Author Archive

The Interior of the Vancouver Opera House, (Item Bu P7) Photo by William Stark

Theatre backdrops can be very temporal artifacts, painted at grand scale, and then carted off stage or perhaps painted over for the next show. The artists who paint these backdrops most likely never managed to get top billing on the programs if they were credited at all, making them a very elusive bunch to track down. Fortunately, we do have some record of their work, most typically in publicity photography taken on stage.

With the recent upgrade to the Vancouver Archives search engine, photos like these become a whole lot easier to find and enjoy. I’ve collected a small gallery of images featuring some Vancouver backdrops which showcase the stage, theatres, and performers alike.

The Columbia Theatre, 1920 (Item : CVA 99-1379) Photo by Stuart Thomson

The Columbia Theatre was situated at 64 West Hastings, across the street from where the Paris Block is today. Here’s another picture of the theatre and its marquee by Stuart Thomson.

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Over the past few years, we’ve experienced a series of fairly significant anniversaries in Vancouver. The 125th anniversary of Vancouver last year stands out of course, but there have been others marked with fanfare, like the 100th anniversary the William Harbeck film in 2007, which was also the 100th anniversary of Purdy’s Chocolates. Don’t forget there was the PNE’s 100th anniversary in 2010, the 40th anniversary of the Canucks, followed by the 25th anniversary of Expo 86 last year. Earlier this year, the Vancouver Sun celebrated their 100th anniversary, and just last month Heritage Vancouver commemorated the 40th anniversary of Howard Hughes’s visit to the Bayshore. With all this anniversary fever, I’d like to point your attention to an upcoming book launch that marks it’s own significant anniversary.

Michael Kluckner‘s Vanishing Vancouver: The Last 25 Years is an entirely new book scheduled to be released on April 30th, 2012 by Whitecap Books. The first edition of this book was published in 1990, and this new edition will take a look back at Vancouver’s disappearing landmarks over the past 25 years. This captures the city’s contemporary history post-Expo 86, and Michael states on his website that only about 20% of the text and illustrations refer back to the original edition published in 1990. That 80% new material translates to over 200 new illustrations, which I can assure you, are loaded with insight, expertise, and artistry.

There are a host of events relating to this book launch scheduled for the month of May which I highly recommend you consider adding to your agenda:

• Thursday, May 3rd, 7 pm: book launch party at the People’s Co-op Bookstore, 1391 Commercial Drive, 604-253-6442.
• Wednesday, May 16th, 7:30 pm: illustrated lecture, “The Evolution of the Vancouver House” at the Unitarian Church Hall, 49th and Oak. Tickets are available in advance through the Vancouver Heritage Foundation for $12. There may be tickets available at the door if the event doesn’t sell out, but I suspect that it might; I recommend getting your tickets in advance. Note this is the pre-tour lecture for the Vancouver Heritage Foundation’s annual heritage house tour.
• Thursday, May 24th, 7:30 pm: illustrated lecture on the book for the Vancouver Historical Society at the Museum of Vancouver, free.
• Saturday, May 26th, 1-3 pm: book signing at Hager Books, 2176 West 41st, 604-263-9412.

To give a taste of the book, Michael gives a preview of the book on his website, but I highly recommend checking out this edition in person. I think you’ll find this is yet another must-have Vancouver title to add to your library.

Launching a magazine has always been an arduous task, but imagine if you would, launching a magazine over 100 years ago. You had one advantage; there wasn’t very much competition. With that in mind, I’d like to take some time to look at one remarkable publication that was produced in Vancouver from 1907 to 1915. This will really only to give you a taste of the magazine, as there is such a wealth of material to review. But if you thought getting your hands on a century old magazine was going to be difficult, you’re in luck! Nearly half of the issues published are already available in digital formats from Archive.org. So you can enjoy browsing a 100 year old publication when you get hold of your new iPad next week!

When it first came on the scene, the magazine was titled Westward Ho! (exclamation mark included). The front cover of the magazine stated these words in bold decorative type: “Art, Literature, Criticism, Publicity”. The very first editorial begins with the Arabic greeting Salaam and then spells out its ambitions:

Westward Ho! is started for the following reasons: Western Canada does not possess a monthly magazine. It is the conviction of the promoters that in any community the cultivation of a taste for literature, art and all studies which tend to the production of a higher standard of thought should proceed pari passu with material development. British Columbia is exceptionally situated in having a large percentage of highly educated residents, who have evinced their appreciation of good literature.

The columns of a magazine furnish the best, if not the only popular medium, for reaching the general public with high class literature.

There is room for a magazine which combines with these features an absolutely independent attitude on all public questions and which is entirely free from political tinge. There is also room for a magazine which will make a special feature of exploiting the natural resources and attractions of the Province, solely in the public interest and for the purpose of giving reliable information.

