The collection contains records related to Oscar Orr’s career in law, his professional and political affiliations, and records relating to his role as a prominent resident in the province of British Columbia. There are also historical records that Orr gathered as part of his collection. The collection consists of five series: British Columbia records; American records; Canadian provinces and politics records; Britain and Europe; and Books and miscellaneous records. The series contain correspondence, autographed clippings and notes, invitations and miscellaneous documents of prominent political individuals, businessmen, and royalty.
The series British Columbia records contains Orr’s correspondence with prominent and political members in British Columbia in the early to late 1900s. The series includes the autographs of BC political members as well as prominent BC court officials. Also includes a letter from Dan Cranmer of Alert Bay regarding a possible potlatch. The series American records contains documents and autographs of prominent US political, literary, and war figures. Records in this series date back to the 18th century and were part of the collection Orr gathered as part of his interest in history. The series Canadian provinces and politics records include early 19th century documents relating to the Canadian political landscape as well as Orr’s own correspondence with Canadian politicians and court officials. The series Britain and Europe contains records and autographs of British and European political, literary, and military figures, dating back to 1698. Books and miscellaneous records include books, newspapers, photographs and other records from Orr’s collection that relate to his interest in history.

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 majority of the collection relates to mining in the Sandon, B.C. community and surrounding areas. Documents relating to mining claims and claim disputes are prevalent. Other records include financial books and receipts, business and personal correspondence, newspaper clippings, other legal records and court rulings, leases, payroll records, numerous receipts and invoices and various corporate documents.
Each of Harris’ businesses, Hotel Reco, Reco Mining and Milling Company, Sandon Water Works and Light Company, Star Mining and Milling Company, Slocan Power Company, and Wonderful Mines are represented in this collection. In addition there are records from the British Columbia Mining Association and the Silver-Lead Miners Association of British Columbia.

The W.B. Bailey series and the Clarence Cunningham series are relatively small. The Cunningham records include only financial records ca. 1916 to 1919, and newspaper clippings from 1939. The Bailey records are a grouping of telegrams from 1901 to 1902 with a complete inventory of each supplied by Mr. Barlee.

The collection spans the full range of years that the press was in operation and demonstrates the breadth of their letterpress work.

It contains a series with books such as artists’ books and chapbooks that were printed by the press and another that collects ephemeral material such as greeting cards and promotional material for businesses.

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 collection reflects the forestry operations and projects undertaken by Western Forest Products and their predecessors. The majority of the material dates to the 1980s, with some material dating to as early as the 1950s and as late as the early 2000s. Much of the contents relates to MacMillan Bloedel Limited, in particular their tree farm licenses (TFLs), silvicultural practices, and some corporate information.

Tree farm license records include: project reports, working and management plans, and maps. Silviculture records include: growth and yield reports, environmental reports, literature, and summaries of silvicultural projects. Corporate records include meeting agendas and minutes, publications, and microfiche.

There are three main types of material in the collection: textual records, maps, and microfiche. The initial acquisition also included aerial photographs which have subsequently been transferred to the UBC Geographic Information Centre.

The collection consists of eighteen legal records from England, dating from 1525 to 1820, documenting leases, mortgages, indentures and similar acts. As a collection, the records contextualize economic transactions during the Early Modern period, and provide an understanding of the legal system of ownership and commerce. They contain place names and the names of people involved in the acts, and where legible these have been listed as access points in the finding aid.

The collection comprises records acquired by Peter Moogk about aspects of British Columbia’s history, including the British Columbia Electric Railway Company’s interurban train lines (predominantly from 1909-1958), and photographic representations of persons (especially white settlers, from 1870-1960), places, events and activities in the province.

The collection includes six series: British Columbia Electric Railway Company Records, Portraits of Persons in British Columbia, Photos of places, streets, and architecture in British Columbia, Photos of events and activities in British Columbia, British Columbia ephemera and Records from British Columbia Penitentiary.

Records relating to the first series, British Columbia Electric Railway Company Records, include: photographs; postcards; original BCER documents, such as union agreements and timetables; BCER employee publications; transit tokens; signs and posters from within Vancouver streetcars; and a copy of a CJOR radio script.

Records relating to the second series, Portraits of Persons in British Columbia, include: photographs and handwritten notes by Moogk about Vancouver photographers operating from 1858-1920.

The focus of the third series, Photos of places, streets, and architecture in British Columbia, is photographs of structures and places of British Columbia, notably building exteriors and interiors, and street views from 1880-1959.

The fourth series, Photos of events and activities in British Columbia, includes photos of notable events and public activities (predominantly dating 1911-1941), as well as everyday life, and also includes handwritten and photocopied information on the provenance of the photos and activities depicted.

The fifth series, British Columbia ephemera, is mostly paper ephemera representing the variety of business and activity in the province from 1890 to 1990, and includes menus, theatre programs, business correspondence, and Chinese textbooks as well as some photographic materials.

The sixth series, Records from British Columbia Penitentiary, includes textual records and photographs relating to the British Columbia penitentiary.

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.