Fonds SCA344-GA393 - Sommer family fonds.

GA393-1-19571027 GA393-1-19561230 GA393-1-19570303 GA393-1-19691210 GA393-2-19550101 GA393-2-19550220 GA393-2-19550212 GA393-2-19501108 GA393-2-19530215 GA393-2-19541031 GA393-2-19541102 GA393-2-19530118 GA393-2-19530130 GA393-2-19560102 GA393-2-19561202 GA393-2-19561218 GA393-2-19541203 GA393-2-19541220 GA393-2-19551202 GA393-2-19551204 GA393-3-19550123 GA393-3-19541229 GA393-3-19530304 GA393-3-19541214 GA393-4-19581216 GA393-4-19591220 GA393-4-19600131 GA393-4-19601216 GA393-4-19641226 GA393-4-19640116 GA393-4-19631212 GA393-4-19641210 GA393-6-19611217 GA393-10-19690113 GA393-11-19740113

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Sommer family fonds.

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  • Source of title proper: Title from the content of the fonds.

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

SCA344-GA393

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

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Physical description

1.1 metres of textual records
166 photographs : b&w, some col. ; 21 x 30 cm or smaller
1 cross-stitch : embroidery (visual work) on waste canvas ; 15 x 15 cm

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Biographical history

Gisela Sommer and Ulrich Sommer, both from Germany, married and had two children; Cornelius and Angelika. In pursuit of a better quality of life, Gisela and Ulrich immigrated to Canada with their two children in 1954 and settled in Georgetown, Ontario.

The Sommer family fared well in Georgetown. Gisela worked as a dietary assistant in a local hospital. Ulrich worked in an enamel factory and eventually opened his own art gallery in 1962 called Gallery House Sol. Cornelius studied to become a lawyer and worked in Toronto, Ontario. Angelika moved to Germany.

Over the course of many years, the Sommer family wrote numerous letters to each other, their friends and their family back home in Germany.

Custodial history

Scope and content

A compilation of personal correspondence consisting mostly of letters exchanged between members of the Sommer family, and occasionally their friends, in Canada or Germany. These letters are interspersed with details of family life and contain observations about the Sommer family’s immigration to Canada, educational pursuits, health and well-being, relationships, finances, businesses and careers, and more. Additionally, these letters contain commentary on contemporary social and political events including the aftermath of World War II, Quebec separatism, and German politics during the 1970s and 1980s. The fonds also incudes photographs, greeting cards, postcards, pamphlets and related ephemera likely exchanged alongside the letters between family members and friends.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Donated in 2017.

Arrangement

Language of material

  • English
  • German

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Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Copyright University of Waterloo Library.

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General note

A selection of correspondence in the fonds was translated by Lori Heffner Strauss in 2018. A report detailing all of the translation work completed is available.

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Described by NM in 2018.
Revised by NM in 2021.

Language of description

  • English

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