Capturing the French River: Images Along One of Canada's Most Famous Waterways, 1910–1927.

John Abbott is a professor of history at Laurentian University’s Algoma University College. He is the co-author of The Border at Sault Ste Marie and The History of Fort St. Joseph.

What intrigues the reader of this volume is the concatenation of subjects, no one of which would in itself justify its production. Most striking, of course, are the photographs, a series of images set in the lower reaches of Ontario’s French and Pickerel Rivers, between 1910 and 1927. That these are illustrative of the labyrinthine delta at a time when urbanites from the south were seeking recreation in camping, canoeing and fishing adds interest, as do photographs of French River Village, the Ontario Lumber Company’s mill site established shortly after its incorporation in 1883.

But what sets the collection apart from the thousands of anonymous photographs in existence, however, is the documentation, both written and oral, that acquaints us with the photographer and the people who star in the images. Ernest (Ernie) Rushbrook (b. 1878) was the son of George and Eliza Rushbrook of Toronto, one of four boys and six girls. Ernie’s passion for the outdoor life was fostered by his older brother, Walter. He began to apply himself to the art and science of photography, in both the field and darkroom, when he was only 16. His sisters were avid singers, dancers, and thespians. Two of them, Ida and Bertha, took to tent and paddle as enthusiastically as their brother. When Frank Sherman came into Bertha’s life, the four of them constituted the quartet round whom Ernie composed his time-delayed pictures.

The pleasure they took in composing these photographs is evident in the élan and harmony of the arrangements. The thespian’s skill is abundantly evident. The author’s knowledge of the techniques and technology of late 19th- and early 20th-century photography enables him to explain the intricacies of the art. There they are, on rock, in canoe, preparing camp, displaying dozens of heavy-bellied pickerel and muscular pike fanned out on a rock or threaded on a stout rod of wood, dressed to the nines in shirts, collars, ties, and sometimes jackets or waistcoats. The ladies were attired in appropriate matching dress. Thanks go to Ruth (Rushbrook) Beard, who made these examples available out of the several thousand in her charge. Highly recommended for historians, photographers, canoeists, and canoe-camping enthusiasts.