Did you know that mountains cover 75 per cent of British Columbia[i]? Like the beaches we introduced in April, mountains offer beautiful scenery in summer. Today, we will focus on the Canadian Rockies depicted and described in our digitized photographs, illustrations, and books in Open Collections.
Uno Langmann Family Collection of British Columbia Photographs
In the Uno Langmann Family Collection of British Columbia Photographs, you can find postcards of the Rockies:
Mt. Robson
This is a postcard of Mt. Robson, the highest peak (3,954 m; 12,972 ft) in British Columbia and of all the Canadian Rockies mountains:
Frank, Leonard. Mt. Robson, highest peak, Canadian Rockies, 1927
Mt. Field
Another postcard depicts Mt. Field (2,643 m; 8,671 ft), located within the Yoho National Park.
Mt. Field, Rockies, 1920
Mt. Stephen
The Langmann Collection has a photograph album titled, “20 real photographs of Canadian Rocky Mountains”. This is the photo of Field, BC and Mt. Stephen (3,199 m; 10,496 ft), which is also located within Yoho National Park. Mt. Stephen is the tallest of the mountains surrounding the town:
Field and Mount Stephen, [between 1920 and 1925?].
Chung Collection
Castle Mountain (Miistsukskoowa)
The Chung Collection also has numerous photographs of the Canadian Rockies mountains. Castle Mountain (Miistsukskoowa), a traditional territory of Siksika First Nation[ii], is located within Banff National park. It has numerous rock-climbing routes:
R. H. Trueman & Company. [Castle Mountain, Banff, Alberta], [between 1890 and 1899?].
The Three Sisters mountains
William Notman & Sons photography. [Three Sisters mountain range at Canmore, Alberta], 1899.
Mt. Assiniboine
Mt. Assiniboine (3,618 m; 11,870 ft) is located on the British Columbia/Alberta border.
Mt. Assiniboine, [between 1930 and 1939?].
Canadian Pacific Railway’s Advertisements
In the Chung Collection, we have digitized many advertising pamphlets of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company’s hotels and train tours which have beautiful illustrations on their front pages.
This 100-page booklet includes the detailed descriptions of each sightseeing spot in the Canadian Rockies:
The challenge of the mountains, 1904.
This five-page pamphlet also summarizes the resorts in the Rockies:
Through the Canadian Rockies, 1931.
BC Historical Books collection
BC Historical Books collection has books from the late 19th century and the early 19th century about the Canadian Rockies:
Outram, James, Sir. In the heart of the Canadian Rockies, 1905.
Coleman, A. P. The Canadian Rockies : new and old trails. With 3 maps and 41 illustrations, 1911.
We hope you have a chance to enjoy the mountain views this summer. If you want to explore more mountains in Open Collections, here are some items and keywords you can access:
- Albums in the Uno Langmann Family Collection of British Columbia Photographs
- Subject: Mountains
- Subject: Canadian Rockies (B.C. and Alta.)–Description and travel
- “Canadian Rockies” advertisement (Genre) in the Chung Collection
[i] Geography of B.C. (Welcome BC)
[ii] Siksika Nation, federal government to honour Blackhoot traditions with Castle Mountain Settlement (Jan 25, 2017 in CBC News)
