Expressions of and creations by women in Victorian …arts” became of great interest to me and when studied together I suspected they could reveal untold and lost stories that could

BRITISH COLUMBIA

HISTORICAL NEWSJournal of the British Columbia Historical Federation

Volume 35, No. 4Fall 2002

$5.00ISSN 1195-8294

Left: Kathleen O’Reilly, age 21,December of 1888. Photo taken at thestudio of Lambert Weston & Sons,Folkestone, England. See “How Shall IFrame Myself?” by Liberty Walton in thisissue.

BC

Arc

hive

s H

P500

82

WomanlyArtsExpressions of andcreations by womenin Victorian BritishColumbia.

Our Web site <bchistory.ca> is hosted by Selkirk College in Castlegar, BC

British Columbia Historical FederationPO Box 5254, Station B., Victoria BC V8R 6N4

Honorary President: Helen B. Akrigg,

OfficersPresident: Wayne Desrochers

13346 57th Avenue, Surrey BC V3X 2W8Phone 604. 599.4206 Fax. 604.507.4202 [email protected]

First Vice President: Jacqueline Gresko5931 Sandpiper Court, Richmond BC V7E 3P8Phone 604.274.4383 [email protected]

Second Vice President: Roy J.V. Pallant1541 Merlynn Crescent, North Vancouver BC V7J 2X9Phone 604.986.8969 [email protected]

Secretary: Ron Hyde#20 12880 Railway Ave., Richmond BC V7E 6G2Phone: 604.277.2627 Fax 604.277.2657 [email protected]

Recording Secretary: Gordon Miller1126 Morell Circle, Nanaimo BC V9R 6K6Phone 250.756.7071 [email protected]

Treasurer: Ron GreenePO Box 1351, Victoria BC V8W 2W7Phone 250. 598.1835 Fax 250.598.5539 [email protected]

Past President: Ron Welwood1806 Ridgewood Road, Nelson BC V1L 6G9Phone 250.825.4743 [email protected]

Editor: Fred BrachesPO Box 130, Whonnock BC V2W 1V9Phone 604.462.8942 [email protected]

Member at Large: Melva Dwyer2976 McBride Ave., Surrey BC V4A 3G6Phone/Fax 604.535.3041

Member at Large: Arnold Ranneris1898 Quamichan Street, Victoria BC V8S 2B9Phone 250. 598.3035 [email protected]

CommitteesArchivist: Margaret Stoneberg

Box 687, Princeton BC V0X 1W0, Phone 250.295.3362Membership Secretary: Terry Simpson

193 Bird Sanctuary, Nanaimo BC V9R 6G8Phone 250.754.5697 [email protected]

Historical Trails and Markers: John Spittle1241 Mount Crown Road, North Vancouver BC V7R 1R9Phone 604.988.4565 [email protected]

W. Kaye Lamb Essay Scholarships Committee: Robert Griffin107 Regina Ave., Victoria BC V8Z 1J4Phone 250.475.0418 [email protected]

Publications Assistance: Nancy Stuart-Stubbs2651 York Avenue, Vancouver BC V6K 1E6Phone 604.738.5132 [email protected]

Writing Competition—Lieutenant-Governor’s Award:Helmi BrachesPO Box 130, Whonnock BC V2W 1V9Phone 604.462.8942 [email protected]

Editor:Fred BrachesPO Box 130Whonnock BC, V2W 1V9Phone [email protected]

Book Review Editor:Anne Yandle3450 West 20th AvenueVancouver BC, V6S 1E4Phone [email protected]

Subscription Secretary:Joel Vinge561 Woodland DriveCranbrook BC V1C 6V2Phone/Fax [email protected]

Publishing Committee:Tony Farr125 Castle Cross Road,Salt Spring Island BC V8K 2G1Phone 250.537.1123

Copy editing: Helmi BrachesProof reading: Tony FarrLayout and Production: Fred Braches

Web master: Christopher Garrish

Subscription $15.00 per yearFor mailing outside Canada add $10.00

Please send correspondence regardingsubscriptions to the subscription secretary inCranbrook.

Some back issues of the journal areavailable—ask the editor in Whonnock.

Single copies of recent issues are for sale at:

Arrow Lakes Historical Society, Nakusp BCBook Warehouse, Granville St. Vancouver BCBooks and Company, Prince George BCGibson Coast Books, Gibsons BCGaliano MuseumGray Creek Store, Gray Creek BCRoyal Museum Shop, Victoria BC

This publication is indexed in the CBCA, published byMicromedia.

ISSN 1195-8294Production Mail Registration Number 1245716Publications Mail Registration No. 09835Member of the British Columbia Association of Magazine

Publishers

The British Columbia Heritage Trust has pro-vided financial assistance to this project to supportconservation of our heritage resources, gain furtherknowledge and increase public understanding of thecomplete history of British Columbia.

British Columbia Historical NewsJournal of the

British Columbia Historical FederationPublished Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.

While copyright in the journal as a whole is vested in the British Columbia Historical Federation, copyright in the individual articles belongs to their respectiveauthors, and articles may be reproduced for personal use only. For reproduction for other purposes permission in writing of both author and publisher is required.

Under the Distinguished Patronage of Her HonourThe Honourable Iona Campagnolo. PC, CM, OBC

Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia

British Columbia Historical Federation is a charitable society under the income tax act

BRITISH COLUMBIA

HISTORICAL NEWSJournal of the British Columbia Histor ical Federation

Volume 35, No. 4Fall 2002

$5.00ISSN 1195-8294

1BC HISTORICAL NEWS - FALL 2002

“Any country worthy of a future should be interested in its past.”W. Kaye Lamb, 1937

2 Beauty, Spirituality, and Practicalityby Jennifer Iredale

4 Beyond Recollection: The Early Art of Emily Carrby Tusa Shea

7 When the Flowers Talkedby Christine D. Currie

9 China Painting in Victoria and the Arts and Craft Movementby Marla Stevenson

12 The Needle Art of Kathleen O’Reillyby Tina Lowery

15 The St. Ann’s Academy Art Studioby Ayla Lepine

18 Pretty in Pinkby Wendy Nichols

20 Unravelling the Pastby Rachel Edwards

23 Yale’s Ecclesiastical Textilesby Natasha Slik

26 How Shall I Frame Myself?by Liberty Walton

38 BOOK REVIEWS

43 NEWS AND NOTES

44 FEDERATION NEWS

Last year, Jennifer Iredale, Curator,Coastal Okanagan Region of the Her-itage Branch, convinced me that shewould assemble enough writings onwomanly arts to fill an issue to coin-cide with Women’s History month.She did what she promised. This issueis in many ways her dream come true.

Objects in museums and collectionsmay tell us about skills, talents, art-istry. They may have aesthetic, senti-mental, or montary value but withoutrecords about their makers and theirlives and times—without a humancontext—they have little if any his-torical value for anyone but perhapsan art historian.

This issue of BC Historical News gath-ers writings about artifacts with a hu-man context. The articles speak aboutspecific women of Victoria’s socialelite in the late eighteenth century,their talents and the objects they cre-ated. Added are discussions abouttwo institutions where womenlearned and practised these manualskills and developed their artistic tal-ents.

The preparation of the texts for publi-cation was a greater challenge thanexpected, and not only for the au-thors. I want to extend a specialthanks to University of Victoria facultymembers Karen Finlay and BarbaraWinters for their generous and sub-stantial help in the final stages ofpreparation.

Enjoy!

the editor

WOMANLY ARTS

BC HISTORICAL NEWS - VOL. 35 NO. 22

by Jennifer Iredale

As curator of provincial historic sites ithas been my job to preserve and presentsignificant themes about the building;often a story in which a woman plays asupporting rather than dominant role.

Although a house may have beenpreserved because it was the home of agreat man, or the oldest man in thecountry or for some other reason, ahome is first and foremost the provinceof a woman. Women care for the familyand the household contents, theydecorate and buy or make the objects inthe house. Much more than for a man,the home is an expression and a creationof a woman’s life.

Among the many manufacturedobjects in these historic houses are a

Beauty, Spirituality, and Practicability

number of artifacts made by the womenof the household. Although generally notof significance to the major story thatled to the preservation of the house, theseobjects caught my attention in that theircreation clearly played a major role inthe life of the maker. These objectsincluded the visual arts of painting anddrawing and also many decorative artobjects, baskets, ceramics, needlework,photographs, and even books.

This large collection of “womanlyarts” became of great interest to me andwhen studied together I suspected theycould reveal untold and lost stories thatcould significantly add to ourunderstanding and respect of women’shistory and lives in colonial BritishColumbia.

Studies of decorative arts andwomanly arts have in the past focusedon collections of objects without knownartistic provenance. Collectors did notdocument the name of the artist andwomen did not sign their work. Part ofthe work of this project has been to tryto associate the artists’ name with theirwork. “Naming the artist” led us to framemany other questions. How and wheredid the makers of these objects learnthese arts? Why did they make theseobjects? How were they used? What

function did their creation play in thelife of the artist? Why did the artist’s nameget separated from the artifact? Whydidn’t she sign her work? More broadly,we were curious about the cultural andsocial significance of the art as well asthe societal or self-perception of thesewomen as creators or artists. We wantedour research to uncover and provide agreater understanding of the socialsystems that existed to encourage ordiscourage women in the arts and todiscover why so much of this story ofwomanly arts was untold or had beenlost.

My work on this project has led meto believe that the creation of theseartifacts can be traced to the ideologiesof mid-Victor ian social reformmovements directed by secular andecclesiastical agencies as well as a growingnineteenth-century cultural appreciationfor the useful arts and the ideals of “artfor life’s sake.” Simply stated, thedecorative arts created by women innineteenth-century Victoria can usefullybe discussed as part of the Arts and Craftsmovement with a strong dash of churchand religion.

The proponents of the Arts and Craftsideals believed that it was an upliftingexperience of a higher order to create

Women and Art in ColonialBritish Columbia

In 2000, the University of Victoria received aCommunity-University Research Alliance(CURA) grant by the Social Sciences andHumanities Research Council of Canada, in anew initiative to encourage collaboration betweenuniversities and other sectors of the community.Under this grant, which was awarded to theHistory in Art Department at the University,projects were undertaken in partnership withcommunity heritage organizations to researchand document little-known but historicallyimportant collections. The articles in this issueof BC Historical News are a product ofpreliminary research mainly by University ofVictoria students and myself in connection withtwo continuing CURA projects: an examina-tion of the liturgical textiles in the collection ofSt. John the Divine Church in Yale and a studyof “womanly arts” produced by the women offour historic sites in Victoria: Helmcken House,Emily Carr House, Point Ellice House andCraigflower Manor. University of Victoriafaculty members Carol-Gibson Wood, KarenFinlay, Diane Tolomeo, and Cultural ResourceManagement Director Joy Davis oversaw mostof the student research. All the papers publishedhere are based on preliminary research, within alimited time. The program offered these studentsthe rare opportunity to learn research practicesbased on primary materials.

At work at the Anglican Archives in Vancouver. From left to right Bev Kennedy, JenniferIredale, Doreen Stevens, Rachel Edwards and Natasha Slik.

3BC HISTORICAL NEWS - SPRING 2002

or to use an utilitarian object that wasbeautiful. The belief was that good artnot only revealed the spirit of its makerbut also affected its user. As WilliamMorris wrote: “Have nothing in yourhouses that you do not know to beuseful, or believe to be beautiful.”Reformers such as Pugin, GeorgeBernard Shaw, William Morris, andMackmurdo as well as many otherBritish writers and designers practisedand published to promote the restorationof the useful arts—pottery, metalwork,bookbinding, the textiles arts, glass andceramic painting, woodcarving andbasketry—to their “rightful places”beside painting and sculpture. They wereseeking to create a society wherehandicrafts not only equalled the fine artsbut were superior to them. They believedart was the spirit in which somethingwas done and not necessar ily aspecialized activity. Even the simplestproduct deserved to be made a thing ofbeauty. Thus beauty, practicability, andspirituality were the fundamental valuesunderlying the reasons why Victorianwomen spent so much time creating ordecorating practical objects.

Religion was central to Victorian lifein England and very much in the Colony.Missionaries and their churches largelyundertook the earliest education inBritish Columbia. Many of the womenwhose work is examined in the followingpapers received their early schooling ata religious school. The curriculum inthese colonial schools always includedlessons in visual and decorative arts andmany of the nuns were skilled artists intheir own right. Not only did they passon their knowledge on how to createbeautiful and useful objects to theircolonial female students, they also passedon strong moral concepts of creatingbeautiful objects as a spiritual activity andthe value of undertaking labour forcharitable causes.

This concept of char ity wasfundamental to the Victorian ethos butfrequently took the form of giving workrather than money. Needlework, paintedceramics, beaded items, and otherwomanly arts such as baking and floraldecoration were made by Victorianmiddle class women to sell to oneanother to raise funds for charity. Thesewomen, without financial means of their

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

CHRISTINE D. CURRIE completed her Honours BA in art history at the University ofVictoria. She began graduate work at the University of Essex, UK, majoring in artduring the Renaissance and Reformation.

RACHEL EDWARDS has just finished her BA degree in English at the University ofVictoria and will be doing graduate work at St. Andrews, Scotland next year.

AYLA LEPIN is currently in her final year in University of Victoria’s art historyhonours program. She intends to go on to a Masters program in architecturalhistory.

TINA LOWERY completed her BA in history at Simon Fraser University. She hasworked in collection management at Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site and iscurrently on contract to the Provincial Heritage Branch.

WENDY NICHOLS has recently completed the museum management and cura-torship program at Sir Sanford Fleming College.

TUSA SHEA is currently in the first year of a Master program in art history at theUniversity of Victoria.

NATASHA SLIK has just finished her BA degree in medieval studies at the Univer-sity of Victoria.

MARLA STEVENSON is an artist and writer. She has a diploma of fine arts from theKootenay School or Arts, majoring in ceramics and is presently a fourth-yearhistory in art honours student at the University of Victoria.

LIBERTY WALTON has an art history BA of the University of Victoria, several yearsof curatorial background, and Web site project management experience. Visit herWeb site <wetcoastdesign.>

own, were better able to provide the skilland time required to make these items,rather than a cash contribution. In a verydirect way it can be seen that the churchand ecclesiastical social reform shaped thearts in colonial British Columbia.

This work served as an outlet for manywomen’s talents and gave a focus forartistic development appropriate in aVictorian woman’s life. Very few of thewomen whose work is chronicled inthese papers became recognized artists.Schooling, religion, family, and societalvalues all supported women’s work andlife being in the private sphere of homeand family. Nevertheless, the making ofdecorative and fine arts for home andcharity can be seen as contributing tothese women’s self-expression andpersonal sense of independence andshould be understood as part of theartistic tradition and artistic output ofthe Victor ian per iod in Br itishColumbia.

These ideas are explored andillustrated in the following papers, mainlyauthored by University of Victor iastudents. The material history research

they undertook at the historic sites wascomplemented by study of relatedmaterial in various archives; notably theBC Archives, Victoria City Archives, theAnglican Archives at UBC, VancouverCity Archives, Yale Museum Archives,St. Ann’s Archives, and the All HallowsArchives in Ditchingham, England.

Our thanks must be extended to allthe archivists and museum staff who haveassisted us in our research, as well as themany descendants and “elders” whoagreed to interviews or gave us access torelated collections. The research trail was“hot,” the discoveries plenty and veryexciting. Best of all were the growingdelight and exclamations of happysurprise by women who had “no idea”that their grandmothers or their own artswere a significant topic of study and theywere heartened by our interest.

We share with you a work in progress:the untold stories of a number of womenartists in colonial British Columbia.�

Studies on the basketery collection at the WhiteRock Museum written by Karen Petkau and FaithWhiting in the context of this project will appear inThe MIDDEN, published by the ArchaeologicalSociety of British Columbia.


IN her autobiographical writing, Emily Carrwas careful to portray herself in the tradi-tion of the romantic individual by highlight-

ing historical facts about herself that conformedto the modernist image of the artist as a profes-sional and a genius, and downplaying those thatdid not. Born during a snowstorm, “contraryfrom the start,”1 she emphasized her differencefrom the rest of her family and insinuated thather “fondness for drawing” was not only viewedwith disinterest by her sisters, but was some-thing she had initiated on her own at a veryyoung age.2

Yet, in Victoria during the 1880s, when Emilywas in her teens, it was not out of the ordinaryfor upper-middle-class young ladies to receivetraining in drawing and painting as a standardpart of their formal education. Such artistic train-ing in “the accomplishments” was considered anecessary marker of class status and refinementof character.3 As Christina Johnson Dean haspointed out, Emily Carr’s early art is equally asconservative as the work of other “gentle-women” of the time,4 and would not look par-ticularly uncomfortable alongside the watercol-our still lifes or the landscape sketches of the“society ladies” Emily mockingly referred to as“a very select band of elderly persons, very pre-historic in their ideas on Art.”5

Although Emily Carr received a good dealof such art education in her early life in Victo-ria, overall, scholars have not paid the same care-ful attention to it as they have to the formalmethods of art training she experienced in SanFrancisco and Europe. The artistic training thatwas part of a young girl’s education in accom-plishments during the Victorian era was designedto inculcate femininity, and was invested withconnotations of morality.6 Therefore, the prod-ucts created out of women’s efforts to employthe artistic skills they were taught within thissystem do not simply reflect the results of arttraining, but are the complex by-products ofwomen’s efforts to function within and aroundthe social pressures and limitations that wereplaced on them.

Emily Carr’s early art education belongswithin this training in “the accomplishments.”Furthermore, both of Emily Carr’s early localart teachers produced significant bodies of workthat have not been investigated. This article willtake a closer look at the early artistic trainingthat Emily Carr received in Victoria, and attemptto provide a clearer picture of her art teachers.

Emily Carr spent the first few years of hereducation at a private school run by Mrs. Frazerat Merrifield Cottage near her home in JamesBay. There she received drawing lessons fromMiss Emily Woods, who “came every Mondaywith a portfolio of copies under her arm.”7 EmilyWoods was born in Ireland, but her family hadimmigrated to Victoria, along with her uncleReverend C.T. Woods, in 1860.8 She had at-tended Angela College, an Anglican private girls’school, with Emily Carr’s older sisters where,like most upper-middle-class young ladies, theyhad all received lessons in pencil and watercol-our drawing.9 Woods excelled in botanical andlandscape drawing, and over three hundred ofher own pencil and watercolour drawings areheld in the BC Archives collections.

Emily Carr later recalled the pride she hadfelt at winning a prize from Woods for copying

1 Emily Carr, Growing Pains(Toronto: Oxford UniversityPress, 1946), 6.

2 Ibid., 20.3 Ann Bermingham, Learning

to Draw: Studies in theCultural History of a Polite andUseful Art. (New Haven: YaleUniversity Press, 2001), 184.

4 Christina Johnson-Dean,“B.C. Women Artists, 1885–1920” in British ColumbiaWomen Artists: 1885–1985(Art Gallery of GreaterVictoria: 1985), 8.

5 Carr, Growing Pains, 274.6 Bermingham, Learning to

Draw, 125, 151, and especially184.

7 Carr, Growing Pains, 14.8 Emily Woods Clipping File,

BC Archives, D19 2845.9 Angela College Statement

of School Fees, August186–February 1877, BCArchives, MS 2538.

10 Carr, Growing Pains, 14.11 Bermingham, Learning to

Draw, 89.12 John Jessop, Annual Report

of the Public Schools of1875, BC Archives, D31,reel 1, 87. In 1875, JohnJessop, the superintendentfor BC schools, argued forthe inclusion of drawing inpublic schools and quoted“a competent authority” assaying “whosoever can learnto write can learn to draw.”His sentiments on drawingecho those of the Britishutilitarian drawing advocateHenry Cole, whoestablished the first arttraining school for teachersin Britain. For more onHenry Cole see FionaMacCarthy, A History ofBritish Design 1830–1970(London: George, Allen andUnwin, 1979), 7– 9.

Beyond RecollectionThe Early Art Education of Emily Carrby Tusa Shea

BC

Arc

hive

s P

DP

-006

51

Right: Emily Carr. Rosesin vase.


a picture of a boy with a rabbit.10 Emily Woods’smethod of instructing her students to copy otherdrawings probably reflects the way she herselfhad been trained. Although at the time copyingwas still the foundation of academic art train-ing, it had also been promoted as an especiallysuitable pastime for ladies because it was notthought to require original thinking, talent, ora gift for genius.11 Thus it remained safely in therealm of the amateur. A commonly repeated phi-losophy of the times stated that “anyone whocan learn to write can learn to draw,”12 suggest-ing that drawing skills could be acquired throughcareful practice, and that they had more to dowith accuracy than with creativity.

By the time Emily Carr was ten years old shewas attending Central Public School with hersisters Lizzie and Alice. Although Emily’s twoeldest sisters, Clara and Edith, had attended theprestigious Angela College,13 and most of Emily’sand Alice’s friends continued to do so, their fa-ther was no longer convinced that an expensiveprivate ladies’ school could provide a proper aca-demic grounding. According to Emily, her fa-ther was of the opinion that even though suchschools taught young ladies manners, or whatshe satirically described as “how to hold theirheads up, their stomachs in and how to lookdown their noses at the right moment,”14 bythe late 1880s they had fallen behind the aca-demic standard set by the Canadian public edu-cation system.15

Because drawing was apparently not part ofthe curriculum at Central Public School,16

Emily, Alice, and Lizzie took private art lessonswith Miss Ada Leslie Withrow, who had openedan art studio in Victoria in 1883. Miss Withrowgave lessons to young ladies in oil and water-colour painting, as well as crayon and pencildrawing.17 In her otherwise exhaustively re-searched biography of Emily Carr, Maria Tippettwrites: “Along with Alice and Lizzie, Emily

joined the class of Miss Eva Withrow, who hadtrained as an artist in San Francisco [my empha-sis].”18 Aside from using the wrong name, nomention is made of the fact that Ada Withrowwas originally from British Columbia and hadreceived her early lessons in drawing at St. Ann’sAcademy in New Westminster.19 This is the kindof oversight that demonstrates just how unin-terested scholars have been in Emily Carr’s lo-cal art training.

