Albert Laberge fonds: Finding Aid

Albert Laberge, noted author and journalist, was born on February 18, 1871 in Beauharnois, Quebec, the son of Pierre Laberge and Marie-Joséphine Boursier. He was educated at the Académie Saint-Clément in Beauharnois and later attended the Collège Sainte-Marie in Montréal. After completing his studies in 1892, Laberge worked for the Montreal law firm, Maréchal and Mackay. Four years later, in 1896, he began writing for La Presse, first as a sports writer and later as an art critic (beginning in 1907). He remained with La Presse until 1932. Laberge was deeply interested in literature and helped found the École littéraire de Montréal in 1895. He became a permanent member of this group in 1909. Laberge's most famous literary work was the novel La Scouine, published between 1903 and 1918. He later published five books of short stories, including Images de la vie et de la mort (1936); La Fin du voyage (1942); Le Destin des hommes (1950); Fin de roman (1951); and Le Dernier Souper (1953). As an art critic for La Presse, Laberge reviewed the annual spring exhibitions at the Art Association of Montreal, as well as other major exhibitions held in Montreal. In 1938 he privately published Peintres et ecrivains : d'hier et d'aujourd'hui, which included chapters on artists Albert Laliberté (1878-1953); Charles DeBelle (1873-1939); Henri Beau (1863-1949); Maurice Cullen (1866-1934); Arthur Dominique Rosaire (1879-1922); Marguerite Lemieux (1899-1971); Jobson Paradis (1871-1926); Albéric Bourgeois (1876-1962); Maurice Lebel (1898-1963); Hal Ross Perrigard (1891-1960); Ulric Lamarche (1867-1921); Robert J. Wickenden (1861-1931); Onésime-Aimé Léger (1881-1924); Joseph Charlebois (1872-1935); and Charles Gill (1871-1918). Albert Laberge died on April 4, 1960 in Chateauguay, Quebec.

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Scope and Content

Fonds consists of items related to Laberge's literary and artistic activities. Material in the fonds related to Laberge's career as an art critic mainly consists of signed photographs from artists and photographs of artworks. Most of the artworks depicted were included in exhibitions held in Montreal during Laberge's time as art critic for La Presse.

Source of supplied title proper: Title based on contents of fonds.

Immediate source of acquisition: Donated to the National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives by Victor Isganatitis in 2008.

Language: Text is mainly in French. Some items are in English.

Finding aids: Series level descriptions and box list available.

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Organization of the Collection
	This collection is organized into 3 series.

		Series 1 - Miscellaneous Literary Material, 1903-ca. 1925.
		Series 2 - Photographs, ca. 1908-ca. 1938.
		Series 3 - Christmas Cards, ca. 1925.

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Index Terms

	Names:
		Hébert, Louis-Philippe, 1850-1917
		Laberge, Albert, 1871-1960
		Laliberté, Alfred, 1878-1953
	Document Types:
		Ephemera.
		Photographs.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

[Title of item], Albert Laberge fonds, National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives.

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Contact Information

Reference Services
Library and Archives
National Gallery of Canada
380 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1N 9N4

T 613-714-6000 ext. 6323

[email protected]

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Series Level Descriptions



Miscellaneous Literary Material. – 1903-ca. 1925. – 8 cm of textual records.
	Series includes items related to Rodolphe Girard's Marie Calumet, including several illustrations from the first edition published in 1904. Most of these are signed on the verso: "A mon ami Laberge Rodolphe Girard Epreuve de 'Marie Calumet' 13 janvier 1904." Also included are photographic illustrations from Louis Hémon's Maria Chapdelaine, a novel first published in 1913; portrait illustrations of Louis Cyr by Albéric Bourgeois, Zo d'Axa (Alphonse Gallaud de la Pérouse) by Ulric Lamarche, and Rodolphe Girard by Joseph St-Charles (1868-1956); advertising cards for the printer J. Eugène Gaudin; two published poems by James Ferres; and a small format edition of The Ballad of Reading Gaol and Other Poems by Oscar Wilde.
	Source of supplied title proper: Title based on contents of series.
	Language: Text in French and English.
	Finding aids: Box list available.