British Columbia has reached a crisis in its history, its vast potential wealth is only beginning to be realized, it is the last of the great undeveloped and unpartitioned Provinces of the world. It will be confronted with problems of great magnitude, to the solution of which the soundest judgment must be brought. Westward Ho! will secure the opinion of the most competent and influential writers who from time to time will discuss these problems.

Westward Ho! will be the joint production of a British Columbian editor, manager and staff of contributors, and therefore devoted to British Columbia interests.

Westward Ho! will stand first, last and all the time for an Imperial policy, for the Motherland, for the flag and for the King.

Two Westward Ho! cover images by artist S.P. Judge.

The first three issues featured the same cover image, but by the fourth issue, it was time for artist S.P. Judge to take the reigns. He would go on to illustrate over half a dozen covers, in addition to his illustrations featured throughout the magazine. Spencer Perceval Judge is an important artistic figure for the city of Vancouver, and I’ve featured his fine illustrations before on Illustrated Vancouver. According to Gary Sim’s British Columbia Artists CD-rom, S.P. Judge exhibited in Vancouver as early as 1903 in a group exhibition with T.W. Fripp and stained glass artist James Blomfield. In addition teaching private art lessons, Judge also quickly found commercial work, as this 1904 Vancouver Tourist Association brochure attests.

Between Volume 6 and Volume 7, the magazine takes the first steps to reinvent itself, changing its name from Westward Ho! to Man-to-Man Magazine. This name was short-lived, as there are only eight issues under this new name. Only the first and last issue of Man-to-Man Magazine are available on Archive.org. Starting at Volume 7, Number 2, the editors go with the more conventional British Columbia Magazine, a name they kept to the final issue of 1915. Wikipedia mentions that the magazine ceased publication at the start of the First World War and never resumed publication. The current magazine titled British Columbia Magazine bears no direct link to its predecessor, aside from the name.

I’d like to take a moment now to explain what you can expect to find on Archive.org. …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Today on Illustrated Vancouver I present to you, A Souvenir of Vancouver, BC, on glorious printed silk. I have posted souvenir plates before, but I have to admit I’m even more captivated seeing this type of artwork printed on fabric. In fact, it’s given me a thought. I’ve only featured textile arts once in the past with this piece called Slocan Park by Culture Crawl artist Bettina Matzkuhn. Frankly, and I’d like to see more folk art on fabric dedicated to the city, so I’m throwing down a challenge.

Anyone who submits a handmade DIY fabric inspired work of art to Illustrated Vancouver by JUNE 30th, 2012 is entered to WIN this vintage silk pillowcase! Note you don’t need to surrender your handmade craft to win – just send a picture of the artwork. Whether it’s knit, needlepoint, crochet, cross stitch, or fabric collage, all are eligible as long as there is some sort of depiction of the city of Vancouver. There are no age limits for either entrant or entries. I have elected DiYVR ambassador Kim Werker and VIAwesome president and editor-in-chief Bob Kronbauer to act as the official judges (provided we have more than one entry!). Shortlisted works will be featured here on VIAwesome, and the grand prize winner gets to take the pillowcase home!

Closeup of City Hall resembles a scene from a comic book; I can totally imagine Tintin blazing onto the scene!

Back to the pillowcase itself, I’m having a hard time accurately dating this piece, but I have a hunch or two.

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It’s been a while since I’ve posted here at Vancouver Is Awesome, but I thought it was perhaps time for a recap. 2011 was a big year for Illustrated Vancouver, and late in the year, I hit the 500th post milestone.  Since then, I’ve changed my pace somewhat, and while I won’t be posting every single day, I hope to continue my project as I work towards my original goal of 1,000 posts.

Today’s post on Illustrated Vancouver features studiomoh.com’s best of tumblr tool, supposedly generating my best posts from 2011. However, all systems are susceptible to failure, and of the top 12 images selected, almost half of the images are in fact, inflated due to fake tumblr accounts. And so, as a result, I’ve sorted through the riffraff to bring you a collage recap of what I consider to be my top 20 posts of the year.

This first collage above contains seven of the top twelve posts generated by the best of tumblr tool, as well as two more images which proved popular with the masses:

1. Old Hotel Vancouver by Charles Hepburn Scott
2. A cartoon by Len Norris
3. Giant Checkers in Stanley Park by Franklin (Archie) Arbuckle
4. Seymour fauve by Emil Kerie
5. Vancouver poster by Marisa Seguin
6. Poster for DRAWN at Little Mountain Gallery by Sol Sallee
7. Map of Vancouver by Western Canadian Greyhound Lines
8. A 1930 BCER map of Vancouver by Peter Hugh Page
9. A recent painting by Tom Carter

This second collage contains six more popular posts, two of which are by the same artist, the legendary Rand Holmes. His cover of Wreck Beach from the Georgia Straight is amazing, and his advert for Rohan’s Record Store was a hidden gem which I featured here last year. Clearly, the comic and commercial art aesthetic have a firm grasp of the market!

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