Camera Workers, 1858-1950


The British Columbia, Alaska and Yukon Photographic Directory, 1858-1950

First Name Last Name
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Coltman, Alfred Donald

Coltman, Alfred Donald[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13]

Male 1898 - 1963  (65 years)


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  • Name Coltman, Alfred Donald
    • VARIANT NAME: Coltman, A. Don.
    Nickname Don
    Birth 1898  Lutterworth, Leicestershire, Eng., UK Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Christening 28 Jun 1898  Lutterworth, Leicestershire, Eng., UK Find all individuals with events at this location  [14] 
    Gender Male
    Marriage 18 Aug 1923  Edmonton, AB Find all individuals with events at this location  [15] 
    Bride: Marie Estelle Dickenson 
    Business Address/Year 1941-1942  Vancouver, BC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    3370 West 42nd Avenue
    Steffens-Colmer Ltd.
    Vancouver, BC
    Canada 
    Business Address/Year 1943  Vancouver, BC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    560 Granville Street
    Steffens-Colmer Ltd.
    Vancouver, BC
    Canada 
    Business Address/Year 1944-1946  Vancouver, BC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    560 Granville Street, no. 3
    Steffens-Colmer Ltd.
    Vancouver, BC
    Canada 
    Business Address/Year 1947-1950  Vancouver, BC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Continued past 1950 
    Address:
    298 Main St.
    Steffens-Colmer Ltd.
    Vancouver, BC
    Canada 
    Death 1963  Toronto, ON Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Association Steffens-Colmer Studio Ltd. (Relationship: Proprietor; Manager; President)
    Person ID I2218  Camera Workers | C, vol. 2, 1901-1950
    Last Modified 21 Aug 2021

  • Photos
    A.D. Coltman photographed at the Steffens-Colmer Studios Ltd. with a camera, ca. 1943.    		A.D. Coltman photographed at the Steffens-Colmer Studios Ltd. with a camera, ca. 1943.
    City of Vancouver Archives reference code: AM1545-S3-: CVA 586-1039

  • Notes 
    • STATUS: Commercial.
    • BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY: The City of Vancouver Archives blog, AuthentiCity, provides this biography in a post about the completion of the digitization of his photographs:

      Don Coltman was born Alfred Donald Coltman in 1898 in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, England. He arrived in Canada in 1904 with his mother Ada, father Alfred Birbek and brother Rex. The family lived and worked around Lethbridge, Alberta. Coltman briefly worked for Canadian Pacific Railway in Lethbridge until 1916 when he joined the Canadian Battalion and was sent to France. During the war, he was buried alive, and then dug out and returned to England with a badly crushed foot. He refused to allow the doctors to amputate his leg; he was left with some damage but maintained the use of his leg for the rest of his life.
      After the war Coltman returned to Canada where he and his brother decided to farm 40 acres near Medicine Hat. Coltman did not enjoy farming and went back to work for C.P.R. He met Marie Estelle Dickenson and they married on August 18, 1923. He went on to work all across Canada as the manager for music and appliance departments for various retailers, including the Hudson?s Bay Company. In 1939 he and his family moved from Winnipeg to Vancouver while he was working for Dominion Electrohome Industries. In 1940 he and Marie built on his photography hobby and started making and selling postcards using the darkroom set up in their basement.
      Coltman joined Steffens-Colmer Studio as manager in 1941. In 1944 he purchased the business, including the negatives and equipment and operated under the company name Steffens-Colmer Ltd. until 1951. In 1945 Coltman started a firm called Western Photo Electric Supplies which became Photolec and he created a line of equipment named Unicolt. He also invented a new design for a tripod and tripod head. In 1949 he and Wally Hamilton formed a company (purchased from Lew Perry) called Trans-Canada Films. The company was responsible for the film ?Silver Harvest? (1951).
      From 1951 to 1954 he continued to operate the business under Don Coltman Photographic Company (Don Coltman photos). In 1955 he closed the business and sold his photograph collection to Donn Williams. Williams Bros. Photographers Ltd. utilized these photographic records as stock photographs to complement their own photographic records.
      In September 1959 Coltman moved to Toronto to become the Eastern Manager of Taylor, Pearson and Carson Ltd.?s photo division. He passed away in Toronto in 1963.

      ("Don Coltman photographs now available", URL [accessed 20 Aug 2021: https://www.vancouverarchives.ca/2019/02/07/don-coltman-photographs-now-available/])

  • Sources 
    1. [S773] SUN39, (Vancouver: Sun Directories, 1939).
      Vancouver: not listed

    2. [S774] SUN40, (Vancouver: Sun Directories, 1940), 574.
      Vancouver: Coltman A Don (Marie E) h 3175 W 36

    3. [S775] SUN41, (Vancouver: Sun Directories, 1941), 575.
      Vancouver: Coltman A Don (Marie E) prop Steffens-Colmer Photo Studio h 3370 W 42

    4. [S776] SUN42, (Vancouver: Sun Directories, 1942), 585.
      Vancouver: Coltman A Don (Marie) mgr Steffens-Colmer Photo Studio h 3370 W 42

    5. [S777] SUN43, (Vancouver: Sun Directories, 1943), 595.
      Vancouver: Coltman A Don (Marie) mgr Steffens-Colmer Photo Studio h 3370 W 42

    6. [S778] SUN44, (Vancouver: Sun Directories, 1944), 576.
      Vancouver: Coltman A Don (Marie) mgr Steffens-Colmer h 3370 W 42

    7. [S779] SUN45, (Vancouver: Sun Directories, 1945), 582.
      Vancouver: Coltman A Don (Marie) mgr Steffens-Colmer h 3370 W 42

    8. [S714] SUN46, (Vancouver: Sun Directories, 1946), 644.
      Vancouver: Coltman A Don (Marie) mgr Steffens-Colmer h 3370 W 42

    9. [S715] SUN47, (Vancouver: Sun Directories, 1947), 608.
      Vancouver: Coltman A Don (Marie) mgr Steffens-Colmer h 3370 W 42

    10. [S780] SUN48, (Vancouver: Sun Directories, 1948), 457.
      Vancouver: Coltman A Don (Marie) genl mgr Steffens-Colmer h 3370 W 42

    11. [S811] BCVAN49, (Vancouver: B.C. Directories, [1949?]), 141.
      Vancouver: Coltman A Don (Marie) genl mgr Steffens-Colmer h 3370 W 42

    12. [S808] BCVAN50, (Vancouver : B.C. Directories, 1950), 142.
      Vancouver: Coltman A Don (Marie) pres Steffens-Colmer h 4767 Pilot House Rd Caulfield

    13. [S1025] BCVAN51, (Vancouver, BC: B.C. Directories, 1951), 140.
      Vancouver: Coltman A Don (Marie) pres Steffens-Colmer r 4767 Pilot House Rd Caulfield

    14. [S920] Findmypast.com (Web site).
      Leicestershire Baptisms

    15. [S924] Ancestry.ca (Web site).
      Source Citation
      Provincial Archives of Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Alberta Marriage Indexes
      Source Information
      Ancestry.com. Alberta, Canada, Marriages Index, 1898-1944