Items

• Mortimore Children with Chinese Amah
  The Mortimore children, Marion, Frank and baby, are accompanied by their Chinese amah on a sidewalk in the foreign concession of Shanghai. They stand on a sidewalk in front of a Western style building. Marion has a doll in a toy stroller. Frank wears a dress, which was common for boys at the time. The amah wears a silk gown and trousers with "lotus shoes" covering her bound feet.
• Dr. Mabel Mortimore with Three Children
  Dr. Mabel Mortimore (wife of Rev. William Mortimore) crouches on the edge of the sidewalk next to her three children, Marion, Frank and the baby seated in a high chair. In front of the baby is a toy bear playing a xylophone. In the background is an empty paved street and the façade of a large brick building in Western style architecture.
• Wushan Temple on the Yangtze River
  Wushan was the first town in Sichuan Province when heading upstream on the Yangtze River towards Chongqing. It is now in the Chongqing Municipality. In 1912 Wushan city officials were responsible for collecting tariffs for the Sichuan government. The photograph shows the massive rock island on the left and the Wuhan Temple on the hill above to the right, marking the entrance to the Wu Gorge.
• Interactive Map of West China Missionaries' Birth Places, USA
  The map presented here is based on birth place data for missionaries who served in West China, 1885-1952, researched and compiled by members of the Imaginaries and Modernities research team. It does not encompass all such missionaries, but enough of them to present clear trends in their places of origin. Here we present a still image of the USA map, which shows a wider geographic distribution than does the data from Canada, while still following the pattern of concentration in the northeast and midwest. Follow the "Source" link to an interactive version of the map where you can drill down to individuals' birth places. Click on a "pin" to see the name of the missionary and their hometown.
• Interactive Map of West China Missionaries' Birth Places, Canada
  The map presented here is based on birth place data for missionaries who served in West China, 1885-1952, researched and compiled by members of the Imaginaries and Modernities research team. It does not encompass all such missionaries, but enough of them to present clear trends in their places of origin. Here we present two still images of the data from Canada - the whole country and just Ontario. The first shows a strong concentration of birth places in central Canada while only a scattering of individuals in the east and west. The latter shows that a disproportionately large number of West China missionaries were born in Ontario, even when one includes those born in the USA or UK. Follow the "Source" link to an interactive version of the map where you can drill down to individuals' birth places. Click on a "pin" to see the name of the missionary and their hometown.
• Famine Relief Workers Building Yurt
  Several dozen dike workers from the famine relief project, with shovels, on top of the dike wall. A dozen of them are constructing a yurt. On the left of the image, some thatched roof houses from the villages can be seen.
• Busy Famine Relief Workers
  Wide angle shot of the dike workers, many of them wearing straw hats, transporting wheelbarrows full of dirt across the field. The foreground features a child with a bicycle. On the left, in the background, is a tall pole of unknown purpose.
• Panoramic Scene at Famine Relief Site
  Wide angle shot of the dike project, featuring several hundred workers digging. The project is taking place in a large field, where a few trees can be seen.
• Famine Relief Worksite with Yurt in Background
  Group of several dozen workers with shovels. Two supervisors look upon the men in more formal attire, wearing shoes. Several workers in the background are constructing a yurt.
• Families Who Are Victims of the Famine
  Group of a dozen parents and children crowded together. The woman in the front has a basket. Most of the people have pained expressions on their faces, and are directly facing the camera. They are wearing simple cotton garments and are standing amongst thatched roof buildings in a street.
• Queue for Famine Relief
  A group of about three dozen peasants with baskets to carry away the food the missionaries are supplying for the famine relief project. They also have small white pieces of paper in their hands that may be used to record the food they are given. The group is in front of a brick building, and there is a straw broom in the foreground.
• Malnourished Child
  Young emaciated Chinese child with an unhappy expression, wearing baggy garments and sitting on the ground in the dirt. He and the other person in the picture are barefoot. Taken at the scene of famine relief activities, this photograph was probably taken to illustrate a famine victim for the purposes of gaining support abroad.
• Mud and Rubble at Famine Relief Dike
  As an aspiring scientist - Alfred Johns taught mathematics at WCUU - Johns was no doubt fascinated with the engineering involved with the famine relief work. He must have had some reason for taking this photo of mud and rubble against a wall.
• Alfred Johns with Two Chinese Colleagues
  Alfred Johns poses in front of a brick building with two Chinese colleagues. The man on Johns' right wears a zhongshan suit made popular by Sun Yat Sen, while the man on Johns' left wears a cheongsam or scholar's gown. Both of these styles of Chinese dress indicate that these individuals are educated.
• 1916 WCUU Sports Day
  A series of photographs taken by Alfred Johns at the annual Athletic Meet at WCUU, 1916. Johns was himself a soccer coach at WCUU and WCUU Middle School, so he was intensely interested in the sports events on display in these images. The image for this Event Record is the WCUU logo.
• Chinese Athletes Performing Hoop Tricks
  Two male Chinese athletes jump through large hoops as part of a "novelty" competition at the annual WCUU Sports Day. They wear Western style trousers and shorts with jerseys. A referee's notepad is visible in the right foreground of the image.
• Pole Vaulting at WCUU
  A male Chinese athlete races towards a pole that is held horizontally at about chest height. It appears that he will jump over the pole. A missionary serving as referee in a pith helmet stands by with a notepad.
• Men's Footrace at WCUU's Sports Day
  Three Chinese athletes are running in the lanes marked out for the annual Sports Day at WCUU. Two of them are close upon each other, while the third straggles behind. Notably, they are wearing Western style trousers, which was an innovation for the Chinese man's wardrobe.
• A Potatoe Bag Race at WCUU
  This photograph shows a "novelty" event at the annual WCUU Sports Day. A competitor wearing a potatoe sack takes the inside lane while two other athletes are far behind. He appears to be holding something that might indicate it is a relay race. Spectators crowd behind a bamboo fence, while judges watch from inside the track.
• Chinese Athlete Throwing Shot Put
  A male Chinese athlete is the subject of this image, seen within the white circle drawn on the ground. Watching him are other athletes, missionary children wearing pith helmets, and two missionaries who appear to be either coaching or judging the event.
• Contestants Play Tug-of-War
  On the left side of the photo shows two teams engaged in a tug-of-war. The nearest team member has a large badge on his back with the number 88. Spectators and judges stand to the right and left of the teams. On the right side, two women wear large hats, the largest identified in the caption as Mrs. Homer Brown. Male spectators wear pith helmets, while the judges wear cheongsam's or scholar's gowns.
• Panorama of WCUU Sports Meet, 1916
  Wide angle view of the athletic field at WCUU on the occasion of the annual Sports Day. The photo shows a construction site in the foreground. Behind a brick wall can be seen the field with numerous people standing around, some with flags. A few buildings are in the background.
• 1953 Photo Transparencies Sent to Mrs. R.E. Outerbridge
  Fifteen small photographic prints were in an envelope that was addressed and delivered to Mrs. R.E. Outerbridge (Margaret) on Nov. 20th, 1953.
• 1939 Dujiangyan Opening of the Waters
  Ralph Outerbridge's photographs of the annual Opening of the Waters ceremony on April 7th, 1939. He was attending along with other new missionaries in the Missionary Training School.
• Four Children with Rowboat at Shore
  Three children in a rowboat, one child on rocky beach shore. Another rowboat on lake and low mountains in background. Edges of negative are light damaged. Received in small envelop addressed to Mrs. R.E. Outerbridge, stamped Vancouver 1953-11-20. Envelope dimensions: 8 h x 11.5 w cm.