The Malcolm Lowry Manuscripts Collection includes textual records, photographs, and a variety of audio-visual materials organized into sous-fonds by creator. The Collection is predominantly textual records; the majority of materials are correspondence and manuscripts, many of which have been microfilmed.

The core of the Malcolm Lowry Manuscripts Collection is the Malcolm Lowry Papers, and the content of the Collection is consequently thematic. Materials pertaining to Malcolm Lowry’s life and works were collected by RBSC from a variety of sources, including Lowry’s friends and family.

As of the 2023 rearrangement of the Collection, the records are arranged in sous-fonds as follows:

SF01 Malcolm Lowry Papers
SF02 Margerie Lowry Papers
SF03 Earle Birney Papers
SF04 Harvey Burt Papers
SF05 Victor Doyen Papers
SF06 Anthony Kilgallin Papers
SF07 Carol Betty Atwater Papers
SF08 William McConnell Papers
SF09 David Markson Papers
SF10 Einar Neilson Papers
SF11 William Templeton Papers
SF12 Lowry Family Papers
SF13 Photographs
SF14 Microfilm
SF15 Douglas Day Papers
SF16 Rudy Wurlitzer Papers
SF17 Francillon and Nadeau Papers

The collection consists of archival records, printed materials, photographs, maps, posters, artefacts and paintings all related to the Klondike Gold Rush. Records span the activities of individuals, organizations, companies, and government bodies related to the Klondike Gold Rush, the Yukon, Alaska, and the Northwest Territories from ca. 1860 to 2003. The collection documents the journeys of, and commerce created by individuals and groups of people from around the world who left their homes to join the Gold Rush; it also contains materials documenting the presence of Indigenous peoples throughout the Yukon.

The collection reflects the development of regional infrastructure and transportation in the Yukon and Alaska, including the creation of the White Pass and Yukon Route railway line. Many materials in the fonds originated from the construction and development of specific town sites and communities located in the Yukon, including Dawson City, Carcross, Forty Mile, and White Horse.

Other materials document the creative works of individuals seeking to record and share stories about the Klondike in various forms, including photographs, journals, poetry, music and theatre.

The collection is comprised of the following series: Textual Records, Photographic Materials, Cartographic Materials, Graphic Materials, and Objects. Each series is majorly comprised of the record type described in the title, and materials within each series are described at the item level.

The collection consists of documents, archival records, photographs, ephemera and artifacts related to three broad themes: British Columbia history, immigration and settlement and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. Included are the archival fonds of the Yip family and Yip Sang Company, the Dart Coon Club and Chinese Freemasons of Victoria, Hugh G. Robinson (regarding the S.S. Greenhill Park Explosion), Rev. MacDonnell (regarding the Clandonald colony of Scottish immigrants in Alberta) and the British Columbia Coast Steamship Service. Includes documents, ephemera and artifacts of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, including records of travelers on CPR rail and steamships.

The Uno Langmann Family Collection of B.C. Photographs, donated by Uno and Dianne Langmann and Uno Langmann Limited, consists of more than 20,000 rare and unique early photographs from the 1850s to the 1970s. It is considered the premiere private collection of early provincial photos, and an important illustrated history of early photographic methods. The photographs were taken by a wide range of photographers. Some well-known photographers represented in the collection include William Notman, Charles MacMunn, Frederick Dally, Charles Horetzky, Charles Gentile, Philip Timms, Yucho Chow, R. Maynard, and Leonard Frank.

This finding aid will provide access to the collection in the interim period while UBC Library digitizes the collection. For updates on the collection and its digitization, please visit http://langmann.library.ubc.ca

The Mavis Hall collection comprises of a variety of printed and photographic materials collected by Margery McCuaig, Hall’s mother, during a trip to Japan, sponsored by the Japanese Tourism Ministry and the Japanese Government Railways, from July-August, 1939.

The collection contains commercially-produced slides, postcards and souvenir photographs, as well as Board of Tourism publications, prints, and a few personal items and memorabilia of McCuaig, such as a passport, scrapbook, and autograph book. McCuaig also collected ephemera from the time she spent on the cruise ship, including daily ship menus, news bulletins, travel brochures, and entertainment programmes, that exhibit her experiences onboard.

Collection consists of documents and maps that supported the findings in McDowell's book, Uncharted Waters: The Explorations of Jose Narvaez (1768-1840), published in 2015 by Ronsdale Press, Vancouver, BC.

All items in this collection are photocopies. The dates of the originals fall between 1788 and 1830. When available, information about the locations of the originals is specified in the file-level description.

From McDowell: "One of the least appreciated, but potentially most important set of historical documents in [RBSC] are those related to the overlooked Spanish navigator Jose Maria Narvaez (1768-1840), the first European mariner to explore the central and northern parts of what we now call the Salish Sea in 1791 -- one year before the famous captains Dionisio Alcala-Galiano, Cayetano Valdes y Bazan, and George Vancouver investigated the same inland sea. Although Narvaez's remarkable achievements and contributions were largely ignored, overlooked, or minimized until 1998, a more accurate assessment is emerging, and it has been supported significantly by the documentary information in [RBSC]."

The collection reflects the careers and interests of the Farris family, who were prominent members of the Vancouver elite. Their status as a family of lawyers and educated individuals often allowed them the opportunity to travel and attend noted events such as the Royal Ascot Racecourse, and encounter several distinguished individuals, such as Prime Ministers Louis St. Laurent and Pierre Trudeau, Lieutenant Governor Walter Owen, and Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The collection consists chiefly of correspondence, photographs, matters of estate, family history, notebooks, manuscripts, legal memorabilia, and family memorabilia of John Wallace de Beque Farris, Evlyn Keirstad Farris, John Lauchlan Farris, and Dorothy Farris.

