Finding Aid
George Stephen Vickers fonds. – 1912-2011. – 50 cm of textual records and graphic material. – 2 compact discs.
Series 1
Correspondence. – 1936-1993. – 37 cm of textual records. – Title based on content of series.
(Note:Researchers should also consult the second accrual, listed after the first accrual, for additional correspondence.)
The correspondence is primarily from Stephen to Elizabeth. The first half from their courtship begins with an early missive and appears to be not long after they would have met in Hamilton. It continues regularly through the end of 1938 to May 1940 just before their wedding. There is a break of three years in which time their first child, Hannah, was born and they returned to Canada. The letters begin again while Elizabeth and Hannah are away at the family cottage and Stephen is working in Hamilton as a machinist. Shortly thereafter, he joins the Canadian Signal Corps. Attaining the rank of corporal, he serves mainly as an instructor at Camp Vimy, Barriefield near Kingston, Ontario until the end of the Second World War. There are letters from him throughout his service, except for a gap from January to April of 1944, where the letters have been lost. Following the war, there a few letters from occasions when Stephen was away. While most of Elizabeth’s replies are no longer extant, a few of them remain and are filed with Stephen’s letters.
In addition, there are some items of personal and professional correspondence from Stephen and Elizabeth, including the letters that Elizabeth wrote to her mother while she was studying in Paris in the summer of 1939. As well, there are a few postcards and notes from Stephen to his son, Daniel. Finally, there are letters of condolence sent to the Vickers’ family following Stephen’s sudden death in 1993.
Box 1
To Elizabeth H. Vickers
Hamilton, Ontario and Cambridge, Massachusetts. 1936-July 1939.
F.1 March and May 1936.
F.2 From Elizabeth Smith, 1937.
F.3 October 1938.
F.4 November 1938.
F.5 December 1938.
F.6 January 1939.
F.7 February 1939.
F.8 March 1939.
F.9 April 1939.
F.10 May 1939.
F.11 June 1939. Elizabeth in Paris.
F.12 July 1939. Voyage to Europe. Includes a letter from Elizabeth.
London, England. August-October 1939
F.13 August 1939. Includes letters from Elizabeth.
F.14 September 1939. Includes letters from Elizabeth.
F. 15 October 1939. Return to Canada.
Cambridge, Massachusetts. October 1939-May 1940.
F.16 November 1939.
F. 17 December 1939.
F.18 January 1940.
F.19 February 1940.
F.20 March 1940.
F.21 April 1940.
F.22 May 1940. Includes a letter from Jane Vickers.
Hamilton, Ontario. July-August 1943. While Hannah and Elizabeth at cottage.
F.23 July 1943.
F.24 August 1943.
Box 2
Toronto and Kingston (Barriefield), Ontario. August 1943.
F.1 September 1943.
F.2 October 1943.
F.3 November 1943.
F.4 December 1943.
F.5 May 1944.
F.6 June 1944.
F.7 July 1944.
F.8 August 1944.
F.9 September 1944.
F.10 October 1944.
F.11 November 1944.
F.12 December 1944.
F.13 January 1945.
F.14 February 1945.
F.15 March 1945.
F.16 April 1945.
F.17 May 1945.
F.18 June 1945.
F.19 July 1945. Includes a letter from Fred Vickers.
F.20 August 1945.
F.21 September 1945.
F.22 October 1945.
F.23 November 1945.
Box 3
Post war letters. 1947-1975.
F.1 August 1947.
F.2 September 1966.
F.3 May 1973.
F.4 May 1975.
F.5 May 1988.
F.6 Valentine card. [n.d.]
Letters to Others. 1942-1971.
F.7 Letter to Judd and Helen. October 1942. From Stephen and Elizabeth.
F.8 Postcard to Daniel Vickers. 1955.
F.9 Letter to Daniel Vickers. 1971.
Other Letters
F.10 From Elizabeth Vickers to her mother, Mrs. P.M. Smith. June-September 1939.
F.11 Note to Elizabeth and Hannah Vickers from Jane Vickers. [n.d.]
