Fonds consists of the papers of R.H. Hubbard which relate to his academic achievements, his teaching career and his work as a curator for the National Gallery of Canada and as a cultural advisor for Government House, his private cultural activities, and his lectures, research and writing. The material consists of lecture notes, manuscripts and drafts, research notes, some photographs and architectural drawings, and correspondence with publishers, universities, museums, art galleries, cultural organizations, Canadian heads of state, patrons of art and artists. The fonds has been arranged in several broad series intended to parallel the overall progression of Hubbard's career from the academic and teaching periods through his work at the National Gallery of Canada and Government House. The original order of the material was maintained as much as possible and an attempt was made to keep together those documents which were originally maintained in two locations: his apartment and Government House offices. Since the academic, professional and personal aspects of Hubbard's life were closely interconnected, there is considerable overlap of material from one series to another. Documents relating to an individual, a publication or a lecture, for example, may be found among several series. Researchers should look carefully at the finding aid to avoid overlooking any material. Many of the Christmas cards, other greeting cards, invitations, postcards, drawings, a badge, philatelic materials, and photographic prints, negatives, slides and transparencies that accompanied the textual records, were removed from the folders containing the latter, for conservation reasons. Information on the nature of these graphic materials (transferred to the Documentary Art and Photography Division) which belong to the series: Writings and Research, Articles, Lectures, etc.; Writings and Research, Rideau Hall; Writings and Research, Thomas Davies in Early Canada; and Government House, Subject files, can be found in an appendix to the finding aid. The Appointment and Address Books, Biographical Material, and General Correspondence/Christmas Cards series all document activities which were not strictly related to Dr. Hubbard's positions with the National Gallery and Government House. They are somewhat more personal in tone. The General Subject Files contain material on his personal involvement with organizations as well as his interest in organ music and church activities. The correspondence files in the series National Gallery of Canada, Correspondence were originally labelled by Hubbard as "personal". Although much of the correspondence is personal in tone, this simply reflects the fact that most of Dr. Hubbard's friends and acquaintances were involved in some way with the visual arts, as curators, gallery owners, patrons and artists. The same can be said of correspondence in the Government House, Correspondence series. The gap in correspondence in the National Gallery material between 1975 and 1977 parallels Dr. Hubbard's two year secondment to Government House. His correspondence with the National Gallery during this period can be found in the Government House, Correspondence series. The six series pertaining to Dr. Hubbard's writings and research span both his academic and professional periods. His lectures, articles, books and exhibitions were frequently interrelated. For example, a series of lectures evolved into the publication Rideau Hall: An Illustrated History of Government House, Ottawa. Since correspondence, research material and drafts might pertain to several projects, related material was grouped together under the title of a publication (where one existed), such as Writings and Research, Rideau Hall, or type of material, such as Writings and Research -- Articles, Lectures, etc. Oversize material extracted from several of the series has been placed in oversize boxes and listed at the end of the finding aid in an order that parallels the original series order.
Fonds also contains graphic materials, n.d., that were not found among the textual records. These consist of photographic prints, slides, negatives and transparencies. The slides appear to be related to lectures given by Dr. Hubbard, including his lectures on Rideau Hall. Many of the slides of artwork, architecture, interior decoration, scenes and people are unidentified. The photographic prints, negatives and colour transparencies are portraits of Hubbard and his friends and acquaintances at various times in his life, prominent individuals, including Governors General, Lieutenant Governors General, royalty, politicians, curators and directors of the National Gallery, official Government House staff photographs and photographs taken at various conferences, receptions, award ceremonies and royal visits; and others depict nature, architecture and works of art.
