A FUR TRADER'S PHOTOGRAPHS: AA. CHESTERFIELD IN THE DISTRICT OF UNGAVA, 1901-4. James, William C. Kingston, McGill-Queen's University Press, c1985. 113pp, cloth, $24.95, ISBN 0-7735-0593-8. CIP Grades 9 and up Reviewed by A.L. Florence Volume 14 Number 2 1986 March From a previously unresearched collection of early twentieth-century photographs has come a significant album portraying Inuit and Cree life in the District of Ungava, 1901-1904. A.A. Chesterfield spent most of his working life in Montreal as a professional photographer, a field in which he achieved a national reputation. Between 1901 and 1904, however, he was employed as a fur trader with the Hudson's Bay Company, and this valuable camera work comes from this period. The only white man at the company's northernmost posts at Great Whale River and Fort George, he lived and worked with the Cree and Inuit. While the Cree had had contact with whites, the Inuit coming down along the east shore of the Bay to trade were still building igloos nightly on their travels and using tools and clothing of their own making. Photographs taken are remarkable in their combination of visual appeal and documentary or historical significance. Chesterfield recorded the effects of post life upon the Cree and Inuit, and showed how the white agents of the church and fur trade made use of native tools, clothing, and transportation. Recognizing the threat to native ways of life, he carefully photographed native dress, everyday activities, the many details that form an ancient culture. Much of what he recorded is now lost forever, except as preserved in these photographs. All in black and white, the album comprises a first rate selection, depicting the Inuit and Cree of Ungava early enough to be relatively free of the white influence. Excellent for specialized collections of authentic native history, these are less suited for regular classroom use. The text by William James provides a detailed framework in which to understand the photographs. A.L. Florence, Winnipeg, Man.