Ada Withrow had numerous works of art onexhibit in various Victoria storefronts from thetime she opened her studio in 1883 until1888when she was married.20 She appears to havebeen a highly regarded artist in Victoria at thattime, and was commissioned by prominent fami-lies to do portraits in oil, four of which are heldin the BC Archives collections.21 It is likely thatAda Withrow introduced Emily Carr to oilpainting. In addition, Maria Tippet creditsWithrow with encouraging and assisting Emilyin submitting work to the California School ofDesign, which she attended in 1891.22

Like Emily Woods, Ada Withrow taught EmilyCarr to draw by copying.23 Just as Miss Woodshad given her a prize for her earlier copy work,Emily Carr’s father gave her five dollars for twocopies of portraits she had drawn using a gridmethod Miss Withrow had taught her.24 The re-wards and attention Emily received from herteachers and father encouraged her to continueto work at her drawing skills. It is notable thatone of the rewards she received was money,which must have reinforced the idea that artcould be a way to financial independence. MissWoods and Miss Withrow, both gainfully em-ployed upper-middle class ladies, provided EmilyCarr with positive role models. She eventuallyfollowed their example and taught art lessonsto children when she returned from studyingin San Francisco.

13 Angela College Statementof School Fees 1867–1877,BC Archives, MS 2538.

14 Emily Carr, The Book ofSmall (Toronto: OxfordUniversity Press, 1942), 168.

15 Jean Barman, “TheEmergence of EducationalStructures in NineteenthCentury British Columbia,”in Jean Barman et al, eds.Children, Teachers and Schoolsin the History of BritishColumbia (Calgary: DetseligEnterprises Ltd, 1995), 189–212.

16 Maria Tippett, Emily Carr:A Biography (Toronto:Oxford University Press,1979), 12. Even thoughMaria Tippett states thatdrawing was not part of thecurriculum at Girl’s CentralSchool, linear drawing waslisted on the report card asa possible subject in 1886,(Flora Frazer Report Card,1886, BC Archives, MS2800, File 1). It is possiblethat linear drawing was onlyoffered if there was a teacherwho was skilled in that areato teach it. Likewise, it maybe that linear drawing wasa subject taught only to boysat this time.

17 The Daily British Colonist, 2October 1883, 3.

18 Tippet, Emily Carr, 11–12.19 Ada Withrow Clipping File,

PABC, (D19 162–0463).20 James K. Nesbitt, “Victoria

Started to Grow in 1886,”The Daily Colonist, 5 April1966, 10. In 1883, MissWithrow had work onexhibit at the store of M. W.Waitt & Co. The DailyBritish Colonist had this tosay: “The crayon of Venus isa life-like production. Ascene on the Susquehanna,for boldness and charmingblend of color, is admirable,but a picture of Oregonscenery, with the hoaryoutlines of Mount Hoodrising in silent majesty in thebackground, and the deep,quiet water, fringed withtrees and shrubs, in the fore,

Left: Emily Carr, Adamand Eve rug.

BC

Arc

hive

s P

DP

-090

64

Notes continue >>>


Even though, while attending art classes inSan Francisco, she had been exposed to a di-verse range of drawing styles and techniques,Emily refused to attend life drawing classes onmoral grounds and instead focused on landscapeand still life.25 She later referred to the kind ofart she produced during this time as “humdrumand unemotional—objects honestly portrayed,nothing more.”26 Even after returning from fiveyears of study in England she called her work“narrow, conservative, dull seeing, perhaps rathermechanical, but nevertheless honest.”27 Yet, thesecriticisms were launched from the perspectiveof hindsight during a time when Emily Carridentified strongly with the modernist ethos ofLawren Harris and the Group of Seven, and thusrepresent her attempts to reframe her own ar-tistic career. Emily Carr could not reconcile thedisparity between the two images of herself as agentlewoman art teacher and an eccentric art-ist, and so created a dichotomy between her con-servative early work and her later “true” work,which brought her notoriety and acceptancefrom other artists.

In her autobiographical writing Emily Carrdescribes how as a child she had so wanted todraw, that she retrieved charcoal out of the fire-place and drew on scraps of paper, as if a greatpaucity of drawing implements had conspiredagainst her. She states that she was allowed totake art classes as a young girl, and contrasts herown penchant for drawing heads with her sis-

presents a view of exquisiteloveliness.” (The Daily BritishColonist, 1883, 30September 1883). In 1886,she had work on exhibit atJoseph Sommer’s art shop,as well as at Mr. Jacob Sehl’sfurniture store. (AdaWithrow Clipping File, BCArchives, D19 162 – 0463.

21 The following portraitspainted by Ada Withroware housed in the BCArchives collections:“Ebenezer Brown,” 1880s,PDP-02666; “The LateHonorable WilliamSmithe,”1887, PDP-00363; “The LateHonorable Rober tDunsmuir,”1889, PDP-09064; “The LateHonorable Rober tDunsmuir,” 1889, PDP-0965.

22 Tippet, Emily Carr, 18.23 Emily Carr, Growing Pains,

15.24 Ibid., 15.25 Tippet, Emily Carr, 19. See

also Carr, Growing Pains, 40.26 Carr, Growing Pains, 99.27 Ibid., 27728 Ibid., 276.

Right: Mouth of VictoriaHarbour and James BayBridge by Emily HenriettaWoods, October 1882

ters’ inclination toward flowers. After being dis-missed from her position as art teacher fromthe Vancouver Art Club, she claims she wouldrather starve than spend one more second teach-ing art to women she described as “vulgar, lazyold beasts.”28 Yet, what separates Emily Carr fromthe lady painters she so disdained, or from hersisters who were content to paint china andsketch flowers, is not so much that she was anartist, but that, by the time she turned her at-tention to the past, she saw herself as a particu-lar kind of artist.

Later biographers and writers have tended tofollow Emily Carr’s lead, and have bypassed herearly local art training. This lack of interest in the“unexceptional” has resulted in a historical pic-ture that tends to favour a traditional stereotypeof the artist as a heroic genius. Yet the art andartistic products women created during the latenineteenth-century functioned in more complexways than simply by attempting to fit into thefine art system perpetuated by popular art schoolslike the Royal Academy in England. To analyzeEmily Carr’s work only in terms of the profes-sional art system is limiting because she createdso many other kinds of artistic products likehooked rugs, pottery, and humorous narrativecartoons. In order to discuss these fascinating andsignificant artistic products, which do not reflectthe standards of professional art training, it makessense to look at what other kinds of experiencesmay have shaped her work.�


EDITH Louisa (Helmcken) Higgins, known as Dolly, was the young-est daughter of Dr. John Sebastian and Cecilia Helmcken. Her fa-ther was the colony’s first surgeon and general practitioner, and an

active politician who helped negotiate British Columbia’s entrance intoConfederation in 1871. When Edith was two years old, her mother died,leaving Dr. Helmcken as a sole parent. Due to his frequent travels on gov-ernment duty Edith was raised primarily by the family’s housekeepers.Edith attended school at St. Ann’s Academy and excelled in the arts. Likemany young women from Victoria’s social elite, she went to Toronto forfinishing school where she showed promise in art and music. In 1882 shewent to London for further study, and, accompanied by an aunt, she trav-elled extensively in Britain and on the European continent before return-ing to Victoria the next year. In 1889 Edith married William R. Higgins, aprofessional British-trained singer, the son of prominent Victoria pioneers.At the age of 30, William Higgins took ill and died and in October 1896Edith went to live with her father at her childhood home.1

In 1919, a year before Dr. Helmcken died, Edith wrote An Early SpringMorning Chat: When the Flowers Talked, a charming, self-produced bookletfor children. The book was dedicated to great-nephew John Douglas CraigMcTavish “and all other children who played in the Dear Old Garden.”There are two known copies of the book, both illustrated by Edith’s cousinMartha Harris (née Douglas), a known Victoria writer and painter, and“typed by Miss Dora Kitts.” Although efforts were made to produce iden-tical copies, there are slight differences in the illustrations and the place-ment of text on the pages.

In the epilogue of the book Edith mentions that she wrote the book to“try and interest children in the love of flowers.” Edith Helmcken’s owninterest in flowers and gardening came from her father, a keen gardener.The story unfolds in the “Dear Old Garden” and takes the form of a dia-logue between two of the flowers, Mr. Johnnie Snowdrops and Glory-of-the-Snow. In the course of their gossip-like conversation, these two an-tagonists discuss the various inhabitants of the garden in terms of theirspecific characteristics and relate the story how a human being, the ManFlower, cultivates and cares for the flowers.

The book reflects Victorian custom and propriety by blending a chil-dren’s moral story with the Victorian sensibility of the “symbolism of flow-ers.” Some inspiration for her book likely came from the numerous bookson gardening in the Helmcken library, including two copies of The Manualof the School Garden, published in 1856, a basic garden manual. Children’sbooks about flowers were also in the family’s book collection. A small bookcalled The Flower of Innocence2 bears an inscription that reads “to Edith LouisaHelmcken, a birthday gift from her affectionate uncle James, 24th June1870.”3 Flowers are pressed between stories rife with scripture and floraldescriptions. An inscription in Flower Stories and Their Lessons: A Book for theYoung (London, 1864) names the owner as Edith’s older sister Amy. Theseand similar books kindled Edith’s interest in flowers and their symbolicmeaning.

When the Flowers Talkedby Christine D. Currie

All illustrations in this article are from Edith Helmcken’s bookand are reproduced here with kind permission of Helmckendescendants who own two of the surviving copies.Notes on next page >>>


In An Early Spring Morning Chat: When theFlowers Talked, the language, floral theme, and styleare consistent with countless other Victorianmoral tales for children concerned with withshaping the young reader’s ideas.4

The book employs the symbolic language offlowers that was very important in the eighteenthand nineteenth centuries.5 In Green Magic: FlowerPlants & Herbs in Lore and Legend, Lesley Gordonexamines the many Victorian books on the lan-guage of flowers.6 Often these books were ar-ranged as a foreign language dictionary with thefirst half of the book listing flowers followed bymeanings and the second half the reverse. Alsocommon were flower bibles in which segmentsof the text were accompanied with a representa-tive species of flowers.

The flowers in An Early Spring Morning Chat:When the Flowers Talked, have specific symbolicmeaning. Following the convention, the oak rep-resents hospitality, rosemary is remembrance, andviolets are modesty and faithfulness. Gloria,“Glory-of-the-Snow,” comments, “The reason Iam out so early is that dear old Mrs. Oaktree,who lives just over there, being so generous andkind, gave me some of her warm brown leaves tocover me.” In another passage, Miss Violet is de-scribed as “modest and sweet.” Elsewhere, MissRosemary offers rosemary sprigs to the maincharacters so that they will remember their con-versation and why they want to remain in thiscultivated garden.

However, the symbolism in Edith’s book doesnot always concur with contemporary sourcematerial. For example, she designates dandelionsas weeds and dangerous characters. This may cor-respond with a seasoned gardener’s opinion, butit does not conform to the conventional languageof flowers, where the dandelion is honoured as arustic oracle. For Edith the dandelion represented“uneducted” and “uncultivated” flowers whichmust be sent away, in other words, they had notlearned the lessons of moral propriety. She clearlytook liberties within the established tradition tosuit her needs.

Dr. Helmcken’s clear expectations of upstand-ing behaviour from his youngest daughter couldbe reflected in the conduct of the flowers inEdith’s book. In a letter to Edith dated 9 June1870, her father wrote as though she were anadult—she was then only seven years old. He dis-cusses politics, and compares the virtues of Van-couver Island with that of the whole Dominion

of Canada. He repeatedly instructs Edith to be agood girl.

God has been good to little Edith, and whilstshe continues to be an obedient little girl andbehaves herself everybody will like her. But re-member, you have to depend uponyourself…and continue to be a good little girland give up crying and learn to sit quietly atthe table. Now my little daughter I must fin-ish—be a very good little girl—so that when Ireturn at the end of next month I may beproud of my little daughter.7

Edith’s book was finished while her father wasgravely ill. He was perhaps the most importantperson in her life. Dr. Helmcken had been anaccomplished gardener, passing many hours out-doors and in his greenhouse. Edith wrote in theepilogue that “Man Flower”, the caring gardenerin her story, and the only human to make anappearance, is her father, “who has always taken akeen interest in the cultivation of flowers, eventoday at the age of ninety-four.” She may also bemaking an analogy between his nurturing of hisgarden and the care he showed to his family, pa-tients, and the welfare of British Columbia.

Edith’s book for children reflects the valuesencoded in the Victorian language of flowers andher father’s moral standards, told through a talebased on their mutual love of the familygarden.�

1 BC Archives,NWp.707.4 I82A

2 The first pages aredamaged and the nameof the author andpublication informationis missing.

3 It is not known who this “Uncle James” was. The

word “not“ has beenwritten in front of“affectionate uncle,”perhaps by Edith herself.

5 Kimberley Reynolds Children ’s Literature in

the1890s and 1990s (Plymouth: Northcote

House, 1994), ix.6 Johanna Lehner and

Ernst Lehner. Folklore andSymbolism of Flowers,Plants and Trees ( NewYork: Tudor Publishing,1990)109.

7 Lesley Gordon. GreenMagic: Flower Plants &Herbs in Lore & Legend

(New York: The VikingPress, 1977).

8 BC Archives, MS 0505, v.12.

Right: Dr. Helmcken,“Man Flower” in EdithHelmcken’s book, tendingthe “Dear Old Garden” atthe age of ninety-four.

To have a look at and page through a copy of Edith’scharming book visit the schoolnet Web site pages<www.sbtc.gov.bc.ca/culture/schoolnet/helmcken/helmbook/page1.html>.

Below: “‘Man Flower,’ theGardener, being myfather...who arrived inVictoria B.C. in1850...in the sailingvessel ‘Norman Morrison’”


Edith Helmcken’s Hand-Painted Ceramicsby Marla Stevenson

Above: Earthenwareplaque decorated by the19-year-old EdithHelmcken with daisies in1881. 10 inches across.

Her

itage

Bra

nch

HH

1988

.1.2

36

CERAMIC artifacts at Helmcken House inVictoria hint at colonial women’s livelyinterest in china painting. A small collec-

tion of hand-painted plaques by Edith Helmckenhelps us to explore the history of local womenwho decorated and worked in clay. What followsis a brief case study of the ceramics painted byHelmcken, which I will argue reflect the Arts andCrafts aesthetic that pervaded Victoria.

During Helmcken’s formative years and earlymaturity, the Arts and Crafts aesthetic was widelyinfluential in Britain and North America, includ-ing Victoria. There are abundant examples of theArts and Crafts style evident in Victoria homesand gardens today. In 1992, Edward Gibson sum-marizes the situation at the beginning of the twen-tieth century on the BC coast:

Many highly skilled industrial craftspeople wereattracted to the new Pacific railhead at a time ofworldwide recession at the turn of the century.Stone masons, carvers, glaziers, landscape gar-deners and cabinet-makers flooded to the coastfrom Great Britain. More importantly, theycame from backgrounds steeped in the Arts andCrafts Movement. The coast’s formative yearswere stamped with the tastes of William Mor-ris’s News From Nowhere and its images ofhandcrafted decoration and a gardened land-scape, an earthly paradise needing human care.

Gibson goes on to write specifically about Vic-toria’s eager adoption of the Arts and Crafts Move-ment, “By 1900, arts and crafts societies, centredmainly in Victoria, were promoting ceramics andpainting, and horticultural societies were promot-ing landscape garden competitions in the newtowns and cities.”1

The influence of the Arts and Crafts movementextends to Helmcken’s china painting. The smallcollection of her work at Helmcken House, in-cludes three plaques, a plate, and a small porcelaintea-set. The plaques are decorated with daisies,black-eyed Susans, and a portrait of a child.2 Thethree plaques are described as porcelain in theHelmcken House collection catalogue, but theyare actually earthenware.3

The plaque decorated with daisies is the onlydated piece in the group. It was painted in 1881,when Helmcken was nineteen. In 1881 and 1882,she was in England, and it can be concluded that

this plate was painted there. This is supported by aletter written by Helmcken from England to hersister Amy McTavish back home.4 Also, no evi-dence has been found of a china painting kiln inVictoria before 1892. In that year, a newspaperarticle titled “The Provincial Fair: The Art Gal-lery” praises Ethel McMicking’s china painting,and implies her kiln was the only one in Victoria,or the area. It stated:

About as pretty a collection as is to be foundin the whole gallery is that of painted chinaand terra cotta,7 by Miss Ethel M. McMicking,...The young lady completes the work herself,the necessary firing being done by the use ofthe Wilkie studio kiln, said to be the only oneon the Coast.8

A final reason for concluding that the piece waspainted in London is that an English style of chinapainting, which closely resembles Helmcken’s, andwas usually done on earthenware, was popularwhen she was there. This style of china paintingwas a product of the aesthetic promoted by JohnRuskin and William Morris; it was a reaction

1 E. Gibson, “Pacific CraftTraditions andDevelopment” in ATreasury of Canadian Craft.S. Carter, ed. (Vancouver:Canadian Craft Museum,1992).

2 HH 1988.1.236, HH1988.1.218, and HH1988.1.514 respectively;the plaques each havetwo holes in the backs toaccommodate hangingdevices, whichdistinguishes them fromplates.

3 When tapped with afinger, they emit a dull“clunk”, instead of ahigh “ping” as porcelain

Notes continue >>>


Right: Black-eyed Susanplaque by EdithHelmcken. About 20inches across.

Her

itage

Bra

nch

HH

1988

.1.2

18

Right: Child’s portrait.Plaque by EdithHelmcken. H

erita

ge B

ranc

h H

H19

88.1

.514

against the repetitive look displayed by factory-produced items. W. Kaplan writes:

...factory work had so disturbed the naturalrhythms of life, that it turned once creativecraftsmen into mere cogs in the wheel of ma-chinery, so that they, like their products, lostuniqueness. For Ruskin the industrial revolu-tion made designers become anonymous la-bourers.7

Ruskin thought that handmade arts and craftsshould show their imperfections; he called them“virtues of irregularity.”8 The irregularities gavethe piece a spiritual quality which Ruskin believednature had, but machine-made objects lacked. InThe Nature and Art of Workmanship, D. Pye notedthat Ruskin, “before Japanese aesthetics wereknown in the West, [recognized] that free and roughworkmanship has aesthetic qualities which areunique.”9 Ruskin also thought the structures ofNature could be mined for creative inspiration.Some principles practiced in the natural style wererespect for originality, valuing of unique, non-re-petitive characteristics, and recognizing beauty invariety, as opposed to sameness.

During the 1870s, a craze for china painting,participated in by middle-class women, developedin England. A book about women and the Artsand Crafts movement, Angel in the Studio: Womenin the Arts and Crafts Movement 1870-1914, by A.

Callen describes the phe-nomenon:

Thus the 1870s saw averitable explosion ofinterest in art potterydecoration and paint-ing on china. At theamateur level, this in-terest developed tocraze proportions asladies all over Englandtook up the craft; fora while it outstrippedembroidery as a pas-time.

According to Callen,one of the most popularplaces in London to learnchina painting was atHowell and James’ ArtPottery Classes.10 The Feb-ruary 1880 issue of thecity’s Magazine of Art ad-vertised the classes: “Mssrs.Howell and James Pottery

Classes...have opened a studio at their Art Galler-ies where classes for ladies are held daily, Saturdaysexcluded, in China Painting.”

Howell and James held regular exhibits of chinapainting and popular china painting competitions.An 1878 Howell and James exhibit included someearthenware plaques painted in a lively, natural waywhich closely resembles Helmcken’s china paint-ing style.11 An 1879 Magazine of Art review of aHowell and James china painting exhibit describessome china-painted plants as “treated naturally”compared to “conventional, elegant arrangements”

should using the sametest. The tonal differenceoccurs because porcelainclay vitrifies (begins tomelt and become glass),during the firing, whileearthenware clay, fired toa lower temperature,remains un-vitrified.

4 British ColumbiaArchives. Call No. MS505, Box No. 14, FileNo. 4, Dolly Helmckencorrespondence, July 24,1882.

5 Terra cotta isearthenware.

6 Victoria Daily Colonist, 29September 1892. Achina painting kiln wasdonated by theMcMicking family to St.Ann’s Academy in thelate 1890s, this isprobably the samekiln.(Linda McMickinginterview, 26 April2002).

7 W. Kaplan. The Art that islife: The Arts and CraftsMovement in America,1975-1920 (Boston:Museum of Fine Arts,1987), 54.

8 P. Stansky, Redesigning theWorld: William Morris, the1880s, and the Arts andCrafts. (New Jersey:Princeton UniversityPress, 1985), 31.

9 D. Pye, The Nature and Artof Workmanship (London:Cambridge UniversityPress, 1968), 66.

10 A. Callen, Angel in theStudio: Women in the Artsand Crafts Movement1870-1914 (London:Astragal Books, 1979),54.


Above: Earthenware plaque painted by J. Edith Cowperdated 1878. From M. Haslam, English Pottery: 1865-1915.

Above: Earthenware plaque J. Wedgewood and Sons,1880. From M. Haslam, English Pottery: 1865-1915.

of china-painted flowers and foliage: “We hardly know whether to award thepalm to plants treated naturally, or to the many graceful and elegant conven-tional arrangements of flowers and foliage to be found in the collection.”

The author describes some plaques painted in the natural way as “boldlyand vigorously painted on a dark ground” and as having “freshness and origi-nality”12 Helmcken’s china-painted plaques were painted during the sameinterval, in close proximity to the Howell and James studio. It seems plausiblethat Helmcken took part in the china painting craze while she was in Lon-don, and her plaques were produced as a result of this experience. Perhapsshe even took lessons with Howell and James, or a similar studio. It seemreasonable to posit that the informal naive look of her pieces is due to Ruskin’spromotion of a “natural” look for arts and crafts.

