In addition to an estimated 13,000 prints and negatives, the Hammond fonds at the Archives of Ontario includes correspondence relating to his research and writing about Canadian history, literature and art, as well as correspondence with many Canadian writers and artists including Duncan Campbell Scott, Sir Charles G.D. Roberts, Lucy Maud Montgomery and Robert Service.

Hammond kept detailed research notes and clippings relating to many of his projects. These notes, along with manuscripts and typescripts of his published and unpublished work, including an unpublished history of the Toronto Globe, have survived and can be found in the Hammond fonds.

His daily activities were recorded in a series of diaries he maintained, with a few gaps in the early years, from 1890 until the day he died in 1934. These 61 volumes contain his observations about current events, his family, friends and professional colleagues as well as interesting details and commentaries about his photo excursions and subjects. Fortunately for us, he meticulously indexed each volume indicating highlights for the period covered by each.

Hammond also kept a series of notebooks he titled “Interesting data about everything” which includes information such as a list of the books he read between 1895 and 1915, quotes that interested him, and a list of wedding presents he received.

M. O. Hammond, Self-portrait, [ca. 1910] (detail)
Black and White Photograph
Reference Code: F 1075
Archives of Ontario, I0016581

The Archives acquired the Hammond fonds in four separate donations.

• Hammond’s travel albums, diaries, correspondence , research notes and manuscript material were donated by his daughter-in-law Mary Hammond in 1969.
• A collection of Hammond’s Canadian Artists Portraits was received from the Ontario Legislative Library in 1984.
• The bulk of the photographic prints and negatives were donated by Cleeve Horne in 1973.
• In 2003, a further donation of additional prints and negatives and correspondence was made by Cleeve Horne’s wife, Jean Horne.

Among the 5,000 prints and negatives donated by Jean Horne in 2003 are prints and negatives that complement our existing collection, but also many that have never been seen before. Of note are approximately 1000 glass plate negatives believed to be some of Hammond’s earliest work, approximately 40 large format prints, likely printed by Hammond as Salon submissions, and two autochromes (see below) from Hammond’s personal collection, neither of which were taken by him.

Also included in the 2003 donation is Hammond’s correspondence with the artist Horatio Walker and poets Isabel McKay and Bliss Carman, and additional correspondence from Lucy Maud Montgomery and Duncan Campbell Scott.

Hammond was fascinated with new processes, particularly one of the early 20th century innovations, the early colour process known as the autochrome.

Autochrome
M. O. Hammond Collection
Reference Code: F 1075
Archives of Ontario, I0016580

Autochrome
M. O. Hammond Collection
Reference Code: F 1075
Archives of Ontario, I0016579

Sources:

• The M. O. Hammond fonds F 1075
• The following images were copied from original negatives which are in the Toronto Arts and Letters Club Archives:
  • Professor Hambourg and Eva Galloway (I0014493)
  • Thunder Cloud at the Toronto Arts and Letters Club (I0014538, I0014540, and I0014542)

Permission from the Arts and Letters Club is required to use these images.