A.E. Cross Studio fonds

Scope and Content: The fonds consist of a mixture of studio portrait work, photographs of local businesses and other images. The 1972-1999 collection consists of 300,000 negatives and prints organized by individual projects in chronological order. It includes all the photographic work done by the studio in this perio…

History Biographical: Alfred Ernest Cross, circa 1890 -1951, emigrated from England to Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and settled in Lethbridge in 1920. By 1924 he had opened A.E. Cross Studio, a photography business which offered portraits and commericl photography, photo finishing and picture framing. The studio was located at 906 3rd Avenue South and moved to 614 3rd Avenue in 1927, and 710 3rd Avenue South in 1952. A. E. retired circa 1948 and his son, Reginald A. became manager. The company was renamed A. E. Cross Photography Limited circa 1967. By 1973 A.E. Cross Studios was apparently re-established at the same location with Reginald as manager. Ed Keeling became manager circa 1976 (source Glenbow Archives: A Guide To The Holdings Volume 1, 1992). Ed Keeling was born in 1942 in Bassano, Alberta, and attended school in Coaldale, near Lethbridge. He started working at the A.E. Cross Studio in 1962 at the age of 20 as a support staff. That was the year when the studio started color processing. In 1972 he became the manager of the studio in partnership, and in 1974 the sole owner of the business. Over the years, Ed Keeling was a member of Photographers' Assn of Canada. For 11 years he was the President of the Alberta branch; 3 years he was the President of the national organization.

Custodial History: The majority of the early work of the Studio - 1865 images and 0.5 cm of textual records - was donated to Glenbow Archives by Reginald Cross in 1972. The remaining portion of the collection (700 images) was collected by the Galt Archives. The 1972-1999 collection had been accummulated and stored in carton boxes in the basement of the studio. The boxes stayed in the basement untill August, 2011, when they were donated to the Galt Museum and Archives by the new owner Peter Etches.

Scope and Content: The fonds consist of a mixture of studio portrait work, photographs of local businesses and other images. The 1972-1999 collection consists of 300,000 negatives and prints organized by individual projects in chronological order. It includes all the photographic work done by the studio in this period. The photographs are largely portraits and weddings and occasional commercial projects.