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There are three buildings here that remain one of the last undeveloped industrial premises in Downtown South (often called Yaletown these days, although technically that’s the other side of the street). 1293 on the corner was developed in 1925, and 1285, the 3-storey section, five years later, designed and built by Dominion Construction for $8,000. 1277 Homer, the smaller element beyond it dates from 1948. Remarkably, they hang on as the last remaining manufacturing operation in a location surrounded by residential towers. Both the southern buildings were developed by C E Mahon, an Ontario insurance and real estate broker who moved to Vancouver in 1907. This seems to have been his only investment property, apart from his home on West 13th. Born in Paisley, Ontario, in 1871, he retired from his real estate and insurance business in 1946. He was elected as an alderman in 1913, and four subsequent years. He was appointed police commissioner from 1930 to 1933. He had six children, all but one living in Vancouver when he died. 1293 Homer, the older building, was occupied by Crown Cartage. They also operated Crown Messenger Service, and were looking for ‘Messenger Boys and Solo Riders’ in 1930. The same operation was there in 1941, when the classified add specified they were seeking boys with bicycles for delivery and messenger work. In 1943 5,658 gasoline vouchers, representing almost 17,000 gallons of gasoline were stolen from the premises – confirming the existence of a black market in gasoline (if that had ever been in any doubt). In 1944 thieves blew open the safe with explosives in the middle of the night, taking $365, a victory bond, and a $66.70 cheque. A year later there was another break in, but one of the thieves left a fingerprint on a piece of broken glass, that led to him receiving a 2-year prison sentence. In 1946 $1,000 was stolen from the safe, with police having no clue how the safe had been opened. It was reported as the fourth time in a year that the safe had been opened, and several other attempts had been unsuccessful. Extraordinarily, the money was found five days later in a sawdust bin in the lane behind the business. The address disappeared in the early 1950s when the premises were occupied by the company in the next building along. The first mention of 1285 Homer in the press was in 1934, when there was a break in at Electrical Power Equipment Ltd. The same company continues to occupy the premises today. In 1956 thieves chopped through a strongbox and stole $1,000 in paycheques. The thieves also took the corresponding insurance books which might allow them to cash the cheques. In 1967 brothers Alan and Roy Pearson were given suspended sentences when they broke into the premises, stealing a radio, camera and tools. For many years Barvic Engineering also operated here. They specialised in translation sets, that allowed simultaneous French-English translation. They supplied 22 sets to the Canadian Bar Association convention in 1968, but The Sun, under the headline ‘Lost in Translation’ reported that only three of them were returned. Electrical Power Equipment Ltd still manufacture here, as they were in our 1981 image. We think the company probably own the premises these days. They supply one-off switchgear for high voltage applications like power plants and production facilities. The company design, build and install their equipment, which also includes complete fire detection and suppression systems for industrial applications. Image source: City of Vancouver Archives CVA 779-E08.10 1413

Cased photograph is a term used to describe a class of photographs popularized in the mid-19th century that includes daguerreotypes, ambrotypes and tintypes. The ‘case’ refers to the small wooden hinged case that houses these photographs. The photographic plate is typically enclosed in a sealed package, consisting of a sheet of cover glass, a brass mat, and a metal foil preserver. The protective wooden case can be highly decorative, covered in tooled leather, paper, cloth, or early molded thermoplastic (see Union case). Examples of ornate cases: (Left) Tooled leather covering on a wooden case from the Rogers Family fonds (AM1368). (Right) A Union case from the Thomas Wicks fonds (AM236). Photo: Dorcas Tong. Illustration of the different components in a cased photograph. Image source: MediaWiki. “PMG Cased Photographs.” 2011. https://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/PMG_Cased_Photographs . Aside from their shared presentation format, these photographs are uniquely different photographic processes. A daguerreotype is a direct positive photograph on a copper plate coated with a polished layer of metallic silver. Daguerreotypes are characteristically identified by their highly reflective mirror-like surface and their ability to appear as both a positive and a negative simultaneously, depending on the angle they are viewed at. An ambrotype is a wet-collodion negative on a glass plate that appears as a positive due to the presence of a dark background, either in the form of paint (lacquer), fabric or paper. A tintype is a wet-collodion direct positive on a lacquered iron plate. Characteristic mirror-like surface of a daguerreotype from the Rogers Family fonds (AM1368). Photos: Dorcas Tong. Finding a cased photograph in most archival collections can range from an uncommon to a rare occurrence. Given the rarity of this form of record, we decided to prioritize the conservation treatment and digitization of the daguerreotypes (and a few ambrotypes) in our holdings during the latest round of annual digitization cleanup. Conservation Issues with Cased Photographs The overall treatment objective is to address three common issues found in cased photographs: The accumulation of heavy surface grime and accretions from years of handling and from inappropriate storage environment. Broken seal on the packaged plate resulting in the introduction of atmospheric pollutants, which causes corrosion on the brass mats and tarnishing on the image silver on the daguerreotypes. Physical damage, usually as partially or fully broken hinge in the case, often leading to the loss of the cover or the case entirely. Unlike other types of records commonly found in archives, where the original enclosure may hold little informational value to the item, the ornate housing for cased photographs play an integral part to their overall aesthetics. Not only do they provide period-appropriate framing for the image, but the case is instrumental in protecting these photographs against various mechanical and chemical deterioration mechanisms. Therefore, addressing the conservation issues for the case is equally as important as stabilizing the condition of the photographs themselves. Conservation Treatment A total of six case photographs from the Rogers family fonds were treated, each with its own set of conservation issues. Two 1840s-era daguerreotypes, “Portrait of an unidentified woman” and “John and Isabella Fairweather,” and their cases will be focused here to highlight the key steps in the treatment. Each packaged daguerreotype was carefully separated from its tray case with a microspatula, taking care not to touch the delicate image silver, as it is very susceptible to scratches. Although disassembly is not normally recommended for sealed daguerreotypes, it was clear by the remnants of old sealing tape that the original seals were broken long before their arrival at the Archives. Therefore, disassembly was justified as it allowed for cleaning that will benefit the long-term preservation of these photographs and produce digitized images with a higher clarity. A daguerreotype is separated from its tray case with a microspatula (left), revealing the tarnished image silver caused by the brass mat. The remnants of old sealing tape are visible on the back of a packaged plate (right). Photos: Dorcas Tong. After disassembly, each component of the plate package was cleaned, the remnants of the old tape removed to allow for better adhesion to the new sealing tape. The heavy accumulation of surface grime on the cover glass, brass mat and preserver were cleaned with a solvent solution. Although the dark corrosion products on the brass mat are disfiguring, they were left in-situ. Since the treated daguerreotypes will be rehoused in a controlled environmental climate in the Archives’ storage, the corrosion products will not pose an immediate risk to the stability of the object. Larger accretions trapped in the recessed features of the brass preserver were gently dislodged. A thin layer of microcrystalline wax was applied and buffed on the metal-foil preserver to deter future oxidation. The surface dirt on the image silver was very gently removed using a soft bristled brush. The loose accretions and dust trapped in the fabric lining of the cases were brushed and vacuumed away. Heavy surface soil on the cover glass removed with solvent cleaning. Photo: Dorcas Tong. After all the components of the daguerreotype packages were cleaned, they were reassembled in their original orientation and sealed with an archival quality pressure-sensitive tape. An unbuffered, ‘4-flap’ paper enclosure was added to the verso of the plate package to prevent direct contact between the acrylic-based sealing tape and the daguerreotype. An unbuffered, ‘4-flap’ paper enclosure in a daguerreotype package (left) and a plate package being sealed with archival quality pressure-sensitive tape