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Archival description
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Jean B. Wilton oral history collection

  • PR-2357
  • Collection
  • [196-]-[197-]

The collection consists of sound recordings compiled by Jean B. Wilton while researching her book "May I Talk to John Howard?: The Story of J.D. Hobden, a Friend to Prisoners" (1973).

Wilton, Jean Birch, 1906-

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

Hudson's Bay Company and James Douglas correspondence collection

  • PR-2206
  • Collection
  • 1841-1858

The collection consists of six letters by James Douglas to James Yale or Donald Manson, three agreements between the Hudson 's Bay Company and four employees, and a bill of lading for the Hudson's Bay Company ship Cadboro.

Douglas, James, Sir, 1803-1877

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.

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 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

Sisters of St. Ann Archives collection

  • SSA
  • Collection
  • 1850 - 2021

The collection consists of records related to the creation and function of the Sisters of St. Ann in St. Joseph's Province, which covers the geographic area of British Columbia, the Yukon, Alaska, Oregon and Washington State. The SSA Archives acquired records created by the Sisters and the Corporation, as well as associated bodies such as parent-teacher organizations or alumnae societies for the schools they were involved in. The collection is currently arranged into 53 fonds, with the records created by The Sisters in one main fonds (PR-2415) which is comprised of approximately 140 series. The additional fonds are records created by external related bodies, such as the St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae, Providence Farm in Duncan, and the Friends of St. Ann's Academy.

The Sisters of St. Ann were involved in education and healthcare throughout British Columbia as well as in the Yukon and Alaska, and the records in this collection represent those activities, as well as the place of the congregation in the broader Catholic landscape of Western Canada. Records reflect the Sisters' presence in parochial and residential schools as well as hospitals, but also their relationship to their motherhouse in Lachine, Quebec, and the reporting structures of a congregation of women religious. There are many series that are related to a specific institution where the Sisters worked, but additional information about that institution will be held in administrative series such as the Provincial Bursar records or the Provincial Superior records.

The records in this collection are on numerous formats, including textual, photographic, audio and visual recordings, artworks, published library materials, objects, and digital records.

The Sisters of Saint Ann

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-

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)

Earl Marsh collection

  • PR-2362
  • Collection
  • 1868-1999; predominant 1922-1975

The collection consists of the records gathered by Earl Marsh, who intended to preserve the history of the British Columbia Coast Steamship Service (BCCSS) and the maritime history of British Columbia generally. He primarily collected records from BCCSS employees and their family members, as well as libraries and archives.

The collection also consists of the employment records of Earl Marsh, personal correspondence pertaining to his collecting activities, and records Marsh probably used in his position as accountant for the BCCSS.

Marsh accumulated the bulk of his collection between 1964 and 1973, during the last years in which the BCCSS provided passenger services. The records themselves were created between 1868 and 1999, with the majority created between 1922 and 1975. Records in the collection pertain primarily to the province of British Columbia, Washington State, and the state of Alaska.

The main subject of Earl Marsh’s collection is the BCCSS. Marsh was interested in the practical operations of the organization and its regional context, so his collection includes records about the BCCSS’s privately-owned competitors, other branches of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company engaged in shipping, and the establishment of government ferry services in British Columbia.

Operational records of the BCCSS provide insight into the lives of crew members who worked on ships, the financial state of the company, the design and construction of ships and shipping infrastructure, coastal weather and tide patterns, and significant shipwrecks.

As an employee of the BCCSS, Marsh had a special interest in crew members. The records reveal the job duties, union contracts, and company guidelines that shaped the lives of the workers. In addition, Marsh’s collection contains a small selection of records about the Chinese Canadian crew members of BCCSS ships. Many of these workers were employed at the time of the Chinese Exclusion Act and experienced systematic discrimination by their employer.

Marsh was also particularly fascinated by the passenger services offered by the BCCSS on their line of 32 “Princess” steamships. Prior to the First World War, Princess ships represented the height of elegance and efficiency in coastal transportation. Marsh gathered numerous photographs, menus, deck plans, and newspaper clippings that convey some of the glamour of passenger travel aboard these ships.

The records originated with different creators. The majority of the records were created by the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company, which was eventually taken over by the BCCSS, the BCCSS, and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. Some records were created by other branches of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, such as the British Columbia Lake and River Service.