F.12 Official correspondence Re: Elizabeth Vickers. 1936-1940.
F.13 Official correspondence Re: Stephen Vickers. 1939-1945.
Letters of Condolence to Elizabeth Vickers. 1993-1994.
F.14 1-5 November 1993.
F.15 6-9 November 1993.
F.16 10-15 November 1993.
F.17 16-30 November 1993.
F.18 December 1993.
F.19 1994.
F.20 Undated letters. [ca. 1993].
Series 2
Writing. – 1936-1993. – 5 cm of textual records. – Title based on content of series.
This series contains the notes and drafts for an uncompleted Ph.D. thesis by Stephen Vickers and the graduate thesis of Elizabeth. Her thesis appears in its complete and a later, abridged form that was published by New York University.
Box 3
G. Stephen Vickers
F.21 “Vezelay – Northern Capitals”. Draft and research materials. [1945-1948].
F.22 “Chartres – Apocryphal Portion of Frieze”. Draft and research materials. [1945-1948].
F.23 “Significance of the Shepherds of the Nativity”. Draft and research materials. [1945-1948].
Box 4
F.1 Ph.D. Dissertation. Draft. [1945-1948].
Elizabeth H. Vickers
F.2 “The Iconography of Georges de la Tour” and notes. Final. 1940.
F.3 “The Iconography of Georges de la Tour” abridged from Mersyas. 1950.
Series 3
Official Records and other documents. – 1936-1993. – 8 cm of textual records and graphic material. – 2 compact discs. – Title based on content of series.
This series contains a number of documents and records of their lives. Highlights include Stephen’s service papers, the couples’ early Canadian tax returns, and a number of other family records. There are also documents relating to Stephen’s work and Elizabeth’s full-time volunteer position with the Association of Women Electors in Toronto. There is an accounts book kept by Percy M. Smith, Elizabeth’s father, in Hamilton for 1916-1918. Finally, there is a compact disc with scans of old photographs of the couple and other family members. There is a brief biography of Stephen and Elizabeth, as well as other key people who are mentioned in the letters, which was prepared by Daniel Vickers.
Box 4
F.4 Birth Certificate. Elizabeth Vickers. 1912.
F.5 Birth and Baptism Certificates. Stephen Vickers. 1913-1914.
F.6 Ledger of Family Accounts. Percy M. Smith. 1916-1918.
F.7 Report Cards. Stephen Vickers. 1923-1931.
F.8 McMaster University Transcripts. Stephen Vickers. 1934-1939.
F.9 Official Documents. Elizabeth Vickers. 1934-1939.
F.10 Journal of Stephen Vickers for Elizabeth Vickers. 1939.
F.11 University Transcripts. Elizabeth Vickers. 1939-1941.
F.12 Official Documents. Stephen Vickers. 1939-1942.
F.13 Marriage Record. 1940.
F.14 Discharge Papers. 1945.
F.15 Visa Application. Stephen Vickers. 1945.
F.16 “Monday Night Members”. [1945?].
F.17 Tax Returns. 1946-1949.
F.18 Documents Re: Stephen Vickers at the University of Toronto. 1946-1994.
F.19 Documents Re: Association of Women Electors. 1962-1986.
F.20 “Dictionary of the Queens English”. ca. 1965.
F.21 Death Certificate. Stephen Vickers. 1994.
F.22 Memorial Card. Elizabeth Vickers. 2006.
F.23 Biographical notes and Personages mentioned in the letters. By Daniel Vickers. 2011.
F.24 Photographs of Stephen, Elizabeth, Fred Vickers, and others.
Scans of Elizabeth’s letters found in Box 3 File 10. 2011. 2 compact discs.
F.25 Embargoed file. To be released 2022.
Second Accrual. 1944-1952. 8 pages and 1 photograph.
Correspondence
Box G019
F.1 Stephen Vickers to Hannah Vickers. 1944-1952. 2 MS letters and a telegram.
F.2 Elizabeth Vickers to Hannah Vickers re: the birth of Daniel Vickers. 1952. 6 MS letters and a photo.
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