Helmcken’s 1881 plaque painted with daisies shows much evidence of thehandcrafted aesthetic promoted by Ruskin, Morris, and the Howell and JamesGallery. The slightly bowl-shaped plaque, about ten inches across, is paintedwith an informal arrangement of daisies. The heads of the daisies take up asignificant portion of the available space on the plate. These include six fully-opened flowers, with loosely-painted white petals and yellow centres. A sev-enth flower, just to the right of the others, curves downward, and is partiallyopened. The leaves and centres of the daisies have a layered, watercolour-likeappearance. The built-up colours indicate the piece was china-painted sev-eral times, and fired after each painting. A thick dark brown layer of china-paint has been brushed up to the edges of the flower petals, stems, and leaves.In some areas the rough edge of the background colour has not quite reacheda petal’s edge. In other places the background has been casually brushed overa green-hued leaf ’s edge or into the white of a petal. The brighter colours ofthe leaves and flowers are dramatic against the plaque’s nearly black back-ground. Each leaf and petal is freely and individually painted and there is apleasing, relaxed, sketch-like quality to the entire image.

The plaque Helmcken decorated with black-eyed Susans is substantiallylarger than the daisy plate and measures about twenty inches across. It isanother interesting example of Helmcken’s vibrant, personal style. On theplaque’s surface, Helmcken has spontaneously sketched four black-eyed Susanblossoms. Three of the flowers are large and open, while the fourth’s partly-open flower on the right, faces upward. The artist has then painted green,brown, and yellow colour within the shapes of the petals and leaves formedby the dark line drawing. Some of the china-paint is very thick, particularlyin the dark brown parts of the image, as in the centre of a flower. Small areasof cross-hatching add depth to several leaves and petals. Speckles of paint arespattered (it seems unintentionally), here and there on top of the art work.The background behind the black-eyed Susan blossoms consists of a blendedtransition from black into blue, although some brushwork can be seen.

The lively spontaneity of Helmcken’s china painting is enchanting. It seemsso different from the elegant and more formal style of china painting withwhich we are more typically familiar, such as the delicately tinted flowerpainting on what North Americans refer to as “the good china”. In Helmcken’swork, the paint is thickly laid on in very visible brushstrokes, and her com-positions are rough and informal. The variety, asymmetry, and naivety exhib-ited in Edith Helmcken’s work is probably the result of her conscious at-tempt to emulate the “virtues of irregularity” espoused by Ruskin andMorris.�

11 “Naturally decorated”plaques are illustrated inM. Haslam’s English ArtPottery: 1865-1915(Suffolk: BaronPublishing, 1975), 131.Examples of the informalstyle from Haslam’s bookare shown above.

12 “The Fourth AnnualExhibition of Paintingson China”, The Magazineof Art, V. II, 1879. 269-270.


The Needle Art of Kathleen O’Reillyby Tina Lowery

BC

Her

itage

PE

975.

1.50

55

MIDDLE-AND UPPER-CLASS women in Victoria, well trained in thewomanly arts, or “the accomplishments,” produced works forprivate consumption to be given as gifts, for charity events, or

for decorating their own homes. Generally, collections of needle art avail-able to historians and researchers are by nameless, unknown women, butthe collections at Carr House, Craigflower Manor, Helmcken House, andPoint Ellice House include an impressive amount of needlework that canbe attributable to woman artists such as Dolly Helmcken, Goodie McKenzie,and Kathleen O’Reilly.1

A watercolourist, musician, and needlewoman, Kathleen exemplified theVictorian ideal of the “accomplished” lady. The technical skills she learnedand practised in painting, for example, resulted in her ability and confi-dence in creating and designing her own pieces of needle art.”2 Whileeducated as a young child at home by private tutors, Miss Lethbridge andMiss Robinson,3 Kathleen might have learned simple sewing techniquesfrom her mother and her tutors. In her teens, Kathleen attended Victoria’sAngela College from 1879 to 1882, where needlework was included in thecurriculum.4 A Berlin wool work pillow cover found in the O’Reilly col-lection may be an example of Kathleen’s student work.5 Berlin wool work,one of the most popular types of canvas work in the nineteenth century,was a simple form of needlework that required little skill. Typically workedon square mesh canvas in tent or cross stitch, designs were copied stitch bystitch from printed patterns. The navy blue and cream-coloured pillowcover is simple in design and done in a half-cross stitch, also known as a

1 Kathleen O’Reilly was born to Peter and Caroline(Trutch) O’Reilly in 1867. Peter O’Reilly came toVictoria from Ireland in 1859 and in 1863 marriedCaroline A. Trutch, the sister of Joseph Trutch whobecame BC’s first Lieutenant-Governor. Peter worked asStipendiary Magistrate, Gold Commissioner, and IndianReserve Commissioner all important roles and key tothe early development of the Province of BritishColumbia. They were a middle-class family who lived inthe beautiful, but not opulent or extravagant, home atPoint Ellice along the Gorge, and who were amongVictoria’s social elite.

2 The needle arts are generally divided into two maincategories. Plain sewing, such as mending, was learnedby girls and women of every social class. These simplestitches formed the basis of the necessary skills andtechniques required in the second category, fancyneedlework. Fancy needlework was popular among thewomen of the upper and middle classes who producedwork that was to become a part of the decorative arts.Traditionally within the definition of fancy needleworkfall many types of work, and specifically within the timeof this research project, from 1860-1920, includes bothcanvas and ornamental needlework.

3Mrs. Lethbridge in 1875 and Miss Robinson in 1876,from notes on Kathleen in the diary of Peter O’Reilly,O’Reilly Family Papers. BC Archives.

4 As described in the 1860 Female Collegiate Schoolprospectus, the object of the school was “to providecareful religious training, in combination with a solidEnglish Education, and the usual accomplishments.” Theschool offered lessons inmusic and singing,drawing and painting, andneedlework. From themonthly magazine of theAnglican Synod of BCand the Yukon. AnglicanSynod archives at UBC.

5 PE975.1.50556 Letter from Caroline to

Kathleen, 7 April 1884.7 PE975.1.3553 a-l,8 Barbara Morris, Victorian

Embroidery (London:Herbert Jenkins, 1962),113-147.

Right: Navy blue andcream-coloured pillow cover.Around 1880.


Left: Two of a set of 12dessert doilies. Around1885.

half stitch. The floral motif is common for theperiod and the central motif of larger pink flow-ers appears to have been worked in silk or che-nille. The simplicity of the piece suggests that thisis the work of a young or inexper iencedneedlewoman.

In 1882 Kathleen travelled to England withher mother and brother. Remaining in Englandthrough 1885, Kathleen filled her days with so-cial calls, attending exhibits, visiting museums, andschool. Through a series of letters Kathleen wroteto and received from her mother in 1884 and1885, it is possible to attribute the making of aset of dessert doilies to Kathleen. “I should like aset of d’oyleeys [sic] for dessert, white worked inlittle figures or flowers in washing silk. It w[oul]dbe pretty work for you on some fine material—the simpler the better! I want them to put underrose coloured finger bowls at dessert,” wrote hermother.6 The result was a dozen square-shapeddoilies decorated with hand embroidered rose androsebuds, each in a different shade.7 Each is sur-rounded by a drawn thread fringe border andfinished with coordinating colours. The doiliesare attractive, simply but carefully worked in adesign consistent with the contemporary Eng-lish Arts and Crafts movement.8

Several examples of Berlin wool slippers foundin the O’Reilly collection may have been madeby Kathleen.9 A pair of slipper forms is workedon double mesh canvas.10 The floral motif is typi-cal of what would have been available in ladies’

magazines and pattern books.A second pair ofslippers also exhibits a common motif: a pair ofseated dogs. Household pets were popular at thistime, in part due to the “Royal Dogs” kept andmuch loved by Queen Victoria.11 The O’Reillyskept dogs of many breeds, shown in a number ofsurviving family photographs. It may, therefore,be suggested that the slippers were intended torepresent the family’s pet terriers and were per-haps a gift for a brother or even Kathleen’s father.

Women often took sewing along to socialevents such as parties and picnics. Long winternights and rainy days were often spent catchingup on a little sewing. This work was an opportu-nity for women to work together for charity orfor ladies’ bazaars. A review of Kathleen O’Reilly’sletters and journals attests to her participation inthese activities.12 Kathleen’s journal mentionsdressing dolls, possibly for Sunday school,13 andeven making the clothes herself. Kathleen andher mother, Caroline O’Reilly, were active mem-bers of their ladies’ church committee. Churchrecords from the Anglican Parish Magazine, docu-ment fundraising bazaars in British Columbia.14

Funds raised were substantial, often amountingto hundreds of dollars. These funds helped sup-port mission schools, the building of churches,and other good causes.15

It is difficult to determine just how the indi-vidual makers of art needlework would have in-terpreted these womanly activities. Kathleen

9 Six pairs of slipper formsare included in the PointEllice Collection.

10 PE 975.1.2908a-b11 Morris, Victorian

Embroidery, 22.12 Kathleen writes in her

journal 26 January 1887,“very stormy wetmorning I did somesewing”. Entries fromJanuary and February,1887, describe sewing athome while a friendreads to her, or whileworking alongside hermother.

13 “I dressed a doll forschool treat” Friday 14January 1887, AE OR3OR32

14 Parish Magazine,Anglican DioceseArchives, Victoria.

15 The records show that inSeptember of 1884 themagazine reports anestimated cost of thebuilding of St. JamesChurch, in Victoria, to be$2,500. By January of1885, $900 was raised bythe ladies committee insupport of the costs ofthe building of thechurch.

BC

Her

itage

PE

975.

1.35

53 I

BC

Her

itage

PE

975.

1.35

53 D


Right: Slipper forms witha floral decoration and withsitting dogs (detail).

BC

Her

itage

PE

975.

1.29

08 b

O’Reilly’s true feelings of bazaar work are sug-gested in a letter to her from D. Chesterfield inwhich he wrote, “Oh no, you are not wicked. Itoo hate bazaar sales of work!”16

Kathleen was schooled in other arts such aswatercolour painting and drawing. However,while she painted at school and took lessons in

16 8 November, year notknown. BC Archives.

17 Ann Romines, “PuttingThings in Order: TheDomestic Aesthetic ofLaura Ingalls Wilder’sLittle House Books,” inThe Material Culture ofGender: The Gender ofMaterial Culture, eds.Katharine Martinez andKenneth L. Ames(Hanover and London:University Press of NewEngland, 1997) 189.

18 Thomas J. Schlereth,Material Culture: AResearch Guide(University of KansasPress, 1985) 25.

drawing it is unclear if she continued this work.She did consistently create needlework fromchildhood to adulthood. Possibly needlework wasa continued artistic pursuit because it providedKathleen with a means of artistic freedom andsocial activity within the acceptable separatesphere of a Victorian woman.

Needle art is an important and revealing ex-pression of the lives, thoughts and achievementsof local Victorian women. As one researcher, AnnRomines, has noted, sewing, knitting, and art nee-dlework are the soundless language of domesticculture.17 While the examples described in thispaper may not have been “great art” created bythe “artist genius,” they have significant histori-cal value. Domestic works such as these are im-portant as both art and artifact, and have beentoo often overlooked because of their utilitarianpurpose and the anonymity of the makers. AsThomas Schlereth stated: “the study of the uniqueadds little to the sum understanding of humanbehaviour. The study of the kinds of things used[and made] by people during a given historicalperiod reveals a great deal about them.”18 Thepreliminary research conducted for this projecthas brought to light notable collections of wom-anly arts by specific artists that are available formore in depth research into the lives and accom-plishments of women in the social context oflate nineteenth century Victoria.�

BC

Her

itage

PE

975.

1.29

08 a

Naming the ArtistWomanly Arts from 19th Century

British Columbia3 – 25 October 2002

Emily Carr House207 Government Street, Victoria, BC

An exhibit presenting decorative and fine artscreated by women in colonial British Colum-bia.

Shown are the results of a year’s work on aresearch project on the womanly arts fromsome of British Columbia’s provincial historicsites. The Womanly Arts Research Project hasanother year to run with the final exhibit,curated by Karen Finlay, to be held at theMaltwood Gallery at the University of Victoria,in the fall of 2003.

For information on hours and admission,lectures, seminars, and programs related tothe exhibit, please call 250.383.5843


“Sic itur ad astra”

The St. Ann’s Academy Art Studioby Ayla Lepine

Left: A needlework pieceprobably done by EdithHelmcken as a student ofapproximately 13 years.

Her

itage

Tru

st H

H19

88.1

.221

Above: The first conventand schoolhouse.

FROM its establishment in 1858 until its doorsclosed to students in 1973, the motto of St.Ann’s Academy in Victoria was the Latin “sic

itur ad astra.” The phrase, meaning “such is theway to the stars,” embodies the depth of invest-ment on the part of the institution in the educa-tion of girls and young women in a diverse vari-ety of subjects and disciplines. Not least the Acad-emy was actively involved in art education andwas the centre of artistic activity in Victoria in thelate nineteenth and early twentieth century.Although publications such as Edith Down’s ACentury of Service give us a window into the his-tory of St. Ann’s, they do not reveal the centralrole played by art education in its programs.1 It isonly from incidental references in local memoirsand biographies that it is possible to piece togetherthe wide scope of the school’s activities and influ-ence in this sphere. Moreover, since most of thedocumentation and surviving material relating tothe St. Ann’s art studio is from the years between1897 and 1935, the years when Sister Mary Osithewas in charge of the art program, it is easy to asumethat she was the first art teacher at St. Ann’s andthat no art education was given at the academyprior to her arrival.2 In this paper, I will attemptto trace the Academy’s early art activity and placeSister Osithe’s contribution in a wider context.

In June of 1858, four Sisters of St. Ann having

travelled for weeks from the Motherhouse inLachine, Quebec, aboard the Seabird, landed at FortVictoria.3 They opened a convent and started aschool in a log cabin. Their intention was to pro-vide education and spiritual direction for the colo-ny’s children. The sisters were not the first Chris-tian order to arrive at the fledgling colony.4 Themandate of the few clergy at Fort Victoria was notonly to ensure the comfort and worship needs ofthe colonists, but also to act as missionaries to theFirst Nations people in the vicinity. The Sisters ofSt. Ann were no exception, and included Aborigi-nal children in their programs.

Many in the Victoria settlement were keen toenrol their children at the convent school. Dr. JohnSebastian Helmcken, a notable politician in theLegislature and Victoria’s only surgeon at the time,enrolled Amy, his eldest daughter, in the conventschool immediately as it opened.5 A few monthslater, he was called upon to treat the Mother Su-perior, and had to “trump up the courage, havingnever before spoken to nuns, nor treated one.”6

This marked the beginning of a strong friendshipbetween the Helmckens and the Sisters of St. Ann;Edith “Dolly” was also soon attending the Acad-emy. Others who attended St. Ann’s over the fol-lowing few decades were Rita McTavish, AmyHelmcken’s daughter in the 1890s, Martha Doug-las, Edith’s Helmcken’s cousin, for a day or two inthe 1860s,7 and the McKenzie girls from Craig-flower Mansion.

1 Edith Down, SSA, ACentury of Service: TheSisters of Saint Ann.(Victoria: 1996, reprint1999).

2 Christina Johnson-Deancomments that the artdepartment was onlyestablished in 1917 isprobably a typographicalerror. Roberta Pazdroasserts that there was noart program at theconvent until until S.Sophie Labelle’s arrivalin 1871. ChristinaJohnson-Dean, “B.C.Women Artists, 1885–1920” in British ColumbiaWomen Artists: 1885–1985 (Art Gallery ofGreater Victoria: 1985), p12. Roberta Pazdro,“From Pastels to Chisel:the Changing Role ofB.C. Women Artists,” inNot Just Pin Money:

BC

Arc

hive

s A-7

746

Notes continue >>>


Judging from the 1858 syllabus visual arts were a priority. Even in the artstudio’s meagre beginnings it was clear that the students were being encour-aged to work with a variety of mediums and a number of different styles. Thecore courses were reading, history, English, writing, and French, but also“plain and ornamental needle and net work in all their different shapes.”8

Students were given the opportunity to take lessons in drawing, at an addi-tional cost of £1.50 per month. None of the founding Sisters could teachart, and a lay teacher was hired.9 Two pieces, done by the McQuade sisters,survive from this period and both are done with exceptional skill.10 One ofthe mats, done by Anna McQuade in 1865, uses more than six different kindsof needlework to achieve the desired overall effect. Both McQuade sisterseventually took their vows at the convent.

In the 1860s several other convent schools were established on VancouverIsland, and farther North and inland. New Westminster, Alaska, Nanaimo,and Kuper Island were among the sites, but in her MA thesis Marg Andrewsexplains that the emphasis on fine arts was specific to Victoria, and that thearts department at the Academy was highly successful well before the turn ofthe century.11 Little specifically is known about the development of the artstudio in these early decades, but the success of the school and its programscan be measured by the necessity of an immense expansion including aseparate Novitiate wing for prospective sisters, and ample space for separateclassrooms and living quarters.

With the construction underway, the sisters decided to send for a nunwho would be able to take on the responsibility of teaching music and visualarts. The motherhouse requested that Sister Marie Sophie (Antoinette Labelle),lend her musical and artistic talents to the growing Victoria convent.12 Pro-testing that she’d never taken an art lesson in her life,13 she appears to havebeen apprehensive at first. However, her work and the program’s develop-ment during her stay suggest she had nothing to worry about.14 Under SisterLabelle, the art program diversified and grew. The 1894 prospectus, releasedthe year before she left, boasts an oil painting component, charcoal, ink, andpencil drawing, and “lessons in all kinds of plain and ornamental needlework,

Selected Essays on the History of Women’s Work in BritishColumbia, ed. Barbara K. Latham and Roberta J. Pazdro.(Victoria: Camosun College, 1984).

3 Eunice M.L. Harrisson. The Judge’s Wife: Memoirs of aBritish Columbia Pioneer. Ed. Jean Barman (Vancouver:Ronsdale, 2002)

4 A letter from then Dean Edward Cridge to Sir JamesDouglas, the governor of the colony and Chief Factor ofthe HBC post indicates that a Catholic school wasrunning as early as 1856, and the Victoria DistrictChurch, later to become Christ Church Cathedral, wasestablished in the same year. Anglican Diocese of BritishColumbia Archives, box 317.

5 An indexed list print-out of all the girls who everattended the school shows “Emma Helmcken, 22 Fev.[18]59”

6 BC Archives, M17 Horrified at seeing a student disciplined, 6-year-old

Martha didn’t make it past her first day.8 ASSA S35-1-6b9 Margaret Cantwell, SSA, “Art Studio, St. Anne’s

Academy, Victoria B.C.” in Annals of the Community. July-December 1994.

10 ASSA S35-6-9a & b.11 Marg Andrews. “The History and Early Development

of Art Education at St. Ann’s Academy” UBC MA Ed.Dept, 1978. p 3.

12ASSA S35-5-1813 Mary Ann Eva, SAA, A History of the Sisters of St. Ann,

1850-1900. (New York: Vintage, 1960) 25.14 Cantwell, “Art Studio,” 10415 ASSA S35-1-6e16 Turkey work—work of even, deep pile formed by

knotting wools on a canvas base, in imitation of Turkeycarpets. Berlin work was a form of needlepoint whichwas tremendously popular during Victorian times. Thework was stitched from charts and often in very brightcolours. Most of the cards came from Germany, hencethe name.

17 A copy of the Katie Jennings piece is at ASSA.18 HH1988.1.79, HH1988.1.80.19 Volumes 1870-1880 are held in the ASSA20 S. Rose of Lima (Rosalinda Roy) fell ill and died

within a year of arriving in Victoria.21 BC Archives, PDP05518-22; S. Osithe’s camera and

photographic materials are catalogued in the ASSA.Almost all of her work, like the other objects from theSt. Ann’s collections, remains unseen and essentiallyunknown.

22 ASSA S35-1-6g23 Pazdro, “From Pastels to Chisel,” 112.24 The ASSA collection includes a ledger kept by Sister

Osithe (S35-5-2) keeping track of lessons and kiln usegiven to community members.

Right: Farm scene. Pencil on paper,Rita McTavish,1893.

Sist

ers

of S

t. A

nne’

s Arc

hive

s


knitting, embroidery, crochet, tapistry [sic], etc, etc,are given free of charge.”15 A watercolour of thefirst St. Ann’s convent school gives us an idea ofher style in that medium.

Sister Labelle would have been in charge of theart department when Edith Helmcken wentthrough the Academy in the 1870s, and also whenher niece Rita McTavish followed twenty yearslater. A needlework piece probably done by EdithHelmcken recalls this period in St. Ann’s history(HH1988.1.221). It is a fairly large framedTurkeywork or Berlinwork tapestry of a boy witha flute or pipe surrounded by chickens.16 It is listedas being from the 1880s or later, but I suspect it isfrom no later than 1875. Dolly would have beenapproximately 13, which seems young for such aninvolved, detailed piece of work. However, anotheridentical piece was found recently in an Americancurio shop, signed “Katie T. Jennings, Aged 13, St.Ann’s Convent. September 1 1874-July 10 1875”thus suggesting the possibility that it was a set piece,meant to be a class project or assignment for thatparticular year, and that Edith Helmcken and KatieJennings were classmates.17

Nearly a generation later, with Sister Labellestill in the art department, Rita McTavish com-pleted a series of pencil and charcoal sketches. Twotriptychs hang in the halls of Helmcken House,18

and two more drawings, done in 1893, are on dis-play in the St. Ann’s Interpretive Centre parlour.All of Rita McTavish’s drawings deal with localthemes, with the possible exception of the farmscene, which may have been copied from a litho-graph or etching in one of the many volumes ofthe British Art Journal kept by the art department.19

By the time the Lachine motherhouse asked Sis-ter Sophie Labelle to return, she was responsiblefor a thriving and popular art studio.

