British Columbia 100 Years Ago: Portraits of a Province

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

With this fifth book in their award-winning line-up of historical
postcard collections, Thirkell and Scullion turn their attention from
British Columbia’s lower mainland to the province as a whole. The 80
black-and-white images chosen for this latest title come from nine
different regions of the province, including settlements that are now
just memories. An introduction identifies the regions, describing what
they were like 100 years ago and what they are today.

The photographic postcards illustrated are surprisingly fine
reproductions of actual cards produced for tourists and collectors
around the turn of the century. As a historical record of their subject
buildings, ships, events, and views, they are absolutely invaluable.
Each one is accompanied by a short essay about its subject, describing
its circumstances, when the photograph was taken, and what later became
of it. Names and places are indexed, and the sources the authors
consulted while researching the postcards are listed. Collections like
this one and its predecessors bring history to life.