Timeless Words & Art

16/02/2025

1911 🇨🇦
"British Columbia's Conservatives Standing Guard at the International Border"
Cartoonist: John Wilson Bengough (1851-1923)

Canada's 1911 federal election brought the question of American tariffs front and centre. Canadian Liberal leader, Prime Minister Sir Wilfred Laurier (Canada's five-dollar-bill guy), had announced that he had signed a reciprocity agreement with American Republican President William Taft and was seeking ratification from Parliament. Conservatives, fearing the agreement was the first step towards the Americanization of Canada, leading to free trade and, ultimately, the annexation of Canada, filibustered the deal, forcing Laurier to call an election to settle the issue.

The country was divided. On one hand, Canadians believed they could benefit from strong economic ties with their neighbours south of the border. But on the other hand, those same ties could lead to American domination, forcing Canadians to conform to the American way. Ultimately, the 1911 fall election saw Conservative leader Robert Borden (Canada's 100-dollar-bill guy) end Laurier's 15-year-long reign. As Canada's eighth Prime Minister, Borden rejected reciprocity and eventually raised tariffs to fund Canada's war effort through World War I, a pivotal conflict in Canadian history.

*Find a link in our comments section for more...

Clip: Victoria Daily Times (1911)
Victoria, British Columbia

08/11/2024

1956 🫖
"Prospect Point in Stanley Park, British Columbia"

The towering span of the Lion's Gate Bridge reaches out to Vancouver's developing North Shore in this advertisement for Brooke Bond Tea (P.G. Tips), the world's largest tea company at the time whose little red mobile tea vans appeared in parks around the globe.

Artist: Sidney Arnold Barron (1917-2006)

For more...
https://www.papertownstation.com/post/1956-prospect-point-in-stanley-park-british-columbia

Clip: The Illustrated London News (1956)
London, England

07/07/2024

1959 👒
"Capturing the Romance of Summertime in Victoria, British Columbia"

Artist: Sidney Arnold Barron, Canadian Cartoonist (1917-2006)
Cartoon Clip: Victoria Daily Times (1959)
Victoria, British Columbia

21/04/2024

1890
"Now and Then - Vancouver, British Columbia"

The poem, crafted by Vancouver realtor and census-taker Robert G. MacKay, was an ode to Vancouver's booming population and to the resilience of its people, who, in 1886, had faced the daunting task of rebuilding their small coastal city after it was razed to the ground by fire.

MacKay's optimism for Vancouver's growth was not entirely unfounded. Despite the challenge of accurate census-taking during the Klondike Gold Rush years, Vancouver's population had officially doubled by 1901.

Clip: Vancouver Daily World (1890)
Vancouver, British Columbia

27/03/2024

1909 🫎
"Bull Moose vs Iron Horse in the Canadian Rockies"

It wasn't the first time wildlife appeared on the tracks. The engineer tooted his whistle and slowed the train down, but the beast refused to move. As the train moved in closer, he could see a giant bull moose standing defiantly in its light, staring down its fearsome, bright-eyed opponent. But with the train still rolling steadily towards it, the moose began tossing its antlers, a message that if it was going out, it was with a fight. Unable to stop the train, the engineer watched helplessly as the brave creature dashed toward the engine in full charge, meeting its end with its horns wedged in the train's irons.

Henry Marriott Paget, a British painter and illustrator, was one of three renowned brothers whose work was celebrated in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The youngest Paget brother achieved legendary status when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle commissioned him to animate his monthly mystery story in a local magazine. Using his older brother as the model for the main character, Sherlock Holmes, the young Paget breathed life into Doyle's work, forever etching his name and image in the annals of history.

*For more...
https://www.papertownstation.com/post/1909-bull-moose-vs-iron-horse-in-the-canadian-rockies

Clip: The Sphere (1909)
London, England
Artist: Henry Marriott Paget (1856-1936)

08/03/2024

1877
"Love's Garden by F. Townley Dowding"

Frederick Townley Dowding wrote 'Love's Garden' in 1877 exclusively for publication in a London newspaper. Just three years later, he died of a high fever in India at just 29 years old.

Near the end of his life, Dowding had become English Tutor to the young Nizam of Hyderabad. In two short months, he had earned the approval of his peers and the companionship of his powerful pupil before dying of a high fever. To memorialize his life, his father, the Vicar of Marlborough, had a stained glass window installed in St. Peter's Church in Devizes, Wiltshire where he was born. The church still stands today.

Clip: The Graphic (1877)
London, England

03/01/2024

1864
"A Christmas Apparition in Victoria, British Columbia"

In the early 1860s, a ghostly figure, a woman of unknown origin, began to terrorize Victorians. Some dubbed her The Lady in White, while others believed her to be a deceased family member. Regardless of her true identity, her haunting kept the city on edge. She would materialize beside bedposts as the living slept and was seen gliding through dark alleyways near Langley Street. Her long hair and flowing white gown were a terrifying sight. This poem, written in Dickensian style, provided a much-needed comic relief to the city's frightened inhabitants and added a bit of cheer to the Christmas season.

*Click on the photo for more.

The Christmas Carol of Timothy Tadpole.

01/01/2024

1905
"The Three Sons"

Author: Unknown

Clip: Toronto Saturday Night (1905)
Toronto, Ontario

01/01/2024

1889
"A View of San Francisco in 1889"

Artist: Unknown

Sketch Clip: The Examiner (1889)
San Francisco, California

07/11/2023

1919 🌺
"'Flander's Mud' by John Innes"

The works of John Innes reflect his many adventures, especially in British Columbia and Alberta. He often submitted his sketches and paintings as exclusive entries in newspapers and magazines around the world. In 1913, he journeyed to the West Coast and settled in Vancouver where he remained until his death in 1941. His work is still highly sought after at auction houses today.

*Find a link in our comments section for more.

Sketch Clip: The Gold Stripe (1919)
Vancouver, British Columbia

07/10/2023

1966
"A Vancouver Islander's Long Weekend"

Artist: Leonard Whalen, Cartoonist, Painter, British Columbian (1911-1989)

Clip: Nanaimo Daily News (1966)
Nanaimo, British Columbia