In 1897, Sister Mary Rose of Lima served brieflyas the art teacher20 She was was succeed by SisterMary Osithe (Elizabeth Labossiere). Sister Osithehad trained extensively in Lachine under the tu-telage of William Raphael, Edmund Dyonnet andothers, and came with the ability to both instructand practice in drawing from life, ceramics paint-ing, needlework, as well as oil and watercolourpainting. During her three decades at the acad-emy, she offered classes to the community, foster-ing a passion for art in students and other Victori-ans alike. The collections at BC Archives, the St.Ann’s Interpretive Centre, and the Sisters of St.Ann Archives show Sister Osithe to have been aversatile artist, and an avid photographer.21 The

1910s and 1920s were the height of the art de-partment at St. Ann’s. Prospectuses from this timeoutline that there was also a student “St. Luke’s ArtSociety,” much like an amateur art history group,based on criticism and practice in the visual arts.22

Throughout her time at the art studio at St. Ann’s,Sister Osithe held yearly exhibitions of studentwork, and several times had to hire extra teachersto satisfy the demand for lessons in various artforms.23

While Sister Osithe’s was exceptionally diverseand sustained, it must not obscure the contribu-tions of her predecessors nor the Academy’s com-mitment to the art education of women from itsoutset. The art instruction St. Ann’s offered to itsstudents and to the wider community24 helpedshape the climate for art production in Victoriafor decades.�

Sist

ers

of S

t. A

nne’

s Arc

hive

sSi

ster

s of

St.

Ann

e’s A

rchi

ves

Above: St. Ann’s conventschool. Watercolour onpaper, by S. SophieLabelle, c. 1872. Imagefrom Edith Down, SAA,Century of Service. Theright part of the buildingmay well be the originalconvent shown on page 15.Below: St. Ann’s in1910. Handcolouredpostcard.


Goodie McKenzie’s Ballgown

Appearing to one’s best advantage was integralto the etiquette that played such a pervasive rolein the lives of the upper class of Victorian times.Dressing well was not only a matter of wearingfashionable clothes, but included donning theappropriate costume for the occasion, and se-lecting the colours and cut of dress that flat-tered one’s figure and complexion the best.1 Forthis reason, women put much time and carefulthought into their appearances, and it is thusthat dress falls under the “womanly arts.” Thefollowing analysis ofa ball gown is one ofthree to be carriedout on gowns held inthe collections of theVictoria area histori-cal sites. The goal ofthis project is to shedlight on the reality ofthe art of dress of up-per class women inlate-nineteenth-cen-tury Victoria.

Goodie’s pink ballgown2 is held in thecollection at Craig-flower Farm.3 Goodie McKenzie (1852-1928),whose given name was Wilhelmina, was theyoungest daughter of Kenneth McKenzie, theBailiff of Craigflower Farm. The dress is referredto as Goodie’s as there is conclusive evidence,in the nature of a photograph, that it was wornby her.

The gown that remains today, however, is notentirely in the same form as the gown in theportrait The bodice is quite recognizable as thesame, but the skirt has been restyled from the1880s bustle effect seen in the photograph, tothe 1900s A-line of the extant garment.

It is exciting that both the gown and the pho-tograph have survived, as each uncovers some-thing about the other. The dress reveals the bril-liant pink silk brocade from which it was madeand the skill with which it was manufactured,while the portrait illustrates how the costume

looked on the body and the choice of fashion-able accessories with which it was worn. Weknow also from the portrait that Goodie was inher mid thirties when she wore this gown in itsoriginal form. Moreover, the fact that both theportrait and the altered dress have survived re-veals that the McKenzies participated in the his-torical custom of prolonging the use of a gar-ment through extensive alterations. Goodiewould have been in her early fifties by the timethe alterations to her ball gown were made. It isimpressive that she may have kept her youthful

figure for so long thatshe could have fittedinto the 22½” waist ofthe bodice at this age,or perhaps the alteredgown was worn by ayounger relation.

The cut of Goodie’spink gown, in itsor ig inal form, cansafely be dated to the1880s. This is sup-ported by the factthat Hall and Lowe,the photographic stu-dio where Goodie’sportrait was taken, set

up shop in Victoria in 1884 or 1885.4 In addi-tion, issues of The Young Ladies Journal from 1883to 1885, which are held in the collection atCraigflower Farm and are identified in Goodie’shand as her own, describe many characteristicsof fashionable formal attire that also apply toGoodie’s dress.5

In this analysis, Goodie’s dress has been re-ferred to as a ball gown. Whether it is in fact aball gown or an evening dress, a reception gownor a dinner gown, is difficult for the twenty-first century eye to discern. All could be lownecked, trained and have minimal sleeves. Ballgowns however, were worn with the lowestdécolletage and were less likely to have trains,for “where much dancing is to be indulged in,trains are very much in the way.”6

In addition to the physical features of Goodie’s

1 Maud C. Cooke. SocialEtiquette or Manners andCustoms of Polite Society.(London, ON:McDermid & Logan,1896).

2 CF1968.508.3 Craigflower Farm,

established in 1853, wasone of the four VancouverIsland farms of the PugetSound AgriculturalCompany which werefounded to meet theHudson Bay Company’sobligations to supportcolonization. The site tellsthe stories of the BailiffKenneth McKenzie andhis family, as well as of thelabourers who workedthe farm.

4 Though the partnershipof Hall and Lowe wasdissolved in 1892, Lowecontinued to operateunder this name until theturn of the century. DavidMattison. Camera Workers:The British Columbia,Alaska & YukonPhotographic Directory,1858-1950.

5 CS1927.126.1 a-ac6 Cooke, 416.7 Kenneth McKenzie’s

Daybook No. 5: 12 Sep1863-9 Apr 1964, BCArchives, MF 1394 13/1.It is interesting to notethat dancing lessonsnearly doubled the priceof the schooling.

8 Nan DeBertand Lugrin.Pioneer Women of VancouverIsland. (Victoria: TheWomen’s Canadian Clubof Victoria, 1928), 80.

Pretty in Pinkby Wendy Nichols

BC

Her

itage

CF1

968.

508

Centre: The bodice of thepink gown of GoodyMcKenzie. The bodiceseems unchanged but theskirt (not shown) wasrestyled.


pink gown that point in the direction of a ballgown, there are several clues to Goodie’s lifethat support this conclusion. It is recorded, forexample, that Goodie and her sister Dorotheawere taking dancing lessons at Ladies Collegiatein 1864.7 They may well have been attendingballs by this age for, due to the shortage ofwomen in the Colony, the desire for femaledance partners was particularly keen. Thoughtheir mother had been reluctant to let them go,the two eldest McKenzie girls, Jessie and Agnes,had been only ten and eleven when they at-tended their first ball, owing to the persuasiveabilities of the officers of the Royal Navy.8

As Bailiff of Craigflower Farm, Agent and Su-perintendent of the Agricultural Company onVancouver Island, Magistrate, and Justice of thePeace, Kenneth McKenzie and his family movedamongst the upper classes. The popularity of ballsin the social scene of early Victoria has beenrecounted many times.9 The significance that at-tending balls played in the lives of the McKenziesis evidenced in a collection of invitations, whichthey saved.10 The collection of roughly 35 invi-tations spans the years 1866-1895. About halfthe invitations are to events hosted by the RoyalNavy, while others include occasions at Gov-ernment House, the Alhambra Room, the Phil-harmonic, and private “at homes.”

In Pioneer Women of Vancouver Island, Goodieis said to have been “as lovely as a Greek god-dess and the belle of many a ball.”11 This is notdifficult to imagine when we view her beauti-fully beaded pink gown and photograph. Goodieappears in the portrait to have had dark hairand was likely able to carry off such a strongcolour to her advantage. As well, Goodie’s gownshows off her small waist and well rounded bustthat were the ideals of beauty in this period.Even the plumpness of her arms was consid-ered an attractive attribute.12 Her full back, aneffect created by a bustle worn under the skirtis a further enhancement to her beauty in theeyes of her contemporaries. Also, Goodie tookcare to wear her stylishly cut gown with themost fashionable accessories, including longgloves and a fan.

Looking at Goodie McKenzie in her gown,and bearing in mind the circumstances of herfamily and background discussed above, it ap-pears that she definitely was proficient in thewomanly art of dress.�

9 For example, Valerie Green, Above Stairs: Social Life in Upper Class Victoria 1843-1918.(Victoria: Sono Nis Press, 1995), 126.

10 Invitations 1866-1895, McKenzie Family Papers, BC Archives, MF1481 8/11.11 Lugrin, 8112 Sarah Levitt. Fashion in Photographs: 1880-1900. (London: BT Batsford, 1991), 73.

Above: Wilhelmina A. Blair (Goody) McKenzie in her pink ball gown.

BC

Arc

hive

s A-0

1642


Many of the details of work done, lessonslearnt, worship offered seem very small and in-significant, and some, like the finest stitches inembroidery, are all but invisible, yet one littlestitch being out of place or out of proportionsomewhat mars the effect of the whole.1

In the late nineteenth century, church linens werein high demand for decorating churches in Brit-ish Columbia. The history of these textiles, theirprovenance, and their creation is largely undocu-mented. This is the case with the collection ofliturgical textiles at the church of St. John the Di-vine in Yale. The now de-sanctified church, origi-nally in the New Westminster Diocese, is over 140years old. For many years its small, damp vestryhoused over a hundred hand-made embroideredpieces, some of which are exceptional. Archivalrecords show that societies and guilds in Englandsupplied many of the churches in British Colum-bia with money, furniture, and vestments. The St.John’s collection might be of less interest to Brit-ish Columbia historians were it made entirely inEngland, but Yale appears to have far fewer em-broidered vestments, frontals, and other worksmade in England than other area churches. Howcould Yale, a rough, developing town filled withCPR workers and gold diggers, and home to fewEuropean needlewomen, have created the elegantpieces in the collection? The answer may be All

Unravelling the Past

A History of the Church Linens ofSt. John the Divine and the Embroi-derers of All Hallows School

by Rachel Edwards

Hallows School.Yale was home to a girls’ boarding school called

All Hallows, under the direction of several An-glican nuns from All Hallows, Ditchingham, Eng-land, a convent that had an internationally re-spected school for ladies’ ecclesiastical embroi-dery, founded in 1854. Three nuns were sent toYale in 1884 to establish a mission school for theNative children of the area. Enrolment lists showthat also a few white students attended in theearly years. In November 1890, a new “IndianSchool House” was completed effectively sepa-rating the Native and white students both inschooling and boarding. White enrolment in-creased thereafter.2

While both the Native and the white studentswere taught needlework at All Hallows school,the purpose differed. The white pupils were edu-cated to be “refined Christian gentlewomen”3

while the First Nations students were taught “agood English elementary education, in additionto training in housework generally.”4

Aside from being part of the curriculum, nee-dlework was also a social activity for the whitegirls at the boarding school. In 1894, a group ofgirls, presumably non-Native, formed a societycalled the Guild of the Holy Child. After 1895,the guild’s existence is not mentioned again un-til 1901 when an article appeared in the schoolnewspaper entitled “The Story of a Piece ofEmbroidery.” The text narrates the story of a fron-tal that had been started in 1896 but was left un-finished for several years. The article describeshow the piece, meant for the altar at the Agassiz

BC

Arc

hive

s G

-020

42

1 Student in All Hallows inthe West, Christmas 1901.

2 For more about AllHallows school: JeanBarman, “LostOpportunity: All HallowsSchool for Indian andWhite Girls 1884-1920.”in BC Historical News, 22:2, Spring 1989 and VeraBennett, “All HallowsSchool.” in OkanaganHistorical Society Report, v.24. 1960. <http://www.tbc.gov.bc.ca/culture/schoolnet/yale/tour/hallows.htm>.

3 The Churchman’s Gazette,New Westminster, August1891 vol. XI, no. 4, 842and Ibid., September1891 vol. XI, no. 5, 859.

4 Ibid., August 1891 vol.XI, no. 4, p.842.

5 All Hallows in the West,Christmas 1901.

Right: Embroidery room.All Hallows, Ditchingham,England.

Below: Sisters of AllHallows school in Yale,


church, was taken up again and carried to Eng-land by a student as she travelled for her summerbreak. In her Norfolk home and the nearbyDitchingham convent, she continued the workbegun in Yale:

How very kindly the Sisters helped, enteringwith loving interest into that tangible little bitof foreign mission work...Then again on theAtlantic, on the return journey, fellow-passen-gers with skilled fingers contributed their mite[sic] to the great design...patient fingersworked on at chain stitch, satin stitch, Frenchembroidery stitch, and long lines of plain neathemming, until in course of time grapes andvine-leaves, corn and scrolls, took shape andform, and the whole work was nearlydone...Two of the girls from the Indian school,who are not members of this Guild, offeredtheir services in pulling out threads for hemstitching. Every needle-woman knows howhard it is to draw threads in long unbrokenlines in fine linen. How much patience andskill it requires, such a firm and delicate touch,such keen clear sight.5

The frontal, now missing, is evidence of a col-laborative work not only among the white stu-dents but also among the Sisters in England, pas-sengers on a transatlantic steamer, and most re-markably perhaps, between the European and Na-tive girls. Although according to the article, theFirst Nations girls were given the rather menial

Left: Sisters and pupils atAll Hallows school, 1901.

task of pulling threads,their work was none-theless acknowledgedas essential and skilled.

When looking atthe St. John the Divinecollection, several fac-tors further counterthe idea of England asthe primary source forthe Yale textiles. Whilethe quality of some ofthe work is excep-tional, other pieces arequite obviously a be-ginner’s work, indicat-ing the school’s in-volvement. One piecein particular, the AgnusDei, or Lamb of Godbanner,6 suggests thatthe school was a majorproducer of textiles forSt. John the Divine.The central lamb isquite well done andprobably the work of a teacher. The surroundingpieces, while attached to look like one completepiece, are in fact appliqués done by several differ-ent hands and then attached. The banner seems

6 Yale 1996.1.28. Seeimage on page 22.

Above: Church of SaintJohn the Divine in Yale.

Rob

in H

oope

r

BC

Arc

hive

s A-0

3609


to be the result of several students working un-der a teacher, who then pieced the elements to-gether to create a completed work for the localchurch. That this was indeed made for St. John’sis affirmed by the colour and imagery of the piece.The turquoise fabric used in the banner is alsofound in a stole with the same lamb image and aturquoise backing, suggesting that this was madeto match another item. A photograph of St. John’s,Yale from 1893 shows the altar draped in what lookslike this frontal and two grapevine-embroideredhangings that are also part of the collection.7

Another banner in the collection is expertlymade and trimmed with a European silk-satinribbon8 The banner is elegantly executed; how-ever, one leaf in the intricate pattern is a slightlydifferent colour from the others. If this piece weremade in England, the embroiderer would havehad access to more thread of the original colour,had she run out. However, in Yale, the chances offinding matching thread would have been slim.

The backing of the piece is red serge: the samefabric was used to make the uniforms for theNative students, and is found on at least four otherpieces in the collection.

All Hallows closed in 1920 and few if any stu-dents are still alive. However, several descendantsremember their mothers or grandmothers speak-ing of the school and of needlework. Joan(Crawford) Vogstad, the granddaughter of formerstudent Ambie McRae, said:

I remember my grandmother talking aboutgoing to school at All Hallows. Grandmothersaid that is was a school where they went tolearn how to be young ladies. Part of theirtraining was to sit in the afternoon and doneedlework—which went to the church.

Another descendant of an All Hallows studentremembers differently. Clare Chrane is the grand-daughter of Clara Clare, a prominent member ofthe Yale community and St. John the DivineChurch. She commented,

...the Church linens originally came from AllHallows, Ditchingham, England, made by theNuns there. ...At various times, I would gowith her to inspect the linen…If the needarose, she would take these items home to re-pair. She always did the work herself and itwas very fine.9

Clare Chrane’s account would suggest that thecollection came from England with only repairsbeing done in Canada. However, race provides apossible explanation for these two differing ac-counts; Ambie McRae was a white student andClara Clare was a Native student. Perhaps theaccounts of their granddaughters differ becausethe groups were so separated: the Native studentsmay not have known that the white girls weremaking textiles for the church under the tute-lage of the nuns.

Although no definite conclusion can be drawn,students at All Hallows seem to have been thecreators of at least part of the collection. Whilemany pieces are impressive from an aesthetic pointof view, they are primarily invaluable as a part ofBritish Columbia’s past. The All Hallows studentsengaged in one of the most common and mostanonymous art forms, yet through their ecclesi-astic embroidery, they managed to leave a part oftheir history and culture in the collection of St.John the Divine.�

BC

Arc

hive

s D

-078

30

Above: Interior of St.John’s Anglican Church inYale. ca. 1893. The churchdressed for a specialoccasion with its bestliturgical textiles and bowsof flowers.

7 BC Archives D-078308 Yale 1996.1.22 See image

on page 26.9 Information from Mrs.

Chrane comes from anoral interview inDecember 2001 and aletter written in March2002.


THE Church of Saint John theDivine in Yale was consecrated in 1863.1

As other Anglican churches, Yale’s churchrequired furnishings, including banners, altarfrontals and frontlets, as well as burses and corpo-rals. Many of these are now part of the Yale eccle-siastical textile collection. What is the provenanceof these textiles?

In general the ecclesiastical embroidery in Yaleshows consistency with the symbolism found inEngland during the Gothic Revival, but there aresome absences, such as figural work and heraldry,themes that were common in English Victorianecclesiastical embroidery. 2

Rachel Edwards suggests in this issue, that theYale collection supports the hypothesis that manyof the pieces were made by the girls and teachersat All Hallows School in Yale. Some of the Yaleeclesiastical textiles show that they probably weremade locally—partly by beginning embroiderers.Students at All Hallows School would be suchbeginners.Following is a brief review of some ofthe pieces in the collection.

LAMB OF GOD ALTAR FRONTAL

Yale 1996.1.28.This frontal, also mentioned in Rachel Edward’spaper, is of particular significance because it wasprobably worked on by a number of differentneedleworkers of varying skill levels. The lamb in

the centre was obviously done by someone with agreat deal of needlework experience and exper-tise, as the condition remains excellent, and thestitching is complex. The background is laid andcouched work, with loosely attached threads andinconsistent, widely spaced couching stitches, andlikely done by an amateur. The Lamb and the bluebackground are surrounded with four flowers andfour fleurs-de-lis, which have been appliquédaround the outside of the central piece. Again, thereare different levels of workmanship in the em-broidery. While some of the flowers are delicatelyand beautifully embroidered, others are decidedlychildlike. The fleurs-de-lis are decorated with cross-hatched laid work, a characteristic stitch of thenuns of All Hallows embroidery.4 It seems likelythat this piece was made by several students of AllHallows School who were at different stages intheir needlework education, along with either anadvanced student, or a teacher. In this way, eachchild had an opportunity to practise her skills andto contribute to the work.

RED IHS BANNER

Yale 1996.1.3.This red banner, decorated with white flowers,bears a small, lower case IHS appliquéd in red feltin the centre of a white cross. In the early Church,the letters IHS were the short form of IHOUS,“Jesus” in Greek.5 The IHS monogram slowly re-

1 Historic Yale. (Vancouver:Vancouver SectionBritish ColumbiaHistorical Association,1954).

2 Mary Schoeser. The WattsBook of Embroidery:English Church Embroidery1833-1953 (London:Watts & Co. 1998)

Yale’s Ecclesiastical Textilesby Natasha Slik

Below:Yale 1996.1.28.Lamb of God AltarFrontal.

BC

Her

itage

Yal

e 19

96.1

.28.


placed the XP symbol in the Greek Church andquickly became adopted by the Latin Church. Af-ter becoming common use in the Latin Church,the letters often also took on the meaning of IhousHominum Salvator, or “Jesus, Saviour of men.”6 Withthe shift of the English church into the vernacular,it is not surprising that a purely English meaningfor these letters was alsodeveloped. “In HisService” can also begiven as the meaning ofthe IHS monogram.

BURSE AND

CORPORAL SET

Yale 996.1.95 a&b, notshown.This set illustrates thefineness of work thatseems characteristic ofburses and corporals inthe Anglican Victoriantradition. Gold wire isused for the crown ofthorns, and the red silkembroidered HIS hasbeen padded and is out-lined in gold. As withthe other burses andcorporals, this suggeststhat they were probablymade abroad, and sentto British Columbia as used pieces rather thanwhen they were new. In addition, interwoven IHSsymbols appear on a baptismal font and on analtar chair (Yale 1996.1.0070 and Yale 1996.1.0063,not shown).

WHITE WALL HANGING

Yale 1996.1.41 a & b-not shown.The cross on this hanging is done in green rib-bon, decorated with seven appliquéd flowers andmay possibly have been done as a student sampler.Each flower is different both in design and execu-tion, making it likely that different people madethem. These could easily have been sample pieces,done by students learning embroidery, and thenapplied to the banner. These flowers “samplers”bear close resemblance to the four flowers appliedto the “Lamb of God” banner discussed earlier.None of the flowers on the white wall hangingare identical, and some of them do not even havethe same number of petals. Often they are asym-metrical and amateurishly embroidered, adding

credibility to the theory that they were student-made.

RED ALTAR FRONTAL

Yale 1996.1.22This red altar frontal with its applied golden brownpanels and cross in the centre, decorated with smallsix-petalled flowers, was clearly designed and com-

pleted by a very accom-plished embroiderer. Allof the embroidery isdone directly on thefabr ic. Although itshows perfection in theembroidery, one singleleaf has been embroi-dered in a differentshade of green. Thissuggests that, upon run-ning out of thread, theartist either could notafford to buy more ofthe same shade, or nonewas available. This sug-gests that the piece wasnot made in an areawhere embroidery flosswas readily available,such as in British Co-lumbia. Unfortunately,it is impossible to tell forcertain that this piece

was made in Yale, as these circumstances could cer-tainly also describe other areas. Flowers were un-doubtedly considered an appropriate motif for ec-clesiastical embroidery, both in England and inCanada. In addition to displaying medieval roots,they were easy to design or copy from publishedmaterial.

