Is there such a thing as British Columbia culture, and if so, is there anything special about it? This is the broad question Dr. Maria Tippett answers in this work with an assured “yes!” To prove her point she looks at the careers of eight ground-breaking cultural producers in the fields of painting, aboriginal art, architecture, writing, theatre and music. The eight creative figures profiled in Made in British Columbia are not just distinguished artists who made an enduring mark on Canadian culture during the twentieth century. They are unique artists whose work is intimately interwoven with British Columbia’s identity. Emily Carr portrayed BC’s coastal landscape in a manner as unique as her lifestyle. Bill Reid’s carvings, jewellery and sculpture stand as a contemporary interpretation of his reclaimed Haida heritage. The name Francis Rattenbury is less known than The Empress Hotel in Victoria, one of many prominent BC buildings he designed, while Arthur Erickson’s modern architectural contributions are recognized worldwide. Martin Allerdale Grainger’s experience in the BC woods in the early days of hand-logging inspired him to write one of the undisputed classics of BC fiction, Woodsmen of the West. Jean Coulthard struggled for respect as a female composer during the 1920s and 1930s in British Columbia but eventually proved her extraordinary musical talents internationally. George Woodcock left Britain in 1949 to forge his career as an influential author, editor, mentor and tireless promoter of literary scholarship in the province, while playwright George Ryga, the son of Ukrainian immigrants, exposed the anguish and reality of life for Native women in our cities with his 1967 play, The Ecstasy of Rita Joe. Featuring images of the artists and their works, Made in British Columbia presents a history of the treasures found in our galleries, concert halls, theatres, museums, libraries and streetscapes, and explores the legacy of a cultural tradition as unique as the place that nurtured it.

Selling British Columbia is an entertaining examination of the development of the tourist industry in British Columbia between 1890 and 1970. Michael Dawson argues that in order to understand the roots of the fully-fledged consumer culture that emerged in Canada after the Second World War, it is necessary to understand the connections between the 1930s, 1940s, and the postwar era. Cultural producers such as tourism promoters and the state infrastructure played important roles in fostering consumer demand, particularly during the Depression, the Second World War, and throughout the postwar era. Dawson draws upon promotional pamphlets, newspapers, advertisements, and films, as well as archival sources regarding government, civic, and international tourism organizations. Central to his book is an examination of the representation of popular imagery and of how aboriginal and British cultures were commodified and marketed to potential tourists. He also looks at the gendered aspect of these promotional campaigns, particularly during the 1940s, and challenges earlier interpretations regarding the relationship between tourism and nature in Canada. Historians have tended to focus on either the first wave of consumerism from the 1880s to the 1920s, or else on the era of economic expansion that followed World War Two. As Dawson shows, the 1930-45 period in particular was an important and dynamic one in the creation of Canadian and British Columbian consumer culture. Michael Dawson’s highly readable and engaging account of the development of the British Columbia tourist industry will be welcomed by British Columbian and Canadian historians, as well as other scholars of tourism and consumerism.