Collection

DRUMMOND PHOTO INC. Photo Negatives = DRUMMOND JACQUOT INC.

Description Level

Fonds

Physical Description

Env. 223000 photographs. - Env. 3 metres of textual records.

Scope and Content

An estimated 223,000 (8.6 metres) of negatives black and white and colour, 1960-1991, also 2 log books and 1 file of alphabetical log cards. The Jewish community organization negative subjects include AJCS (Allied Jewish Community Services) and CJA (Combined Jewish Appeal); Zionist organizations such as JNF (Jewish National Fund), ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation through Training), and the annual Negev Dinner; the Jewish General Hospital and the Hope and Cope Foundation of the hospital, Orthodox groups such as Chabad (Lubavitch organization), Mizrachi, and Emunah Women; Jewish day schools such as JPPS (Jewish People's and Peretz Schools), Hebrew Academy, Herzliah High School and the Ecole Sépharade; foundations such as Canadian Friends of Ben Gurion University and Claridge, as well as synagogues and Jewish businesses. The negatives depict both events and portraits of associated individuals. Negatives of individuals and families include individual and family portraits, "sweet sixteens" and anniversaries, weddings and Bar Mitzvahs, as well as some Bat Mitzvahs, and brits (circumcisions). Of particular interest in these negatives of family events are shots depicting the interiors of Montreal synagogues as well as aspects of Jewish ritual.Value to Researchers: The study of material culture and modern rituals has increased in recent years. The Canadian Jewish Congress Archives continually receives requests from researchers for photos showing "typical Canadian Jewish life." The Drummond Photo Collection depicts Jewish life from the early 1960s until 1991 with its traditions, rituals and religious practices. Included are men with kippot (skull caps) dancing at weddings, the bride being veiled, signing the marriage contract, Bar Mitzvah boys in synagogue with prayer shawls and siddurs (prayer book), portraits of Jewish community workers, and exteriors and interiors of synagogues. Typical photos include street scenes, the former AJCS building, women in interesting hats and formal dress, rabbis and cantors officiating at various functions, testimonial dinners, political figures, and the role of young adults in the community. These photos are invaluable to filmmakers, authors, journalists, professors, teachers, students and persons working for Jewish community organizations. The collection has historical value not only to the Jewish community but also to the community at- large in its depiction of events and activities unique to the city of Montreal. Given their lack of cultural or historical significance, most of the individual portrait, anniversary, graduation, and identity photo negatives were discarded during the cataloguing process.While negatives can be difficult to view clearly, a technique using the reverse polarity function of the Archives Department scanner allows researchers to view selected negatives as positive images on a computer screen

Date

1960-1991.

Fonds No.

I0018

History / Biographical

Wedding photo by Drummond Photo Inc. Drummond Photo was founded in 1947. The company was pioneered by Sylvia and Syd Feldman in a studio at the Drummond Building, 1117 Ste. Catherine Street, in downtown Montreal. The location of the studio provided the company name. Two years later, the Feldmans shifted down the street to 1419 Drummond, and in 1951, they moved uptown to 5194 Cote des Neiges Road. Their nephew Ruby Shulman joined Drummond Photo in 1956, as they moved once again, to Van Horne Avenue. In 1991 Ruby Shulman merged Drummond Photo with photographer Jacquôt of Photo Jacquôt to form Drummond Jacquôt Inc. The company moved to 305 Decarie North in 1992, and to Dorval on Nov. 1, 1997. Over the years, Drummond Photo has been known throughout the Montreal Jewish community as a company specializing in depicting Jewish life-cycle events (such as weddings and Bar Mitzvahs), and for taking photographs commissioned by Jewish community agencies. In 1967 the company was chosen by the NFB (National Film Board) as the subject of a short film on various Canadian professions. In 1978 AJCS (Allied Jewish Community Services) presented the company with an award "in acknowledgement and recognition of 30 years of service to the AJCS and its predecessor organizations."

Custodial History

In preparation for a move on Nov. 1, 1997, Drummond Jaquot Inc. donated all its existing old photo negatives, as well as the right to reproduce them, to Canadian Jewish Congress National Archives. Negatives older than 1960 were not available, as they had been damaged in a flood in the 1980s and subsequently discarded

Notes

P97/12, PC 16.Finding Aid to the Drummond Photo Collection, Caruso, Katz, et al., Dec. 1999.Drummond Jacquot continues to operate in Montreal and retains all post-1991 negatives.As a general rule, negatives of a non-ritual, personal nature such as passport and graduation photos were discarded.

Archival / Genealogical

Archival Descriptions

Repository

Canadian Jewish Archives

Less detail