7:00 pm
This talk by Joel Zemel will be the last in the first 100-year cycle - 6 December 1917 to 5 December 2017.
Until recent years, the notion that the iconic photograph of the 1917 Halifax Explosion blast cloud had been taken from a steamer located at the ocean end of the harbour looking inward towards Bedford Basin continued to pervade the lore surrounding the disaster. Popular Mechanics was a well-known, widely distributed and respected publication of the day was one of the first international magazines to foist this myth on the general public in its 3 April 1918 issue.
The caption stated: "This was the overpowering farewell signalled to passengers of an outgoing steamer that cleared Halifax shortly before the explosion that laid the city in ruins. The vessel was 13 miles from port when the column of smoke blackened the horizon in a few brief seconds."
There would have been no reason for anyone to have doubted the veracity of the caption below the image even though it did not credit the photographer, mention the name of the steamer or detail the source of the information on distance or direction. The notion regarding the photographer's location was introduced almost four months after the Halifax Explosion. With nothing to contradict it, the myth established a foothold.
This sketchy and unverified description somehow gained credibility and acceptance by many archives, authors, historians, and the general public. Even the National Library and Archives of Canada, to this very day, continues to perpetuate the myth with its online description of the photograph designated PA-166585:
"View, from a distance of thirteen miles, of the column of smoke raised by the Halifax Explosion."
Joel Zemel's research into this photograph and others showing the 1917 Halifax Explosion blast cloud has rewritten the book regarding many of the accepted locations of explosion photographers. His talk will offer some insight into his methodology that serves to underscore the importance of getting the facts straight when it comes to determining the provenance of important archival photographs.
Joel Zemel is a professional jazz musician and documentary filmmaker turned author/historian. He resides and works in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His name is on the list of Professional Researchers for HRM Archives. In 2016, Canada Post Corporation enlisted his services as historical and design consultant for its stamp commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Halifax Explosion.
Joel is the author of two books related to the explosion: Betrayal of Trust, Commander Wyatt and the Halifax Explosion (2017) and Scapegoat, the extraordinary legal proceedings following the 1917 Halifax Explosion (second edition, 2016). The latter work won the 2014 Dartmouth Book Award for Non-Fiction, a 2015 bronze medal at the International Publisher Awards in New York City in the Canada East Non-Fiction category, and was awarded the 2016 John Lyman Book Award in the category of “Canadian Naval and Maritime History.”
For additional information:
Richard MacMichael
902-424-8897
macmicrs@gov.ns.ca