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Archive - Books, etc.
A Mysterious Painting
 It
was a humbling experience some years ago to walk into the National
Portrait Gallery in London, England and ask an attendant to point
out the portrait of Capt. George Vancouver. His response was, “Who?”
And it was puzzling to have the attendant look through
the gallery’s catalogue and find no mention whatever of the painting.
I distinctly recalled reading that the painting was ther..... more
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Vancouver Seen A Century Ago
 That
friendly woman waving to us (above) is seen for a fraction of a
moment in a film taken in Vancouver exactly 100 years ago. On May
7, 1907 a Seattle film maker named William Harbeck came up
to Vancouver to make a movie. That six-minute, silent, black-and-white
movie is the earliest we have of the city. It is a fascinating glimpse
into the city’s past.... more
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Vancouver Remembered
 There's
an instructive and funny little sidebar buried in Michael Kluckner's
newest book, Vancouver Remembered. In 1985 he was commissioned
to paint an image of Vancouver for a centennial poster series, and
tried in vain to find a streetscape that combined old and new Vancouver.
Finally, he invented a view, looking west from the corner of Frances
Street and Victoria Drive.... more
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Vancouver's Coat of Arms
 Vancouver’s
Coat of Arms is based on a design by an artist named James Blomfield
. . . whose name is as renowned here for his wonderful works in
stained glass. Robert Watt, a stained-glass enthusiast, says that
if you stand in Holy Trinity Cathedral in New Westminster on a clear,
early morning you will see the three great stained glass windows
there on the east wall behind and above the altar begin to glow.
“The effect as the sun rises behind those windows,” says
Watt, “is extraordinary.”..... more
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The Masters of the Spirit
 One
of the most unusual works of art in Vancouver is in the Charles
Woodward Memorial Room of the University of B.C.'s Woodward Biomedical
Library. But you can't see what's unusual about it until you
get up close.
It's a tapestry—a big one—nearly five
metres long, more than three metres high, titled The Masters
of the Spirit. It was commissioned by Antoine Behna, a post-war
patron of tapestry in France...... more
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The Great Barrier
 Here’s
a fine find: a 1937 movie called The Great Barrier, a fictionalized
treatment of the building of the CPR through the Rockies. And we’ve
met someone who was in the movie, made 68 years ago!
Site visitor Gordon Rebelato read the reference
on this site to The Great Barrier and called to tell me he
had a copy of the film. It starred Richard Arlen, Lilli
Palmer and Antoinette Cellier..... more
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Bluebird On Your Windowsill
 Entertainment
fans with long memories will recall that the first Canadian song
to sell a million copies was written by a Vancouver nurse. Her name
was Carmen Elizabeth Clarke, and in 1947 she worked at what was
then called the Hospital for Sick and Crippled Children, at 250
West 59th Avenue....... more »
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