The arts and culture were a central aspect of the Haweis family (pronounced “Hoyse”) and their collection reflects that very prominently.
The fonds includes materials created, received, or collected by various members of the family including Lionel Haweis, his parents Reverend Hugh Reginald and Mary Eliza Haweis, sister Hugolin Haweis and brother Stephen Haweis, and other relatives, which are all arranged into sous-fonds. Hugh and Mary’s children were significantly influenced by the family’s enthusiasm for the arts: their son Stephen was an artist, and their daughter Hugolin became a noted writer and singer.
Let’s learn a bit more about some of the family members and check out some of their artworks!
Lionel Haweis (1870-1942) was born in Litchfield, England and ran a couple of photographic studios in Vancouver, B.C. (Image 1). He was a librarian at the University of British Columbia, and was known for his poetry, drama plays, and other artistic endeavors (Image 2). Lionel wrote one of the earliest attempts to translate Indigenous material into fashionable literature, Tsogalem: A Weird Tale of the The Cowichan Monster, published in Vancouver, 1918.
In 1907, after getting married to Lucy Haweis, Lionel and Lucy moved to Canada and opened a photography studio in New Westminster, B.C. They eventually moved to Vancouver and opened another business named Rosetti Photographic Studios, which operated from 1910 to 1915 on Pender Street, later moving to Robson Street.
The Rosetti Photographic Studios left a legacy of historical photographs of Vancouver, including a 1912 series of photographs of scenic views taken in Stanley Park (Images 3 to 7).
Image 7: Totem near Otter Pond, Stanley Park, Vancouver, B.C. by Rosetti Photographic Studios, 1912.
Many of the Rosetti Photographic Studios’ photographs are part of various historical collections at UBC Rare Books and Special Collections, such as the Uno Langmann Family Collections of British Columbia Photographs and the Chung Collection, which you can explore more in our Open Collections.
In 1916 Lionel Haweis joined the UBC Library as a librarian and remained until his retirement in 1939. He became well-known in literary life and founded the UBC Arts and Letters Club, in addition to various other activities he was involved in.
He worked closely with another librarian, Dorothy Jeffered, who both made important contributions to the development of the University (Image 8). Their friendships with staff and students, and their support for the artistic ambitions of their community, helped make UBC the cultural centre that it is today.
Lionel’s father, Hugh Reginald Haweis (1860 – 1900), was a preacher at St. James Church in London but was well-known as a scholar, author and musician. His wife, Mary Eliza Haweis (1848-1898), came from an artistic family, and she herself was an accomplished author and artist who published books for women and children and provided illustrations for her husband’s books. In their individual sous-fonds, there are correspondence, copies of published articles, manuscripts and assorted personal materials. Mary Haweis’ admirable artistic talent is evident by viewing a portrait she painted of young Lionel in the late 1800s (Image 9).
Lionel’s brother, Stephen Haweis, like his mother, was also a talented painter, whose paintings are part of the Haweis Family fonds (Image 10).
Amongst various paintings in the Haweis Family fonds, some are authored by the Haweis family members themselves, but there are several other paintings that were collected by the family without the information of authorship. These paintings are nonetheless beautiful and certainly enrich the UBC’s collections (Images 11 to 13).
Although there are several photographs and paintings of the Haweis Family fonds that are available to view in our Open Collections, there are still manuscripts and a photographic collection (over 1,250 black and white photoprints and negatives that captured the family’s life, professional portraits, and travels) that are yet to be digitized.
Nevertheless, if you would like to check them out, they are available to view at the UBC Archives! You can reach out to them to book an in-person visit at https://archives.library.ubc.ca/contact-us/ .
Thank you for reading this post and we hope you enjoyed learning about Lionel Haweis and the Haweis Family fonds!
References:
Wodarczak, E. (2012, March 12). Library Legends. The University of British Columbia Magazine.
ABC Bookworld. Haweis, Lionel T.
University of British Columbia Archives. Haweis Family fonds. (March 2019)
