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Archival description
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Archives discrete item collection

  • F1
  • Collection
  • [ca. 1849]-2017

The collection consists of single items, reports, photocopies, photographs and other small collections donated and loaned to the BC Archives which document all aspects of the political, economic, social and cultural history of the province. There are private records produced by individuals, businesses and organizations and acquired by the Archives over many years from all areas of the Province and varying widely in subject matter. They consist of account books and journals, letters and diaries of gold seekers, pioneers, missionaries, and school teachers, literary manuscripts, photographs, the papers of natural historians and students and the personal and family papers of notable settlers and residents of the province.
There are also some provincial and federal government records which either came to the Archives as single items or files or were removed from other series.

British Columbia Archives

Archives research collection

  • F2
  • Collection
  • 1785-1991

The collection consists primarily of copies or records collected by the archives, loaned to the archives or donated to the archives. These records encompass all aspects of the political, economic, social and cultural history of the province. They come from all over the world but have a BC connection. These copies come from other archives, universities, historical societies, institutes and individuals.

British Columbia Archives

Archives moving images collection

  • F3
  • Collection
  • [ca. 1925-1990]

Collection consists of moving images collected or acquired by the BC Archives from a wide variety of donors. Subjects include the entire range of British Columbia history and cover most geographic areas of the province. They include commercially produced industrial and promotional films as well as amateur productions.

British Columbia Archives

Archives visual records collection

  • F5
  • Collection
  • [ca. 1850-1990]

The Archives photo collection (also known as the General file or genfile) consists of photographs collected by the Archives from around 1908 until the 1990s. The photographs were primarily collected because of their subject matter and little or no information was gathered as to their provenance and type. A single volume, arranged numerically by a classification code, appears to indicate that the first 14,000 or so photographs acquired were arranged by subject groupings.

By 1934, the annual report of the Provincial Library and Archives department noted that the "collection of photographs and prints in the Archives, which is estimated to consist of at least 14,000 items, is rapidly outgrowing the old filing system, and sooner or later the entire collection must be recatalogued and rearranged." In 1935 the new system of applying individual catalogue numbers known as "HP" or "Historic Photograph" numbers had begun. In 1940 the Provincial Archivist reported that half the photographs had been recatalogued. The cataloguing consisted of entering the photographs into registers in HP number order; the first number assigned was HP101 or HP000101. This system of item level numbering continued into the 1990s with over 100,000 photographs entered into the HP accession registers. While most of these photographs continued to be acquired because of their subject matter, selected photographs that formed part of original record groups, were also catalogued with an HP number.

The "original" photographs acquired in this way consist mainly of photographic prints in a variety of sizes and formats, but also include original negatives (both glass and flexible). In many cases, the Archives borrowed and copied photographs from individuals and other institutions. In these cases the "original" is a copy print made by the Archives at the time.

The prints are stored in HP number order in several runs: main run of several hundred boxes, one run of Maynard photographs, two runs of oversized photographic prints and one run of large oversized prints stored in map cabinets. Original negatives are stored by type (glass, nitrate, acetate, polyester etc.), usually by HP number. These original records are often know as "HP originals".

Copy prints were made of many of the prints and are arranged by subject in several runs. Portrait/family files are arranged in alphabetical order; topographic (place name) files are arranged alphabetically by place name and then by subject within the place; and a small set of subject files (including ships) are arranged alphabetically by subject. There are a variety of indexes and lists of files available in the Archives to help determine which general file copy print files are available on request.

Copy negatives (arranged by negative number or photo lab number) were made from many of the prints and original negatives. These records were used for reproductions and are stored in a large negative cabinet.

British Columbia Archives

Archives sound recording collection

  • F6
  • Collection
  • [ca. 1930-1995]

Collection consists of sound recordings collected or acquired by the BC Archives from a wide variety of donors and sources. The recordings include oral history interviews, radio broadcasts, and published sound recordings. Subjects include family history, local and regional history, industrial history, and broadcasting.

British Columbia Archives

Herald Street collection

  • GR-1069
  • Collection
  • [ca. 1849 to 1970]

The collection consists of records created ca. 1849 to 1970 by the Dept. of Lands and Works and related departments, including pre-Confederation government bodies.

Speech from the Throne

  • GR-3346
  • Collection
  • 1872-1876; 1905; 1960-2023

The collection consists of an incomplete set of copies of the Speech from the Throne, created between 1872 and 2023. The collection was made by the BC Archives using copies of the speeches, including red-ribbon copies, drawn together from various government office sources.

