Photographs
Iron Ore Company fonds
The I.O.C. (Iron Ore Company) photography fonds is also known as the John A. Rodriguez fonds, named after the photographer who took the many pictures it comprises. It totals 1665 pictures, split into 443 photographs and 1216 negatives.
John A. Rodriguez joined the ranks of the Iron Ore Company as soon as it was founded in Sept-Îles en 1951. His photographs, mostly in black and white, illustrate both the Company’s infrastructure construction and related activities in Sept-Îles, Schefferville and Labrador City (railways, factories, mines, dams, docks, boats, etc.) as well as the use of that infrastructure to extract, process and ship iron ore from New Quebec to foreign markets.
Many pictures also depict activities of daily life (work, leisure, sport, etc.) of the people living in these different areas or neighbouring towns such as Clarke City or Moisie. Yet other photographs depict special events that have had an impact on these communities: visits by dignitaries (including Queen Elizabeth II in 1959), severe weather events, accidents, popular celebrations, etc. Some photographs taken prior to the IOC’s operations complement this fonds.
Eudist congregation fonds
The Eudists collection comprises 244 photos and stereograms depicting life in the villages of the Côte-Nord in general and in the communities of Baie-Comeau, Havre-Saint-Pierre and Anticosti in particular. Eight films (16 mm format) feature Chutes-aux-Outardes, Rivière-aux-Outardes, Baie-Comeau and Rivière-au-Tonnerre, as well as Bishop Leventoux on a mission in Havre-Saint-Pierre and the inception of Saint-Louis College. Most of these films were shot by Father Courtois during the first half of the twentieth century.
Pauline Laurin fonds
Between 1947 and 1960, Pauline Laurin, the first nurse to work with Innu communities in Minganie and Basse-Côte-Nord, then the director of nurses at the Service de santé des Indiens, shared the daily life of these communities as they visited the coast during the summer. It was during the course of her work that Pauline Laurin put together what is now a key ethnographic document. The artistic quality and excellent state of conservation of this unique collection of pictures add to its undeniable interest.
This fonds comprises 143 pictures, split into 47 photographs and 96 slides.
Ronald Rowberry fonds
Mr. Ronald Rowberry, born in Manitoba, worked for the Hudson’s Bay Company for 39 years (from 1949 to 1988). He was sent to the cities of Sept-Îles, Schefferville, Gagnon and Baie-Comeau from 1953 to 1968. From his time on the Côte-Nord, he brought back a series of slides and photographs depicting the stores where he worked, the houses and neighbourhoods where he lived with his wife Colette, their pastimes, and the infrastructure of these fast-growing mining and logging cities.
In concrete terms, this fonds comprises 27 boxes containing a total of 799 slides, split across the following topics and locations: 7 boxes about the region of Schefferville; 6 boxes about the region of Gagnon; 2 boxes about the region of Baie-Comeau; 5 boxes about the region of Sept-Îles; 3 boxes labelled “North Shore”; 2 boxes about the region of Manicouagan; 1 box labelled “MacKinan”; 1 box labelled “Man and his World”; 1 album of a trip on the Côte-Nord, containing 123 photos and 12 postcards.