The Evolution of the Vancouver Apartment, from Michael Kluckner’s Vanishing Vancouver: The Last 25 Years, an entirely new book to be published April 30th, 2012 by Whitecap Books. A number of book launch events are scheduled to coincide with the release of this book next month; to learn more about them, see my cross-post at Vancouver Is Awesome.
Vancouver Nightmare, a young adult crime novel by Victoria author Eric Wilson, illustrated by Richard Row. Also shown, cover art from the first novel in his series, Murder on the Canadian, (with artwork of a VIA train heading from Winnipeg to Vancouver), the Emily Carr Mystery (showcasing the Salish Sea around Victoria), and an earlier edition of Vancouver Nightmare (also featuring a VIA passenger train, illustrated by Tom McNeely, a Toronto illustrator with over 50 years of work in his repertoire). From wikipedia:
Originally a public school teacher, Wilson’s teaching experiences pushed him into writing. Frustrated by some of his slow learners rejecting books as being too boring, Wilson decided to try writing stories himself. His first short stories were popular with his students, but publishers rejected his first five manuscripts.
Want to know what the kids are saying? Here’s a review from CBC Kids. You can also purchase ebook PDFs from the author for $3 a piece.
Mix and Match Your Own Vancouver Special, a mixed media handmade pop-up book designed, illustrated, and constructed by Priscilla Yu, 2009. Priscilla writes:
The book showcases Vancouver’s most loathed boxy homes, characterized by its seeming love of stucco, Italian imported wooden front doors, and cookie-cutter design. Rethinking and embracing it’s aesthetic, in a whimsical way, the seven-paged book is an interactive experience, where the reader can play builder in selecting a series of “tops” and “bottoms” to create their very own Vancouver Special homes.
Priscilla Yu is a fourth year illustration student at Emily Carr University. She lives in and was raised in a surburb within Vancouver, and loves anything to do with houses.
More images here, along with video. Thanks for the submission, Priscilla!
Gastown Stories by Mary Drew, illustrated by Norman Drew. The book was published in 1980 by NC Press of Toronto. The character Chika was a favourite of the artist, and she was featured on their Saturday morning TV series as well. According to Drew’s own webpage, he would also like to release an e-book version of these stories and a DVD set of the original TV show, perhaps some time in the near future. From the title page of the book:
Mary Drew is a native of Sudbury, Ontario. Her children’s stories first appeared on the television series “Gastown Gang” in 1978. She has contributed articles to “Fun Times” magazine published in Canada by McDonald’s Restaurants.
Norman Drew was born in Kenora, Ontario and is a graduate of the University of Alberta in Fine and Applied Arts. As a motion picture animation producer, director, designer and animator he created cartoon episodes for Sesame Street, The Irish Rovers, The Beatles (Yellow Submarine), The Jackson Five, The Osmond Brothers (ABC-TV). His “Chika’s Magic Sketch Book” TV series is also produced for newspaper comic features. In 1978/79 he hosted a series of half-hour children’s shows on BCTV network called “Gastown Gang” based on his Gastown cartoon studio.
Actually, according to IMDB, Norman is one of a number of uncredited animators on the Beatles Yellow Submarine. I found this post by Norm Drew, where he reminisces about the making of the animated classic, which he posted on CartoonBrew.com back in 2010.
As one of the original animators on Yellow Submarine who worked at the studio in London in 1968, here are some of my thoughts about a YS remake.
At the time, we were aware it was a revolutionary graphic work. Some of us could see it would ‘break the animation mould’, though most of us didn’t foresee it would become a cult classic almost half a century later. John Lasseter is quoted as saying, ‘Yellow Submarine is my favorite animated feature’.
The production itself was more a creative ‘happening’ than an organized film production. We artists had great freedom and visceral involvement, far more than any highly organized production today…
Legends of Vancouver, the title page from the illustrated edition of the classic by Pauline Johnston, decorations by J.E.H. MacDonald, and published by McClelland & Stewart.
Routes: The Lighter Side of Public Transit, cover illustration by Brent Harron, who has also worked extensively in the film business. From the book by Heinz Hammer, published June 1989.
Nine O’Clock Gun, cover art from the Vancouver novel by Roland Wild, 1952. From the dustjacket:
The reproduction of an Indian Totem Pole in Stanley Park, Vancouver, on the front of this jacket is from a colour photograph by R. SAIDMAN, F.I.B.P., A.R.P.S., of “Illustrated.”
Ethnic Vancouver book cover, written by Anne Petrie, published by Hancock House Publishers in 1982, and illustrated by Barb Wood.
Manhattan Books and Magazines, an advertising bookmark seen in the book Duthies Bookmarks. The bookstore was a branch of Duthie Books which specialized in magazines, located at 1089 Robson Street. This CBC news article from 1999 tells of the closure of Manhattan Books, and an outdated profile on the web fills in more of the historical details circa 1975-2005:
In 1975 Makoto Inoue immigrated to Vancouver and opened the Japanese bookstore, Sophia Books. By 1999, Inoue was ready to retire. Vancouver was at risk of losing the access to Japanese culture offered by the store. This potential loss coincided with the closing of another culturally diverse bookshop, Manhattan Books. Luckily for Vancouver, Marc Fournier, who had been a manager at Manhattan, and his wife, Inoue’s daughter, decided to merge the concepts of the two stores. Sophia Books re-opened in 2000 as a multi-lingual bookstore on Hastings and Richards. In 2005, the store moved one door over where they continue to offer one of the most comprehensive collections of books from around the world.
Finally, Alex Waterhouse-Hayward waxes poetic about the loss of Sophia Books in an early 2010 blog post. Vive the bookstore, toujours!
717 East Pender by Marlene Yuen, a book artist, and seen at the Alcuin Society Wayzgoose 2011. From the limited edition accordion book A Haunting History of Vancouver, hand printed silkscreen images with glow-in-the-dark ink, published October, 2011.
The Chuck Davis’ Guide to Vancouver, a book from 1973 designed by celebrated typographer Jim Rimmer, illustrated by John Robertson, and published by J.J. Douglas Ltd, West Vancouver. Chuck Davis of course went on to publish many more books about the city, including one last immense book due to appear on November 15, 2011 appropriately titled the History of Metropolitan Vancouver. I had the pleasure of working with Chuck Davis on the Vancouver Historical Society production of City Reflections a few years ago. Much of my great respect for the city comes from him! And if you haven’t already perused his immense online resource VancouverHistory.ca, go there now!
Cover of the book At Home With History - The Untold Secrets of Greater Vancouver’s Heritage Homes by Eve Lazarus. The painting on the cover is by Richard Tetrault titled Hawks Avenue, and it was painted in 1975. Book description from the Anvil Press website:
At Home with History is a collection of real life stories that bring to life the glamorous and not-so-glamorous social histories of selected heritage homes in Greater Vancouver—stories of brothels and bootleggers, secret rooms, and Shakespearean-style murders. An Italian family survives the depression by selling booze and sandwiches from their eastside home. A Shaughnessy mansion headquarters the Ku Klux Klan and then a children’s hospice. A secret radio room is uncovered during renovations. Every home has a social history and a genealogy that tells a tremendous amount about the history of the times and offers up a sense of place…
Cityscape, a pop-up book illustration seen inside a display cabinet during the 2010 Emily Carr Student Sale last November. Anyone know the artist?
Illustration of the New Orpheum by Ian Blanchet, from the cover of the book Fifty Years on Theatre Row by Ivan Ackery. Shown courtesy of Hancock House Publishers.
Map of Vancouver by George Kuthan circa 1962, from the fantastic book Vancouver, Sights and Insights.
