TABLE OF CONTENTS
Alfred Harold Howard fonds:
Finding Aid
Collection Summary |
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| Title: | Alfred Harold Howard fonds. | |
| Dates: | – 1882-1904, 1956-1957, 1963 | |
| Quantity: | – 1 letter book : 30 x 23 cm and 1 scrapbook: 33.5 x 22 cm | |
Biographical Sketch
Alfred Harold Howard was a British-born graphic artist, calligrapher, and decorative designer. He was born on July 12, 1854 in Liverpool, England, where he apprenticed as a lithographer with the firm Maclure, MacDonald and MacGregor. In 1876, after marrying Isabella Harriet Eunice Cannell (b. 1850, Cheshire, England), Howard immigrated to Canada and opened a graphic design office in downtown Toronto. Howard specialized in illuminated addresses but produced a variety of other graphic design work as well, including illustrations for books and magazines, bookplates, and exhibition invitations. Among his bookplate designs was one James Bain, the first librarian at the Toronto Public Library (ca. 1905) and one for the National Gallery of Canada (1913). In 1881 Howard was awarded the Marquis de Lorne's Medal for Design, and two years later he became a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. In 1900 Howard exhibited with the Ontario Society of Artists at their Applied Art Exhibition, and in 1905 his work was displayed at the Canadian Society of Applied Art. He was also a member of the Toronto Arts Students' League, and the Arts and Letters Club of Toronto. A.H. Howard died in Toronto on February 17, 1916.
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Scope and Content
Fonds consists of one letter book with entries dating from October 1881 to April 1904 and one scrapbook containing 33 pages of designs and sketches produced by Howard from 1891 to 1903. The letter book contains copies of letters from Howard to family and friends, and provides observations on daily life, including travels. Designs contained in the scrapbook are mainly by Howard and include illuminated presentation addresses, certificates, bookplates, designs of book covers, heraldic designs and insignia, decorative borders, and letterheads for numerous Toronto businesses. Also included are invitations to Royal Canadian Academy of Arts exhibitions in Ottawa from 1892, 1894, and 1900, and invitations to the Toronto Art Students' League 1893 and 1894 exhibitions. Most of the designs are pasted onto the pages of the journal, with some loose designs, including a souvenir program attributed to Howard for the Toronto Home Comers Festival Song from July 1903 and the November 3, 1893 edition of The Week (Toronto), featuring an advertisement for Howard's graphic design firm in Toronto. The scrapbook also contains seven sketches in pencil, including a large design for Dayton Bicycles from 1898; three small sketches of crests and floral bouquets; a book cover design for a family recipe book; and a small sketch of a ship.
Source of title: Title based on contents of fonds.
Physical description: The front cover of the letter book is detached from the binding. A few of the items contained in the scrapbook are loose.
Arrangement: Letters in the letter book written before December 1892 are entered randomly. In a note written in the book Howard writes: "The following epistles are not arranged chronologically having been copied at odd times many years after they were written. . . ." With one exception, letters written after 1892 are entered chronologically.
Immediate source of aquisition: The collection was donated to the National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives by the Toronto-based art historian and curator Robert Stacey, 2010.
Terms governing use and reproduction: Permission to reproduce or publish material from the Alfred Harold Howard fonds must be obtained from the National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives.
Finding aids: Box list available.
Related material: The collection of the National Gallery of Canada includes numerous watercolours and designs by A.H. Howard, including his Royal Canadian Academy of Arts diploma work, Some Original Initials (c. 1890). The bookplate collection of the National Gallery of Canada Library and Archives includes several original bookplates by Howard.
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Index Terms |
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| Names: | ||
| Howard, Alfred Harold, 1854-1916 | ||
| Organizations: | ||
| Royal Canadian Academy of Arts | ||
| Toronto Art Students' League | ||
| Document Types: | ||
| Drawings. | ||
| Ephemera. | ||
| Scrapbooks. | ||
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Administrative Information
Processing Information
Collection processed and finding aid prepared by Kira Brown and Philip Dombowsky in 2011.
Preferred Citation
[Title of item], Alfred Harold Howard 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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Box List
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| Box 1 | File 1 | Letter book | |||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| Box 2 | File 1 | Scrapbook | |||||||||||
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