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A Gift Fit for a Prince : Notman’s Maple Box
Robert G. Wilson
A Third Portfolio?
A second published report appeared in London in June 1861, and described this set very differently. The Illustrated London News said that it contained about 600 photographs in three different portfolios, reporting:
It was a good notion of the Canadian Government to employ the celebrated photographer Notman, of Montreal, to prepare a series of photographs of all that is interesting in the Canadas and to present it to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales as a souvenir of his visit to the colony. Our illustration represents the case and one of the folios containing the photographs alluded to. It is made to contain three folios, and is a splendid specimen not only of Canadian maple, of which it is constructed, but also of colonial workmanship. The clasps, binding, and angle pieces are of silver, beautifully chased and ornamented. The interior is lined with green velvet. The folios, three in number, are equally beautiful as specimens of colonial skill and taste. Neatly mounted in them are about 600 photographs of all sizes, comprising views of all the great waterfalls, cities, public works, and remarkable places in the colony, as well as of events that occurred during the Prince's visit. The great lakes and the depth of the wilderness have also been photographed, to make the work complete. The whole reflects the highest credit on Mr. Notman, both for the taste and judgment shown in the selection, and the manipulative skill with which the pictures were executed.
The Illustrated London News also published an engraving, describing it as the “case … presented to the Prince.” The case and one folio shown in this engraving appear to be the same as those in the McCord Museum. To produce this engraving, the artist would have needed something to copy. The known stereoview was not likely used since it is so different from the engraving. However, since the same easel appears in both the Notman stereoview and the engraving, it is likely that another Notman photograph was copied to make the engraving; a photograph that would have been taken at the same time that Notman made the stereoview of the duplicate box. If this is the case, then the 1861 engraving is a copy of the duplicate set currently housed in the McCord Museum and not a copy of the set originally given to the Prince. This, however, is a mute point if the McCord Museum set is truly identical to that presented to the Prince.
So what did the set presented to the Prince of Wales actually look like? Since Notman described the image on his stereoview as a “duplicate”, and the description in the 1 October 1860 letter (written before the presentation was actually made) described the set with two portfolios, it is likely that the Prince was presented with a set identical to the one in the McCord Museum. So why was The Illustrated London News description so different? It is possible that the Prince was given a box with two portfolios containing the views of Canada which was identical to the set in the McCord Museum. In addition, he may have been presented a third portfolio containing the views of the events of his visit. A hint that this could be the case appears in one of William Notman's letters in which he refers to “the photographs of the Prince of Wales sent to Boston” (note this says photographs “of the Prince”, not “for the Prince”). The Prince visited Boston near the end of his stay in North America. This would explain the third portfolio and the increased number of photographs reported by The Illustrated London News, and their comment that the views showed “events that occurred during the Prince's visit”, but still does not explain their claim that the case was “made to contain three folios.” Perhaps they were wrong on this point. Likely the only way that we will know exactly what was given to the Prince is to wait until the original is located in the Royal storage.
It is also not known exactly when and where the presentation was made, since none of the contemporary newspaper accounts mention it even though they reported daily, and in great detail, about events that occurred during the trip. Notman's original intent would likely have been for the presentation to be made in Montreal. However, there was a misunderstanding which I will describe later, which likely delayed the presentation. On 12 September 1860, while the Prince was in London, Canada West (after he had left Montreal), Notman wrote that the case was packed in Montreal, addressed to Niagara and awaiting delivery instructions so it could be presented while the Prince was still in Canada. So it was likely given to the Prince near the end of his stay in Canada: in Niagara Falls (14-17 September), or in Hamilton (18-19 September). This would have allowed time for news of the presentation to reach England to meet the deadline for the 19 October issue of The London Photographic News. The Prince left Canada via Windsor and Detroit on 20 September to begin a month long trip through the northeast United States, staying in Boston on 17-19 October before returning to England from Portland, Maine on 20 October 1860.
