William James Topley (13 February 1845 – 16 November 1930) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

photographer A photographer (the Greek language, Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographe ...

based in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. He was the best known of Ottawa’s nineteenth-century photographers and the most socially prominent one. Topley was noted for his portraiture of Canadian politicians and was a business partner of

William Notman William Notman (8 March 1826 – 25 November 1891) was a Scottish-Canadian photographer and businessman. The Notman House in Montreal was his home from 1876 until his death in 1891, and it has since been named after him. Biography Notman ...

, having taken over Notman's Ottawa studio in 1872. A large number of photographs by Topley are now in the collection of

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

, including approximately 150,000 glass plates negatives and a set of 66 index albums covering the entire history of his Ottawa studios from 1868 until 1923.

Early life

William James Topley was born in 1845 in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Canada East Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...

to John Topley, a saddler and harness maker, and Anna Delia Harrison. He was raised in

Aylmer Aylmer is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Edward Aylmer, Welsh MP * Edward Aylmer (cricketer), first-class cricketer and Royal Navy officer * Felix Aylmer, English stage actor * Sir Fenton Aylmer, 13th Baronet, British Arm ...

, a town outside of Ottawa in the modern-day province of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. His first exposure to photography was from his mother, who had purchased a camera in

in the late 1850s and brought it back with her to Aylmer. By 1863, Topley was working in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

as an itinerant photographer specializing in

tintypes ''Tintypes'' is a musical revue conceived by Mary Kyte with Mel Marvin and Gary Pearle. Description With its time frame set between the turn of the 20th century and the onset of World War I, this chamber piece with a cast of five provides a mus ...

. That same year, he moved to Montreal with his family following the death of his father.

Career

In 1864, Topley was employed as an apprentice to William Notman in Montreal. In 1868, the year following

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...

, Topley was placed in charge of a new portrait studio opened by Notman (his first outside of Montreal) on Wellington Street in Ottawa. The studio occupied a purpose-built structure across from the new Parliament buildings, and would specialize in portrait photography. Topley became the proprietor of this studio in 1872, which attracted over 2,300 sitters each year. By 1875, Topley had ended his business relationship with Notman and opened a studio of his own in Ottawa at the corner of Metcalfe Street and Queen Street. This studio was designed by the architect King McCord Arnoldi in the

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

style and also served as a residence for Topley, however financial difficulties would see his studio moved to several locations throughout Ottawa until 1888 when it was permanently established at 132

Sparks Street Sparks Street (''French:'' Rue Sparks) is a pedestrian mall in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was a main street in Ottawa that was converted into an outdoor pedestrian street in 1967, making it the earliest such street or mall in Canada.

. An innovation that Topley learned from William Notman was the

composite photograph Compositing is the process or technique of combining visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene. Live-action shooting for compositing is variously ca ...

. In 1876, Topley created one to commemorate the costume ball thrown by Governor General

Lord Dufferin Frederick Temple Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, 1st Marquess of Dufferin and Ava (21 June 182612 February 1902) was a British public servant and prominent member of Victorian society. In his youth he was a popular figure in the court of Queen Vict ...

and his wife in February of that year—the first of several such balls thrown over the next two decades. By combining many separate photographs of individual participants within a single, large-scale frame, Topley captured the scale of the event along with the details of each person’s costume. By the late 1870s, Topley had become the official photographer to

John Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll John George Edward Henry Douglas Sutherland Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll, (6 August 1845 – 2 May 1914), usually better known by the courtesy title Marquess of Lorne, by which he was known between 1847 and 1900, was a British nobleman who wa ...

during his time as

Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...

. This position attracted the attention of many politicians and other prominent figures who visited his studio to have their portraits taken. Over the span of his career, Topley photographed every prime minister of Canada from

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...

. Furthermore, his studio also attracted the wives and daughters of nobility, political and business figures including Princess Louise, Lady Aberdeen and

Laura Borden Laura Borden, Lady Borden (née Bond; November 26, 1861 – September 7, 1940) was the wife of Robert Borden, Sir Robert Laird Borden who was the eighth Prime Minister of Canada. She was born in Halifax (former city), Nova Scotia, Halifax, Nova ...

