Things to do on Winter Break: Part II
In this two-part series, we compile images of winter activities and attractions from Open Collections. You can view Part I here. Winter destinations Banff National Park is a signature travel destination both in summer and winter. This menu from the Canadian Pacific Railway in the Chung Collection advertises winter sports in Banff on the cover. […]
Explore Illustrations of Plants in Open Collections
In a previous blog post, we discussed John Gerard’s The herball, or, Generall historie of plants (1597), a book that features lists of plants with accompanying descriptions of their properties. For this blog, we will introduce more illustrations of plants in our Open Collections. Botanical and ethnological appendix to Menzies’ journal of Vancouver’s voyage, April […]
Advertisements for Canadian Pacific Steamships: Part II
The Chung Collection has thousands of photographs and related material on CPR steamships with a particular emphasis on the Empress class ships. Some of the related material includes pamphlets, menus, world cruise photograph albums, clippings, diaries, and correspondence from both passengers and employees of these vessels. In this two-part series, we will explore some advertisements […]
Advertisements for Canadian Pacific Steamships: Part I
In 1887, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) started a Trans-Pacific service from Vancouver to Asia. With the success of this new venture, the CPR adopted a new name for the steamship services, calling it the Canadian Pacific Steamship Company (CPSC). In 1915, the CPR decided to make the division into a separate entity, the Canadian […]
Salmon in Open Collections
Autumn is the spawning season in B.C. when salmon fight their way upstream as they complete their final journey. On Campbell River in Vancouver Island or Capilano River in North Vancouver, you’ll be sure to spot salmon leaping their way back home. For this post, we gathered historical images related to salmon in B.C. from […]
Japanese Canadian Communities in BC: Before Relocation
Ever since the first Japanese immigrants arrived in Canada in the late 19th century, Japanese Canadians have created their communities in their settlement areas. They came to a new country to find employment and to improve their economic situation. In Open Collections, we have many resources about the history and lives of Japanese Canadians. This […]
The Canadian Rockies
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 […]
British Columbia Beaches
Now that the rainy season is finally ending, we’re ready to enjoy British Columbia’s beautiful beaches. For this post, we gathered together historic photos of B.C. beaches, from right here in the Lower Mainland to Powell River. Starting locally, we found several photos of beaches at and near UBC in the UBC Archives Photograph collection. […]
Celebrate World Book and Copyright Day
Today is World Book and Copyright Day, an international event in support of books, reading, and literacy. This year, the focus is on protecting and supporting Indigenous languages, in conjunction with the International Year of Indigenous Languages. You can read more about World Book and Copyright Day on the United Nations and UNESCO websites. In […]
Maps in Open Collections
The Digitization Centre has digitized several collections of maps, as well as several collections that contain maps among other materials. This post provides a summary of those collections, showcasing some of our favourite maps from Open Collections! Greater Vancouver Regional District Planning Department Land Use Maps This collection contains more than 1,800 maps of the […]