Work Archives | Villa Les Rochers: Summer Residence of Sir John A. and Lady Agnes Macdonald

Lumbermen Around Timber Slide

Five lumbermen working at a timber slide take a break for a moment to pose for a photographer while their supervisor, behind them, looks on. Photo undated.

Sir John A. Macdonald

Studio photo of an aging Sir John A. Macdonald, c. 1885-1889, detail. Always fashionable in his dress and authoritarian in his posture, Macdonald’s expression in this portrait reflects […]

The Last Spike

In this most iconic of Canadian historical photographs, the Hon. Donald A. Smith is seen driving the commemorative last spike to complete the Canadian Pacific Railway, on the […]

Timber Slide, Ottawa c. 1880

A frequent sight on the canal, and not far from the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, was that of timber slides going over the Chaudière Falls, c. 1880-1900.

Lord Dufferin

Lord Dufferin, nearing the end of his six-year tenure as Governor General, was photographed in Ottawa by William James Topley in 1878.

Sir Charles Tupper, 1870

Sir Charles Tupper was at one time, the doctor of Sir John A. Macdonald. Later he became one of his cabinet ministers. Here he was in April 1870, […]

Watercolour by James Peachy

Watercolour by British/Canadian artist James Peachy, from 1785, depicting some of the native peoples of Quebec.

Sir John A. Macdonald Speaks From Aboard Train, 1886

Transcript of Sir John A. Macdonald’s words spoken from aboard train, 1886, read by Nick Olcott: [Nick Olcott] “I am surprised that the building of the railway has […]

Mary Macdonald 1893

Mary Macdonald, daughter of Sir John A. Macdonald, 1893. She is in mourning following the death of her father in 1891. Photographed in Ottawa by William James Topley.

Sir John Alexander Macdonald, 1872

Sir John A. Macdonald photographed in 1872, by William Topley. One year later, Macdonald would resign as Prime Minister in the aftermath of the Pacific Scandal. […]