Dominion Photograph Company Collection
Dominion Photograph Company Glass Negative Collection: Vancouver, 1914-1926
The Dominion Photograph Company was founded in 1914/15 by John Fawcett and Percy Bentley. The company, which has been described as one of the most important photographic firms in Vancouver, practised various types of photography, but specialized in commercial/industrial photography and portraiture. The Vancouver Public Library's collection of Dominion Photograph Company photographs presents an illuminating view of the city of Vancouver from the early 1910s to the 1960s.
 B.C. Electric Railway Co. tram depot, Carrall and Hastings St., 1917, VPL #20215 |
 The Dawson Building, Main and Hastings St., 1917, VPL #20381 |
 Granville and Georgia Street 1917, VPL #20388 |
 Nanaimo "Ronald" Steam Pumper 188-, VPL #19789 |
The earliest photographs (1914-1926) produced by the company were made on glass plates. The Vancouver Public Library Special Collections Department has digitized a small portion of the glass plate negatives from this collection. Vancouver in this early period was marked by rapid growth and development and it was during these years that the city truly "grew up" from a frontier outpost on the edge of the forest into a bustling metropolis.
 Dominion Photo Co. offices, 618 Granville St., 1920, VPL #21000 |
 Percy Bentley, 1882-1968 1950, VPL #28648 |
Glass plate photographic negatives require special handling and storage. Although many of the of the glass negatives in the Vancouver Public Library collection are in remarkably good condition despite their age and fragility, best archival practices suggest that they should be put in deep storage as a means to preserve them for future generations. Digitizing the plates provides worldwide access to the scanned images, enabling the library to make high quality reproductions on demand while at the same time allowing us to package the plates for long term deep storage in an optimum environment, using state of the art preservation packaging.
The Dominion Photograph Company kept a brief written record of the photographs taken in logbooks. When the Vancouver Public Library purchased the Dominion Photograph Company collection in the 1970s it received these logbooks as part of the collection.
 Dominion Photo Co. logbooks, 1915-1984 |
SEARCH the Historical Photographs Database. Please Note: To limit the search to Dominion Photo Studio images, highlight Dominion Photograph Company Collection in the Collections drop-down menu.
| We would like to thank the Vancouver Historical Society for its generosity in funding this project. |  |
