Gilbert Clarke Killam fonds
https://search.bvmuseum.org/link/descriptions6136
- Date Range
- 1913-1917
- Collection
- Gilbert Clarke Killam fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- GMD
- graphic material
- Scope and Content
- Fonds contains photographs of Smithers during the first four years of its existence as a settlement (1913-1917), taken by Gilbert Clarke Killam. Subjects include people, buildings, street and town views, landscapes/scenery, industry, and special events (plays, concerts, the Fall Fair, etc.)
- Collection
- Gilbert Clarke Killam fonds
- Description Level
- Fonds
- GMD
- graphic material
- Creator
- Gilbert Clarke Killam
- Fonds No.
- PF26
- Accession No.
- 1979.7
- 1980.9
- 1980.16
- 1980.26
- 1981.1
- 1981.8
- 1981.10
- 1981.13
- 1981.36
- 1981.37
- 1982.1
- 1982.10
- 1982.19
- 1982.29
- 1982.30
- 1984.7
- 1985.17
- 1986.4
- 1987.1
- 1987.12
- 1987.14
- 1987.31
- 1988.19
- 1989.28
- 1990.32
- 1990.72
- 1990.210
- 1990.212
- 1992.9
- 1992.33
- 1992.34
- 1995.6
- 2004.60
- 2004.61
- 2004.62
- 2017.43
- 2018.2
- 2018.71
- 2019.22
- Physical Description
- 276 b&w photographs
- Date Range
- 1913-1917
- History / Biographical
- Gilbert Clarke Killam was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, on March 6, 1863 to John Killam and Lucy Anne Harris. He married Jennie Mary Sanderson (born in St. Petersberg, Prince Edward Island) in 1891 and together they had three sons: Arthur Sanderson, Gilbert Wallace, and Thomas Harold. The family lived in Pasadena, California for a number of years. Killam listed his trade as “architect.” In 1898, the Killam family moved to Dawson City, Yukon, where Gilbert worked as a Customs Agent while continuing to do some architectural work. From the Yukon, the Killams moved to Vancouver, BC, in 1911 and then to Smithers, BC, when it was first founded in 1913. Killam was active in the Smithers community affairs and served as treasurer of the Smithers Citizens’ Association. He also drafted plans in 1914 for a two-storey building on Main Street for the Gray Jewelry Co., and a home for R.G. Barnett on Second Avenue. Killam lived in Smithers from 1913 to 1917, photographing Smithers in its infancy. Killam used glass plate negatives, most commonly 5 x 7 and 8 x 10 inches in size, printing “Killam” or “G.C.K” on the negative to indicate authorship. In 1917, Killam enlisted in the Canadian Army while his wife, Jennie, remained in Seattle, Washington. He served in the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force. Killam was demobilized in 1921, and not much is known about Killam after this time. He appears in the 1921 census in Victoria, BC, without his family, and by 1935, Killam was living in Palm Springs, California. Gilbert Clarke Killam passed away on October 27, 1945.
- Custodial History
- The original glass plate negatives “disappeared” for a number of years until 1954, when they were discovered in a building used as the post office. They were later given to Smithers' main photographer, Louis Schibli, who donated them to the museum in the 1980s. Various photos taken by Gilbert Clarke Killam were accessioned into the collection and added to this fonds over the years. In July 2020, all photos and albums in the database with Killam listed as the creator were transferred to this fonds. Most of these had previously been in the BVM visual records collection, although the souvenir photo albums (2004.61, containing photos P4534-P4569) had been part of the discrete items collection.
- Scope and Content
- Fonds contains photographs of Smithers during the first four years of its existence as a settlement (1913-1917), taken by Gilbert Clarke Killam. Subjects include people, buildings, street and town views, landscapes/scenery, industry, and special events (plays, concerts, the Fall Fair, etc.)
- Arrangement
- This fonds does not have a specific arrangement; photos are listed at item-level and ordered by their P numbers. The two photograph albums (2004.61 and 1992.34) have file-level descriptions, but all of their photos have been removed and listed as individual items.
- Geographic Access
- Smithers, B.C.
- Notes
- Note that there may still be unidentified Killam photos in the collection that have not yet been made part of this fonds (likely due to not having Killam listed as a creator on the database).
- Type of Record
- Archival Description