Photographic portion of the Cameron/Tupper families fonds consists of 301 b/w photographs taken between 1861 and 1943. Portraits include Sir Charles and Lady Tupper, Major-General Donald Roderick Cameron, Emma Cameron (née Tupper), Nancie Cameron including portraits as a nurse during World War I, William Tupper "Jock" Cameron, Ada Campbell and Frances Cameron. Also included are two albums of the Tupper's family's visit to Italy, 1905; one album of the Boer War 1899-1901 in South Africa; a series of photographs on Royal Military College, Kingston, Ontario, ca. 1885-1890 showing buildings, cadets, officers, dining hall, summer and winter uniforms; one photograph of the funeral of Sir John A. Macdonald, Royal Military College cadets forming guard of honor and firing party followed by "A" Battery, RCA, Kingston, Ontario, 1891; four historical photographs of birch bark canoe building and Indian graves at Lake of the Woods, ca. 1874 taken during the International Boundary Commission; as well as two cdv's of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, 1865.
Photographers include such well known names as Henry Henderson, Sheldon & Davis, Kingston; William James Topley, The Notman Studio, Lancefields Studio, E. Spencer, Ottawa, On., William Notman, Taber, The Grip Co., Ellisson & Co., Quebec, Gauvin Gentzel, Steele, Winnipeg, Man., Parish & Co., A.W. Brewster, Halifax, N.S. as well as some photographers from England.
Most of this collection is portraiture of various members of the Tupper and Cameron families from 1860s to 1920s in the form of Carte-de-visite and Cabinet photographs. This collection is a good representation of early portraits of Charles Tupper, from 1864 to 1915, documenting his early career as Premier of Nova Scotia and Prime Minister of Canada. There are also portraits of Lady Tupper and the children of Sir Charles and Lady Tupper, particularly Emma, who married Major-General Donald Roderick Cameron, the artist of many artworks in the art portion of this collection. This group of photographs constitutes an early documentation of studio portraits using photography between 1860 and 1900 in Canada.