Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Yucho Chow Community Archive collection
General material designation
- Photograph
Parallel title
Other title information
Yucho Chow's name in Chinese : 周耀初
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Fonds
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
Feb. 9, 1906-Jan. 5, 2002 (Publication)
Physical description area
Physical description
693 photographs and other material
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Born in Hoy Ping, Kwong Tung (Kaiping, Guangdong), China in 1876, Yucho Chow (Chinese: 周耀初) arrived in Vancouver in 1902, paying the discriminatory Head Tax then imposed on Chinese immigrants to Canada as a mechanism for discouraging immigration. Little is known about his early years in Vancouver; he offered translation and interpretation services and may have worked as a house servant. Chow established his photography studio at 68 West Hastings Street in 1907, photographing families, individuals, and organizations, many of whom were recent immigrants to Canada. Chow welcomed clients from any background, and as such, his work documents diverse communities that have traditionally been excluded from dominant narratives of Vancouver’s history. Chow operated the studio with assistance from his seven children, working out of 68 West Hastings Street from 1907-08, 5 West Pender Street from 1909-1913, 23 West Pender Street from 1914-1929, and 518 Main Street from 1930 until his death in 1949, when his sons Peter and Philip took over the business. Yucho Chow was recognized in Chinatown as a community leader and philanthropist.
Name of creator
Biographical history
Custodial history
Community photographs (Series S1) were in the custody of the families and organizations that commissioned the photographs until they were loaned to and scanned by Catherine Clement for inclusion in the 2019 exhibition Chinatown Through a Wide Lens: The Hidden Photographs of Yucho Chow." The majority of the original photographic prints were returned to their owners following the exhibition; a small number were included in the donation to the Archives. Photographs and graphic materials in Series S2 (Yucho Chow Studio and family records) were loaned by the Chow family, scanned by Catherine Clement, and subsequently returned.
Scope and content
Collection consists of records collected and created by Catherine Clement throughout her ten-year research project on Yucho Chow and Yucho Chow Studio, which led to the 2019 exhibition "Chinatown Through a Wide Lens: The Hidden Photographs of Yucho Chow," and the 2020 book of the same title. The collection includes 510 photographs contributed by diverse communities, 75 family photographs contributed by Yucho Chow’s descendants, news clippings, studio graphic design work and ephemera, media stories, and project records.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Archivist has maintained the collector/curator's arrangement.
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Use of photographs in Series 1 and 2 is restricted to research, private study and educational purposes based on donor agreement. Reproduction for exhibition, publication or commercial use requires permission from the family or organization that donated the photograph. Please see archivist for details.
Finding aids
Associated materials
Accruals
Physical description
Includes 37 news clippings, 38 p. of textual records, 6 prints, 3 business cards, 2 drawings, 1 painting, 1 sound recording, and 1 moving image recording.
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Clement, Catherine (Collector)
- Leong, Ding Bong (Photographer)
- Yucho Chow Studio (Photographer)