ALTAR FRONTAL WITH FRINGE

Yale 1996.1.51.Most Victorian trims were being made by ma-chine, while the medieval trims were of course,handmade. This altar frontal does, however, have ahandmade tri-coloured inkle-woven fringe. Thisis of particular interest, because at the start of theweaving the work is poor, as though it was thefirst attempt at this craft made by the artist. As theweaving progresses, it improves greatly, finishingwith a tight and even tension, and is very welldone. Either the weaver improved over the lengthof the fringe, or a more accomplished weaver tookover the weaving partway through. �

Centre:Yale 1996.1.3Red IHS Banner.

3 Anthea Callen, Angel inthe Studio, Women in theArts and Crafts Movements,1870–1914 (London:Astragal, 1997) 103.

4 Schoeser. The Watts Bookof Embroidery, 101.

5 Mrs. Henry Jenner,Christian Symbolism(London: Methuen &Co. Ltd., 1910) 36.

6 F. Edward Hulme,Symbolism in ChristianArt:The History, Principlesand Practice (London:Swan Sonnenschein &Co., 1909) 52.

BC

Her

itage

Yal

e 19

96.1

.3


Left:Yale 1996.1.51Altar frontal with fringe.The start of the weaving ofthe fringe is poor, as thoughit was the first attempt atthis craft made by theartist. As the weavingprogresses, it improvesgreatly, finishing with atight and even tension, andis very well done.

BC

Her

itage

Yal

e 19

96.1

.51

BC

Her

itage

199

6.1.

97, 9

8, 9

9.

Left:Yale 1996.1.97, 98, 99.The embroidery on thebookmark on the right—an orange cross on a pieceof purple scrap piece—isthe work of a beginningstudent.

BC

Her

itage

. Yal

e 19

96.1

.22

Left:Yale 1996.1.22.Red altar frontal with itsapplied golden brownpanels and cross in thecentre, decorated with smallsix-petalled flowers.


Charlotte Kathleen O’Reilly (1867-1945) of Vic-toria, British Columbia, was the most beloveddaughter of Peter and Caroline O’Reilly. She heldher home and family closer to her heart than anyof her many social affairs. Embracing her Britishroots, she accepted the traditions imposed uponher by her family, yet exemplified the lifestyle pat-terns and choices of a first-generation Canadian.Kathleen was not only photographed in severalinternational professional studios, but also by herbrother, the amateur photographer in the family.He used a Kodak camera that is still in the collec-tion at Point Ellice House Historic site. AlthoughKathleen visited England several times and trav-elled internationally, she never abandoned PointEllice and her home. To examine KathleenO’Reilly’s self-representation in front of the cam-era, it is the sizable collection of archival photo-graphs in the O’Reilly collection at Point ElliceHouse and the BC Archives that are deconstructedin this paper to reveal her personal choices, influ-ences, and values.

Home to the pioneer Victoria family of Britishheritage, Point Ellice House contains a wealth oftwo-dimensional documentary sources. Much ofthis material relates specifically to the life ofKathleen O’Reilly: prints and paintings, photo-graphs, both unmounted and in frames; some dia-ries, letters, notebooks; accounts and bills; invita-tions, calling cards, programs for dances, regattas,and concerts; books of various kinds. This collec-tion covers Kathleen’s lifespan from 1867 to 1945.Point Ellice existed as a place for social gatheringand as the home of Peter and Caroline O’Reillywith their four children. Peter O’Reilly immi-grated to Canada from Ireland, and arrived in Vic-toria, where he was given his first appointmentfrom Governor James Douglas. In the early 1860s,Caroline Trutch moved from England to Victoria,where she met Peter and married him in 1863.Eighteen hundred and sixty-seven was a momen-tous year for the O’Reilly family, including thebirth of their second child, Kathleen O’Reilly,and the move into Point Ellice House.

There are over fifty photographs of KathleenO’Reilly. They are in the collections of the BCArchives and Point Ellice House Historic site.Nearly 30 of those were taken in a studio, whilethe others were taken by an amateur photogra-pher and can be considered snapshots. In this pa-per, the studio photographs and five of the ama-teur photographs will be analyzed in chronologi-cal order and used to discuss how Kathleen choseto use photography as a form of personal expres-sion.

The photograph became the universal languageof information about 150 years ago with the ini-tial development of photography. Since then, pho-tographic images and changing technology havebeen seriously examined under the academic eye.The art-historical analysis of discussing subjectmatter, stylistic trends, provenance of the image,and role of the photographer can be applied tothe entire collection of Kathleen O’Reilly’s stu-dio images. This analysis will illustrate photogra-phy’s important role within the humanities andthe study of womanly arts. The study of domesticimagery, as well as the Victorian use of romanti-cism within social history, is appropriate to thisinvestigation.

Studio photographs are especially informativepieces of documentary evidence. On the mountedphotographs, the name of the photographer, of-ten with the address, helps to establish the date ofthe image. With the invention of the camera in1839 came the development of the profession ofthe studio photographer, with its complexity oftripods, black cloths, glass plate negatives, specialbackdrops, darkrooms and a cocktail of chemi-cals. In the studio photograph, however, is pre-sented an image created by both the studio pho-tographer and the subject. In the KathleenO’Reilly images, one can trace her growing self-expression from childhood to adulthood, in herchoice of dress, posture, and props. Each of thebackground props, personal ornaments, facial ex-pression, and body posture places Kathleen in aromanticized environment, showing the influenceof a British, Victorian culture.

Around the year 1870, Kathleen is presentedfor the first time in front of the camera. Even at avery young age, Kathleen is shown in her Sunday

How Shall I Frame Myself?

An investigation into the Act ofSelf-Representation in Front ofthe Camera

by Liberty Walton

1 Terry Reksten, MoreEnglish than the English(Victoria BC: Orca BookPublishing, 1986), 71


best at an unknown, yet professional studio, likelyin the Victoria area. Typical even today, this babyportrait, HP 50070, is an example of parental con-cerns and values for the appearance of their daugh-ter. This image sets the stage for the role photog-raphy was to play in Kathleen’s life, and exempli-fies the value her parents placed on the act ofphotographing their daughter. With a lace shawltied at the neck, over a dress adorned with rose-buds, her face is framed with perfectly sweet curls,the epitome of inno-cence. Her innocencewas to become an un-derlining thread in allof her studio portraits.

Children were a rar-ity in Victoria duringthe year 1867, as thiswas only a decade sincethe fur traders’ outpostexpanded to become atown supplying minersheading to the Cariboogold rush. In 1865, thepopulation droppedfrom 8,000 to 3,500.1

This decline in popu-lation and businessmeant the colony ofVancouver Island couldno longer survive on itsown and was annexedwith the mainland, inan Act passed by QueenVictoria in the year1866. This Act, which had significant impact onthe development of Victoria, was passed only ayear before Kathleen was born.

In 1871, four years after Kathleen’s birth, theEnglish colony of British Columbia entered thefour-year-old Dominion of Canada and Victoriawas officially designated status as the capital ofBritish Columbia. As Kathleen grew, so did thecity. While the political unification of this Britishterritory in continental North America led to sta-ble prospects in the city, Kathleen left her toddleryears and entered her childhood. Victoria, morethan any other place in the Canadian west, em-bodied the English and Victorian ideals of classstructure and proper behaviour.2 Kathleen in allof her innocence and youth mirrored these idealsand reflected the city’s growth.

At age ten, in 1877, Kathleen is presented again

in her best, a dress with similarly jagged detailingat the collar and cuffs. The style of her dress isVictorian, emphasized with a double band at thebottom of the skirt. Taken at the studio of StephenAllen Spencer, this photograph, HP 23057, is evi-dence that the O’Reilly family saw several ad-vantages to commissioning professional portraitsof Kathleen. The act of preserving an image oftheir daughter, and by utilizing a professional stu-dio, was a sign of wealth. Not all people in Victo-

ria could afford the costsof photographing theirchildren, especially onsuch a regular basis. Byexploiting their wealthin such a fashion,Caroline O’Reillywould have seen pho-tography an opportunityto secure their positionwithin the upper classes.Portraits were sent backto family and friends inthe homeland, con-stantly announcing theO’Reillys’ financial suc-cess and the growth oftheir family.

With the dedication“For dear Uncle Joe”written on the back ofthe photograph, thislikely was a gift to JosephTrutch, Caroline’sbrother. Caroline would

have distributed copies of this image to familymembers in Victoria and the British Isles. Only ayear after the death of Kathleen’s sister, MaryAugusta, the O’Reilly family in Victoria wouldstill be receiving condolences from family abroad.This image would have been sent to comfort dis-tant relatives, as a sign of hope and survival dur-ing the harsh years of Kathleen’s early life in Cana-da’s wild west. Until the time of this photograph,a daughter of the Crease family personally tu-tored Kathleen. In 1878, at age eleven, she at-tended Angela College, an Anglican college onBurdett Street in Victoria. Combined with thedeath of her sister and start of formal studies,Kathleen would have received considerable at-tention at this time in her life as the only remain-ing daughter of the family. Even her wardrobewould have received extra attention.3

2 Rosemary Neering, WildWest Women: Travels,Adventures, and Rebels(Vancouver: WhitecapBooks, 2000), 97

3 Virginia Careless,Responding to Fashion -The Clothing of theO’Reilly Family, (Victoria:Royal British ColumbiaMuseum, 1993) 7

BC

Arc

hive

s H

P-23

057

Left: HP-23057.Kathleen O’Reilly, 1877.Studio portrait showsKathleen as a young girl,age ten, sitting on a chair,hands folded and restingon chair arm. Studio ofS.A.Spencer, Victoria.


Several O’Reilly family photographs were takenin the Fort Street studio of S.A. Spencer, one ofthe prominent Victoria area photographers thatmade a start in 1858 with the Cariboo gold rushboom and increased business operations. Endinghis studio work in 1885, Spencer had advertisedas a “daguerrian artist,” a reflection upon Britishphotographic traditions. Apart from this image,two of Kathleen’s siblings, Mary Augusta andArthur Jack, were photographed at the Spencerstudio. All of the children were propped against atwo-tiered stripped stool, used to steady them forthe length of exposure. HP 50003 is a constructedimage, using settings, props and practical costumefor a formal pose and presentation. BelowKathleen’s skirt, and to either side of her feet, isthe thick base for an instrument used to supporther position. This instrument would have beenclamped to the back of her neck or at the back ofher waist. Props, such as this stool, were used inthe studio portraits of children, not by choice,but in order to keep the children from moving.

The development of studio photography alsoaffected the changing role of women, as photog-raphy was now more accessible for the amateur.Women, who in Victorian times were not ex-pected to have a profession or succeed at endeav-ours outside of the home, found in this new me-dium a way in which they could employ theircreative talents.4 One of Victoria’s ninetheenth-century studio photographers was HannahMaynard.

Hannah began to photograph residents of theVictoria area shortly after her arrival from easternCanada. She was popularly known for photo-graphing children, in a series of “little gems.” Theseserved as images for New Year’s greetings betweenthe years 1885 to 1899. Hannah is known for hernon-traditional approach to photography, cuttingout images of children and placing them ontonew backgrounds. She also experimented withmultiple exposures in composite images, repro-ducing herself in triplicate on one image. Hannah’svision was never truly embraced by the O’Reillyfamily, as only one known studio image by herexists in the O’Reilly photo collections: a cut-out of Arthur imposed onto an image of the Gorgewaterfront.

Hannah’s work has won her acclaimed statusin the history of women’s photography. But dur-ing the Victorian era, several contemporarieswould have frowned upon her non-traditionalapproach and may have viewed her as an eccen-

tric. Other Victoria area photographers, such asS.A. Spencer, relied upon traditional approachesof presenting the subject to the camera, provid-ing the client with a photograph rooted in Brit-ish practices of photography.

The O’Reilly decision to remain a client ofthe S.A. Spencer studio is an example of the in-fluence on Kathleen’s perspective and her con-tinued choice to embrace the traditions of herBritish past.

At age 15, in 1882, Caroline took Kathleen toLondon to enroll her in an appropriate finishingschool. En route they visited San Francisco wherethese images of Kathleen and Caroline were pho-tographed in the Taber studio. Kathleen returnsto this studio in the future, showing her satisfac-tion with the results of the images.

At the Taber Studio, Kathleen is photographedin two different dresses against two different back-drops, both at one sitting. Both dresses are sim-plistic in line, with a high collar, while detailed atthe collar and cuffs. Consisting of a heavier, prac-tical fabric, the dresses could have been worn toformal affairs. In both images, Kathleen’s thick,dark hair is smartly tied back with a bow, while apendant hangs from her neck.

Also at this studio visit, Caroline is photo-graphed against both backdrops, although she facesthe opposite direction of her daughter. The lineof her dress echoes the line of her daughter’s dress,as do the severity of facial expressions. Caroline’sdress is Victorian and slightly bustled in the back.The same simply beaded earrings and necklace,as well as the neat hairstyle underneath a tightlyfitting hat, appear in both images.

Both images of mother and daughter are con-servative, containing similar stylistic elements ofhairstyle and dress. These similarities show Caro-line’s desire to present both herself and Kathleenin an orderly fashion. Even the choice of darkerfabrics is an indication of Caroline’s intervention,as she often chose darker fabrics for her dress. Suchmaternal choices made on her daughter’s behalfwould have been the greatest source of influenceon Kathleen’s life at this time.

These images are very orderly in nature, whichis reflected not only by the maternal choice ofclothing and tidy hairstyle but also by the pho-tographer’s choice of backdrop and props. WhenCaroline selected this studio, she would have in-vestigated the quality of final images, the photog-rapher’s style, and perhaps the studio props. In oneimage, HP 50072, the photographer has selected

4 Cathy Converse,Mainstays – Women WhoShaped BC (Victoria:Horsdal & Shubert,1998) 64


a backdrop painting of an arch, while the back-drop in photograph HP-23055 is of an ornatepillar and low riser. Both backdrops are reminis-cent of architectural types, used to create an insti-tutional and orderly setting. In HP-23055Kathleen leans against the pillar, an unwaveringsymbol of good order on a stable foundation, allof the same ideals Caroline invested in her daugh-ter.

Two of Kathleen’s personal items are broughtinto these photographs, a basket and a pendant.While holding the backrest of a wooden chair,she is clutching a simple, woven basket. Of par-ticular interest is the pendant, which appears inboth photographs, possibly a personal item withsentimental attachment.

In London of 1883,the photograph studioof W. & D. Downeybilled themselves as“Photographers bySpecial Appointmentto Her Majesty theQueen.” This studiomay have been person-ally selected byKathleen, or as in-structed by her family.“You must have yourphoto taken beforelong, not an expensiveone until we see howwe like it.”5 This choiceof photographer en-sured the subject wouldbe presented in accord-ance with the upper-class social norms.

At the studio of W.& D. Downey, photo-graphs taken ofKathleen present her ina bust portrait, as wellas two three-quarter-length portraits. Thereis a remarkable differ-ence between the im-age of a young girltaken one year earlierin San Francisco andthe image of a younglady captured in thesephotographs taken at W.

& D. Downey. These portraits are the first indica-tion of Kathleen’s attention to current trends, fol-lowing the fashions best suited for a young lady,leaving behind her childhood image. In short, theyshow Kathleen’s transition from a girl into adult-hood.

From age fifteen until eighteen, Kathleen at-tended Lady Murray’s Finishing School in Lon-don. Here, she would have been educated on themost fashionable clothing and hairstyles for thetime. In keeping with these fashions, this schoolinstructed Kathleen to wear a corset, which shapeda feminine waist, complementing the cut of herdress. The action of wearing fashionable clothingto a studio sitting was similar to the social eventsKathleen attended. Choice of clothing is influ-

Left: HP-50072.Kathleen O’Reilly, 1882,at age fifteen, Taber Studio,San Francisco.

BC

Arc

hive

s H

P-50

072

5 Peter O’Reilly toKathleen O’Reilly,Victoria, 11 November1896. O’Reilly letters,BC Archives, p.2


enced by the occasionat which it is worn andby the type of peoplewith whom the wearerassociates.6

Influenced by hermother, as well as by herpeers, school, and soci-ety, the clothing in theseimages indicates thatKathleen’s choice of afashion is very closelylinked to her personalconsiderations of socialstatus, and her responseto socially dictatedstandards.7

As seen in the bustportrait, HP 50077, shecontinues to neatly turnback her hair, always se-cured into place, adopt-ing a hairstyle that is inkeeping with currenttrends, as illustrated inLady’s Pictorial dated 21February 1891.8 HP50095 is also the firstimage of Kathleen in ahat, which is elaboratelyfeathered. Althoughsimilar to the hat wornby Caroline in the TaberStudio photograph, it islikely this choice was apersonal statement at-tending contemporary fashion rather than an in-fluence of maternal concerns. The parasol is in-dicative of another personal choice made byKathleen, an elaborate and fashionable substitutefor the simple woven basket selected a year ear-lier.

These images not only provide documentaryevidence of Kathleen’s life and her growing self-expression; as portraits they also display an artifi-cial romanticism—a philosophy that encouragedcertain viewpoints as a way of seeing. The back-drop selected by the photographer is a paintedgarden scene, while Kathleen, wearing a tea gown,stands holding an outdoor parasol. This photog-rapher has presented Kathleen in the romantic,complementing not only her personal concerns,but also her outward appearance. Studio settings

were most likely decided by the photographer,who would have crafted the pastoral scenes andstaged interiors, such as these. These elements aresomewhat reminiscent of the surroundings atPoint Ellice and the dress she would have worn athome. In the studio photographs of Kathleen, sheis portrayed in conventional images within a ro-mantic environment. Kathleen has become sub-ject to the construction of the image by the pho-tographer. The romantic props and backdrops,combined with posture, facial expressions, andpersonal dress, concrete her role as a conventionalyoung woman in Victorian society. Kathleen hasembraced this romanticism in her own dress andadornment.

Romanticism is an alternative to realism. Ro-mance is said to focus in dreams rather than real-

Right: HP-50095Romantic imagery andresponding to fashion.Kathleen O’Reilly, age 16,1883. W. & D. Downey,Photographers by SpecialAppointment to HerMajesty the Queen,London, England.

BC

Arc

hive

s H

P-50

095

6 Careless, Responding toFashion, 4

7 Ibid., 268 Magazine from the Point

Ellice House collection.


ity, its creators interested in the internal ratherthan the external lives of their subjects.9 Remi-niscent of a garden scene, this romantic image re-flects Kathleen’s love of Point Ellice. Romancehas human vision as its obsession: at its center is aperson or persons viewing and viewed, an ob-server or spectator whose abilities to see fully, par-tially, or not at all indicate his or her moral as wellas physical activities.10 More importantly than storyto photograph, was the photograph to storytell-ing itself.

At age seventeen, in 1884, Kathleen visited thestudio of Lambert, Weston and Son in Folkestone,England, for the first time. Five photographs areproduced at this sitting, including three bust por-traits and two standing three-quarter length por-traits. As was the custom, Kathleen would havesent these images to friends and family members.Requesting multiple images from one sittingwould have provided Kathleen with a selectionfrom which to choose the best representation ofherself. On a Saturday afternoon, 17 May 1884,she wrote in a letter to her brother Frank, indi-cating her pleasure with the photographs fromthis sitting. “My dear Frank, … I am going tosend out the photos that were taken down atFolkestone, of me. You will all think they are veryflattering.”11

It is quite possible Kathleen selected this stu-dio. Kathleen adds in her letter to Frank, “Weston’sestablishment has been very enlarged he has a verylarge window now, opposite the Bank, so a greatmany people stop to look. Lisa & I used to havefun watching them.”12

In this series, Kathleen’s hairstyle and dress arenearly identical to the fashions adopted the pre-vious year. As seen in the photograph H-01513,again the high collared dress indicates Kathleen’sconstant attention to Victorian stylistic patterns.Changes in this style of dress are the front buttonenclosure, skirt gathered at the front, and slightlypeaked gatherings at the shoulder. Collar and cuffare alike in fabric and detail, slightly ruffled. Inphotograph HP 50086, Kathleen holds a hat ofwoven material, similar to the men’s top hat, andadorned with a large band of satin fabric and abow.

When one looks at the relationship of the pho-tographer and subject, it is evident that Kathleenwas aware of the role of the photographer in cap-turing her image. Photography shows the physi-cal truth, but it is the photographer, the subject,and the camera that stage truth. The subject wants

to see an image that is true to their personal asso-ciations. To ensure these associations were ad-dressed accurately, the subject would have selectedthe studio, photographer, dress, as well as posture.These choices all reveal her personal concerns.“People are gendered both by their clothing andby their posture.”13 In this image, and many otherstudio photographs of Kathleen, she holds her armsand legs close to her body, presenting a smooth,confined, and reserved image. The majority ofKathleen’s photographs present her in bust in por-traiture, an image of her head and shoulders. Thereare also many images of her standing, a few of herseated. In none is she openly smiling. “In Victo-rian America, sitting was not merely taking a loadoff your feet. It was a way to reveal character, gen-der, social class and power.”14 Both sitting andstanding positions were staged, as the presenta-tion of self was held up for public scrutiny andevaluation.15

Photography played with unusual relationshipsbetween the subject and the photographer, whichtoyed with the idea of truthfulness. This relation-ship would have been partially responsible for theposture and pose of subject. For example, at thissitting, there are four instances where Kathleenlooks away from the camera, and one instancewhere she looks straight ahead at the lens. Wasthe direction of Kathleen’s gaze a request of thephotographer, based on his artistic merit? Not onlyis her posture determined by a personal sense ofself-esteem, but by the culture she belongs to, andthus, the photographer that controls it. “As in allportraits, the challenge is to represent sitters inways that meet their expectations and conformto cultural norms.”16 If Kathleen’s posture can beequated to her sense of self-esteem, it must alsobe mentioned in light of her education at LadyMurray’s. Kathleen was known for erect posture,17

which was achieved at school, spending half anhour a day lying on a backboard.18

At home, in snapshot photographs likely takenby her brother, Kathleen is posed leaning on thefront door of Point Ellice House. In this image,H-04812, she wears full-length feminine ridingattire, leather gloves, and a cloche hat. Her gaze iscast downward at the riding whip held in herhands. The image presents a young woman, mod-estly attired, elegant, and serene.

