THE NATIONAL-ARCHIVES-OF-CANADA COLLECTION

The first recorded acquisition of photographs by the National Archives of Canada occurred in 1897, but it was not until 1906, when the second Dominion Archivist, Arthur Doughty, was authorized to expend money on acquiring paintings, drawings, prints and other visual documents of historical interest, that systematic acquisition of all these media began and the separate Picture Division was established. The Archives began in 1872 as a branch within the Department of Agriculture with a mandate to collect documents of national significance. Government documents were the responsibility of the Keeper of the Records under the Department of the Secretary of State until 1903 when the two branches were merged. Then, in 1912, an Act of Parliament established the Public Archives of Canada with a mandate to collect official records and historical documents; in 1987, the name was changed to the National Archives of Canada. The uniquely Canadian ‘total archives’ approach combines the traditional concept of an archives as a public records office with the function of historical societies and special libraries as repositories for historical material from private sector sources. The National Archives' collection of photographs, now approaching 20 million, is the nation's largest collection and represents virtually every aspect of Canadian photography. It is a vital resource documenting many facets of Canadian society and history from the 1840s to the present day (figure 1). © 1996 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.