{"id":1663,"date":"2012-03-02T16:13:34","date_gmt":"2012-03-03T00:13:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ikblc\/?p=1663"},"modified":"2012-05-26T11:07:29","modified_gmt":"2012-05-26T19:07:29","slug":"1663","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ikblc\/2012\/03\/1663\/","title":{"rendered":"IKBLC Presents the Victoria Learning Theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"

We have been featuring resources from Rare Books and Special Collections that relate to the place names used in the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre as room names. Sometimes we find it challenging to find a related resource; sometimes the challenge is in narrowing down our research!<\/p>\n

Such is the case with Victoria. Victoria B.C., on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, is our province\u2019s capital and hence the place of many events in the province\u2019s history. Rare Books and Special Collections contains almost innumerable books, maps, documents, and photographs related to Victoria.\u00a0 However, to rare books enthusiasts, there is one (or two) events from Victoria\u2019s history that are of particular note: the publication of the first book (or books) to be printed in British Columbia.<\/p>\n

What is largely accepted to be the first book printed in B.C. is\u00a0Order in council constituting the Supreme Court of Civil Justice of Vancouver Island and rules of practice and forms to be used therein<\/em>, which basically amounted to a \u201crule book\u201d for the Supreme Court in Victoria. It was printed at the Victoria Gazette in November 1858.<\/p>\n

\""Order<\/a>“Order in Council…”<\/div>\n

The copy photographed above is particularly special: it was\u00a0David Cameron<\/a>\u2018s personal copy!\u00a0 David Cameron was the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia- in other words, not only did he own the book, he wrote the book too. This copy was given to us by Dr. Wallace Chung, on the occasion of the re-opening of theChung Collection<\/a>\u00a0in Spring 2008. David Cameron\u2019s signature can be seen on the cover, and on the\u00a0Act to provide for the Administration of Justice in Vancouver\u2019s Island<\/em>, tipped in the front:<\/p>\n

\"David<\/a>David Cameron’s signature<\/div>\n

So, first book printed in B.C.- straightforward story, right? There was some debate over the years regarding which came first:\u00a0Order in Council<\/em>\u00a0or Alfred Waddington\u2019s\u00a0Fraser Mines Vindicated, or, the History of Four Months<\/em>.:<\/p>\n

\""Fraser<\/a>“Fraser Mines Vindicated”<\/div>\n

It may have had something to do with Waddington\u2019s preface, describing itself as \u201cthe first book published on Vancouver Island.\u201d However, even Waddington\u2019s own fine print explains that, \u201cWhen the above was written Judge Cameron\u2019s Book of Practice had not yet appeared.\u201d<\/p>\n

\""Fraser<\/a>“Fraser Mines Vindicated” preface<\/div>\n

Apparently the\u00a0Order in Council<\/em>\u00a0leapfrogged ahead of\u00a0Fraser Mines<\/em>\u00a0by mere days. In Lowther\u2019s\u00a0A Bibliography of British Columbia<\/em>, she explains that\u00a0Order in Council<\/em>\u00a0\u201chas the distinction of being the first book printed in the colony of Vancouver Island, coming off the press ahead of Waddington\u2019s\u00a0Fraser mines vindicated<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Barber Centre, the Victoria Learning Theatre is room 182. This is a large lecture theatre and is often used for special events.<\/p>\n

\"Victoria<\/a>Victoria Learning Theatre, courtesy of UBC Library Communications<\/div>\n
\u00a0The blog entry is cross-posted at UBC Rare Books and Special Collections<\/a><\/address>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IKBLC Presents the Victoria Learning Theatre, Room 182.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":243,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[155],"tags":[438520],"class_list":["post-1663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-victoria-learning-theatre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ikblc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1663","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ikblc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ikblc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ikblc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/243"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ikblc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1663"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ikblc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1663\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1709,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ikblc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1663\/revisions\/1709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ikblc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ikblc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/ikblc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}