In another photograph, H-04871, taken in thefront driveway at Point Ellice House, she is simi-larly dressed in stylish riding gear, standing besideher horse, Blackie. Her wide smile and proud

9 Jennifer Green-Lewis,Framing the Victorians:Photography and theCulture of Realism,(Cornell, Ithaca andLondon, 1996), 32

10 Ibid. p.3411 C.K. O’Reilly to F.J.

O’Reilly, Campden Hill,17 May 1884, BCArchives A/E/Or3/Or321.

12 C.K. O’Reilly to F.J.O’Reilly, Campden Hill,17 May 1884, BCArchives A/E/Or3/Or321.

13 Kenneth L. Ames,“Posture and Power,”Death in the Dining Roomand Other Tales of VictorianCulture, (Philadelphia:Temple University Press,1992) 187

14 Ibid. 18915 Ibid. 18916 Ames, p.18517 Mrs. E. Sisson. Personal

communication andinterviewed by VirginiaCareless, 22 November1988.

18 C.K. O’Reilly toparents. 21 May 1884.O’Reilly papers BCArchives.


stance indicate a love for riding, as well as for her horse. Kathleen is caughtin this spontaneous snapshot with a full smile, teeth exposed. This is a rareimage, as Kathleen is shy about exposing her teeth, and has previously re-ferred to herself as a “walrus.”19

Both images depict Kathleen as a stylish girl of active outdoor pursuits,very much determined by her spontaneous smile, and carefully selectedriding gear. Other snapshot images of Kathleen show her boating, bicycleriding, and holding a tennis racquet posed by the Point Ellice tennis lawn.

By the time Kathleen returned from England to Victoria in 1884 she isfully aware of the photographer’s ability to tell her story and document herpersonal interests. These gentle intimate portraits of Kathleen in theentranceway of her home look inward at an increasingly privatized andprotected domestic haven, expressing her personal passions.

At the time of this photograph, George Eastman is promoting the Kodakcamera, as an instrument easily used by the amateur photographer, and notjust by the professional. During Eastman’s early campaign of daylight-load-ing cameras he emphasized the ease of using the camera. “Anybody can useit. Everybody will use it,” ran the publicity.20 But by 1899, George Eastmanhad released the revolutionary hand-held KodakBrownie with the slogan “You press the button,we do the rest” where the amateur was now ableto send off the film for processing and no specialskills were required.21 In the Point Ellice Housecollection are two Kodak cameras, a No. 4 car-tridge camera manufactured in 1897 and one ofthe first of the folding pocket autographic cam-eras launched in 1914. However, the back coverof the autographic camera appears to have beenadded to an original folding pocket camera model3A, which could date the camera as early as 1909.The introduction of the Kodak camera in August1888 brought photography to the masses.22 It wasintroduced in the same way that other consumerproducts were introduced in a market economy,through mass marketing techniques. For women,Eastman’s advertisements looked inward towardthe domestic theme, encouraging the use of thecamera as a tool to create a personal record.Eastman’s advertisements appeared in the sameladies’ journals Kathleen purchased. This messagewas also directed largely at the middle class,23 whocould afford the pleasures of this new technology.In deconstructing the elements of these amateurphotographs, Kathleen’s understanding of how thecamera operates is brought forth, whether it wasused in the studio or by the amateur in the family.

In 1888, the O’Reilly family vacationed in Eng-land and Europe, and Kathleen chose to have herphotograph taken in a number of studios. In pho-tographs, HP 50082 and C-03885, taken by Lam-bert Weston & Son, Folkestone, England, shechooses to adorn herself with an elaborately fur-trimmed suit and high hat. This attire is indicative

of a woman attending to the concerns of highfashion and maintaining her role in high society.Neither of these items are particularly practical innature, nor could they been seen as reminiscentof former maternal influence for simplicity andorder. Here she is a poised young woman of solid,upper middle class parentage, flaunting her loveof high fashion. In other instances, Kathleen’s per-sonal sense of “style seems to come through andher presence makes a bolder statement.”24

Kathleen and her parents travelled throughSpain as part of this trip in 1888. Kathleen’s ap-preciation of this foreign place is indicated in herletter home to brother Frank, so too is her appre-ciation for the arrival of her clothing. “My dearFrank, … it has been a lovely trip through orangegroves, by mountains & plains & at times the trainpasses so close to the shores of the Mediterranean

BC

Arc

hive

s H

P-50

086


that you can see the pebbles on the beach underthe water…You will imagine I was glad to seemy box last Sunday morning & be able to get achange of things.”25

At the time, Kathleen stops at the photogra-pher L.Sanchez, C[all]e Zaragoza 12, Madrid. Thephotograph of Kathleen in the Spanish studio, HP50080, is a remarkable indication of her personalinterest in fashion, and an obvious act of self-rep-resentation. The Spanish mantilla she has chosenis an elaborate piece as it frames the beauty she isso obviously aware of. Graced with a beauty thatwas timeless rather than simply fashionable,Kathleen took advantage of her presentation infront of the camera. In her gloved hands she holdsan exquisitely detailed fan, and on her shouldersits an exotic Spanish flower. As she rests upon aprop provided by the photographer, she is photo-graphed against a backdrop of exotic foliage. ThisSpanish photographer has nearly turned the pho-tograph into a painting. In fact, Kathleen is sodelighted by this image of herself that a paintingis commissioned at this same studio, HP 50081,based on this photograph. Note that this is theonly time she chooses to portray herself in thecostume of an exotic culture, although she trav-elled in other countries, as far away as Rome. Herchoice to wear this outfit, while travelling with

her mother, may be an indication of Kathleen’sindependence from her mother’s influence.

Focusing on dreams rather than reality, thesephotographs of Kathleen in elaborate costumecapture her personal desires and fantasies. In pho-tographs of herself, she owns the right to self-representation, and uses it to present her personalstory. When the images are professionally taken,there is a contract between photographer and sub-ject quite different from amateur photography. Per-sonal photographs are specifically made to por-tray the individual or group as they would wishto be seen and as they have chosen to show them-selves to others.26 Kathleen is quite obviously an-nouncing a personal interest with the exotic andbeautiful.

Throughout her life, Kathleen visits the studioof Lambert, Weston and Son many times. In 1888,four photographs, including two bust portraits,HP 50084 & HP 87413, and two standing three-quarter length portraits, C-03896 & HP 50085,are produced from this sitting. These portraits showan evolution in Kathleen’s hairstyle, again, accord-ing to fashion. Worn with confidence, this formalgown has a low, V-shaped neckline and shortersleeves. Almost considered daring, the neckline’slowest point is enhanced with a large floral cor-sage, while the choker-style necklace draws at-tention to her graceful neck. Another indicationof self-confidence is the jewelled pin on her breast,which bears the letter “K” for her name. Thesepersonal decisions to announce herself to theviewer were clearly chosen by Kathleen in prepa-ration for this sitting. Kathleen was not known toflaunt her beauty and womanly figure, or knownas the outgoing type, but was described as prettybut modest,27 and she referred to herself as beingshy.28

These photographs can be compared to an-other photograph taken at this time on Kathleen’sreturn to the Taber studio in San Francisco. Here,the daring line of her dress is presented to thecamera, as the elegant arch of the fabric drops toexpose her back. Again, Kathleen has adorned her-self with a floral corsage, as she holds a bouquetof flowers in her hands. Such floral additions toher attire may have been merely a reflection ofVictorian fashion with flowers, but they also echoher personal attachment to the gardens of PointEllice.

In this image, HP 50119, she is seated at thecenter of family and close friends on the tennislawn at Point Ellice House. The photographer,

Left: HP 50080Kathleen O’Reilly, age 21,1888, in Spanish atire.Studio of L. Sanchez,Spain.

Opposite page:HP-50086Kathleen O’Reilly, age 17,1884. Lambert Weston &Son Studio, Folkestone,England.

BC

Arc

hive

s H

P 50

080

19 C.K. O’Reilly to parents.7 November 1884.O’Reilly papers BCArchives

20 Patricia Holland, “‘HowSweet is it to Scan:’Personal Photographs andPopular Photography,” inPhotography, A CriticalIntroduction, ed. Liz Wells(New York: Routledge,1997) 129

21 Ibid., p.10522 James E. Paster,

“Advertising Immortalityby Kodak,” History ofPhotography (London:Journal Publisher: Taylor& Francis Ltd, London),vol. 16, no. 2 (Summer1992): p.135

23 Holland, p.12924 Careless, p.2925 C.K. O’Reilly to F.J.

O’Reilly, Barcelona,Spain, 20 April 1888, BCArchives A/E/Or3/Or321

26 Holland, p.10727 Agnes Murray to C.A.

O’Reilly, 27 April 1885.O’Reilly papers, BCArchives.

28 C.K O’Reilly to C.A.O’Reilly, 26 June 1885.O’Reilly papers, BCArchives.


brought to Point Elliceto take this photograph,may have selected thisarrangement. In anycase, the posture andgaze of each individualis quite uniquely theirown.

The only one look-ing directly at the cam-era, Kathleen sits up-right and proper as shewould for a studio pho-tograph. Pose, posture,and bright clothing allcombine to makeKathleen the focalpoint and centre of thisphotograph. This gazeand posture indicatethat she is comfortablein front of the camera,while others shy awaywith downward andcast-off glances. On the

bench, her father sits in a position of authority,looking off to the horizon, with his arm proppedon the backrest and right hand steady on his cane.Mother Caroline is seated in a reserved and or-derly position, eyes directed towards her hands,which are placed neatly on her lap. The Colonelis positioned on the edge of the bench, indicatingthe casual nature of this event. Both of Kathleen’sbrothers are seated to her right, somewhat slumpedover while their hats nearly fall over their eyes.

Stanhope, her suitor at the time, is comfortablyleaning back into Kathleen’s personal space. Hav-ing casually cast his hat and racket to the side,while seated very close to the dog, his postureindicates a very nonchalant attitude.

Naval officer Lieutenant-Commander HenryStanhope, thirty-six year old heir to the Earl ofChesterfield, was very fond of Kathleen. Hecourted her for several years, before proposingmarriage in 1892. Initially, twenty-five-year-oldKathleen was very vague, and eventually deniedhis request. Kathleen wrote in a letter to her fa-ther, “I did not want to be married, I love beinghere with you all & though you may think that Iam discontented, I am not—& I don’t believe anyone has ever had a happier house & life than Ihave.”

Stanhope writes to Peter with hopes of win-

ning his approval, expressing concern forKathleen’s well being. “Dear Mr. Peter O’Reilly,…how could she be expected to look with any-thing but shudder at a prospect so uncertain, andgive up her home and her horse, and all her otherthings, and leave her parents, who are so devotedto her, & she to them, in complete uncertainty asto when or how would see them again.”29 Theseactions have no effect on Kathleen’s decision, asshe decides to remain with her family at belovedPoint Ellice.

At the Lafayette studio, photographs A-07106and PE 975.1.9247 document Kathleen’s presen-tation to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, LordCadogan, at Dublin Castle. Having been encour-aged by the family to have these photos taken, asnoted in a letter before this event, Kathleen istold “Don’t forget the photo.”30 The family knewthis photograph would appear in the contempo-rary journal, Ladies Pictorial. A prestigious event,Kathleen is presented in the most elaborate dressshe has ever worn, as an expanse of fabric andflowers cascades down the stairs behind her. Theenormous bouquet and headpiece were suited forroyalty, not exactly the colonial type seen in Brit-ish Columbia. Kathleen’s presentation mirrors thatof a princess, certainly the highlight in any wom-an’s quest for fashion perfected. Yet, Kathleendownplays it all and does not revel in this glory.

She writes “My dear Father, …I had no inten-tion of going to the Drawing Room. It was onthe spur of the moment and I wonder what youwill think of my going! It was strange Carry[Dunsmuir] wrote me some time ago she had herdress and w[oul]d like to present me in London!I said No I did not care for it & it was not worththe expense but I could not have gone to the Ballat the Castle without being presented. Old Scottercharged 10 pounds for my train, of course it willmake a dress…” Instead, she yearns for home andgardens “…Carry w[oul]d like to take me &Josephine to the Drawing Room here in May &all go to the Buckingham Palace Garden Party. Ithink I had better be at the Point Ellice HouseGarden Party, what do you say.”31 (10 March 1897,Baileys Hotel, London)

In another letter to her family, Kathleen ex-presses concern about the amount she has spenton accessories for the event “…I did not mean tohave a bouquet for the Drawing Room as it isnot necessary if one has a fan, and I had the AnniePooley one. I don’t know what you will say to allthis extravagance write as soon as you can & fully

Above: HP-87413Kathleen O’Reilly, age21, 1888. LambertWeston & Son studio,Folkestone, England.

BC

Arc

hive

s H

P-87

413

29 Stanhope to PeterO’Reilly, Banff Hotel, 22August 1892, Add Mss412, Box 1 File 18, PointEllice House collection.

30 Peter O’Reilly to C.KO’Reilly, Victoria, 8December 1896,O’Reilly letters 1896-1897. p.4


Left: A-07106Kathleen O’Reilly, age30, 27 February 1897, inher presentation gown.Presentation to LordLieutenant of Ireland.Photographed by Lafayette,Photographer to TheQueen, London Englandand Dublin, Ireland.

BC

Arc

hive

s A-0

7106


about commissions and exporting.”Partaking in a grand social whirl, these letters

may document the “life of a well-to-do, upper-class young lady of the late 1890s.”32 However,these letters also indicate her concern for the ex-travagance and expense.

One only has to examine the photograph ofKathleen in the garden, H-05582, to see that shewas happy at home. She smiles while carrying anarmful of flowers. The amateur family photogra-pher has taken this image of their belovedKathleen, surrounded by the gardens she and herfather had developed together.

Several amateur photographs exist of Kathleenin the gardens and on the lawns of Point Ellice,but many more studio images exist. The O’Reillyfamily understood the value of a photograph, andoften requested the image of their preciousKathleen be taken. “I have not yet seen the pho-tos of my girl where are they?”33 Photograph I-51782, which shows Kathleen adjusting the shadeof the back window at Point Ellice, is the typicalamateur photograph, as it is candid, informal andspontaneous. Taken by a family member with theCartridge Kodak No.4, this image of Kathleenmay have been taken for several other reasons.

By the turn of the century, Kodak no longerpromoted the camera’s instantaneous capabilitiesthat were novelty in the 1888 promotions. In-stead, the idea of the snapshot’s value as an aid tomemory was promoted. The idea that photogra-phy could be used to capture and save momentsis evident in Eastman’s advertising campaign, con-

taining such slogans as “…a means of keeping green the Christmas memo-ries.”

1903: “A vacation without a Kodak is a vacation wasted.” 1904: “Wherethere’s a child, there should the Kodak be. As a means of keeping green theChristmas memories, or as a gift, it’s a holiday delight.” 1905: “Bring yourVacation Home in a Kodak.” 1907: “In every home there’s a story for theKodak to record - not merely a travel story and the story of summer holi-days, but the story of Christmas, of the winter evening gathering and of thehouse party.”

1909: “There are Kodak stories everywhere.”34

Eastman’s advertisements would have been present in the ladies’ journalsthat Kathleen was fond of. The nature of the Kodak camera, as it relates tolasting human concerns, would have appealed to this family. As early as1897, amateur photographs at Point Ellice captured memories of Kathleen.Amateur photographs act as carriers of meaning and interpretations. Theyrecord and reflect on daily activities, delicately holding within the inno-cent-seeming image much that is intimate.35

In her thirties, Kathleen lost both her mother and father. Caroline’s deathin 1899 requires Kathleen to take on the responsibility of caring for herfather at Point Ellice, which resulted in fewer trips overseas. In 1905, Peterdies, leaving Kathleen to tend the home for her brother and his wife. She iscontent within the confines of her home, maintaining the gardens of PointEllice. Her personal photographs and the photographs taken by family mem-bers would have comforted Kathleen as her family disappeared. Now herphotographs have become part of the complex network of memories andmeanings that made sense of Kathleen’s daily life.

This formal photograph taken inside Point Ellice House, HP 50078, isthat of a woman of upper social class residing in a regal, yet dim environ-ment. The dark clothing, sombre expression and surrounding do not resem-ble the romantic studio photographs from the past. She belonged to a mi-nority, unmarried, a woman of independence having rejected a proposal formarriage. While she does not fit the typical model of the married, middle-class woman, she is content to reside at Point Ellice. In her twenties, she was

Opp

osite

pag

e: C

-039

24

Right:HP 50119. KathleenO’Reilly seated at thecentre of family and closefriends on the tennis lawnat Point Ellice House.


fulfilled emotionally by the love of her parentsand brothers. Now as a spinster, Kathleen livesout her life at Point Ellice, vacant of the socialactivity and elaborate affairs.

It has been argued that Kathleen used photog-raphy as a measure of success, confirming herposition within society. The elements of every por-trait were carefully composed to illustrate the fullextent and diversity of Kathleen’s lifestyle. Such aportrait was a personal statement of financial andsocial status, and successful lifestyle choice. Thosewho saw these images would have looked uponthem as all that was tasteful and refined. To colonialswho brought with them conservative views ongovernment, home, and society based upon Brit-ish traditions and Victorian taste, photographs ofelegant settings and genteel pastimes concernedthe creation of civilized society, and an orderedlandscape in an isolated corner of the Empire.

Kathleen would have chosen how she wantedto be portrayed in front of the camera. Her choiceof dress, the studio she attended, and the consist-ency of this practice proved her self-worth.Kathleen would have made a conscious decisionto attend the studio of a photographer. Often, sheselected one photographer, and visited his studioon several occasions, such as Lambert, Weston and

Son, whom she frequented in trips to the Folke-stone area. The decision to have her likeness cap-tured by an English photographer, as opposed tostudios in Victoria, is an indication of her sense ofself-identity within British practices.

Photography can be placed within broadertheoretical debates and understandings, either per-taining to meaning and communication, or tovisual culture and representation. Kathleen’s in-terests and self-expression can be extracted fromthe deconstruction of elements of each photo-graph. Photographed in so many instances, thecollection of images provided Kathleen and herfriends and family with a memory of her life con-structed according to her values. These images canbest be understood as Kathleen’s romanticizedstory of her life. Photography, then and now, is acreative, cultural practice and must be traced backto its significance in personal and social terms.�

Left: H-05582 KathleenO’Reilly, circa 1905, inthe garden at Point Ellice.Unknown amateurphotographer.

BC

Arc

hive

s H

-055

82

31 C.K. O’Reilly to PeterO’Reilly, Point Ellice,Victoria, BC Archives,location unknown.

32 James K. Nesbitt,Kathleen O’Reilly Mingledwith Dublin Society, PointEllice House Web site,<http://collections.ic.gc.ca/peh/tour/news.htm>.

33 Peter O’Reilly to C.K.O’Reilly, Victoria, May25, 1897, O’Reilly letters1896-1897. p. 21

34 Paster, p.13535 Holland, p.106


Deborah RinkSpirited Women: A History of CatholicSisters in British Columbia,reviewed by Jacqueline Gresko.

Dwight L. Smith, ed.A Tour of Duty in the Pacific Northwest:E.A. Porcher and H.M.S. Sparrowhawk,1865–1868,reviewed by Barry M. Gough.

Frank MoritsuguTeaching in Canadian Exile,reviewed by Naomi Miller.

Ann Walsh, ed.Beginnings: Stories of Canada’s Past ,reviewed by Pat Ajello.

Bill GallaherThe Promise: Love, Loyalty and theLure of Gold. The Story of “Cariboo”Cameron,reviewed by Branwen C. Patenaude.

Mike PuhalloPiled Higher and Deeper on theCariboo Trail,reviewed by Sheryl Salloum.

Richard J. LaneLiterature & Loss: Betrand WilliamSinclair’s British Columbia,reviewed by Betty Keller.

Book ReviewsBooks for review and book reviews should be sent to:Anne Yandle, Book Review Editor BC Historical News, 3450 West 20th Avenue, Vancouver BC V6S 1E4

Spirited Women: A History ofCatholic Sisters in BritishColumbiaDeborahRink.Vancouver: Sisters’ Association Archdioceseof Vancouver, 2000.275 pp. Illus. $27.95 paperback.

REVIEWED BY JACQUELINE GRESKO.

For most people outside the RomanCatholic Church nuns all seem, or, until the1960s, all seemed the same: women in longblack outfits teaching or nursing in male-dominated institutions. Few historians writeabout female religious congregations, ornote that the active groups should be called“sisters” and the contemplative, convent-enclosed groups should be called “Nuns.”British Columbians who want to inquireabout the sisters who established themselveshere in the past have difficulty doing so.Since the 1960s these women have changedin appearance and in works. Most recentlythey have been declining in numbers ordeparting the province.

Br itish Columbia histor ians willwelcome the news that the Sister sAssociation of the Archdiocese of Vancouvercontracted with geographer Deborah Rinkto compile the history of the sisterhoodsthat arrived in this province prior to 1958.Rink’s Spirited Women goes a long waytowards answering the questions BritishColumbia historians ask about Catholicsisters.

Rink surveys these religious women inthree time periods: settlement to 1914,education and health 1914 to 1945, andchanging habits and transforming ministries1946 to 2000. She outlines how each of twodozen congregations were organized, andwhen and how they came to Br itishColumbia. She summar izes their firstimpressions of its peoples, and indicates bothwhat services each group of sisters providedand how they adjusted to var iouscommunities and changing times. For thefirst two groups she gives us maps and forall groups she includes photographs oftraditional costumes or “habits.”

