Vancouver and Beyond: During the Golden Ages of Postcards, 1900-1914

Ann Turner is the financial and budget manager of the University of
British Columbia Library.

Picture postcard mania swept through Europe and North America in the
early 20th century. Billions of the cards were sent through the mail,
and countless others were collected in albums. The cheapest cards were
mass-produced by commercial printers but higher-quality cards were also
available, produced by photographers who printed real photographs onto
postcard stock. Vancouver photographers, both professional and amateur,
produced these cards in limited runs for sale. A few of the cards have
survived the passage of time, and thanks to them, we still have a small
window into Vancouver as it looked in the early 20th century. The
authors chose 124 of these real photo cards, plus 36 other pictures, as
a basis for their historical investigations. Their research led to this
collection of 50 separate stories about Vancouver, its adjacent
communities, and the Fraser Canyon.

The photographic reproductions are of good quality, considering the age
of the originals, and the stories are lively narratives full of
interesting details. A bibliography of secondary sources is included for
readers who wish to explore further. There is also an extensive, very
useful index, which was unfortunately set in tiny six-point type, making
it an effort to consult. That short-coming aside, this is an enjoyable
compilation of material on Vancouver’s early days.