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 fonds reflects Mary Bishop’s interests in the social and political issues surrounding family planning, access to birth control, and population planning, primarily in Canada, as well as in south Asia and globally. She accumulated a large number of subject files to support her research in these areas on topics including human sexuality; abortion; fertility; welfare of children and families; and the influence of organized religion and Eugenics movements on birth control access. The fonds also reflects Bishop’s dedication to voluntary service with local, national, and international organizations focused on family and population planning. A small number of personal records are also included.

Bishop’s records are arranged into three series: population and family planning research; volunteer involvement; and personal files. The fonds consists primarily of newspaper clippings and research notes on topics of interest to Bishop; government and NGO reports and publications on population policy and family planning issues; pamphlets and flyers; and drafts of articles and speeches authored by Bishop. The fonds also includes recordings and transcripts of a series of interviews conducted by Bishop in the late 1970s with individuals relevant to the history of the birth control movement in Canada, including physicians, activists, religious leaders, couples, and individual women. Some organizational records for the various groups Bishop was part of (e.g., agendas, meeting minutes, annual reports, committee reports, correspondence, financial records) are also present in the fonds.