Late last week, the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick added to its website 1,405 digitized photos by photographer Ole Larsen.
The photos in the Ole Larsen fonds cover the years 1889 to 1924 and were taken primarily in Northumberland and Gloucester Counties.
Although Larsen’s work reflects visits to Bathurst, Caraquet, and Tracadie, most of his photographs are of Newcastle and area, notably Chatham, Blackville, Doaktown, Millerton, Whitney, and Quarryville.
Included among the images are photos of square-rigged sailing vessels, steamboats, steamships, ferries, picnics, parades, official openings, sulky races, quarries, gristmills, sawmills, lumber yards, logging operations, banks, stores, restaurants, hotels, hospitals, bridges, train stations, schools, convents, churches, private residences, and construction sites. The collection also contains numerous individual portraits, as well as group photos of families, school children, boy scouts, cadets, hunting parties, workers, bands, organizations, and military regiments.
Left to right on the porch: Mrs. Sam Russell, Felicia Thomas, Miss Elizabeth McIntosh (from Bushville), Lizzie McLachlan (standing by post), Lydia Thomas (seated), Thomas and Anne Clarke. Clarke children in front of porch left to right: Arthur (in the pram/carriage), Edith, Percy, and Gertrude. Thomas A. Clarke operated Thomas Clarke & Co., a dry goods and clothing store in Newcastle.
Mrs. Thomas and her daughter, Felicia, were Quakers from Philadelphia. Photo by Ole Larsen.
Source: Ole Larsen fonds, P6\319, Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.
Larsen is perhaps best known for his logging scenes. The fonds includes photos of lumberjacks felling timber, log drivers breaking jams, teams hauling logs, and lumber camps, many taken during Larsen’s visits to Ernest Hutchinson’s Miramichi lumbering operations.
Larsen (born Olaf Larsen) was the son of Laerz and Ann Larsen. He was born in Norway in 1849. In about 1869, he emigrated to the Miramichi region of New Brunswick, finally settling in Newcastle no later than 1881.
Before launching his career as a professional photographer, Larsen worked at several occupations. In the early 1880s, he was employed as a fireman in Newcastle and later tended bar at the local Waverley Hotel. By 1889 he had opened a photography studio above George Stables’ Grocery Store fronting the Public Square, probably working in photography on a part-time basis until about 1894.
Source: Ole Larsen fonds, P6\115, Provincial Archives of New Brunswick.
To browse the online photos in the Ole Larsen collection, select Ole Larsen fonds (P6) in the drop-down Collections menu on the provincial archives’ website. To search this collection, enter a key word, such as School or Newcastle, and select the Larsen fonds in the Collections menu.
Here’s a helpful note about associated material on the website: “Researchers interested in photographs of the Miramichi should consult P18 J.Y. Mersereau Photographs, P34 Dr. Ferdinand Pedolin Photographs, P125 St. Michael’s Museum Collection, and P226 Park Family Collection.
“Researchers interested in photographs of the Acadian Peninsula, Bathurst, and other communities in Gloucester County should consult P38 Eudist Fathers Photographs, P146 Fidele Theriault Collection, P380 Northern Light Photographs, P20 Nicholas Denys Historical Society Photographs, P48 Arthur Gallien Collection, P149 Evelyn Eardley Collection, and P442 Angus E. Branch Collection.”