The Speech from the Throne is given by the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia who addresses the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia at its opening and/or closing sessions. The speech outlines the executive government's plans at the start of each session of the Legislative Assembly and reviews the accomplishments of the government at the end of each session.

British Columbia. Lieutenant Governor

A.B. Young photograph collection

  • PR-0089
  • Collection
  • [ca. 1912]-1928

The collection consists of a dismantled album of unknown provenance, probably created around 1912. Many of the 32 black and white images have captions which indicate that they are of the Fort St. John area. The images show transportation across the Peace River by canoe and scow as well as homesteaded property and livestock.

The collection also includes 38 miscellaneous black and white photographs (some postcards) that are mostly unidentified. Some are labelled as Prince Rupert, 1928, Butedale, Kennedy Island and Port Essington.

Young, Alfred Barringer

Reginald Herbert Roy collection

  • PR-0306
  • Collection
  • 1859-1874, 1889-1911, 1971-1973

The collection consists of a record of vessels entering the Port of Victoria, correspondence concerning the activities of the United Services Institution of Vancouver Island, also known as the Royal United Services Institute, a log book of the schooner "Louis Olsen", and records of seal catches in the Pacific. It also includes some calling cards and Roy's interviews with former BC Health and Welfare minister Eric Martin and Senator John Wallace de Beque Farris.

Roy, Reginald Herbert, 1922-2013

Ronald Greene collection

  • PR-0819
  • Collection
  • 1861-1930

The collection consists of photographs and records acquired by Ronald Greene. It includes a scrapbook containing poetry, sample letters, photographs and clippings.
Collection also includes an album of Hydrex Industries photos (197902-003); an album of an unknown Victoria family, ca. 1910 (197911-005); copies of photographs copied from B.C. Land collection (197903-005); copies of a photograph album which documents the Victoria Dial Exchange installation in 1930 (198103-001); a postcard of H. I. H.: Prince Fushimi at the Big Tree, Stanley Park, 1907 (198109-001) and a photo of the New Westminster Public School, photographer R. Maynard (198601-008).

Greene, Ronald A., 1938-

George Allen collection

  • PR-1044
  • Collection
  • 1901-1954

The collection consists of photographs acquired or collected by George Allen and include the following: ca. 1730 nitrate negatives depicting early aerial photography of the B.C. lower mainland and Pacific west coast to Anyox, for the period 1926-1932. These photographs were taken by the photographer Stuart Thomson, and also by Western Canada Airways/Pacific Airways Lt., precursors of Canadian Pacific Air. These photographs are numbered from 1a to 1726 with gaps.

There are ca. 1150 negatives, both glass and nitrate, of views depicting Vancouver and area, Fraser River Valley, Victoria and Nanaimo, roads etc. taken from 1901 to the 1930's, all taken by professional photographers including Stuart Thomson, the Edwards Brothers, Richard Broadbridge and Gowen Sutton Company Ltd. These photographs are numbered from 1301 to 3230 with gaps.

The collection also includes ca. 2570 nitrate negatives and contact prints of the Okanagan region, Vancouver Island, some of Banff, Calgary, Lethbridge, Winnipeg, and Quebec from the 1920s to 1954. These photographs were mainly taken by photographer C. C. Wright while in the employ of Gowen and Sutton, commercial producer of postcards. These photographs were acquired by George Allen in the 1950's and added to his collection. They are numbered from 1 to 1945 with many large gaps and unnumbered files.

Allen, George

A.H. Maynard collection

  • PR-1258
  • Collection
  • [between 1896 and 1932]

The collection consists of four discreet collections of photographs, the bulk of which are lantern slides. The majority of the fonds consists of several sets of lantern slides, the bulk of which contain photographic subject matter dating from 1868 to 1930. The photograph collections are attributed to Albert Hatherly Maynard, son of early pioneer photographer Richard Maynard (1832-1907). Within lantern slide collections, slides from creators of other distinct lantern slide collections (likely Charles Frederick Newcombe and William A. Newcombe), appear to be included. A small number of flexible negatives are also included in one of the accessions.

