From the Unger Family collection, c. 1915, gelatin silver print (UL#1228) | Image from presentationhousegallery.org

Today, Metro Vancouver is a bustling metropolis of 2.5 million people: one of the world’s most livable cities and a place where open land is in short supply, if the current real estate boom is any indication.

Go back about a century or so, however, and things were a little different. A new photography exhibition is offering a rare glimpse into Vancouver from 1860-1920, a period when the fledgling settlement clung hazardously to the coast, surrounded by the vast, wild forests all around it.

The Nanitch exhibition, on display now at the Presentation House Gallery, is pulled from an incredible archive of more than 18,000 rarely seen photographs recently donated to the UBC Library by philanthropists Uno and Dianne Langmann. Images range from old postcards to hand-coloured prints, glass negatives and even stereo cards (the “virtual reality” 3D images of the day).  Continue reading:
Rare Photographs of Vancouver from 1860-1920 Revealed in New Exhibition