About BC Books Online
BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Enlarge Cover
list price: $39.95
edition:Paperback
category: History
published: Nov 2007
ISBN:9780772657428
publisher:
Royal BC Museum
Description
Frank Swannell contributed greatly to the shape of British Columbia by surveying and mapping large portions of the province over three decades. He also took thousands of photographs and kept detailed journals of his travels. In his second book on Swannell's adventures, Jay Sherwood presents central BC through the eyes and words of one of BC's most famous surveyors.
Swannell photographed First Peoples, settlers, various methods of transportation and the daily life of a surveying crew. Of about 1,500 photographs he took between 1920 and 1928, Jay Sherwood has selected the best for this book. Many have historical significance, showing the changes beginning to occur in this largely wilderness region of central BC.
Surveying Central British Columbia is based primarily on Swannell's diaries and photographs. It is supplemented by interviews with descendants of some members of Swannell's surveying crew, research and the author's personal visits to several places where Swannell surveyed. It includes a database of Swannell's photographs online at the BC Archives.
Contributor Notes
From 1979 to 1986, Jay Sherwood lived and taught school in Vanderhoof where he learned about the ledgendary land surveyor, Frank Swannell, through his involvement with the local history society. A former surveyor himself, Sherwood embarked on a study of Swannell that would result in the publication of this book, as well as Surveying Northern British Columbia (a 2005 BC Book Prize finalist) and Return to Northern British Columbia. He now lives in Vancouver, where he works as a teacher-librarian.
