I've been meaning to post a little retrospective of the old BC Tel telephone directories, so here it is. This takes you right back when yearbooks and phone books came out every year, and everyone waited for them with anticipation! I've tried to assemble all the years which feature a work of art on the cover. There don't seem to be that many, but I am missing at least one.
The 1959 cover was painted by Peter Ewart, at first I could only find that example in the newspapers, but eventually someone posted it online! Thanks for that! Peter's phone book cover certainly helped to make him a household name in the province, if his graphic design work had not already made a considerable influence.
If anyone finds a better example of any of these covers, feel free to send me a message and I can update these images. These covers are pretty dog eared after decades of use. I also like seeing the illustration caption if it exists, I'm missing that for the second E.J. Hughes cover, and the Bob Banks cover.
Here then is a brief overview of the works of art that graced the phone books over the years:
1958, for the British Columbia Centennial Year - E.J. Hughes appropriately depicted a stern-wheeler on the Fraser River at Yale, 1858.
1959, "Cattle drive at Gang Ranch near Dog Creek in the Cariboo" by Peter Ewart
1960, "Loading Grain" Vancouver, BC, by Jack Hambleton.
1961, "The Cowichan River in July" again by E.J. Hughes.
1962, "Mount Robson and Emperor Falls" by Jack Lee MacLean.
1963? Not sure if the artwork continued...
1966, for the anniversary of the colony of BC uniting with Vancouver Island, Robert John 'Bob' Banks illustrated the proclamation on the steps of a BC courthouse, either Victoria or New Westminster, I'm not sure. I don't have the caption for this year.
1993, André Perreault depicts "Dale Lake", said to be BC Tel's centennial gift to the province, but whose centennial, and when exactly? The British Columbia Telephone Company (BC Tel) was founded in 1904. BCER was founded in 1897. The predecessor to BCER, the Vancouver Electric Street Railway and Lighting Company (which began in 1890) went into liquidation following financial struggles in February 1893. The Nature Trust of British Columbia was founded in 1971, BC's centennial year, but I don't quite understand the connection to 1993.
Are there any other years I am missing? Let me know!