The University of British Columbia

The map collection, which began in 1931 when the Valedictory Class of Arts donated a large collection of books, manuscripts, newspapers, photographs and maps relating to Pacific Northwest history, was greatly enlarged by the bequests of Judge Frederic William Howay in 1944, and his friend Dr. Robie Lewis Reid in 1945.

Both men were interested in the voyages, and had copies of the published journals of Cook, Vancouver, Mackenzie and others. Howay had a fine copy of Jose Espinosa y Tello's Relacion del viage hecho por las goletas Sutil y Mexicana en el ano de 1792 and its accompanying Atlas para el viage (Madrid, 1802). Reid had Duflot de Mofras' Exploration du territoire de l'Oregon, des Californies et de la Mer Vermeille (Paris, 1844) with its accompanying atlas in his library.

Left: A chart shewing part of the coast of N. W. America with the tracks of His Majesty's sloop Discovery and armed tender Chatham / commanded by George Vancouver esqr. and prepared from the original surveys under his immediate inspection by Lieut. Joseph Baker in which the continental shore has been correctly traced and determined, from lat. 45° 30' N. and long. 230° 12' E. to lat. 52° 15' N. and long. 232° 40' E. at the different periods shewn by the tracks ; Warner sculp. / Scale [ca. 1:1,267,200] ; engraved ; 77 x 60 cm. / FC3821.25 1798a Atlas Plate 5 / In: A voyage of discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, round the world / by George Vancouver. (London : Edwards & Robinson, 1798). / Note: This is the map of the southern British Columbia coast from George Vancouver's published journals. It includes the coast of Washington coast, and includes insets of Port Discovery, Gray's Harbour, and the Columbia River.

The publication of Cook's Voyage brought the North West Coast to the attention of the world, and his charts were heavily used by later explorers and cartographers. Vancouver's voyage established Britain's claim to the North West Coast, and his charts, which combined the results of surveys by the Spaniards as well as his own, remained the most detailed maps of the coast for many years. Espinosa's Atlas was the first Spanish publication of charts of the North West Coast. Duflot de Mofras' Atlas includes one of the first maps to depict the geography of the area between the coast and the Rockies.

Judge Howay was a founder member of the Historic Sites Board of Canada, and the British Columbia Historical Association, and was the first to write on many British Columbia historical topics. His collection is particularly rich in books, manuscripts, maps, and photographs relating to the history of pre-Confederation Canada and the Pacific Northwest, including the voyages of exploration and the fur trade. If a publication was not available for his library, he often acquired a copy. If there was no English translation, he had one made. In this way he acquired a sizable collection including maps, in original or copy form, of Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest. Howay's friend, Reid, was a lawyer and historian, and a founding member of the B. C. Historical Association, and was also instrumental in launching the British Columbia Historical Quarterly.

The wide range of maps in Howay's collection includes Delisle's maps showing the mythical geography of de Fonte to British Admiralty charts, Spanish voyages of exploration, blueprints of the site of an Hudson's Bay fort, photocopies of the manuscript maps in the British Columbia Department of Legal Surveys, and promotional maps for new British Columbia "cities."

About the same time as the Howay and Reid bequests, Mrs. A. J. T. Taylor presented the Library with her husband's Arctic collection, much of which had been assembled with the help of his friend, the Arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson. Taylor, a native of Victoria, was a prominent engineer in British Columbia involved in building the Lion's Gate Bridge, the British Properties, and the Capilano Estates. During World War II he was an advisor to the British Ministry of Production in London and New York, and for ten years was responsible for the Guinness interests in British Columbia.

Right: Map of British Columbia to the 56th parallel, north latitude / compiled and drawn at the Lands and Works Office, Victoria, B. C. under the direction of the Honble. J. W. Trutch, M.Inst., C.E., F.R.G.S., Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works and Surveyor General ; J. B. Launders, draughtsman, Lands and Works Office, Victoria, B. C., May 9th 1870. Additions to Jan. 1871. London : Published by Edward Stanford, October 18th. 1871. / Scale 1:1,584,000 ; 64 x 88 cm. / Special Collections G3510 1871 .B7 Note: This was the official map produced by the Lands and Works Office at the time of British Columbia's joining the Canadian Confederation. This map was reproduced in various atlases and other publications for several years. The next map of the province published by the government was in 1884.

Bibliographic Access:

Maps are catalogued and appear in the Library's online catalogue.

Maps previously catalogued in the map card catalogue in the Division are gradually being reclassified and converted to the online catalogue.

Publications Describing Collection:

Woodward, Frances. "Cartographic collections at the University of British Columbia Library," Archivaria, no. 13 (Winter 1981-82), pp. 99-117, ill. CD1 .A73 n. 13.

Woodward, Frances. "Fire insurance plans and British Columbia urban history: a union list," B C Studies, no. 42 (Summer 1979), pp. 13-50, ill. FC3801 .B18 S88 n. 42.

Woodward, Frances. Fire insurance plans of British Columbia cities with multiple volumes in the Historical Maps and Cartographic Archives. Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library, 1993. ZG3511 .G475 U56 1993.
Revised online: http://www.library.ubc.ca/spcoll/fireinsurance/

See also the Howay-Reid Collection virtual display (http://www.library.ubc.ca/spcoll/how_reid/how_reid.html).

Date: April 2000

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