Documentary forms include scrapbooks about the BCCSS, subject files, scrapbooks about other shipping companies, original BCCSS volumes such as log and time books, ephemera and photographic negatives, files of personal records, and rolls of technical drawings. Records were originally arranged in groupings according to their subject (often indicated in a folder title) and documentary form. Within some subject groupings, Marsh arranged files alphabetically.

The subjects of BCCSS-related scrapbooks include the numerous ships in the Princess line, staff members, and other aspects of the organization's history. Among many other material types, the scrapbooks contain news clippings, original company correspondence and financial records, photographs, and technical drawings. Marsh arranged these scrapbooks in rough alphabetical order.

Marsh maintained subject files on numerous ships in the Princess line, BCCSS staff members and history, and the history of other shipping companies, including the Puget Sound Navigation Company and Black Ball Ferries Limited. He kept his files on BCCSS ships in rough alphabetical order.

Marsh’s scrapbooks about non-BCCSS companies cover other branches of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company and organizations based in Washington State and the state of Alaska. These scrapbooks were not maintained in any discernible order.

Marsh maintained log books and time books from the Canadian Pacific Navigation Company and BCCSS; however, few complete sets of log books and time books exist for various ships. He also collected road maps and ephemera such as post cards, along with photographs, negatives, and slides, in random order in shoeboxes.

Marsh included his own personal correspondence and employment records in the collection. These materials were originally received in labelled files.

Marsh kept technical drawings in large rolls. Often, a roll featured upwards of 20 drawings of a single ship.

The archivist arranged the collection in six series that reflect Marsh’s original order:

MS-3254 - Scrapbooks, Canadian Pacific Railway Company records, and subject files
MS-3255 - Ship log books
MS-3256 - Time books
MS-3257 - Personal correspondence, employment records, and journal
MS-3258 - Photographs, road maps, and ephemera
MS-3259 - Technical drawings, map, and construction specifications for BCCSS ship Princess Louise II

Marsh, Earl John

Joint Reserve Commission collection

  • Collection
  • 1869, 1876-1910; predominant 1876-1878

The collection consists of records generated by the Joint Reserve Commission, predominantly from 1876-1878. The
collection includes correspondence inward and outward, memoranda, and reports. Many of the records were sent from Commissioners to representatives of the Canadian and British Columbia governments, such as the Provincial Secretary and the Department of Indian Affairs.

Joint Reserve Commission

Riverview Hospital historical collection

  • Collection
  • 1872-2008

This series consists of a variety of records created by various provincial mental health institutions from 1872 to 2008. Records relate to the administration and operation of Riverview Hospital and related mental health facilities at the Essondale site in Coquitlam, as well as other facilities across the province. These mental health institutions include: Victoria Asylum, New Westminster Provincial Asylum (later Public Hospital for the Insane or Provincial Hospital for the Insane), Home for the Aged Coquitlam (later Valleyview), Home for the Aged Terrace (later Skeenaview), Home for the Aged Vernon (later Dellview), Crease Clinic, Colony Farm, Colquitz, Woodlands School, Tranquille and other medical facilities.

The names and administrative structure of these institutions changed over time. Mental health functions were originally part of the Provincial Secretary’s mandate; they were transferred to Mental Health Services when it was created in 1950.

These government records were collected by the Riverview Historical Society and include a wide variety of subject matter and media. This includes subjects such as: early development of the Essondale lands and Colony Farm; the construction and expansion of the facility; admissions, transfers, and discharges of patients; administration of patient care; administration of therapy programs; patient and staff recreation; staff and nurse training; operation of the audiovisual department; library services; research into new medical and therapeutic practices; research by staff regarding mental health practices at Riverview and further afield; community involvement; volunteer activity; policy development; the redevelopment of the Riverview lands; general administration; and, administration of other services at the site such as postal, food, laundry, banking, transportation and safety services.

The collection has been arranged into the following series based on record types:

GR-3924 - record books
GR-3925 - operational records
GR-3926 - newsletters
GR-3927 - photographs and other graphic material
GR-3928 - films and videos

Classified as 20000-20 in Operational Records Classification System (ORCS) schedule 144007.

British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

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

Canadian Pacific Railway Company collection

  • PR-2358
  • Collection
  • 1880-1960; predominant 1897-1938

The collection consists of records created by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company in the process of carrying out activities which include the registration of its ships, the promotion of its travel and tourist facilities, and the operation of its mechanical department.

