Our Resource Library

Research for Wildflowers has been taken us in many directions, from the archives to interviews, trips that have us walking or riding in Schäffer’s footsteps to a long list of reading materials. It’s clear that Mary Schäffer Warren has been the subject of much study. It’s no surprise; her unconventional life and remarkable accomplishments are compelling and lend themselves to further investigation. Academics have unpacked her photography and her contributions to Rockies history. One such academic wound up writing Schäffer’s first-ever, full-length biography. One writer has looked more closely at Schäffer’s hand-painted lantern slides, another decided to retrace Schäffer’s 1907 and 1908 expeditions through the Canadian Rockies (save for the Maligne River Valley, which we will retrace in August 2023!)

And then we have Schäffer’s own books, as well as the canon of material that supports our research both contextually (an overview of the times, or Indigenous perspectives) and logistically, as we prepare for the Maligne River Valley trek. The library keeps growing with each passing week, so here’s a nod to all the authors guiding the way for us. Perhaps you’ll find some new reading material for yourself!

A note: You’ll see that Mary was referred to, and published under, a few different variations on her name. Mary T.S. Schäffer is a nod to her birth name (Mary Townsend Sharples) and her first husband, Charles Schäffer. Mary Schäffer Warren is a nod to her first husband and her second, Billy Warren. In some of her correspondences later in life, we see only Mary Warren.

Old Indian Trails of the Canadian Rockies (1911)

by Mary T.S. Schäffer

This is Mary’s own account of her 1907 and 1908 expeditions (the full title is Old Indian Trails of the Canadian Rockies: Incidents of Camp and Trail Life Covering Two Years’ Exploration through the Rocky Mountains of Canada). This has been a valuable resource as we get to know Mary, and also walk through the same landscapes that she describes in the book. Schäffer regretted letting the book go out of print during her lifetime. If only she knew other publishers would pick it up, including the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies and Rocky Mountain Books.

A Hunter of Peace (2013 edition)

Mary T.S. Schäffer

This edition, first published in 1980 by the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, features Schäffer’s book, Old Indian Trails of the Canadian Rockies, as well as her unpublished manuscript chronicling her 1911 survey of Maligne Lake on behalf of the Geographic Board of Canada.

No Ordinary Woman: The Story of Mary Schäffer Warren (2001)

Janice Sanford Beck

This full-length biography of Schäffer’s life has become a best-selling book here in the Canadian Rockies. Enthralled by Schäffer’s story and the wealth of primary and secondary sources available, Sanford Beck worked furiously to piece together Schäffer’s story, often transcribing archival materials by hand. Sanford Beck joined our team in Banff in July 2023 to film sequences in the Whyte Museum Archives and at Tarry-A-While, Schäffer’s historic home.

Off the Beaten Track: Women Adventurers and Mountaineers in western Canada (1989)

Cyndi Smith

This compilation of stories was Wildflowers researched and historian Meghan J. Ward’s first exposure to the stories of these female figures in Rockies history, such as Mary Schäffer Warren. Mary is in good company in this book. It’s an inspiring read about women who defied convention — and sometimes the odds — in search of adventure.

This Wild Spirit: Women in the Rocky Mountains of Canada (2006)

Edited by Colleen Skidmore

This compilation explores a sampling of women’s creative responses to their experiences in the Canadian Rockies, whether it’s through photographs and painting, beadwork or embroidery, letters and travel writing. It features numerous excerpts pertaining to Schäffer’s story, including a chapter written by Mollie Adams, Schäffer’s travel companion; Mrs. Humphrey Ward, who based a fiction on Schaffer’s life; and various pieces by Schäffer herself, both from unpublished and published manuscripts.

These Mountains are Our Sacred Places: The Story of the Stoney People (2005)

By Chief John Snow

Schäffer writes a fair amount about her interactions with Indigenous Peoples, both when she lived in the United States and when she spent time in the Canadian Rockies. Most notably, now part of Rockies lore is the fact that Samson Beaver, a member of the Îyârhe (Stoney) Nakoda, provided Schäffer with a map to Chaba Imne/Maligne Lake. Our team was curious to learn more about the context around her interactions, and what she may not have been seeing due to her biases and privileged perspectives. These Mountains are Our Sacred Places has been a starting point for us.

Searching for Mary Schäffer: Women Wilderness Photography (2017)

By Colleen Skidmore

In this book, Skidmore looks at Schäffer’s life and creative works through an academic lens, and takes a closer look at the themes that Schäffer herself explored, those of women and wilderness, travel and science. It is an insightful book that, as the back cover says, “reassess the persona of Mary Schäffer imagined in more recent times.”

From Hell to Breakfast: Riding Old Indian Trails in the Canadian Rockies (2014)

By Dr. Helen V. Andrew

This book was quite the find for our team, and a good example of the importance of knowing and honouring those who come before us. We were already knee-deep in our concept of “two mountain writers a hundred years apart” when we came upon this book. This book is the story of Dr. Helen V. Andrew and her daughter Andrea Insoll’s retracing of Mary’s 1907 and 1908 expeditions. Wildflowers is exploring different themes, but wow, we greatly enjoyed this account — and also the chance to correspond with the author by email.

An Adventurous Woman Abroad: The Selected Lantern Slides of Mary T.S. Schäffer (2011)

By Michale Lang

This book features more than 200 of Schäffer’s hand-tinted lantern slides now housed at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. In addition, Lang contextualizes her own relationship with Schäffer, explains the history and technology of lantern slides, and provides a commentary on this Victorian-era obsession with international travel and discovery.

Hiking Canada’s Great Divide Trail (2018)

By Dustin Lynx

The portion of trail that we’ll be going through in August 2023 (Poboktan Creek to Maligne Lake) is known as Segment 27 of the Great Divide Trail Previously decommissioned by Parks Canada, the trail and the campgrounds in this area are now accessible with a camping permit, but very few are granted (just one per campground per night). This guide has been some of our best beta on the area.

Mary Schäffer: An Adventurous Woman’s Exploits in the Canadian Rockies (2003)

By Jill Foran

In our process of getting our hands on all the materials available about Schäffer, we included this tourist-friendly depiction of Mary’s life and times. It provides a quick overview, and its contents leans into many of the sources listed above, as well as some of Schäffer’s published and unpublished manuscripts.

To finish, not included above are the many articles, academic papers, ebooks and, of course, the hundreds of archival materials we’ve been referencing at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. Of note is the book, Alpine Flora of the Canadian Rocky Mountains, written by Stewardson Brown, and illustrated by Mary under the name, Mrs. Charles Schäffer (her first husband). It is a tremendously beautiful book that showcases Mary’s artistic skills. It was also one of the main reasons why she took on the adventurous life that she did; she devoted herself to finishing her husband’s botanical work in areas far from the railroad. I don’t have an original edition of this book in my personal collection. Perhaps one day.