Historical Photographs at RBSC
What's a fonds?
The word "fonds" is used to describe most archival collections in Canada and also in many European and Latin American countries. Fonds simply means the documents in any media or format created or received by a person or an organization in the course of their personal or professional activities. For example, the "Yoko Ono fonds" would refer to the records created and received by Yoko Ono.
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Contact:Krisztina Laszlo
Rare Books and Special Collections
Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
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Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1
Introduction
Welcome!
UBC’s Rare Books & Special Collections (RBSC) houses many fonds that contain unique and interesting historical photographs. This guide will serve to introduce you to resources for finding and using historical photos held at RBSC as well as elsewhere within various UBC and external collections.
At RBSC, photographs can be found within the archival collections of individuals, families, and organizations. While some fonds are comprised entirely of photographs, many others contain photos in addition to other materials. RBSC also provides digitized versions of photograph collections. As such, this guide is divided into categories delineating between those photographs that can be viewed online in digitized collections and those that must be viewed in person in our reading room.
Featured Photos
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[Unknown]. (1942). [Photograph of a group of women] [P]. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0367255 |
[Unknown]. (1939). [Two Maori women cooking potatoes in geysers] [P]. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0217458 |
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Unknown. (1919). [Photograph depicting two young women with croquet mallets]. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0009913 |
[Unknown]. (1930). Wigwam Inn, Indian River Park, B.C. [P]. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0371520 |
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[Unknown]. (1911). [Portait of a couple in a horse drawn buggy and two youths on horses in front of the Stanley Park Hollow Tree] [P]. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0369207 |
[Unknown]. (1942). Group of Japanese Canadian girls participating in Bon-Odori (summer festival) at Greenwood, B.C. [P]. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0049117 |
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Cash, J. (1900). High rigger with the top of the tree just beginning to fall down [P]. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0349984 |
[Unknown]. (1918). WITH THE TROOPS IN MESOPOTAMIA [P]. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0039059 |
About Historical Photographs
For more information on the history of photography as well as its processes and methods of preservation, check out the links below.
- Encyclopedia Britannica - "Perfecting the Medium"An encyclopedia entry tracing the history of photography and its methodologies.
- George Eastman Museum - "Photographic Processes" video seriesA 12-part video series created by the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY. George Eastman was the founder of Eastman Kodak and a pioneer of popular photography and motion picture film.
- Government of Canada - "Caring for Photographic Materials"A guide to the history of photographs as well as common sources of damage and preventative measures that can be taken.
- U.S. National Archives - "How to Preserve Family Archives"A guide to handling, storing, displaying, repairing, and digitizing archival photographs and papers.
- Victoria & Albert Museum - "Photographic Processes"London's V&A Museum breaks down the different types of photographic processes over time, providing examples from their collection.