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Scanned Collections Represented in the Database

Don Coltman Photographs

Don Coltman worked as a commercial photographer from 1940 to 1954. In 1944 he purchased the Steffens-Colmer Studio. He operated his company under the names of Steffens-Colmer Studios Ltd. and Don Coltman Photography Co. Don Coltman was recognized internationally for his documentation of leading western industries- lumbering, agriculture, fishing, mining, pulp and paper plants, oil well drilling, foundries, canneries, retail businesses, sawmills, shipping, shipbuilding and tourism. During the war years, 1940-1945, he documented civil defense activities throughout the province as well as fund-raising activities of the National War Finance campaign.

While this collection is rich in images relating to these specific wartime activities, the work as a whole for the period provides a powerful glimpse of the atmosphere of life in wartime Vancouver - women at work in factories, shipyards and other non-traditional areas, children in gas masks and military landing craft "storming" Kitsilano beach in training exercises. Coltman also had a strong interest in photographing First Nations in British Columbia and Alberta.

Date range for the portion of this collection which has been processed:
1940-1949

To search scanned photographs by Don Coltman (Steffens-Colmer Studios Ltd.) enter Coltman, Don in the photographer/studio field, and select Scanned Photographs from All or Scanned on the Search Photographs page.

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Jack Lindsay Photographs

Jack Lindsay was a news photographer for the Vancouver News-Herald from 1941 to 1947 and a commercial photographer from 1947 to 1986. In addition to his work as a news and commercial photographer, he worked as an independent film maker including projects with Parry films. He formed a film company in 1958 with Bill Roozeboom called Pageant Productions. He worked as a commercial photographer for 45 years. His photographs cover a wide variety of subjects including important events, views of the city, advertising, industries, parades, theatres and businesses.

Date range for the portion of this collection which has been processed:
1940-1961

To search scanned photographs by Jack Lindsay enter Lindsay, Jack in the photographer/studio field and select Digitized Photographs from All or Digitized on the Search Photographs page.

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W.J. Moore Photographs

W. J. Moore worked as a commercial photographer from 1911 to 1953. His photographs cover a wide variety of subjects including street scenes, events, buildings, schools, construction, recreational activities, boats, ships, harbours and docks. He specialized in panoramic photography. His fonds includes a collection of 370 Cirkut negatives (available for viewing only in the Archives reading room). The W.J. Moore photographs are part of the Major Matthews' collection, Collected photographs series.

Date range: 1911-[195-?]

To search scanned photographs by W.J. Moore enter Moore, W.J. in the photographer/studio field and select Digitized Photographs from All or Digitized on the Search Photographs page.

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Stuart Thomson Photographs

Stuart Thomson was a Vancouver-based commercial and press photographer. This collection consists of approximately 10,000 pre-1940 negatives. It covers a wide range of subjects documenting the commercial, industrial, recreational and social development of Vancouver and its citizens. It has a strong military and sports focus. Among his photographic achievements were the first civilian aerial photographs in Canada in 1919.

Date range: 1910-1939

To search scanned photographs by Stuart Thomson, enter Thomson, Stuart in the photographer/studio field and select Digitized Photographs from All or Digitized on the Search Photographs page.

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Philip T. Timms Photographs

Philip Timms moved to Vancouver at the age of 24 in 1898 and started a business as a picture framer. He achieved fame after the turn of the century as a photographer of street scenes in Vancouver. He retired in 1968 after 70 years as a commercial photographer but continued taking photographs into his 94th year. His photographs cover a wide range of subjects including construction, streets, buildings, people, recreation, parks, ships and harbours. The Philip T. Timms photographs are part of the Vancouver Museums and Planetarium Association fonds, Collected photographs series.

Date range: 1898-[197-?]

To search scanned photographs by Philip T. Timms enter Timms, Philip T. in the photographer/studio field and select Digitized Photographs from All or Digitized on the Search Photographs page.

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Vancouver Museums and Planetarium Association fonds
Series: Collected photographs

These photographs were collected by the Vancouver Museum. The collection is comprised of a wide variety of subjects and represents the work of many British Columbia and Canadian photographers. Subjects include people, street scenes, buildings, businesses, transportation, industries, views and recreational activities. The geographic focus of the collection is primarily Vancouver but also includes the Lower Mainland, the Fraser Valley and British Columbia.

Date range: [185-?]-[197-?]

To search scanned photographs in this collection, enter CVA 677 in the keyword(s) field and select Digitized Photographs from All or Digitized on the Search Photographs page.

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Major Matthews' collection

Series: Collected photographs (also known as the Major Matthews Photograph Collection)

Extent: ca. 20,000 photographs: negatives and prints (ca. 17,489 item-level descriptions and 63 file-level descriptions are available on the Archives' website)

Date range: [186-?] - 1968

This photograph collection consists of photographs collected by J. S. Matthews when he was City Archivist. Photographs were collected on a variety of subjects, mostly in Vancouver but also encompassing the Greater Vancouver area, British Columbia and Alberta . The collection contains photographs of civic events, portraits, scenery, aerial views, clubs, City government, royalty and their visits, World War 1, hotels, parades, First Nations, neighborhoods, business and industry, monuments, schools, transportation and railways. The collection contains photographs of a number of well-known Vancouver photographers, including W.J. Moore, C.S. Bailey, Bailey and Neelands, William Stark, Norman Caple, C. Bradbury, C. Smith, and R.H. Trueman. The series consists of two subseries: 1) Albums; 2) W.J. Moore Cirkut negatives.

Redescription and Scanning Project

This collection of photographs has been redescribed and scanned. The project, started in 1999, has been funded through grants from the Community Archives Assistance Program, Young Canada Works, Canadian Archival Information Network (CAIN), Friends of the Vancouver City Archives and BC Gaming Commission. Approximately 9,913 item level descriptions for this collection are available on the Archives ' website.

To search a sample of photographs in this collection, enter any of these terms:

LGN*/SGN*/Bu P*/Bu N*/Bo P*/Bo N*

in the keyword field and select Digitized Photographs from All or Digitized on the Search Photographs page.

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Scanned Collections Represented in the Database

Don Coltman Photographs

Jack Lindsay Photographs

W.J. Moore Photographs

Stuart Thomson Photographs

Philip T. Timms Photographs

Vancouver Museums and Planetarium Association fonds Series: Collected photographs

Major Matthews' collection

Vancouver Museums and Planetarium Association fonds
Series: Collected photographs