Lot Essay
In 1871, the Notman firm was hired to accompany the Geological Survey and Canadian Pacific Railway west on an expedition to photograph the prairies and the railway construction in the Rockies. The Canadian Pacific Railway relied greatly on photography for advertising and in 1884 they outfitted a train car with a darkroom for the Notmans to record the final phases of construction in the Kicking Horse Pass. In 1880, the firm became William Notman and Son as William Notman's eldest son, William McFarlane, was taken on as a partner and with his two younger brothers took to the task of photographing the western railroad expansion.