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The series consists of an assortment of over 600 black and white photos and negatives, largely attributed to Ernest Crocker. Many of these are of familiar Crocker themes, such as World War One, houses and buildings in Victoria, portraits of families and individuals, as well as scenic photos, taken largely on Vancouver Island, but also British Columbia as well as overseas. In addition, there is some ephemera in the form of postcards, advertising brochures, correspondence to Ernest Crocker, sales receipts with regards his many clients who purchased his photos, as well as his price lists. Within the series is the embossed metal stamp for 'Trio'.

Other material within the series consists of items that was apparently collected by Crocker during his lifetime. This includes correspondence and postcards, photos by other photographers, and a piece of artwork by John P. Peters.

Given the large volume of other Crocker material in this fonds, it is possible that there are duplicates of some of his photos (notably those relating to WW1), within this series. There is also material that is unique, however, such as the 'Trio' stamp, his correspondence, and order slips.

The dates of the series are from 1887 to around the end of World War 2 in 1945.

The fonds notably consists of military-related content from the early 1900s until the 1940s. Pre-WW1 photographs include a limited amount of photographs relating to the Canadian Militia. Photographs taken during the First World War including most departures of troops by ship from Victoria and other departures by train from Vancouver and Vernon. There are also images of numerous B.C. training camps which cover topics from training exercises, inspections, mascots and portraiture. For material covering the inter-war and Second World War, images are predominantly of ceremonies, visiting military dignitaries as well as of graduations and groups of soldiers who trained at the Officer’s Training Centre in Gordon Head. There are also photographs of the Women’s Army Corps and of various legions following the end of World War II.
The next largest group of photographs is a collection of city views, natural landscapes and other tourist-centric photography which Crocker used to make postcards which he sold. These cover large Canadian cities but also various stops along the CPR route through the Rocky Mountains, as well as other locations on Vancouver Island, across BC and down the west coast of the United States and even Mexico.
Other potential series in the Ernest Crocker fonds include portraiture, tableaux vivants, Royal Visits, celebrations and parades, and sporting events.
Also included is some ephemera, Trio postcards, correspondence, sales receipts, and an embossed seal with the Trio stamp.

The collection is presently arranged by size and to some extent format. Containers are not organized by date nor by topic and appear to be mixed throughout the collection. The majority of photographic records appear to have been created in Victoria and the surrounding area, with additional photographic records covering Vancouver Island, the British Columbia Interior, Winnipeg, Toronto, London UK, California, U.S.A., and Mexico.

The Chinese Labour Corps photographs sub-series contains images of Chinese labourers who were brought from China by the British forces during the First World War to help clear battlefields, unload supplies and dig trenches.

The photographs were taken at William Head, British Columbia where a quarantine station was established to clear international ships entering and leaving Canada’s west coast. This was done to contain the spread of illnesses but sometimes ships were held due to military and transport reasons.
The photographs were taken in 1918 as Chinese labourers passed through William Head Camp on their way to France and in 1920 as they were returning to China. The photographs show life at William Head during this time and feature the over-crowded tent area where labourers slept, as well as some activities they did to help pass the time (such as volleyball, games, visiting the YMCA, cooking etc.). Many photographs also show to embarkation process on the M.S. Dollar and HMS Empress of Asia.

Finally, the photographs also feature the staff and military officials who were in charge of the camp during this time. This includes the camp commandant Major Frank Basil Edwards.