Library catalogues in Open Collections
Have you ever wondered about what library catalogues used to look like – or what books were in your local library’s collection many decades ago? We’ve come across a handful of historical library catalogues in Open Collections, which we’ve gathered here for your perusal. You can click on the title or cover of any of […]
Exploring British Columbia’s historic towns through Open Collections
Many images in Open Collections show places that, while once centers of railway or mining activity, are no longer as populous as they once were. This post explores historic towns in British Columbia. Some resources describe these as “ghost towns” – towns that were abandoned, have a very small population today, and/or primarily exist as tourist […]
Happy Valentine’s Day from the Digitization Centre!
With Valentine’s Day coming up this week, we’ve gathered together Valentine’s Day content from our collections. From the Chung Collection, check out these “Saint Valentine Dinner” menus and concert programs from 1927-1930. Click any cover below to view the full menu in Open Collections: Not sure what to say to your valentine on Thursday? […]
Canadian Pacific Railway hotels in B.C.: Part 2
This two-part series features some of the earliest Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) hotels in British Columbia. Many of these hotels have since closed down but formed an important part of early Canadian railway history. You can view Part 1 here. In previous blog posts, we profiled the two largest surviving CPR hotels in B.C.: Hotel […]
Canadian Pacific Railway hotels in B.C.: Part 1
This two-part series features some of the earliest Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) hotels in British Columbia. Many of these hotels have since closed down but formed an important part of early Canadian railway history. In previous blog posts, we profiled the two largest surviving CPR hotels in B.C.: Hotel Vancouver and the Empress Hotel. Mount […]
Happy Holidays from the Digitization Centre!
In the spirit of the holiday season, enjoy these wintery images from Open Collections. Check out these beautiful photographs of a snowy UBC campus, from the UBC Archives Photograph collection: From the Chung Collection, this 1928 Canadian Pacific Railway Company menu advertises various winter sports in Banff: Also, check out this ski holidays […]
The Empress Hotel
The iconic Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia, is prominently featured in the Chung Collection. The Empress Hotel was designed by architect Francis Rattenbury in the “Chateau style” (also known as the Châteauesque style). This was an architectural style based on French Renaissance architecture common to many of the grand railway hotels. Because the Empress […]
Hotel Vancouver
Did you know that there were actually three incarnations of the Hotel Vancouver? One of Canada’s grand railway hotels, Hotel Vancouver has a rich history beginning with its initial construction in 1888. This post uses images and publications from the Chung Collection to trace its history, from the first Hotel Vancouver to its present-day incarnation […]
Subjects in Our Collections: Canadian Studies
British Columbiana and Canadiana are two of our largest areas of collection development. Our collections hold items that explore a range of disciplines related to these topics, including history, business, sociology, literature, and more. For example: BC Historical Books: This collection contains almost 2,000 books about and/or published in British Columbia. Three bibliographies of British […]
Mah Jongg: A Community Game
You have probably already heard of Mah Jongg. Maybe you’ve grown up playing it or have family who play it. Maybe you’ve tried to play a video game version of it on your phone. Or maybe you’ve only ever heard the name. We are happy to have a Mah Jongg set in our Chung Collection, […]