A large number of lantern slides depict scenes of the Fraser River gold rush era of the 1860s, in the regions of Yale to Barkerville, Quesnel and Cottonwood in the interior of British Columbia. Many of the reproductions of photographs featured in the lantern slides in this collection are attributed early pioneer photographer’s works including those created by Richard Maynard during the 1860s and A.H. Maynard’s works produced in the 1920s. It also includes the photographic works of other early B.C. photographers including Frederick Dally (1838-1914), likely Louis A. Blanc who documented similar subjects as the Maynards particularly Barkerville, the Cariboo and the Cariboo Roads in British Columbia during the period before and after the Fraser River gold rush of the 1860s. A small number of photographic works by Frederick Dundas Todd (1858-1926) and F. [Dewitt] Reed are also contained within several of the slide collections.

Accessions 198203-025 and 198203-065 consist of slide compilations that depict a visual narrative of the history of Barkerville, the Cariboo Road and Cariboo region in the B.C. interior during the period of the 1868 Fraser River gold rush era and sixty years later in the 1920s. The bulk of the scenes of the gold mining resource industry, as well as views of transportation roads and routes along the journey to the goldfields. To a lesser extent views of other resources industries (forestry, agriculture, fishing and farming/ranching) are depicted against the nature and lands of the B.C. interior. Mining towns within the Lighting Creek and Williams Creek Districts, including Barkerville (before and after the fire of 1868), Richfield and Cameronton are represented, as well as other scenes representing the following views of gold mining operations: claims sites, posed group portraits and likenesses of miners, equipment and the production activity of early mining technology of associated mining companies, businesses and partnerships in the area. Photographs of mining claims and claims sites and the miners and labourers involved at Mucho Oro, Aurora Gold, Minnehah, Never Sweat; The Rankin Company (Grouse Creek), Ne’er do Weel (Grouse Creek) and the Canadian Grouse Company (Grouse Creek) are included in the sequences. Imagery along and of the Cariboo Road(s) are described as depicting various views, scenes and activities including: freight and trade transportation, transportation methods and transportation routes (ox pack teams, gold escorts; steamer “Reliance” and Fraser River crossings; travelers); views along the Cariboo Road(s) that include the geological terrain of the Fraser River (its river banks and surrounding forested and arid landscapes) at various points along the route to the goldfields including the Fraser Canyon and Lady Franklin Rock; examples of civil engineering as such as bridges; homes and ranches as well as accommodations such as roadhouses and hotels (70, 83, 108 and 150 Mile Houses, Pioneer Hotel, Van Winkel Hotel at Stanley, Colonial Hotel at Soda Creek and the Hastings Hotel) and businesses (Masonic Hall at Barkerville) in colonial service towns and mining communities and settlements. Indigenous communities do not appear to be identified in lantern slide captions, though the geographical regions documented in slides reflect many traditional Indigenous territories in which the Fraser River gold rush traversed and was situated. It appears that traditional Indigenous fishing methods are present in some views, likely in those of the Fraser River. Several photographs of geological specimens (gold nuggets) are included within the set. There appear to be very limited images of regional wildlife. There are a small number of group photographs reflecting the diverse population of gold miners, pioneers and travelers of the Interior B.C. (“Crew of SS "Nechacco"), including women and children. The views from the 1920s, appear to reflect A. H. Maynard’s trips to Barkerville, the Cariboo Road(s) and the Cariboo region. Finally, there are several views described as from the period in between 1868 and the 1920s. These slides depict views including those of the Fraser Valley region by F. Dundas Todd, a surveying team in “East Kootenay” and a few images described as the Okanagan.

A smaller collection of lantern slides (accession 198203-066) feature a random mix of Fraser River gold rush era views, military subjects, theatrical entertainment and other topics. Many slides appear to be images reproduced from works of art, books and other published materials. Documentation of theatrical productions include images of scenes and portraits from Shakespearean plays (Macbeth, Othello, A Winter’s Tale), as well as Anne Hathaway's cottage. It also includes documentation of the destruction of religious institutions during World War I, primarily in Ypres. Some of these slides indicate “mounted by Edgar Fleming, Victoria, B.C.”

Another collection of photographs (accession 198201-068) consist of 107 black and white flexible film negatives depicting Canadian and American views taken between the period of May and June 1914. These include views include of Bowmanville, Toronto and Niagara, Ontario in May 1914; Rochester and New York, New York in May and June, and the "Rio Grande" in Colorado in June of the same year. Photographs of American destinations such as San Francisco, Philadelphia, Atlantic City including Freemount Park, Salt Lake and [Ogden], Denver and Washington, DC are here. Several locations on Vancouver Island identified as Victoria, Saanich and Mill Bay also housed in this group of photographs. This unit also includes film negatives described as “C.P.R.y [Railway] 1914”. 25 copy prints were made from these negatives due to deterioration of original film negatives.16 images of Bowmanville and Toronto in May 1914 and 9 images of Vancouver Island including Victoria, Saanich and Mill Bay are available.