Although the records were created by the CPR, most had been in the custody of (and were donated by) individuals who were unrelated to the CPR. The records were assembled into a collection by BC Archives.

Types of records include correspondence, photographs, technical drawings (blueprints of equipment), and legal and government records in support of the registration of ships and other vessels.

The collection includes of 18 “Registration of Shipping” dossiers containing documents dating from ca. 1897 to 1938 regarding the registration of vessels related to the Canadian Pacific Railway Company (some refer to the CPR’s British Columbia Lake and River Service). The records relate to vessels built for, operated by, and sold or scrapped by the CPR. Arranged by ship name, they include vessels sailing coastal and inland B.C. waters, most of which were registered at the Port of Vancouver. The records include but are not limited to: correspondence, builder’s certificates, certificate of survey (under the Merchant Shipping Act 1854], applications for registry, declarations of ownership, declarations of the transfer of registry from one port to another, declarations of assets, bills of sale, and notice of name proposed for a British ship. The BC Archives accession file describes these records as the CPR’s copies; however, this provenance is doubtful. The correspondence is addressed to a government office (the Registration of Shipping office, Customs and Excise Department) and is stamped as received incoming letters. It appears the provenance is the government office and not the CPR. The records were acquired by the writer and editor Edward L. Affleck, were in his custody for an unknown length of time, and donated to BC Archives by him in 1989.

The collection also consists of an album of 53 black and white photographs, ca. 1920-1930, which includes images of CPR lodges, camp facilities and cabins, tea houses, chalets and nature scenes. The photos indicate they were taken by the Brigden (or Brigdens) studio. Accompanying indexing numbers appear to be those applied by Brigden. The album contains the notation: “Property of Canadian Pacific Railway– Please return to General Passenger Department, Vancouver, B.C.

Other records include: 51 blueprints primarily from the CPR mechanical department; photographs of interiors and exteriors of CPR trains, and of various public relations and tourist-related locations in BC and Yukon; photocopies of CPR loans, agreements and contract documents; a CPR railway ticket, Pincher Creek to Victoria; and a record of payments to people made for section two of the Trunk Road for the month of May 1885.

Canadian Pacific Railway Company

BC Archives fire insurance plan collection

  • PR-2268
  • Collection
  • 1885-1970

The BC Archives fire insurance plan collection consists of plans of British Columbia communities acquired from various sources over the years. The plans have been arranged alphabetically by community by Archives staff. While most of the plans are large format, coloured sheets, there are also black and white photographic negatives (with diazo fiche copies for reference) and 35 mm colour slides for many of them. The photographic negatives and colour slides are not necessarily duplicates of the printed sheets in the BC Archives collection. A detailed list, arranged by community, gives details for holdings in each format. Fire insurance plans were published by various companies including the Sanborn company, the Charles E. Goad company, the Underwriters' Survey Bureau Limited, the Canadian Underwriters' Association and the British Columbia Underwriters Association. Fire Insurance plans and atlases are large-scale (high resolution) urban maps which grew out of the need of fire insurance underwriters to understand the physical characteristics of a structure to be insured. These maps show with detail colour drawings and symbols, the character of the outside and inside construction of buildings, passages, probable fire cut-offs, fire walls, openings in walls, height and occupancy or use of individual buildings or groups of buildings. Street widths, street addresses, property lines, water pipes or mains, fire hydrants and fire alarm boxes are also located on the maps. Although fire insurance plans stopped being produced in the 1970's and have long outlived their primary function, they continue to act as important source material.

Bordertown Publishing collection

  • PR-2282
  • Collection
  • 1886-1966 ; predominant 1920s-1950s

The collection consists of photographic negatives that mainly depict railway operations in western Canada, particularly British Columbia, from 1886 to 1966. The collection was accumulated from photographs shot or collected by Albert Paull, Roy Jennings and P.H. "Spike" Brown, as well as some other private collectors. These photographs document the history, equipment and operations of the Canadian Pacific Railway, Canadian National Railways, Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway, and Pacific Great Eastern Railway. A wide range of subjects is depicted, including locomotives (steam, electric and diesel), rolling stock, snow plows, stations, water towers, trestles, bridges, right-of-way scenes, and interior views. In addition, there is a small group of industrial subjects, including images relating to the National Harbours Board, various collieries, the Victoria and Sidney Railway, and a number of lumber companies on Vancouver Island. The negatives are organized in five alpha-numeric series, using prefixes that indicate the subject railways -- CP, CN, EN, and PGE -- and IND (for industrial and miscellaneous subjects). The collection also contain a small amount of textual material, including two copies of Bordertown's published "Catalog No. 1" and two typescript copies of the complete Bordertown collection index, prepared in 1979. (See "Finding Aids", below.)

