Vancouver's First Century: A City Album, 1860-1985
Library Item
Over the past hundred years, Vancouver has grown from a quiet clearing in the rainforest to become a lively, cosmopolitan city.
Now, only scattered remnants of the old city exist: Edwardian wood-frame houses stand in the shadow of highrises, cobblestone streets reflect neon lights in the rain and turn-of-the-century mansions look out onto terraces of condominiums.
But Vancouver's colourful past - and present - come alive in the pages of this book. over 250 photographs and advertisements capture the highlights and flavour of a century of the city's life: lumberjacks with teams of oxen, women in calf-length bathing dresses, hobo jungles in the Depression, men going off to war, protest marches, bobby soxers, hippies and punks.
As a counterpoint to these images, the editors have selected quotations from diaries, journals, newspapers and magazines. A capsule one-page history begins each chapter.
David Brock's introductory essay recalls the Vancouver of days gone by: traffic signals that rang, the sight of sea otters, the scent of cedar from boatyards. And how King George V, John Barrymore and Trotsky the bear all manage to appear in this essay is the reader's treat.
This is a very special and entertaining portrait of an ever-changing city, and a fine tribute to Vancouver's photographers, yesterday and today.
The first edition of Vancouver's First Century, which chronicled the years from 1860-1960, was greeted with acclaim and went through two printings. This new, updated edition has 32 more pages of photographs and excepts, bringing the city's story up to 1985.
Now, only scattered remnants of the old city exist: Edwardian wood-frame houses stand in the shadow of highrises, cobblestone streets reflect neon lights in the rain and turn-of-the-century mansions look out onto terraces of condominiums.
But Vancouver's colourful past - and present - come alive in the pages of this book. over 250 photographs and advertisements capture the highlights and flavour of a century of the city's life: lumberjacks with teams of oxen, women in calf-length bathing dresses, hobo jungles in the Depression, men going off to war, protest marches, bobby soxers, hippies and punks.
As a counterpoint to these images, the editors have selected quotations from diaries, journals, newspapers and magazines. A capsule one-page history begins each chapter.
David Brock's introductory essay recalls the Vancouver of days gone by: traffic signals that rang, the sight of sea otters, the scent of cedar from boatyards. And how King George V, John Barrymore and Trotsky the bear all manage to appear in this essay is the reader's treat.
This is a very special and entertaining portrait of an ever-changing city, and a fine tribute to Vancouver's photographers, yesterday and today.
The first edition of Vancouver's First Century, which chronicled the years from 1860-1960, was greeted with acclaim and went through two printings. This new, updated edition has 32 more pages of photographs and excepts, bringing the city's story up to 1985.
Anne Kloppenborg (Editor)
Alice Niwinski (Editor)
Eve Johnson (Editor)
Robert Gruetter (Editor)
David Brock (Contributor)
Alice Niwinski (Editor)
Eve Johnson (Editor)
Robert Gruetter (Editor)
David Brock (Contributor)
LIB.00155
Vancouver/Toronto: Douglas & McIntyre
1985
0-88894-4772
Print and published material
History
English
Media Room and Library
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