The chapter of Spirited Women on the

Sisters of Saint Ann, the first Catholic sistersto arrive in British Columbia, serves as anexample of Deborah Rink’s work and thesisters’ histories. Esther Blondin and herassociates in the diocese of Montreal tookthe initiative to found a teaching sisterhoodin 1850, although their bishop got theofficial credit. They sent a small group ofsisters west in 1858 to teach children of thefur traders and Native peoples. The Sistersof Saint Ann established services for thesepeoples and for the gold rush and settlercommunities. They not only foundedschools on Vancouver Island and themainland but also began orphanages,hospitals and social service work. The sistersstaffed Indian residential schools directed bymale clerics but also ran their own Nativemissions and taught in government dayschools. By 1900 the Sisters of Saint Annestablished a nursing school in Victoria andhad pioneered the teaching of commercialcourses. Their school students followed theBr itish Columbia curr iculum and satprovincial government entrance exams bothfor high school and university.

In a male-dominated church the Sistersof Saint Ann had to finance their own efforts.They raised funds by charging fees for eliteacademy pupils, for music lessons, and formemberships in a hospital society. They usedthese funds to care for needy students andpatients in towns and to make up shortfallsin government funding for Indian schools.Donations from the public helped the sisters’efforts and so did the proceeds fromwomen’s auxiliary events. In turn the Sistersof Saint Ann assisted several othersisterhoods in getting started in BritishColumbia, including groups who providedCatholic services to Asian immigrants.

Deborah Rink and her sponsors oughtto do another volume on Catholic sisters inBritish Columbia and help historians answerfurther questions, especially regarding thecontext and controversies surrounding theirwork. For example, how did Catholicwomen’s activities compare with those ofMethodist or Anglican women, or withthose of Catholic men? Why did schoolsbegun by Catholic sisters before 1900


continue well into the twentieth century incontrast to most schools begun by otherrelig ious organizations? Why did thesisterhoods attract members from Native,White, and Asian communities on the westcoast and the largest male congregation, theOblates of Mary Immaculate, has to rely onrecruits from France, Ireland, and centralCanada? By the 1920s the Oblates split intoseparate French and English-speakingbranches of a large international order. TheFrench-speaking sisterhoods that came toBritish Columbia remained closely linkedto their original mother houses, even whenthey became multilingual or spoke of thisprovince as “home.”

The most interesting variation on thistheme, and one not fully explored by Rink,is the story of the sisters of the Child Jesus.They came from France in 1896 to teach atWilliams Lake Indian Residential School.The sisters sought Native and Irish entrantsto help with their work. They staffed otherresidential schools: e.g. one for the SquamishNation, a par ish school and boardingacademy in North Vancouver, and parishschools in Maillardville. When the French-Canadian par ishioners of the lattercommunity took the school children outon strike to get government funding forCatholic schools in 1951-1952, they werenot supported by the English Catholics ofthe Vancouver Archdiocese. Thiscontroversial event did aid Catholic schoolsin getting government services, and it didcontribute to the achievement in 1977 ofpartial provincial funding for independentschools. The strike also meant the Sisters ofthe Child Jesus departed Maillardvilleschools. They put their efforts into expansionto the east, to the prairies and even toQuebec. Meanwhile, the Good ShepherdSisters of Quebec City came west to teachin French parish schools in Maillardville andVancouver from 1953 to 1968. By the latterdate the Sisters of the Child Jesus sold theirQuebec institutions and returned home totheir Canadian motherhouse in NorthVancouver. More recently, in 1996, theSquamish Nation hosted a celebration ofthese sisters’ centennial in Canada in threeofficial languages: Squamish, English andFrench, and made all invited guests promiseto remember and tell their story forever.Reviewer Jacqueline Gresko, Douglas College,is First Vice President of the British ColumbiaHistorical Federation.

A Tour of Duty in the PacificNorthwest: E.A. Porcher andH.M.S. Sparrowhawk, 1865-1868Dwight L. Smith, ed.Fairbanks: University of Alaska Press, 2000.172 pp. Illus., map. US$34.95. hardcover.

REVIEWED BY BARRY M. GOUGH

In a time not so long ago warshipsprovided such security as existed on theshores of British Columbia and adjacentterritories of Russian America, Oregon andWashington State. In the age of PaxBritannica this shoreline was another zoneof influence in which the world’s pre-eminent naval power, Britain, exercised itsinfluence by various sloops-of-war, gunboats,gun vessels, corvettes, and light and armouredcruisers. As that century proceeded, so toodid the size of these vessels increase, and astime advanced the Pax became moreassuredly established. Law was extended fromthe quarterdeck in support of authoritiesashore. Certain tribes were pacified, by forceif necessary but mainly through peacefulaccommodation. This subject was one thatbecame a personal passion for this historian,and my book Gunboat Frontier: BritishMaritime Authority and Northwest Coast Indians(UBCPress, 1984) was the result. I cite thisbook because it provides the overarchingframework for the themes grandly developedby Professor Dwight Smith. By taking theexperience of one gun vessel as recordedthrough the journal of its commander weare given a brilliant slice of the Pax Britannicaat work.

And what a wonderful slice it was. Steampower and gunnery, displayed in greatinfluence, in the Sparrowhawk, seemed to getto all the important places of crisis, real andimagined, on the coast. The gun vessel hadreached Esquimalt by way of a passage undersail and steam via Rio, the Falklands and theStrait of Magellan. From England toEsquimalt was 19,988 sea miles, and of these17,866 were undertaken under canvas alone.Coal was expensive, hard to obtain, and steamnavigation could be unreliable as experiencehad shown. Sparrowhawk reached Esquimaltfrom Hawaii, and after a brief time began toshow the flag to the Native communities andto forts and missionary establishments. In May1866 she went north on a month-long cruiseto Metlakatla, the Church Missionary Societymission to the Tsimshian, returning via theQueen Charlotte Islands and Fort Rupertand Alert Bay. Once the gun vessel was back

at the naval base of Esquimalt news wasrelayed through Admiralty and diplomaticchannels that the Fenians were advocatingattacking Canada from bases in the UnitedStates. The intention was to end Britain’s rulein Ireland. Sparrowhawk was sent to NewWestminster to provide aid to the civil powerand to deter aggression, and made twovoyages to San Francisco for repairs and mail.From June to August Sparrowhawk completeda grand northern cruise, to Sitka, thenRussian America, being the last time a Britishwarship transited inner waters of Alaska whenunder Russian authority. Years later, in 1879,another British man-of-war Osprey would bethere at American request to provideassistance against a local Native rising. Thevessel called at Port Simpson and at the SanJuan Islands (where the British had a garrisonto prevent the Americans from taking all).The commander of the Sparrowhawk, E.A.Porcher, joined the governor of BritishColumbia, Seymour, in a trouble-shootingexpedition to the interior, the Cariboo, anevent known as the Grouse Creek War. Theytravelled to parts of BC’s yesteryear: Clinton,150 Mile House, and Kanaka Bar. Theytravelled in Mr. Barnard’s stage. They steamedupriver in the Lillooet. They met goldcommissioners and government agents,examined the public buildings at Barkerville,and by steamer, horseback, and on footcompleted the rest of their voyage, a grandsummer tour of about 1000 miles, withtravelling costs in the order of $100 forsteamer and stage fares.

Further official duties of the Pax wereundertaken during the last winter of theSparrowhawk in these waters: readiness againsta possible Fenian attack; a tour to towns onPuget Sound, a visit to New Westminster, andthe transfer of the governor’s seat of residencefrom the mainland to Victoria:

As Victoria was to be proclaimed theCapital on the Queen’s Birthday, theGovernor as well as the Officials had beenmaking preparations for leaving NewWestminster for some time past, and atNoon the Governor, Mrs Seymour,Lowndes & the servants embarked with-out any ceremony or anybody comingdown to see them off. Steamed away...andon passing New Westminster not a Flagwas hoisted as was usual on ordinary oc-casions, and hardly a soul was to be seen.Arrived at Cadboro Bay in little less than6 hours where the Governor & party dis-embarked and we then proceeded on toEsquimalt where we anchored at 8.15[p.m. 18 May 1868].


From Cadboro Bay, the editor explains inone of his many fine footnotes, the Governorand his party were met and driven toGovernment House, where they were metby the militia under Captain Pearse,presenting arms, and a band played “God Savethe Queen.” The Sparrowhawk was meanwhileenroute to Esquimalt, unable to enter VictoriaHarbour because she drew too much waterfor low tide—thus avoiding a mostembarrassing gubernatorial arrival at theCapital of the United Colony of BritishColumbia.

Two more coastal voyages wereundertaken by the gun vessel: one, to theQueen Charlottes and southern Alaska; theother to investigate murder cases involvingIndians and the rescue of officers and men ofthe USS Suwanee off the northern tip ofVancouver Island. This cruise into thenorthern waters of BC included extendingjustice in Native-related matters, inspectinga military installation, conducting businesswith a trading post, and visiting a coal miningoperation.

It has been all too customary to imaginethat the men and officers of the Royal Navyof this era spent their days resting on theiroars. Historians have even gone so far as tosuggest that at the end of the nineteenthcentury the RN was really a yacht club. Gunswere not to be fired because it might getpowder on sails and uniforms; steam was notto be got up because soot might dirty thedeck, and much else besides. War with acapital “W” was hardly thought of—that istrue in these palmy days of empire. The longperiod of peace had its other obligations.Some were pacifistic, still others belligerent.Most were diplomatic or merely “showingthe flag.” Humanitarian work was the orderof business of the day, and peace for thepurpose of commerce and regulated orderthe purpose of naval presence.

Professor Smith found Porcher’s narrativein the Beineke Library at Yale University, andwith it wonderful watercolour drawingsreproduced in the book. The commentaryas supplied by Smith is superb, and reflectsdedicated and thorough research. The editionis a model of its kind, not the cheap and nastystuff so often produced by publishers whoshould know better. Smith has exploited mostsuccessfully the primary materials that cansustain his story. Inasmuch as Porcher wrotefor Victoria newspapers about his severalvoyages the texts of these have been neatlyused to supplement the original manuscript.

Beginnings: Stories of Canada’s PastAnn Walsh, ed.Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 2001. 227 pp.$12.95 paperback.

REVIEWED BY PAT AJELLO.

Beginnings is a book of fourteen stories,each by a different author, including one byAnn Walsh, editor of the collection. Thestories are arranged chronologically, and coverthe period from the early 1800s to 1937. Thisis a book intended for young adults.

Ann Walsh has written an excellentintroduction, putting the stories into context,including brief outlines of each and, in somecases, giving the flavour of a story andsomething of its emotional content.Historical notes are also provided, which givefurther details of the origins of the stories,the social conditions of the times, and theirlocations across Canada.

The stories in this collection describe“beginnings”, all of them based on true eventsin Canadian history. Some are fictionalaccounts of real people involved in the events;in others, characters have been invented totell the story. Often the reader is left longingto know what happened next. I do notconsider this a fault because it gives theopportunity, especially for a young reader, towonder, to imagine, to invent.

“First Encounter” by Margaret Thompsonis a tale for two voices, and tells of anencounter between a young European, David,and a young native, Teluah, whose voices tellthe tale from their two points of view. Theyspeculate, wonder, doubt, question, and finallyrealize that nothing can ever be the same forthem again. This format provides anopportunity for young readers to appreciatedifferent points of view, and perhaps toconsider more thoughtfully the opinions andfeelings of others.

One of the most poignant stories, “The

A full bibliography and most useful indexcomplete this delightful and importantvolume. The forty coloured illustrations (fromthe Yale Collection of Western Americana)add hugely to printed illustrations of BritishColumbia of the 19th century, and collectorswill want the book for these alone. But thereal meat of this book is the text, wonderfullyand richly annotated, that tells the story ofone warship, one captain, many officers, andstill many more men who served theirMonarch and their Empire in pursuit ofpeace, order, and good government. In all, itwas a noble mission but one soon forgottenby those who have failed to read the pages ofhistory of that time.

Reviewer Barry M. Gough teaches at WilfridLaurier University, Waterloo, Ontario

Teaching in Canadian ExileFrank Moritsugu395 pp. Illus. $29.95 paperback.Order from: Ghost-Town Teachers HistoricalSociety, 36 Deerford Road, Toronto, ON M2J3J4,or from the Japanese Canadian NationalMuseum, 6688 South Oaks Crescent,Burnaby, BC V5E 4M7

REVIEWED BY NAOMI MILLER.

This is a collection of memories of thosewho taught in make-shift schools in the campsfor Japanese Canadians evacuated from thecoast after Pearl Harbour. About 250 Nisei(Canadian-born Japanese) became teachers ineight elementary schools operated from 1942to 1946 by the BC Security Commission.

These teachers were barely out of highschool themselves, initially with no formaltraining, put into improvised classrooms witha minimum of supplies—yet they weredetermined. They succeeded. Their pupilswent on to regular schools after the war andranked at the top of their new classes.

Each of the short stories woven into thefabric of twenty-four chapters is listed by itssubtitle in the table of contents. The articlescover circumstances before the war, changesafter Pearl Harbour, the relocation of families,recruiting of these teachers, life in detentioncamps, then post-war adjustments. The GhostTown Teachers Historical Society canjustifiably boast of their successes. Five of theirmembers and a few of their pupils wereawarded the Order of Canada. Many achievedinternational renown for science, artisticendeavours, and even politics.

The tone of the book is generally happy.The uprooting of families is recorded in amatter-of-fact way. There is considerableemphasis on the humorous and pleasantinterludes. The contributors have refrainedfrom expressing bitterness or recriminations.

This is a fascinating book about a uniqueperiod in British Columbia. It is a good readand we recommend it especially as a possiblesource of reference for students in the historyof education courses.

Reviewer Naomi Miller is a former editor of theBC Historical News.


Literature & Loss: Bertrand WilliamSinclair’s British ColumbiaRichard J.Lane.London: The London Network for ModernFiction Studies, 2000. 102 pp. $15 paperback.Available from the London Network forModern Fiction Studies, Dept. of English,South Bank University, 103 Borough Rd.,London SE1 OAA, England.

REVIEWED BY BETTY KELLER.

Three-quarters of a century have passedsince Bertrand Sinclair’s British Columbianovels were eagerly snatched from the shelvesof bookstores across North America, Britain,and Australia. North of Fifty-Three, his first BC-based romance, sold 340,000 copies, and wasstill selling in 1940, 26 years after it was firstissued. It became a Hollywood silent film, asdid his next one, Big Timber, a story aboutBC’s logging industry. Two more loggingstories followed: The Hidden Places (1921) andThe Inverted Pyramid (1924). However,although it only sold 80,000 copies, criticsgenerally agree that his best novel was PoorMan’s Rock (1920), a tale of BC’s salmonfishermen’s battle for a better deal from thesalmon canning industry.

Sinclair is almost unknown today, his stylebeing too old-fashioned, and hissentiments—as Richard Lane points out inLiterature & Loss: Bertrand William Sinclair’s

Bear Tree” by Victoria Miles, is told in thefirst person by Marguerite Sedilot who, at11, was the youngest known bride-to-be inCanadian history. When the story opensMarguerite is lying in bed between her twosisters. She lies quite still. “I will not be theone to begin this day,” she says to herself,reluctant to start what is to be her weddingday and will take her away from her family.And later, “...I mark this moment when Iam still Marguerite Sedilot. I will leave hereMarguerite Aubuchon. And I will be, as Iwas when I awoke this morning, twelve yearsand eight days old.” The bear tree of the titlehas particular significance for Marguerite, andat the end of the story, four years later andback with her family awaiting the birth ofher first child, she sits beneath it. “At last Irest my back against the bear tree and takestrength for all the work there will be in mylife, and all the children and all the years tocome.” This story will surely provide muchfor a young reader to ponder.

The stories in Beginnings are totally unlikeeach other, yet each is a unique account of acircumstance told in clear, uncluttered prosewith just the right amount of description toallow for the unfolding of a tale. Each storytells of a beginning and has a defined ending,yet in every case the future stretches aheadwith possibility and sometimes promise forthose readers blessed with imagination.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and feelthat it will prove an enduring addition tothe genre of young adult literature.

Piled Higher and Deeper on theCariboo TrailMike Puhallo.Cartoons by Wendy Liddle.Surrey: Hancock House, 2001.64 pp. Illus. $8.95 paperback.

REVIEWED BY SHERYL SALLOUM.

This slim volume of cowboy poetryexplores the past and present state of theCanadian cowpoke. Following the traditionof telling yarns around the campfire, theauthor writes about Canadians who haveworked as cowhands and those, such asmotorcycling “Harley Huggers,” who arecowboys “deep at heart.” Puhallo explains that“A steed of steel, like the one with hooves,/lets you feel the wind on your face.”

The verses are silly, sentimental, amusing,and heart-felt. The lighthearted tone of thebook is highlighted by Wendy Liddle’swhimsical pen and ink sketches.

Reviewer Sheryl Salloum used to teach school inOne Hundred Mile House.

The Promise: Love, Loyalty and theLure of Gold. The Story of“Cariboo” CameronBill Gallaher.Victoria: TouchWood Editions, 2001. 180 pp.Illus. $17.95 paperback.

REVIEWED BY BRANWEN C. PATENAUDE

This book is written in the first person,based on the journals of Robert Stevenson,an entrepreneur and miner of the RockCreek, and later the Cariboo region of BritishColumbia. Stevenson’s journal, written nearlyfifty years after his experiences of the early1860s, was included in a book written byDr. W.W. Walkem, entitled “Stories of EarlyBritish Columbia.” It is well known thatStevenson had an enormous ego, and a storywritten so many years after the event is oftengreatly embroidered, but does make a goodyarn.

Cameron, a miner from eastern Canada,and his lovely young wife Sophie, travelledto the Cariboo region of British Columbiain 1862 to dig for gold. While on WilliamsCreek, Sophie delivered a still-born baby, anddied of typhoid. The account goes on todescribe a desperate journey, made in thedead of winter to transport Sophie’s remainsfrom Williams Creek to her home in easternCanada.

At first glance the attractive cover of ThePromise harbours the hope that this bookmight include some new material, theculmination of new research found on the“Cariboo” Cameron story. My hopes for newmaterial were soon dashed, for such is notthe case. It is the same old story, and becausethe original text of Stevenson’s journal hasbeen rewritten and in some cases changed,the publishers should have included the words“a novel” in the title. I was fortunate enoughto have a long chat with the author on thispoint, and he agreed, but takes noresponsibility for this oversight.

However, what makes the book mostentertaining are many of the old chestnuts,the old stories and legends associated withthe Cariboo gold rush that have beenrewritten and included here and therethroughout the book. Among these are themurder of Morgan Blessing, the murder ofthe Jewish merchants on the trail to QuesnelForks, the story of Johanna McGuire, fromthe book The Mystic Spring by David Higgins,and even a portion from Cheadle’s The North-West Passage by Land.

The stories are well written and create abackground of information concerning thegold rush, and life as it was at that time inhistory.

One part of the journey has never madesense to me, and that is that the travellerstook the coffin all the way up PavilionMountain when they could have taken itsouth by Spences Bridge to Lytton. Althoughthe wagon road between Clinton andSpence’s Bridge was built a year later thanthe rest of the Yale route, it had beencompleted by the winter of 1863.

Except for the fact that the title of ThePromise is misleading in that it does notmention that the book is a novel, it is wellwritten, entertaining and informative; a goodread.

Reviewer Branwen Patenaude’s latest book isGolden Nuggets: Roadhouse Portraits alongthe Cariboo’s Gold Rush Trails. 1998.


More BooksBooks listed here may be reviewed at a laterdate. For further information on any title, pleaseconsult Book Review Editor Anne Yandle.

British Columbia—too sexist for modernreaders. Lane began his study of Sinclair’swork a dozen years ago when he was aCommonwealth Scholar at the University ofBritish Columbia. His book is a collectionof five essays, four of them previouslypublished in academic journals and one inBC Historical News (Vol. 32:3, 1999). The first,“Archive Simulations: Reading the BertrandSinclair Collection,” was first published inthe spring of 1993 and is the least rewardingof the collection. In it he proposes a series of“fictions which resist ‘finding’ the author‘behind the text’,” in the Sinclair materialsheld in UBC’s Special Collections. Althoughhe does identify recurring themes withinSinclair’s work-individualism versuscollectivism, concern over property loss, theresidual cost of war, and the imposition ofalien systems on natural working structures—in the end it is unclear why the authorconcludes he has called “the institutionalarchival structures into further question.”

In “British Columbia’s War of Two Worlds:The Birth of the Modern Age in BertrandSinclair’s Fiction” Lane explores Sinclair’s sixBritish Columbia novels to discover theauthor’s attitudes to the social and economicimpact of the First World War on the peopleof Vancouver and the province as a whole.He finds a crucial difference betweenSinclair’s take on the pre-war city and thatof Martin Allerdale Grainger in Woodsmen ofthe West. Grainger, he says, focused “on thecity as a service-centre for the logging

community;” in North of Fifty-Three Sinclairsaw it as a machine and the people “mereparts of that machine,” dehumanized by acorrupt city while beyond it lay the “honestcountryside.” In the later novels—writtenduring and after the war—Lane finds thatVancouver’s social scene “while derided bySinclair’s narrators for its... parasites feedingoff the work and warfare of others, marks atransition nonetheless in terms of nationalidentity.”

Lane returns to this theme whenexamining Sinclair’s failed literary novel TheInverted Pyramid in “Dreams of a FrontierClassic.” Describing it as being “concernedwith the binary opposition of ‘land versusspeculation’,” he sees it as a “morality tale”that “narrates the importance of land, family,tradition, and freedom, contrasting suchvalues with the immorality of the city, offinancial speculation and the creation of non-productive wealth.” The most importantaspect of this vision, however, is nostalgia: “thedesire for a copy without an original.” Withits clear analysis of Sinclair’s overridingconflict—a nostalgia that “depended uponthe destruction of the original which couldthen be recreated more accurately in hishistorical fictions”—this essay is undoubtedlythe most incisive in the collection and doesadd substantially to an analysis of Sinclair’swork.

