Halifax and Its People / 1749-1999

A panorama is an unobstructed and wide view of an extensive area, in all directions. Such photographs were immensely popular in the late nineteenth century, and are often found today in museum or archive collections. They were produced to show a city's progress and to foster civic pride. To devise them, the photographer would find an appropriate place to create the vista and would then set up his tripod and camera. The tripod would remain stationary, while the camera would be moved with enough overlap to splice the images together afterwards, with minimum distortion. This process was continued until the panorama was completed. The spliced prints were then re-photographed to create a negative, and from this prints were made for sale to the public.

Unfortunately, panorama photography is not easily adaptable to digital imaging, and so only a portion of the original view is shown here. It includes (to the left) Robert Taylor's Boot and Shoe Factory and the Jost Mission, both on Brunswick Street and built in 1871 – and, of course, the Town Clock, a Halifax landmark at the head of George Street since its completion in 1803.

Photographer: Notman Studio, O.M. Hill, Manager

Date: 1892

Reference: Notman Studio Nova Scotia Archives  no. 71431  / negative: N-0377