Collection search - James Houston fonds [multiple media]

Record information – Brief
1
James Houston fonds [multiple media]

Hierarchical level:

Fonds

Date:

1965-1998.

Reference:

R11751-0-3-E, LMS-0148

Type of material:

Art, Textual material, Photographs, Maps and cartographic material, Sound recordings

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

3671841

Context of this record:

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James Houston fonds
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Record information – Details
Fonds includes:

1 lower level description(s)
View lower level description(s)

Date(s):

1965-1998.

Place of creation:

No place, unknown, or undetermined

Extent:

20 m of graphic material and textual records.

Language of material:

English

Added language of material:

English, French, German, Italian

Scope and content:

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Fonds is composed of the manuscripts, paintings, and illustrations of Houston's novels: "Tikta'liktak", "Eagle Mask", "The White Archer", "Akavak", "The White Dawn", "Wolf Run", "Songs of the Dream People", "Ghost Paddle", "Kiviok's Magic Journey", "Ghost Fox", "Frozen Fire", "River Runners", "Long Claws", "Black Diamonds", "Eagle Song", "Ice Swords", "Falcon Bow", and "Spirit Wrestler". Fonds also contains correspondence, articles, lectures, book reviews, profiles and manuscript material or illustrations for works by other authors, photographs, maps, an audio cassette and tape, and computer discs.

Provenance:

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Houston, James, 1921-2005

Biography/Administrative history:

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Houston, James, 1921-2005 : Author, illustrator, sculptor and filmmaker, James Houston was born in Toronto, Ontario in 1921. He received his artistic training at the Ontario College of Art (1938-1940), École Grande Chaumière in Paris (1947-1948) and in Japan (1958-1959) where he studied printmaking with Unichi Hiratsuka. He first travelled to Ungava in the Arctic in 1948 and settled on Baffin Island in 1951, where he lived among the Inuit for 12 years. Houston became the region's first civil administrator in 1953, a position he held for nine years. His appreciation of Inuit creativity led him to initiate the idea of marketing their sculpture and he established the West Baffin Eskimo Co-operative. He also introduced the Inuit to printmaking, a technique he learned in Japan. As a result, he is considered the prime force in the development of Inuit art and printmaking. In 1962, Houston moved to New York and became Associate Director of Design with Steuben Glass. A chance meeting with Margaret K. McElderry (editor of children's books for Harcourt) led to the writing and illustrating of his first book "Tikta'liktak: An Eskimo Legend" (1965).

Best known as a writer of juvenile fiction, he is, more than any other Canadian writer, responsible for bringing the life of Canada's First Peoples to the rest of the country through his fiction. He has won the Book of the Year Award of the Canadian Association of Children's Librarians three times for "Tikta'Liktat" (1966), "The White Archer" (1968), and "River Runners" (1980). His "Whiteout" received the Max and Greta Ebel Memorial Award for Children's Writing in 1989. Apart from writing and illustrating more than 20 children's books, novels, and other works dealing with the Arctic, Inuit or Native life and/or art, he has created documentaries and screenplays for feature films, resulting in numerous international film awards. Houston was made an officer of the Order of Canada for his work as an administrator, artist and writer.

Finding aid:

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Graphic material; textual records (some electronic); cartographic material; sound recording (Paper) Finding aids available for both accessions. Consult archivist. (90: Open)

Additional information:

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Note on the state of conservation:

Accession 1988-08 : Boxes 36, 81, 89-93 : Material in these boxes have been treated for mould. These papers have been wrapped in plastic with the following disclaimer : "This item has been treated for mould. Please wash hands after handling."

Accession 2001-08 : Box 1 : Material within this box contains mould.

Exhibitions note:

Exhibition Title: James Houston: part of "Open Doors Toronto" Curator: Jane Schmidt. Museum of Inuit Art, Toronto, Ontario; 2009.05.23 - 2009.07.05 (1.LMS-0148 - R11751 - 1988-08 - file 2 - volume 7 - pages 7 and 8 - 2. LMS-0148 - 2001-08 - box 11 - #8 Loaded Dogsled - 3. LMS-0148 - 2001-08 - box 11 - # 11 Kayak on Rock - 4. LMS-0148 - 2001-08 - box 11 - # 17 Summer Tent - 5. LMS-0148 - 2001-08 - box 11 - # 35 Inuksuks - 6. LMS-0148 - 1988-08 - box 58 - file 1 - 2nd letter - 1968/69 - 7. LMS-0148 - 1988-08 - box 53 - page 10 and 11 - Tikta'Liktak book reviews - 8. LMS-0148 - 1988-08 - box 20 - From Screen Play: The White Dawn - page 112 - file 1 - 9. LMS-0148 - 1988-08 - box 20 - Photo - 2 Inuit - file7)

Restrictions on access note:

None specified, does not contain personal material (illustrations, manuscript, publishing correspondence). Open to consultation.

Container note(s):

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1 : 2001-08
2 : 2001-08
3 : 2001-08
4 : 2001-08
5 : 2001-08
6 : 2001-08
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35 : 2001-08
1 : 1988-08
2 : 1988-08
3 : 1988-08
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89 : 1988-08
90 : 1988-08
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92 : 1988-08
93 : 1988-08
Subject heading:

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Children Literature Archives

Littérature de jeunesse Archives
Source:

Private

Former archival reference no.:

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LMS-0148

Other accession no.:

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1988-08 LMS
2001-08 LMS
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

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Graphic (art)

[Consultation90 Open]

Textual records

[Consultation90 Open]

LMS container [LMS-0148 2001-08] 1--35

[Consultation 90 Open]

LMS container [LMS-0148 1988-08] 1--93

[Consultation 90 Open]

Graphic (photo)

[Consultation90 Open]

Cartographic material

[Consultation90 Open]

Sound recordings

[Consultation90 Open]

Textual records: electronic

[Consultation90 Open]

Terms of use:

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Copyright varies. The recipient of copies is responsible for determining whether material is subject to copyright and whether use of it does or does not constitute an infringement of copyright under the Copyright Act. Credit Library and Archives Canada.

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Date modified:: 2024-04-09