Maynard, Albert Hatherly

Maynard family collection

  • PR-1259
  • Collection
  • [ca. 1862]-1937

Collection consists of records created by members of the Maynard family, primarily Hannah Hatherly Maynard and Richard Maynard. Hannah, Richard, and their son, Albert Hatherly Maynard, were professional photographers based in Victoria. Records include photograph albums, a portion of the photographic portfolio of Hannah and Richard Maynard, a studio register with over 5,000 customer entries for portrait orders fulfilled by Mrs. R. Maynard's Photographic Gallery, and a small number of textual business records. Within this collection, the works of other photographers and photographic studios may be found. Images depict studio portraits, family gatherings, field photographs for Department of Indian Affairs tours of inspection of Indigenous communities, construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway (C.P.R.), documentary photographs of the natural history collection of the Provincial Museum (now Royal BC Museum), and Hannah's experimental artistic works such as tableau vivants, photocollages, composites, montages, photo-sculptures, and double- and multiple-exposure studio portraits.

Records within this collection have been arranged into series that roughly correspond to Maynard Collection numbers that were assigned according to themes by either one of the Maynard family members or early BC Archives staff.

Maynard (family)

Theatre in British Columbia collection

  • PR-1753
  • Collection
  • 1979-1980

The collection consists of oral history interviews pertaining to the history of the theatre and its development in Vancouver and Victoria.

Mannering, Peter

Chinese women and work in B.C. collection

  • PR-1754
  • Collection
  • 1984

The collection consists of oral history interviews with Chinese women about their experiences working in British Columbia from the 1920s to the 1950s. The interviews, with nine first-, second- or third-generation Chinese-Canadian women, were recorded in Vancouver, Victoria and New Westminster during the first half of 1984. The project focused on "women's work" (whether paid or unpaid), including work in the home and in family businesses. The interviews discuss the kind of work these women did; what they experienced; how they perceived their roles in the family and the Chinese community; and the legislative policies which affected their work and their lives. The interviewees are to remain anonymous, and should be referred to only by the assigned pseudonyms. In addition, two of the interviews are closed to public access.

Adilman, Tamara

N.B. Bell World War II films collection

  • PR-1773
  • Collection
  • [ca. 1941]-1946

The collection consists of military training films and newsreel films, some produced by the Canadian army.

Bell, N.B., collector

B.C. Legal History Project collection

  • PR-1775
  • Collection
  • 1978-1989

The collection consists of interviews with members of the legal and judicial profession of British Columbia conducted as part of the B.C. Legal History Project.

University of Victoria. Faculty of Law

History of shipbuilding in B.C. collection

  • PR-1778
  • Collection
  • 1975-1976

The collection consists of interviews with retired union members pertaining to the history of shipbuilding in B.C.

Marine Workers and Boilermakers Industrial Union. Local No. 1, collector

Coal Tyee history project collection

  • PR-1789
  • Collection
  • 1978-1984

The collection consists of interviews pertaining to the history of coal mining on Vancouver Island.

Coal Tyee Society

Justice councils of B.C. collection

  • PR-1790
  • Collection
  • 1982-1985

The collection consists of interviews with people who were officially involved in Justice Councils in B.C. from 1974 to the 1980s.

Cossom, John, collector

Tugboating in British Columbia collection

  • PR-1793
  • Collection
  • 1980-1981

The collection consists of interviews pertaining to the history of tugboating on the B.C. coast. Portions of these interviews with 22 individuals of the tugboat industry appear in Ken Drushka's book "Against wind and weather" (PABC NW387.232/D797)

Drushka, Ken, collector

Immigrant women interview collection

  • PR-1797
  • Collection
  • 1985

The collection consists of interviews with women who immigrated to B.C. pertaining to their experiences.

Farr, Carolyn M.

Scandinavians in B.C. collection

  • PR-1798
  • Collection
  • 1979-1982

The collection consists of interviews pertaining to Scandinavian settlements in B.C., including those at Bella Coola, Sointula and Cape Scott.

Fish, Gordon, 1938

B.C. Whaling History Project collection

  • PR-1828
  • Collection
  • 1981-1982

The collection consists of interviews pertaining to the history of whaling in British Columbia.

Goddard, Joan, collector

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