See Box List for this Series

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Photographs. – ca. 1908-ca. 1938. – 79 photographs : b&w.
	Series includes signed photographs from Louis-Philippe Hébert (1850-1917), Alfred Laliberté, and Marguerite de Montigny Lafontaine (1890-1982), including a photograph of Alfred Laliberté in his studio in 1930, with an inscription on front reading, "Souvenir a l'ami A. Laberge, A. Laliberté" (this photograph was reproduced in Laberge's Peintures et ecrivains, d'hier et d'aujourd'hui, Montreal, 1938); two photographs of sculptures by Laliberté, including Muses, which is now in the collection of the Musée du Québec, Québec; a photograph of one of Louis-Philippe Hébert's bronze sculptures for the Edward VII monument in Montreal's Phillips Square; and a photograph of a portrait bust of Rodolph Plamondon by Marguerite de Montigny Lafontaine. There are in addition three photographs of works by Onésime-Aimé Léger, including the watercolour Ximénes and the sculpture La mère et l'enfant. The series also includes photographs of artworks by Canadian artists including Henri Beau; William Brymner (1855-1925); Florence Carlyle (1864-1923); Emily Coonan (1885-1971); Marc-Aurèle de Foy Suzor-Côté (1869-1937); Georges-Henri Duquet (1887-1967), Joseph-Charles Franchère (1866-1921); Charles Gill; Charles Huot (1855-1930); Jobson Paradis; George Horne Russell (1861-1933); and by European artists such as Jean-Joseph Benjamin Constant (1845-1902); Johannes Bosboom (1817-1891); Henri Caro-Delvaille (1876-1926); and Raoul du Gardier (1871-1940). Many of the works depicted were exhibited at the Art Association of Montreal's annual spring exhibitions or in special exhibitions such as the Exposition d'art français held at the Art Association of Montreal in 1909. It is likely that the photographs accompanied reviews and articles written by Laberge. There are also a few miscellaneous photographs in the series, including one of Anatole France on his eightieth birthday, one of Anna Pavlova, and two of Lake Louise, Alberta.
	Source of supplied title proper: Title based on contents of series.
	Physical condition: Most of the photographs are glued on paper and may have been part of a notebook or scrapbook. A few of the photographs have small tears or abrasions.
	Finding aids: Box list available.

See Box List for this Series

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Christmas Cards. – ca. 1925. – 2 cm of textual records.
	Series consists of eleven Christmas and other cards sent to Albert Laberge by friends and associates. Included are several original cards created by artists Octave Bélanger (1886-1972); Paul Caron (1874-1941); Henri Hébert (1884-1950); and Albert H. Robinson (1881-1956). Other cards in the series are from Joseph Melançon, a fellow member of the École littéraire de Montréal, and James Ferres.
	Source of supplied title proper: Title based on contents of series.
	Finding aids: Box list available.

See Box List for this Series

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Box List

Series 1 - Miscellaneous Literary Material

Box

Folder

Box 1

File 1

Rodolph Girard miscellaneous

File 2

Illustrations from Marie Calumet

File 3

Photographic illustrations from Maria Chapdelaine

File 4

J. Eugène Gaudin advertising cards

File 5

Miscellaneous portrait illustrations (Louis Cyr, Zo d'Axa, and Rodolph Girard)

File 6

Illustrations from Le Jour de l'an (La Presse)

File 7

James Ferres published poems

File 8

Oscar Wilde, The Ballad of Reading Gaol and Other Poems

File 9

Miscellaneous illustrations

File10

Miscellaneous texts

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Series 2 - Photographs

Box

Folder

Box 1

File 11

Signed photographs from Louis-Philippe Hébert, Alfred Laliberté and Marguerite de Montigny Lafontaine *note: file contains 5 b&w photographs

File12

Onésime-Aimé Léger *note: file contains 3 b&w photographs

File13

Miscellaneous artworks *note: file contains 61 b&w photographs

File14

Miscellaneous photographs *note: file contains 10 b&w photographs

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Series 3 - Christmas Cards

Box

Folder

Box 1

File 15

Miscellaneous Christmas cards

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