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Call Number: Mss 54, Pc 72
Title: Arnold O. Brigden fonds.
Dates: 1906-1972.
Extent: 0.13 m of textual records and other material.
Biographical sketch: Arnold Brigden was born
in England in 1886. His father was a Methodist minister. Bridgen
came to Canada in 1903 to live in Toronto with his uncle, Frederick
Brigden, who taught him the craft of wood-engraving and the emerging
craft of photo-engraving. In 1908 he returned to England briefly,
and in 1910 came to New York to work for Gills, a large graphic
arts firm. He remained there until 1914 when he was persuaded to
move to Winnipeg by his family to take over the Winnipeg branch
of the family business, Brigden's Limited, a Toronto-based printing
firm. He managed Brigden's from 1914 until his retirement in 1956.
Under his management, Brigden's of Winnipeg became a successful
centre for graphic arts in western Canada. Brigden was an active
supporter of the Winnipeg Art Gallery and the Winnipeg School of
Art.
Custodial history: The fonds was donated to University
of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections by Helen Coy in 1982.
Scope and content: The fonds consists of letters
from Brigden's family in England and Toronto. Most of the letters
were written during the Edwardian era and during the First World
War. Two written records were produced by Brigden himself. One is
a brief postcard (c.1956) and the other is his travel diary Holiday
Jaunts, which gives daily descriptions of holiday activities
at Bear River, Nova Scotia, in 1906; Port Sydney, Muskoka in 1907;
and Felkstone, England where Brigden visited his sister, Kathleen,
for a weekend in 1909. This collection also contains thirteen dry
pale negatives taken in 1908, eleven glass slides of flowers and
the Canadian Rockies, and 42 black and white photographs taken in
1936 of Wisley Gardens and of the funeral of King George V.
Restrictions: There are no restrictions on this
material.
Accruals: No further accruals to this fonds are
expected.
Finding aid: A printed finding aid is available
in the Archives reading room and an on-line finding aid is available
at the link below:
MSS
54, PC 72.
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