Accession Number

2012.007.001.001

Description

Brown suede photograph album. Front has an etching of 2 large poppy like flowers with foliage. The back is also etched with 3 smaller poppies. The front and back and all pages are held together by a leather tie laced up 5 holes. There are 81 black pages. There are 42 black and white photos glued to 81 of the pages.

Narrative

This brown suede leather album documents the life and times of the James and Laura Dunsmuir family from about 1895 onward. Many of the images depict Sarah Byrd Dunsmuir, suggesting she may have been the creator of the album. The album includes scenes at their house Burleith on Victoria's Gorge Waterway, various coastal locales north of Victoria, and parts of the United Kingdom.
 

History of Use

This album was created by the James and Laura Dunsmuir family at Burleith, their home on Victoria's Gorge Waterway. In 1906 it was probably taken by the family to Victoria's Government House where they lived while James served as British Columbia's eighth Lieutenant Governor. From there it was taken to the family's new house, Hatley Park, in 1910.

Sometime after Laura Miller Dunsmuir's death in 1937, the album became the property of Dola Frances Dunsmuir (also known as Mrs. Dola Cavendish) and was kept at her house Dolaura in Colwood, B.C. After her death, the album was owned by her sister Kathleen's daughter, Judith Humphreys (also known as Mrs. Judith Joy). Her daughter donated the album to Craigdarroch Castle in 2012.

Date

circa 1893 – 1906

Dimensions

25 x 32 cm

Material

Leather; Paper

Country of Origin

Canada