A family name in Vancouver's city directories
The Books
In the city directories 1940 · three people at three addresses
The directories print three people named Book at three addresses in 1940 in three of the city's neighbourhoods, with the close spelling Bok. No first name or initials tie one address to another: we can't tell if they're one family.
Reserve this family's book, freeThe name in every directory we hold from 1901 to 1945, at every address, each line with its page, to read here or save as a PDF. About $29 when orders open.
Where the Books lived
- 1
90 East Pender Street
Downtown, 1940
- Young Low Bok, a bookseller 1940
Next door in 1940: Yee Mah at 88 and Chai Tong Kwong at 92. The block, door by door
- 2
4984 Moss Street
Renfrew-Collingwood, 1940
- E H Book, a shoe repairer at Woodward's Shoe Repairing 1940
Next door in 1940: A F Morrison at 4970. The block, door by door
- 3
3027 West Broadway
Kitsilano, 1940
- Arcade Book 1940
Next door in 1940: N A Kay at 3019 and Mrs J E Renton at 3031. The block, door by door
What they did
The name section prints a trade for one of the three: a shoe repairer.
Their neighbourhoods
The addresses are in Downtown, Kitsilano and Renfrew-Collingwood. Each neighbourhood's page shows its trades, its people and every street in it, the way the directory printed them.
The story, address by address
In 1940 the directory lists Young Low Bok, a bookseller, at 90 East Pender Street. E H Book is listed at 4984 Moss Street in 1940; the 1940 line is marked *: some member of the family owns the property, to the best of our knowledge (the directory's own mark). The 1940 name section, where each person's work is printed, lists Edwin H Book there as the householder, a shoe repairer at Woodward's Shoe Repairing. Arcade Book is listed at 3027 West Broadway in 1940.
Today
The City no longer lists 90 East Pender, 4984 Moss and 3027 West Broadway, so those buildings are probably gone (inferred).
Every line as printed
All 4 lines printed under the name through 1945, each with its page at the Vancouver Public Library.
- Bok Young Low bookseller90 East Pender, p. 126
- *Book E H4984 Moss, p. 116
- Book Edwin H shoe repr Woodwards Shoe Reprg4984 Moss, p. 55
- Book Arcade3027 West Broadway, p. 19
British Columbia and Yukon Directory, street section
The book of the Books
Every directory, as one book
The family book reads the Book name in each Vancouver directory we hold from 1901 to 1945: everyone printed under it at every address, their work from the name sections, who lived next door, and the page behind every line, to read here or save as a PDF to print or give.
We're opening orders soon. Join the list to be first in line; we expect about $29 a family.
Another name, or a house
Sources
Henderson's and successor city directories for Vancouver, read by us line by line: the street sections for 1905, 1915, 1925, 1935, 1940 and 1945, and the name section for 1930 and 1940 where we've read it (Vancouver Public Library, BC City Directories). Names are shown through 1945, as printed. Close spellings are grouped, as on the house pages, since a family's name was often spelled differently from one year to the next; one name can still be several families, and we join lines only where the first names or initials agree. Many Chinese, Japanese and other residents weren't named by the canvassers, so they can't be listed by name: their houses' pages say where. More family names under B. Want a name removed? Tell us.