. Topley admittedly catered to the well-to-do crowd, once writing that "If I can see beauty in the human face, and reproduce it, I can command three times the reward for my work than he who simply shoots a plate at his patron. True, in a small city, such a course limits trade, but one-half of the business with three times the prices is much better for mind and body and pocketbook." Nonetheless, Topley is also known for his photographs of immigrants arriving at

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

commissioned by the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

in the early twentieth century. In 1907, Topley's son William DeCourcy took over his studio. By this time, business had declined significantly and the studio was closed in July 1926. Throughout his long career as a photographer in Ottawa, Topley was involved with a variety of evangelical and philanthropic organizations. He was a member of the Ottawa Bible Society and served as president of the

Young Men’s Christian Association YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

in Ottawa in 1871 and 1881. Topley was also a founding member of the Camera Club of Ottawa (established in 1894), a Sunday school superintendent at the Dominion Methodist Church in Ottawa, and was involved in the Metropolitan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Following the closure of his studio, Topley spent much time with his daughter Helena in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

. He died at

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

in 1930. The village of Topley in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

is named in his honour.

Gallery

File:Toboggan Party.jpg, "The Toboggan Party" from the personal album of Lady Dufferin, c.1872-75 File:John Alexander MacDonald by Topley.jpg,

Sir John Alexander Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

, first prime minister of Canada taken in 1883 File:Lord Stanley of Preston.jpg,

Lord Stanley of Preston Frederick Arthur Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, (15 January 1841 – 14 June 1908) styled as Hon. Frederick Stanley from 1844 to 1886 and as The Lord Stanley of Preston between 1886 and 1893, was a Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party po ...

, sixth Governor General of Canada photographed in 1889 File:John Thompson.jpg, Sir John Sparrow David Thompson, fourth prime minister of Canada taken in 1891 File:Kamiokisihkwew.jpg, Cree war chief

Fine-Day Fine Day or Kamiokisihkwew (Miyo-Kîsikaw) (c. 1856 – c. 1942) was a Cree war chief of the River People band of Plains Cree. He participated in the North-West Rebellion of 1885. During the Battle of Cut Knife, he acted as the Battle Chief, t ...

photographed by Topley in 1896 File:Charles Tupper photographic portrait.jpg,

Sir Charles Tupper Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, (July 2, 1821 – October 30, 1915) was a Canadian Father of Confederation who served as the sixth prime minister of Canada from May 1 to July 8, 1896. As the premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led ...

, sixth prime minister of Canada taken in 1896 File:Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee on Parliamant Hill.jpg, Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee on Parliamant Hill, 1897 File:Princess Louise Caroline Alberta (Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll).jpg,

Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll Princess Louise, Duchess of Argyll, (Louisa Caroline Alberta; 18 March 1848 – 3 December 1939) was the sixth child and fourth daughter of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. In her public life, she was a strong proponent of the arts and highe ...

photographed in 1903 File:The Honourable Sir Wilfrid Laurier Photo A (HS85-10-16871) cropped.jpg,

Sir Wilfrid Laurier Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier, ( ; ; November 20, 1841 – February 17, 1919) was a Canadian lawyer, statesman, and politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minist ...

, seventh prime minister of Canada taken in 1906 File:Immigrants from Grand Trunk Railway ferry group, Québec, Quebec Immigrants ayant emprunté les traversiers de la Compagnie de chemin de fer du Grand Tronc, Québec (Québec) (50653090626).jpg, Photograph of immigrants arriving at Quebec done for the

, 1910 File:King1910.jpg, William Lyon Mackenzie King, wearing court dress as

Minister of Labour Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

, taken in 1910 File:German immigrants, Quebec City, Canada, 1911.jpg, German immigrants, Quebec City, Canada, 1911 File:Eva Ault.jpg, Female ice hockey player Eva Ault photographed in 1917

References

External links

* *
William Topley: Exposure on Ottawa
(39 minute podcast) at Library and Archives of Canada
Camera Club of Ottawa, 75 Years of Photography
published 1970
Topley Studi fonds (R629)
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Topley, William James 1845 births 1931 deaths Canadian photographers Artists from Montreal