Bordertown Publishing

Bill Barlee collection

  • PR-2280
  • Collection
  • 1893-1968

The collection consists of photographs collected by Bill Barlee and 2 historic maps of South Okanagan - Similkameen and West Kootenay.

Barlee, Neville Langrell, 1932-2012

Emily Carr art collection

  • PR-2378
  • Collection
  • [ca. 1893]-1945

The collection consists of artwork created or acquired by Emily Carr between ca. 1893 and 1945. This collection was acquired by the BC Archives over many years through donations and purchases. It includes sketchbooks, paintings and other artworks.

Carr, Emily

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

Provincial Archives sheet music collection

  • PR-2375
  • Collection
  • 1899-2018

Collection includes published sheet music, many with lyrics, collected by the Provincial Archives. The majority of the collection includes materials published prior to 1970.

If a piece was assigned a number within a publisher's series, this number has been included in brackets after the statement of responsibility for the piece. The file list also includes information on publisher's series and the statement of responsibility for that series, if applicable.

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

John Thomas Walbran collection

  • PR-2405
  • Collection
  • 1902-1936

The collection consists of materials written by J.T. Walbran, including correspondence and research material. The collection also consists of a newspaper clipping book that Walbran kept between 1909 and 1912. Much of the material is related to Walbran's research into the history of British Columbia. Two volumes, the "Tonquin" and "The Cruise of the Imperial Eagle" were typed up by Provincial Archives staff in 1936, several years after Walbran's death. They were, however, created from transcripts provided by Judge Howay and it is presumed that the originals were given by Walbran to Howay.

Walbran, J.T.

Allan D. Taylor film collection

The collection consists of video copies of 36 film items from the Allan D. Taylor collection held by Library and Archives Canada. These selected items (mainly newsreel footage and out-takes) depict British Columbia events, leisure activities, scenery and cityscapes in Victoria and Vancouver, on Vancouver Island, or in the Interior (for example, Kamloops and Lillooet), during the period 1907-1931. Several items filmed during World War One show events related to the war, including the departures of various military units for the conflict. The collection includes at least one item fillmed by Vancouver filmmaker A.D. "Cowboy" Kean, and a few others that are attributed to him.

Taylor, Allan D., 1916-1999

West Coast Development Company collection

  • PR-2373
  • Collection
  • 1912-1914

The collection consists of records relating primarily to the West Coast Development Company, which aimed to develop land, located near Clo-oose on the west coast of Vancouver Island, into a resort destination. The company often used the tagline—Canada’s Greatest Pleasure Resort—interchangeably with its proper name. The records include those relating to the company act and shareholder reports, share certificates held by J. Alfred Tougas, land purchase records and lists of individuals who have purchased lots, correspondence, maps of the development, promotional material, and city guides for Vancouver, Victoria, and Edmonton. Tougas’ name appears on many of these records.

The collection also consists of notes and research files compiled by the donor, some of which relate to the West Coast Development Company records. Included in this file are two photographs, possibly of J.A. Tougas. There are records relating to a previous donation to the RBCM (1989) as well (see Associated Materials note below). There is also a file containing four photographs which are not directly related to the West Coast Development Company, but two of which depict scenes near Clo-oose and Nitinat River.

West Coast Development Company

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

Port Progress photo collection

  • PR-2330
  • Collection
  • 1914-1926

The collection consists of 110 black and white negatives of the Port Progress (Blunden Harbour) settlement site and survey photos of the area. Included are ca. 10 images taken in Vancouver and Prince Rupert of diesel converted boats and Irish Fusiliers. There are also four black and white prints of the Port Progress group that were made from negatives but given separate id numbers.
The name of the photographer (or photographers) is unknown and there are several photographer numbering systems used so the collection may have been put together by David Mason Books, based on subject.

Jack Fillion film collection

  • PR-2147
  • Collection
  • [ca. 1925-1950]

The collection consists of two amateur films showing Stewart, B.C., and mining operations in the vicinity. The later film also shows the nearby community of Hyder, Alaska.

Fillion, Jack, collector

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

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