Sub-series consists of files documenting Karsh's career up to 1968 and including correspondence and subject files relating to both business and personal matters dealt with by Karsh's Ottawa office. The series follows the original order imposed by Karsh. The material before 1940 was not filed systematically by Karsh, but has been arranged at the National Archives to reflect the organization of the rest of the files in the sub-series. From 1940 on, there are alphabetically arranged repeating files containing material dating up to and including each filing year. This system repeats itself annually until 1968 with the same titles often reappearing from year to year.
In the files is material relating to Karsh's companies, "Little Wings" and "Karsh of Ottawa". "Little Wings" was created to promote Karsh's portraits and writings, and to handle contracts for the performance of special photography. "Karsh of Ottawa" (and its subsidiary New York office) handled the photographic studio business.
The correspondence includes incoming letters and copies of outgoing letters, notes, printed material and clippings, background and research material relating to Karsh's subjects and clients, travel records, some financial records, memorabilia and other material. While the incoming correspondence is predominantly addressed to Karsh himself, much of the outgoing correspondence is written by Karsh's assistant, Joyce Large, on behalf of Karsh's studio.
The files contain documentation on Karsh's sitters, who included politicians such as William Lyon Mackenzie King, Winston Churchill and Louis St. Laurent; religious leaders such as Pope Pius XII; members of various royal families; writers such as Robertson Davies, George Bernard Shaw, Stephen Leacock and Robert Frost (the last including an autographed copy of his poem "My Objection to Being Stepped On"); musicians such as Benjamin Sonnenburg and Jean Sibelius; and numerous other prominent figures from the twentieth century, ranging from figure skater Barbara Ann Scott to humanitarian Albert Schweitzer. Among Karsh's corporate clients were the Eaton Company, Atlas Steel, Northwestern Mutual Life, Mallinkrodt Chemical Company, General Electric, ABC Steel Co., Seagram's, Shell, US Steel Corporation and Sharon Steel.
Among the material can be found original handwritten or typewritten letters from Nelson Rockefeller (1944), George P. Vanier (1944), Frank Lloyd Wright (1945), Pierre Monteux (1946), Leopold Stokowski (1946), Frances Adaskin (1947, 1948), Elizabeth Arden (1948), Tommy Douglas (1948), Allan Skinner (Dominion Drama Festival), Thomas Mann (1948), Edward Steichen (1948),Hugh MacLennan (1948), Frank Lloyd Wright (1948), General Omar Bradley (1951), Sir Laurence Olivier (1954, 1955), Douglas Fairbanks (1955, 1956), Augustus John (1955), George P. Vanier (1955, 1956), Roloff Beny ("Correspondence with Photographers 1955-1959"), Malcolm Forbes (1956), Floyd Chalmers ("Maclean-Hunter 1956"), Pierre Berton ("Maclean-Hunter 1956, 1958"), Marcel Marceau (1956), Richard Nixon (1956), Norman Rockwell (1956), Pearl Buck (1957), Robertson Davies (1958), William Hutt (1958), Mary Hemingway (with ms. notes from Ernest)(1958), Charlton Heston (1958), and Ansel Adams ("Photographic Exhibits 1958"). The "Washington" file (1961-1965) contains correspondence from Robert Kennedy, Arthur Schlesinger, Barry Goldwater, McGeorge Bundy, and others.
There is correspondence with Tom Blau, Karsh's European photographic representative, which documents his working relationship with Camera Press as well as material on other photographic agencies. There is correspondence with various magazines in which Karsh's photos were regularly published, including "Saturday Night", "Maclean's", "Time", "Life", "Coronet", "Esquire" and, in the cases of "Saturday Night" and "Maclean's", personal and business correspondence with their editors, B.K. Sandwell and Floyd Chalmers, respectively. Included are clippings of articles written by or about Karsh, as well as clippings of Karsh's photographs as they appeared in print. Karsh's involvement with various educational institutions is documented in the files pertaining to Kent State and Harvard Universities. There is also correspondence with other photographers, photographic societies and photographic journals, including "Popular Photography".
The sub-series includes some correspondence with Karsh's family, some of which is written in Armenian, and documentation on his brother Malak's immigration to Canada. The earlier files contain correspondence and other material relating to Solange Karsh, including correspondence with friends and with various publications for which she wrote, including "Canadian Home Journal". It also contains copies of speeches delivered by her, manuscript and typescript copies of articles written by her for "Mayfair" and "Saturday Night" magazines, as well as files on pets and gardening.
The "Travelling Files - Correspondence with Studio" contain correspondence between Yousuf and Solange Karsh, as well as correspondence between Karsh and his assistant, Joyce Large, which documents his working life away from the Ottawa office. The files include records prepared by Large of phone messages and summaries of correspondence received in Karsh's absence. The series also contains some accounting records, as well as files on staff.
Arranged alphabetically by year with oversized material stored in volumes 336 and 376.
