Fonds F0891 - Byron Harmon fonds

Byron Harmon, 1876-1942, was born in Tacoma, Washington, USA, and operated a photo studio there. In 1903 he moved to Banff, Alberta, and began selling a line of his mountain photos printed on postcards. In 1906 he opened a studio, and by 1910 he had expanded and had a curio shop, soda fountain and a theatre. He was a charter member of the Alpine Club of Canada and was its official photographer from 1906-1913. At one point he was also official photographer with the Dominion Land Survey from Banff to Mount Robson. In the 1910s and 1920s he took many major expeditions into the mountains by packhorse, taking many photos and motion pictures for commercial sale. In his later years he travelled and took photos around the world. He and his wife Pearl had three children, Aileen, 1912-2015, Lloyd, 1914-2000, and Don, 1917-1997. For further information see Great Days in the Rockies : The Photographs of Byron Harmon, 1906-1934 / edited by Carole Harmon and the Peter Whyte Foundation. - Toronto : Oxford University Press, 1978; and Byron Harmon, Mountain Photographer / edited by Carole Harmon. -- Banff, Alberta : Altitude, 1992.