Name/Title
Custom House…Victoria, B.C. An illustration from “The West Shore” V. 10, Sept. or Aug. 1884Entry/Object ID
2018.09.04.cDescription
Print
This chromolithograph is a four-part composite illustration depicting buildings with various figures (walking, riding, in carriages) in downtown Victoria, B.C., a page from "The West Shore", an illustrated journal (Vol. 10, Sept. 1884, page ? or Aug. 1884?, page 260). This American magazine covered British Columbia and its cities a number of times in the late 1800s. One of the notable photographers of Victoria in the later 1800s, Richard Maynard (1832-1907) and perhaps his wife Hannah Hatherly Maynard (1834-1918), also a notable photographer, provided photographic images of the city for the publication.
The pages in this particular issue covering British Columbia were reprinted (black and white) as "Illustrated British Columbia" and published by J.B. Ferguson, Victoria, B.C. in 1884.Artwork Details
Medium
Chromolithograph on paperSubject Place
Region
Pacific NorthwestContinent
North AmericaContext
"The West Shore" was Oregon’s first illustrated publication, and was way ahead of its time in terms of scope, quality and illustrative nature. Launched as a literary magazine in 1875, it developed into a booster magazine for the region and distinguished itself from its competitors by providing people with access to art, literature, poetry and science in addition to news and information content. By 1878 the magazine's circulation was the largest of any publication in the Pacific Northwest, and later in 1890, at its peak had almost doubled again to over 15,000 subscribers. The publisher Samuel's insistence on high standards, inclusion of numerous colour illustrations, use of high quality paper and refusal to run certain advertising led "The West Shore" to be a very well-respected, albeit expensive, publication. Unfortunately, the business was unable to balance its production costs with advertising revenue, and suspended operations in 1891.
Today, the magazine's finely executed illustrations provide us a detailed record of the Pacific Northwest as it existed in the later 1800s including scenery, the arts, architecture, and commerce in U.S. states as well as in British Columbia.Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
Clarence L. Smith (1851-1931)Role
ArtistArtist
Henry J. Epting (1860-1911)Role
LithographerArtist
Leopold Samuel, Portland, OregonRole
PublisherArtist
John Bowerman Ferguson (?-1918)Role
PublisherDate made
1884Time Period
19th CenturyNotes
ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES
Henry J. Epting, born in New York in 1860, was an American lithographer and artist. A sometime resident of San Francisco, he was a staff artist with Portland, Oregon's "The West Shore" magazine from 1880 to 1898. He was listed in the 1899 San Francisco City Directory as a lithographer, and he worked for the "Oregonian" in Portland during his later years. A loner, he made many trips to Alaska in search of solitude and landscape painting subjects. He died, the result of suicide, in 1911.
Clarence L. Smith, born in Elgin, Illinois in 1851, was an American artist and lithographer. The son of the publisher of the Elgin Union, he was introduced to newspaper work at an early age. By 1872 he had moved to San Francisco where he worked in the art department of "The Examiner" until 1883. He then spent the next nine years in Portland, Oregon as an artist and lithographer for "The West Shore" magazine. When it folded, he returned east and worked at Chicago's "Chronicle" for seven years. In 1902 he was back in San Francisco and in 1904, he returned to Portland where he spent his remaining years as head of the art department of the "Oregonian". He died in Portland.
PUBLISHER BIOGRAPHY
"The West Shore" was established in Portland, Oregon in 1875 by Leopold Samuel, then in his mid-twenties and recently arrived in Portland. Samuel was a German-Jewish immigrant who worked as a newspaper boy in New York during his youth. During the years of publication (1875 -1891), Samuel constantly reinvented the magazine with an determined vision and emphasis on quality production. It was launched as a literary magazine, but as the region's potential for population and economic growth began to be realized, the magazine took on the nature of a booster publication, promoting the Pacific Northwest. Under the auspices of the Oregon Board of Immigration Commission the magazine had a circulation with national and international reach, being distributed as far afield as Europe and New Zealand.
Of note: Epting and Smith were among the founding members of the Pacific Northwest's first artist organization, the Portland Art Club. And Samuel, though not an artist, was also a founding member.
_____________________
Originally from Ontario, John Bowerman Ferguson (?-1918) was a school teacher, principal and partner in Parsons & Ferguson (stationers and sales agents) in Winnipeg. Moving to Victoria in 1884, he opened J.B. Ferguson & Co. on Government Street with an initial stock of books, stationery, and fancy goods. Later that same year, Ferguson raised his profile by publishing “Illustrated British Columbia”, a book of lithographic prints of Victoria reprinted from “The West Shore”. In 1886, Ferguson with three partners formed the British Columbia Stationery and Printing Company. Unfortunately, major fires hit destroyed their Vancouver and Victoria operations in 1886 and that combined with other financial problems forced bankruptcy in 1888, after which Ferguson returned to Winnipeg, where he continued in the book and stationery business with some success. After employment in other sectors he returned to Ontario in 1911.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
InscriptionLocation
Lower left: H. EPTING, LITH
Lower centre: VICTORIA, B.C.
Lower right: C.L. Smith, Del.
WEST SHORE LITH. PORTLAND, OR.Dimensions
Dimension Description
Visible imageHeight
26.7 cmWidth
20.3 cmRelationships
Related Entries
Notes
Illustrations from The West Shore – An Illustrated Journal:
2018.09.04a Hudson’s Bay Headquarters…Victoria, B.C.
2018.09.04b Turner, Beeton & Co. …Victoria, B.C.
2018.09.04c Custom House…Victoria, B.C.
