified in the photographs by the acronym "G.P.G."

Photographs include:

  • Various photographs of the group chatting and milling around the train, occasionally posing for the photographer. Several of these photographs also show the train's crew.

  • A large welcome sign on the bridge in Fort William, ON.

  • Two photographs of the August 5th train wreck between the Laurier special train and a freight train on the C.P.R. track east of Moose Jaw between Belle Plaine and Pense. The train car is torn apart like a toy. No one in the prime minister's party was seriously injured.

  • One photograph of a man in a buggy, captioned "Joe" Clarke. This appears to be the future mayor of Edmonton.

  • Captioned photographs of the welcome received at Inverness [?], Winnipeg [MB], Melfort [SK], Selkirk [MB], Yorkton [SK], Medicine Hat [AB], Calgary [AB], Wetaskiwin [AB], Rosthern [SK], Banff [AB], Golden [B.C.], Prince Rupert [B.C.], and Victoria [B.C.].

  • Photograph of the "Welcome to our Premier" arch made of oats in Yorkton, SK.

  • Several photographs of Indigenous people.

  • Two photographs of "Buffalo at Banff," including a calf.

  • Several beautiful photographs of the Rocky Mountains.

  • Several photographs taken from the deck of a ship off the coast of Prince Rupert, B.C.

Item · 1962
Part of Prairie Ephemera Collection

Cover features illustration of a magician producing from his hat multiple items grown or produced in Medicine Hat, Alberta, illustrating the printed tagline “There’s magic in the ‘hat.’” Contents include the history and location of Medicine Hat as well as infrastructure details, community details and tourism information. The back features positive commentary of the town by famous figures. Compiled by the Medicine Hat Chamber of Commerce.