Here at the Digitization Centre we are fascinated and excited by the vast amount of primary-source material that our digitization work exposes us to. Whether a document of historic significance, a beautiful illustration, or even a particularly fine typeface, we are frequently amazed by the materials we’re working to share with the world. So much so, that not only will we crowd around to ogle a particularly interesting specimen, but we’ve started decorating our workplace with copies of some of our favorites. But why stop there? Surely, we can’t be the only ones geeky enough to appreciate such “gems” in our collections, and so we’ve decided to share them here with you. Below you will find some of our favorites, hand-picked by staff from both existing and upcoming collections. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
TIP: To view full resolution versions of the images on any size screen, click to view in Open Collections.
Food Prices of the 1900s in British Columbia
Posted on May 16, 2023 by Gage
With recent skyrocketing food prices, many people find themselves reminiscing of the grocery shopping of yesteryear. The BC Historical Newspaper collection provides many great snapshots of grocery store advertisements throughout the 1900s. Here is a collated selection of various newspapers advertising from around British Columbia. One advertisement was chosen for each decade, and multiple newspapers […]
UBC Library’s Colour our Collections Project
Posted on May 02, 2023 by Marina de Souza
As part of a project to bring the public closer to UBC’s digital and physical collections, UBC Library has joined the Colour Our Collections campaign along with other museums and libraries around the world. Organized by The New York Academy of Medicine, the Colour our Collections project first took off in 2016 to offer a unique way […]
An insight into the digitization of The Shakespeare First Folio Collection
Posted on Apr 25, 2023 by Marina de Souza
This week, as a celebration of William Shakespeare’s birthday (April 23, 1564), the Digitization Centre would like to share some of the experiences of digitizing one of the extremely rare books in the UBC Library’s collections: the first edition of “William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies” published in 1623. We asked one of our graduate students, Natalia […]
Explore Open Collections: French Revolution Collection
Posted on Apr 11, 2023 by Marina de Souza
The Digitization Centre would like to share some exciting news: a rare collection of original pamphlets from the French Revolution is now available on the UBC Open Collections! Total of 114 items were digitized from the UBC Library’s French Revolution Collection which includes pamphlets, plays and documents from between 1787 and 1799, a period of […]
Anyox, British Columbia: A town that got lost, but permeates our collection
Posted on Apr 04, 2023 by Marina de Souza
“Anyox was born quietly but she went out with a bang – or at least the bang heralded the end” (Loudon, 1973, p. 97). That’s how Peter Loudon (1930 – 19-?), one of the 480 settlers born in this copper town describes the brief history and the miscalculated mining explosion that preceded the rapid economic […]
Research in UBC Open Collections: Sex and Migration in the Transpacific Underground
Posted on Mar 22, 2023 by Marina de Souza
The Digitization Centre is always thrilled to learn about the various impressive research findings made through UBC Library’s Open Collections, in particular those collections we have digitized. Knowing how they have impacted the investigation and the educational outcomes of those studies is very gratifying! Today, we would like to share the fascinating open educational resource […]
The Haweis Family fonds and Lionel Haweis’ contributions
Posted on Mar 07, 2023 by Marina de Souza
The arts and culture were a central aspect of the Haweis family (pronounced “Hoyse”) and their collection reflects that very prominently. The fonds includes materials created, received, or collected by various members of the family including Lionel Haweis, his parents Reverend Hugh Reginald and Mary Eliza Haweis, sister Hugolin Haweis and brother Stephen Haweis, and […]
Aviation photographs from first half of 1900s
Posted on Feb 21, 2023 by Marina de Souza
This February, the Digitization Centre has completed the digitization of nearly one hundred historical photographs related to aviation dated prior to the 1950s. These photos are part of the Uno Langmann Family Collection of B.C. Photographs and are now available to view for anyone interested in the aviation industry! Amongst many incredible photographs, there are […]
The Field Notebooks of H. G. Hook
Posted on Feb 07, 2023 by Marina de Souza
Field notes are an essential tool for all scientists or researchers who work in the field to record their observations of a specific phenomenon or organism they are studying. The notes usually contain information about the location, date, and description of the specimen. Often these recorded observations might seem trivial at the time, but on […]
Collaboration with the UBC Preservation Unit
Posted on Jan 26, 2023 by Marina de Souza
Team members in the Digitization Centre (DC) have an understanding and shared responsibility for the care and handling of the collections. To ensure that we are equipped with the right knowledge to handle fragile objects during digitization projects, DC has an ongoing collaboration with the UBC Preservation Unit. Experts from the Unit provide training to […]