The Bush Family collection consists of records and objects gathered by various family members on specific holidays or during special occasions. George and Pearl Bush contributed memorabilia related to their family’s settlement in Vancouver, their vacations in Europe and the United States, the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, the city of Vancouver, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and the country of Canada. Some records and objects commemorating the Dominion of Canada and the Canadian Pacific Railway Company feature racist depictions of Indigenous peoples. Items originating with George and Pearl date from the early to mid-twentieth century.

Patrick Bush contributed memorabilia related to his studies at the University of British Columbia, particularly his graduation and his membership in the Sigma Epsilon chapter of the Zeta Psi fraternity. Records originating with Patrick Bush date from the mid to late 1950s.

Records are arranged by subject in files. For example, all memorabilia related to the Canadian Pacific Railway Company is aggregated, as are records of Patrick Bush’s university attendance. Documentary forms include invitations and programs to UBC fraternity events; UBC fraternity decals; UBC convocation programs; copies of Patrick Bush’s university transcripts; instructions for participating in a UBC convocation; various hand-drawn maps of the U.S.S.R., likely prepared by Patrick Bush for a university course; Patrick Bush’s Bachelor of Laws degree; a single issue of UBC Alumni Chronicle (1985); blank and handwritten postcards depicting the United States and Europe; commemorative ephemera celebrating the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, including a menu, church service order, and booklet; black and white family photographs; souvenir booklets containing photographs and illustrations of famous scenes in Europe and the United States; tickets for tourist attractions and transit in Europe; information booklets about tourist attractions and sites in Europe; maps for parts of Europe; menus from various cruise ships; Royal Automobile Club route cards; information booklets about Canada, the province of British Columbia, and the city of Vancouver; maps of various parts of British Columbia; a BC Emergency Air Service decal; a poster commemorating the Golden Jubilee of Vancouver (circa 1936); various correspondence addressed to George Bush, including postcards; travel ephemera from Patrick Bush; preliminary lists of electors, including Patrick Bush, as compiled by Elections Canada for the district of Vancouver Centre in 1979; black and white photographs and negatives depicting members of the extended Bush family; Canadian Pacific Railway company employee photographs, voyage programs and menus, sailing listings, promotional tour pamphlets and booklets, steamship passenger lists, log book abstracts, monogrammed envelopes, voyage guest feedback forms, staff bulletins, gazettes (newspapers), and ship deck plans; photocopies of various Vancouver and London, England newspapers featuring articles about members of the Bush family; a decorative leather wall hanging belonging to George Bush; a matchbox; and a coaster.

The collection consists of ship logs bound into two separate volumes, spanning the years 1882-1885. The logs document multiple voyages of three British battleships sailing the coast of North and South America.

The logs were kept by C.F. Henderson, F.A. Hodge, and possibly other crew-mates, as in some instances the recorder of the log is not named. They contain a meticulously detailed account, written and layouted in script, of the routinized and often eventful day to day lives of mariners who sailed South America, the west coast of America, and the Pacific west to the Hawaiian Islands.

Interleaved between the daily record of the voyages are manuscript charts and detailed diagrams of the ships themselves. There are charts delineating parts of South America, the Hawaiian Islands and the western coastline of America, including Vancouver Island and vicinity in detail. All the charts bear the manuscript tracks of the ships. Many of the diagrams and drawings of the ships and their parts are in color and show profile and sectional views of machinery and artillery as well as plans of the ships as a whole.

The manuscripts are bound with twine, and canvas wrapper over marble boards.

The voyages documented in the logs, including destination and date range are as follows:

Volume 1:

Log I: HMS Swiftsure. Commanded by Captain R.C. Atchinson. July 1882 –January 1884. Kept by C.F. Henderson. Rio de Janerio to Montevideo to Sandy Point to Coquimbo to Callao to Pisco. Pisco to Callao. Callao to Chimbote to Pacasmayo to Paita to Galapagos Islands to Honolulu to Esquimalt to San Francisco to San Diego to Acapulco to Panama (Tobago Island) to Callao to Pisco to Arica.

Log II: HMS Sappho. Commanded by Commander Bouverie F. Clark. January 1884--Feb 1884. Kept by C.F. Henderson. Pisco to Arica to Iquique to Coquimbo to Valparaíso.

Log III: HMS Swiftsure. Feb. 1884-July 1884. Kept by C.F. Henderson. Valparaíso to Caldera to Iquique to Callao to Honolulu to Esquimalt.

Volume 2:

Log IV. HMS Swiftsure. Kept by F.A. Hodge March 1883-June 1884. Galapagos to Honolulu to Esquimalt to San Francisco to San Diego to Acapulco to Panama. Port La Union to Panama Bay to Callao to Pisco to Arica to Iquique to Coquimbo to Valparaíso to Coquimbo to Caldera to Iquique to Callao to Honolulu.

Log V. HMS Mutine. Commanded by Captain Edwards. Kept by unknown. June 1884-July 1884. Honolulu to Esquimalt.

Log VI: HMS Swiftsure. Commanded by Captain R.C. Atchinson. Kept by unknown. July 1884-Aug 1884. Esquimalt.

Log VII: HMS Swiftsure. Commanded by Captain Guy Mainmariny. Kept by unknown. Aug 1884-October 1884. Esquimalt to English Bay. Burrard Inlet to Esquimalt.

Log VIII: HMS Swiftsure. Commanded by Rear Admiral Baird, Captain F.S. Brand. October 1884-June 1885. Esquimalt to San Francisco to Mazatlan to San Blas to Acapulco to Panama to Payta to Callao to Mollendo to Arica to Coquimbo to Valparaíso to Coquimbo.