Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1908-1940 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
739 photographs. -- 115 lantern slides. -- 1 cm of textual records
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
William Roland Reader, 1875-1943, was born in London, England, and lived in a number of different places in England before moving to Calgary, Alberta in 1908. He operated a landscape gardening business until 1913 when he was appointed superintendent of the Calgary Parks Department. During his term in the Parks Department the parks system more than doubled in size. He was a co-founder and president of the Calgary Horticultural Society and co-founder of the Calgary Zoological Society. He became an internationally-known horticulturalist and travelled extensively on lecture tours. He was a fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society. He was active in the Alpine Club of Canada. He retired in 1942. William and his wife, Rose, ?-1959, had two children, Harry and Doris (Peacock), ?-1995. The Reader Rock Garden in Calgary was named after him.
Repository
Archival history
The lantern slides were given to Sydney Vallance by W.R. Reader. Vallance's daughter, Jean Gill, donated them to Glenbow.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Gifts of Harry Reader, Mrs. R.E. Stewart, and Jean Gill, 1966-1981, and Calgary Public Library, 2017.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The fonds consists of photographs and slides of Calgary, Alpine Club activities, Calgary parks and cemeteries, mountains, Horticultural Society activities, and the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Connaught. Includes chart of Calgary precipitation and temperatures (1915-1940); plans by Reader for gardens at the EP Ranch (1923); and postcard of the interior of Pro-Cathedral decorated for Christmas (1926).
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
No restrictions on access.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
The material is in English.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
No finding aid
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Digital content is available: https://digitalcollections.ucalgary.ca/Package/2R3BF1S3HPOGL
Related units of description
Publication note
Reader's unpublished book,"The Herbaceous Perennial Garden", is available in the Glenbow Library, the Calgary Public Library, and the Brooks Experimental Station Library.
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of records.
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Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Thursday, June 07, 2018