“Writing the Coast,” which Lane firstpublished in 1999, suffers from factual errorsconcerning Sinclair’s life. However, it does

Bella Coola...“A Romantic History...” CliffKopas. Heritage House, 2002. $21.95 pa-perback.

British Columbia Crosswords: A Look at BCThrough Crosswords from Early Explorersto Modern Day. Glenn Rusth. HarbourPublishing, 2002. $7.95 paperback.

The Canadian Rockies: Early Travels and Ex-plorations. Esther Fraser. Fifth House,2002. $16.95 paperback.

Discovery by Design; the Department of Me-chanical Engineering of the University ofBritish Columbia: Origins and History,1907-2001. Eric Damer. Ronsdale Press,$29.95 paperback.

The Fire Stil Burns: A Life of Trail Talk andContrary Opinions. Chilco Choate. Surrey,Heritage House, 2001. $16.95 paper.

First Nations, First Dogs. Canadian Aborigi-nal Ethnocynology. Bryan D. Cummins.Detselig Enterprises, 2002. $39.95 pa-perback

Flying Under Fire; Canadian Fliers Recall theSecond World War. Wm J. Wheeler, ed.Fifth House, 2001. $21.95 paperback.

Fort Steele: Gold Rush to Boom Town. NaomiMiller. Heritage House, 2002. $18.95 pa-perback.

Head Smashed-in Buffalo Jump. GordonReid. Fifth House, 2002. $12.95 paper-back.

Honoured in Places: Remembered MountiesAcross Canada. William J. Hulgaard andJohn W. White. Heritage House, 2002.$18.95 paperback.

If These Walls Could Talk: Victoria’s Housesfrom the Past. Valerie Green. TouchwoodEditions, 2001. $24.95 paperback.

The Inlet: Memoir of a Modern Pioneer.Helen Piddington. Harbour Publishing,2001. $32.95 hard cover.

The Old Bow Fort. Douglas A. Hughes.Detselig Enterprises, 2002 $16.95 paper-back..

On to the Sunset: The Lifetime Adventures ofa Spirited Pioneer. Ethel Burnett Tibbits.Fifth House, 2002. $15.95 paperback.

The People’s Boat: HMCS Oriole: Ship of aThousand Dreams. Shirley Hewett. Herit-age House, 2002. $26.95 paperback.

R.M. Patterson: A Life of Great Adventure.David Finch. Rocky Mountain Books,2000.

Sayings of Women. Nancy Millar &Margaret McCready. Detselig Enter-prises, 2002. $14.95 paperback.

contain an interesting analysis of the author’spredilection for purely masculine activitiesand his difficulty in “fitting women into hisscheme of things.” The final essay, “BorderCrossings: Forgotten Native Voices inBertrand William Sinclair’s Canadian andAmerican Fiction,” concentrates on whatSinclair did not write. Except for a briefepisode in North of Fifty-Three, Sinclair failedto write about Native peoples. His choice ofcharacters in his BC novels was limited topeople in the logging and fishing industries,but Lane points out that his later novelscontain “disparaging remarks and asidesconcerning the indigenous people of BritishColumbia.” Examples of these remarks andasides—other than that contained in his firstBC novel—would have given readers a betteridea of the “continual effacement ofindigenous peoples” for which Lanecondemns him. It is difficult, however, toaccept Lane’s contention that this effacementof the native peoples from his work was thereason that Sinclair’s novels are virtuallyunknown today. “It could be argued,” hewrites, “that Sinclair has disappeared fromthe Canadian canon precisely because he istelling the wrong story.” It is, in fact, rare fornovels from that period to have survived themassive social changes which have occurredsince then and still have relevance. The factthat Sinclair’s novels are read at all is due tothe veracity of the subject matter he did writeabout—the logging and fishing industries ofBC.

Reviewer Betty Keller is a Sechelt writer.


OCTOBER IS WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

In 1991 I initiated a letter-writing campaignto have one month of the year declared Ca-nadian Women’s History Month. Octoberwas suggested because of its association withthe Persons Case. Canadian women officiallybecame “persons” on 18 October 1929 fol-lowing a legal battle. In 1992 the federal gov-ernment designated October as CanadianWomen’s History Month. More informationon <Victoria.tc.ca/community/whist>.

—Lyn Gough

News and Notes

LILIAN CORRIVEAU †Naomi Miller writes: “Thank goodness youtook the sheep story [“Looking for Grass,”35:1] out of the line-up. Lil was delighted tosee her research published. Lilian Corriveaupassed away on 25 May 2002. This staunchcommunity worker requested no farewellservice but suggested donations be made toeither of two pet projects, namely the Sen-iors Foundation of BC or the restoredMarysville school.”

THE CALL OF THE CROW

The Crowsnest, Highway No. 3, leaves theTrans-Canada at Hope, 140 kilometers in-land from Vancouver. From there theCrowsnest Highway lazily uncurls itself acrossthe topography of southern British Colum-bia, eases through the Rockies via theCrowsnest Pass, and drifts to Medicine Hatwhere it reconnects with the Trans-Canada.Eighteen-hundred kilometres in length, theCrowsnest Highway is a traveller’s delight.That can also be said of Donald Wilson’s in-formative and entertaining Web site dedicatedto the history of southern BC. A call of acrow fittingly welcomes the visitors to theWeb site and historians will enjoy followingthe virtual highway, visiting today’s commu-nities and reading their stories from the past.The URL is <www.crowsnest-highway.ca>.

NORTHERN LIGHTS

On 1 September 1992, Jas. A.C. Derham-Reid, the last keeper of Cape St. James lightstation pulled out with his crew and the sta-tion cat, bringing to an end 79 years of NorthCoast history. As they circled the rock in thehelicopter, one of his crew commented: “Well,at least we lasted longer than the Soviet Un-ion.” “Small consolation, if any,” writes Dur-ham-Reid.For some 15 years Durham-Reid has beenlabouring on his book An Anecdotal Historyof Cape St. James Lightstation 1914–1992. Hehas come to the conclusion that we are liv-ing in a country that does not value even itsrecent past. As an example he refers to thestory in Donald Graham’s Lights of the InsidePassage, telling about the wanton destructionof records in the 1960s when half a centuryof human history was going up in smoke ina bonfire fed by clerks with folders labelled:“Green Island, Lawyer Island, Boat Bluff,Cape St. James…all the rest of the northernlights.”Reading the story of his quest for informa-tion it is clear that it has been an uphill battlefor Durham-Reid to find any records. Eventhe “dull, pedestrian Ottawa end of official

BCHS AWARDS

Last year the BC Heritage Society createdthe “Ruby Nobbs Outstanding VolunteerAchievement Award” to recognize excep-tional long-term volunteer commitment toheritage conservation. The first winner of thisnew award was Anna Cail, Vernon, foundingmember of the North Okanagan HeritageSociety, now the Vernon and District Herit-age Society. After retiring to her hometownher dedication to the preservation of Vernon’sheritage blossomed.Among the many other awards announcedby Helen Edwards, HSBC’s Awards Com-mittee chair, was an Outstanding Achieve-ment award for Sheila Nickols (“Up withthe Petticoats! Down with the Trousers” BCHistorical News 34:3) for dedicating thirtyyears of her considerable knowledge andenergy to the history and heritage of MapleRidge.

BC ARCHIVES ACTION GROUP

Effective 14 August 2002, the British Co-lumbia Archives will be moving Wednesdaysfrom full service to partial service hours (i.e.,the reference room will be opened from09:30-21:00 hrs but there will be no staffproviding services).The BC Archives has finally been squeezedenough by the government staff and fund-ing cuts that it is proposing to close oneweekday a week—every Wednesday.For a year now the Archives has closed onthe third Wednesday of every month for staffin service. Now it will close every Wednes-day to meet its Freedom of Information andarchival mandates.The Archives will be available for what iseuphemistically called “Partial ServiceHours” on Wednesdays. “Partial Service” heremeans no retrievals, no reference staff, nocopying on the microfilm readers—in otherwords the reading room is open but there is“no service.”Can you imagine another government de-partment closing one week-day a week? TheDepartment of Education? The Motor Vehi-cle Branch? Government Agents? The Ar-

chives is one of the central agencies of gov-ernment and it should be funded to run fivedays a week, with full service, full days, withunattended service on evenings and week-ends.The closure is a major inconvenience to stu-dents, treaty researchers, genealogists, authors,historians, and especially to those who haveto travel to Victoria for a few days of research.If you feel strongly please let the ministerresponsible know. He is:Hon. Sandy Santory,Minister of Management Services, Phone250.356.7332, Fax 250.356.2960. Trail Con-stituency Office Phone 250.364.5514. E-mail<[email protected]>. The Provin-cial Archivist is Gary A. Mitchell, CRM,Phone 250.387.2992, Fax 250.387.2072. E-mail <[email protected]>.Please send a copy of your message to JohnLutz, History Department, University of Vic-toria, PO 3045, Victoria BC, V8W 3P4,Phone 250.721.7392, Fax 250.721.8772.E-mail <[email protected]>.

—John Lutz

correspondence” are not complete; the filefor the period 1937 to 1960 is missing. “All Iwant really is some file which will give methe Keepers at Cape St. James between 1937and 1941… to nail down the exact order ofthe Keeper staff.” Of course he has a multi-tude of other questions asking for a reply. Ifyou think you can in any way to help himreconstruct the past of Cape St. James lightstation, please write to Jas. A.C. Derham-Reid, 1105 Marine Drive, West VancouverBC V1T 1B3


Best Article AwardA CERTIFICATE OF MERIT and fifty dollarswill be awarded annually to the author ofthe article, published in BC Historical News,that best enhances knowledge of British Co-lumbia’s history and provides reading en-joyment. Judging will be based on subjectdevelopment, writing skill, freshness of ma-terial, and appeal to a general readership in-terested in all aspects of BC history.

WWWWW..... K K K K KAAAAAYEYEYEYEYE L L L L LAMBAMBAMBAMBAMB

EssaEssaEssaEssaEssay Scholary Scholary Scholary Scholary ScholarshipsshipsshipsshipsshipsDeadline 15 May 2003

The British Columbia Historical Federationawards two scholarships annually for essayswritten by students at BC colleges oruniversities on a topic relating to BritishColumbia history. One scholarship ($500)is for an essay written by a student in a first-or second-year course; the other ($750) isfor an essay written by a student in a third-or fourth-year course.

To apply for the scholarship, candidatesmust submit (1) a letter of application; (2)an essay of 1,500-3,000 words on a topicrelating to the history of British Columbia;(3) a letter of recommendation from theprofessor for whom the essay was written.

Applications should be submitted before15 May 2003 to: Robert Griffin, Chair BCHistorical Federation Scholarship Commit-tee, PO Box 5254, Station B, Victoria, BCV8R 6N4.

The winning essay submitted by a third-or fourth-year student will be published inBC Historical News. Other submissions maybe published at the editor’s discretion.

MANUSCRIPTS submitted for publication in BC Historical News should be sent tothe editor in Whonnock. Submissions should preferably not exceed 3,500 words.Submission by e-mail of the manuscript and illustrations is welcome. Otherwiseplease send a hard copy and if possible a digital copy of the manuscript by ordinarymail. All illustrations should have a caption and source information. It is under-stood that manuscripts published in BC Historical News will also appear in any elec-tronic version of the journal.

BC HistoryWeb Site Prize

The British Columbia Historical Federa-tion and David Mattison are jointly spon-soring a yearly cash award of $250 to rec-ognize Web sites that contribute to the un-derstanding and appreciation of British Co-lumbia’s past. The award honours individualinitiative in writing and presentation.

Nominations for the BC History WebSite Prize for 2002 must be made to theBritish Columbia Historical Federation,Web Site Prize Committee, prior to 31 De-cember 2002. Web site creators and authorsmay nominate their own sites.

Prize rules and the on-line nominationform can be found on The British Co-lumbia History Web site: <http://www.victoria.tc.ca/resources/bchistory-announcements.htlm>.

Page 34 of the summer issue (35:3)shows this image (left) of theColonel Moody. The captionspeaks about the skilful manipula-tions by Helga Martens, Art atWorks Productions, giving the vessela new environment.

Steamboat Round the Bend

On the right isthe image thatshould have beenshown. Sincereapologies toHelga Martensand EdwardAffleck for thiserror. It shouldnot havehappened.

Federation NewsW. KAYE LAMB ESSAY SCHOLARSHIPS

The Scholarship Committee, chaired byRobert Griffin, recently decided that the W.Kaye Lamb Scholarship for 2001/2002should be awarded to Marki Sellers for herpaper “Negotiations for Control and UnlikelyPartnerships: 1849–1851.” The paper was rec-ommended by Dr. Paige Raibmon of SimonFraser University.The committee felt that this was a very wellwritten and argued paper. The issues regard-ing the miners at Fort Rupert and the con-flict with the Nahwitti have been discussedin the literature prior, but Marki Sellers’sapproach of combining the conflicts into aconnected issue was innovative and consid-ered sufficient reason to justify the commit-tee’s selection.

BCHF WEB SITE

Webmaster Christopher Garrish—winner ofthe 2001 BC History Web site prize—tookover from our techical wizard at Cedar Place.He “refreshed” the design and updated thepages. Inspect our site at <bchistory.ca>.

PRINCE GEORGE 8–11 MAY 2003The Winter issue of BC Historical News willinclude information and a subscription formfor the conference in Prince George. Formand information will also be made availableon our Web site: <bchistory.ca>.The theme of next year’s conference “Workand Society: Perspectives on Northern BCHistory” will provide participants with aunique look at BC’s industrial heritage andon the communities that diverse peoples cre-ated in British Columbia’s north.Hosted by the University of Northern BCand Prince George’s heritage supporters itwill combine local tours of industrial andtransportation heritage sites with presenta-tions by UNBC students and local histori-ans focusing on the events and people whohave shaped the North. Tours of railway andsawmill sites are planned as well as walkingtours of the surrounding communities.Contact: Ramona Rose, Conference Chair,BCHF 2003 Prince George OrganizingCommittee. <[email protected]>

British Columbia Historical FederationOrganized 31 October 1922

Member Societies

The British ColumbiaHistorical Federation isan umbrella organizationembracing regionalsocieties.

Please keep the editor of BC Historical News informed about any changes to be made to this page.

Langley Centennial MuseumPO Box 800, Fort Langley BC V1M 2S2

Lantzville Historical Societyc/o Box 274, Lantzville BC V0R 2H0

�� Box 571, Lions Bay BC V0N 2E0

London Heritage Farm Society6511 Dyke Road, Richmond BC V7E 3R3

Maple Ridge Historical Society22520 116th Ave., Maple Ridge, BC V2X 0S4

Nanaimo & District Museum Society100 Cameron Road, Nanaimo BC V9R 2X1

Nanaimo Historical SocietyPO Box 933, Nanaimo BC V9R 5N2

Nelson Museum402 Anderson Street, Nelson BC V1L 3Y3

North Shore Historical Societyc/o 1541 Merlynn Crescent,North Vancouver BC V7J 2X9

North Shuswap Historical SocietyBox 317, Celista BC V0E 1L0

Okanagan Historical SocietyPO Box 313, Vernon BC V1T 6M3

Princeton & District Museum & ArchivesBox 281, Princeton BC V0X 1W0

Qualicum Beach Historical Society587 Beach Road,Qualicum Beach BC V9K 1K7

Revelstoke & District Historical AssociationBox 1908, Revelstoke BC V0E 2S0

Richmond Museum SocietyMinoru Park Plaza, 7700 Minoru Gate,Richmond BC V6Y 7M7

Salt Spring Island Historical Society129 McPhillips Avenue,Salt Spring Island BC V8K 2T6

Silvery Slocan Historical SocietyBox 301, New Denver BC V0G 1S0

Surrey Historical SocietyBox 34003 17790 #10 Hwy. Surrey BC V3S 8C4

Terrace Regional Historical SocietyPO Box 246, Terrace BC V8G 4A6

Texada Island Heritage SocietyBox 129, Blubber Bay BC V0N 1E0

Trail Historical SocietyPO Box 405, Trail BC V1R 4L7

Union Bay Historical SocietyBox 448, Union Bay, BC V0R 3B0

Vancouver Historical SocietyPO Box 3071, Vancouver BC V6B 3X6

Victoria Historical SocietyPO Box 43035, Victoria NorthVictoria BC V8X 3G2

Yellowhead MuseumBox 1778, RR# 1, Clearwater BC V0E 1N0

Affiliated Groups

Alberni District Historical SocietyPO Box 284, Port Alberni, BC V9Y 7M7

Anderson Lake Historical SocietyPO Box 40, D’Arcy BC V0N 1L0

Arrow Lakes Historical SocietyPO Box 819, Nakusp BC V0G 1R0

Atlin Historical SocietyPO Box 111, Atlin BC V0W lA0

Boundary Historical SocietyPO Box 1687, Grand Forks BC V0H 1H0

Bowen Island HistoriansPO Box 97. Bowen Island, BC V0N 1G0

Bulkley Valley Historical & Museum SocietyBox 2615, Smithers BC V0J 2N0

Burnaby Historical Society6501 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby BC V5G 3T6

Chemainus Valley Historical SocietyPO Box 172, Chemainus BC V0R 1K0

Cowichan Historical SocietyPO Box 1014, Duncan BC V9L 3Y2

District 69 Historical SocietyPO Box 1452, Parksville BC V9P 2H4

East Kootenay Historical AssociationPO Box 74, Cranbrook BC V1C 4H6

Finn Slough Heritage & Wetland Society9480 Dyke Road, Richmond BC V7A 2L5

Fraser Heritage SocietyBox 84, Harrison Mills, BC V0M 1L0

Galiano Museum Society20625 Porlier Pass DriveGaliano Island BC V0N 1P0

Gray Creek Historical Society Box 4, Gray Creek, BC V0B 1S0Gulf Islands Branch BCHF

c/o A. Loveridge S22, C11, RR # 1Galiano Island BC V0N 1P0

Hedley Heritage SocietyPO Box 218, Hedley BC V0X 1K0

Jewish Historical Society of BC206-950 West 41st Avenue,Vancouver BC V5Z 2N7

Kamloops Museum Association207 Seymour Street, Kamloops BC V2C 2E7

Koksilah School Historical Society5213 Trans Canada Highway,Koksilah, BC V0R 2C0

Kootenay Lake Historical SocietyPO Box 537, Kaslo BC V0G 1M0

Local historical societiesare entitled to becomeMember Societies of theBC Historical Federation.All members of theselocal historical societiesshall by that very fact bemembers of the Federa-tion.

Questions aboutmembership should bedirected to:Terry SimpsonMembership Secretary,BC Historical Federation193 Bird Sanctuary,Nanaimo BC V9R 6G8Phone: [email protected]

Affiliated Groups areorganizations withspecialized interests orobjects of a historicalnature.

Membership fees forboth classes of member-ship are one dollar permember of a MemberSociety or AffiliatedGroup with a minimummembership fee of $25and a maximum of $75.

Archives Association of British ColumbiaWomen’s History Network of British Columbia

CONTACT US:BC Historical News welcomesstories, studies, and news itemsdealing with any aspect of thehistory of British Columbia, andBritish Columbians.

Please submit manuscripts forpublication to the Editor,BC Historical News, Fred Braches,PO Box 130,Whonnock BC,V2W 1V9.Phone: 604.462.8942E-mail: [email protected]

Send books for review and bookreviews directly to the Book Re-view Editor, BC Historical News,Anne Yandle, 3450 West 20thAvenue, Vancouver BC V6S 1E4,Phone: 604.733.6484E-mail: [email protected]

THE BRITISH COLUMBIAHISTORICAL FEDERATIONINVITES SUBMISSIONS OF BOOKSFOR THE TWENTIETH ANNUALCOMPETITION FOR WRITERS OFBC HISTORY.

Any book presenting any facet of BC history, published in 2002, is eligible. Thismay be a community history, biography, record of a project or an organiza-tion, or personal recollections giving a glimpse of the past. Names, dates andplaces, with relevant maps or pictures, turn a story into “history.” Note thatreprints or revisions of books are not eligible.

The judges are looking for quality presentations, especially if fresh material isincluded, with appropriate illustrations, careful proofreading, an adequateindex, table of contents and bibliography, from first-time writers as well asestablished authors.

The Lieutenant-Governor’s Medal for Historical Writing will be awarded to anindividual writer whose book contributes significantly to the recorded his-tory of British Columbia. Other awards will be made as recommended bythe judges to valuable books prepared by groups or individuals.

Winners will receive a Certificate of Merit, a monetary award and an invitation

to the BCHF annual conference to be held in Prince George, May 2003.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: All books must have been published in2002 and should be submitted as soon as possible after publication. Twocopies of each book should be submitted. Books entered become propertyof the BC Historical Federation. Please state name, address and telephonenumber of sender, the selling price of all editions of the book, and, if thereader has to shop by mail, the address from which it may be purchased,including applicable shipping and handling costs.

SEND TO: BC Historical Federation Writing CompetitionPO Box 130, Whonnock BC V2W 1V9

DEADLINE: 31 December 2002

Return Address:British Columbia Historical NewsJoel Vinge, Subscription Secretary561 Woodland DriveCranbrook, BC V1C 6V2

Canadian Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement No. 40025793Publications Mail Registration No. 09835

Please send correspondence aboutsubscriptions toSubscription Secretary, Joel Vinge561 Woodland DriveCranbrook BC V1C 6V2Phone/Fax: 250.489.2490E-mail: [email protected]

Subscriptions: $15.00 per yearFor addresses outside Canada add $10.00

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing costs.

2002

Documents

Expressions of and creations by women in Victorian …arts” became of great interest to me and when studied together I suspected they could reveal untold and lost stories that could