Business object
You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly. You can download a Flash plugin here
These Hebrew letterpress blocks were used at Charles and Sarah Gorvich's Broadcast Printers, 3621 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC.
John Mahrer, an immigrant from Prague, opened a brewery in Nanaimo, a coal mining centre and port that is located north of Victoria on Vancouver Island. When the brewery amalgamated with the Union Brewery in 1891, Mahrer became its manager and master brewer. Mahrer was on the Nanaimo City Council for eight years and belonged to several charitable organizations as well as the city's band. John and Louise Mahrer's home and the Nanaimo Opera House, which John built, were the centres of Nanaimo's cultural life at the time.
Besides being the first recorded Jewish person to arrive in British Columbia, Alexander Aaron Phillips was Victoria's first baker of "Passover Bread" (matzoh), which he sold all over Vancouver Island and the state of Washington. In the fall of 1858 he opened the Pioneer Syrup, Soda and Cider Works. ALexander Phillips was the second president of Temple Emanu-El, a founding member of a local Masonic Lodge and Odd Fellows Lodge, as well as a member of the ST. George's Society and the British Columbia Benevolent Association.
In Vancouver, early twentieth century Jewish immigrants, who arrived from Russia, Romania, Poland, and Germany may not have been able to speak English, but they shared the Yiddish language. Developed in the late Middle Ages as a mix of Hebrew, German and Slavic languages, Yiddish was the common language of Eastern European Jews. In Strathcona, it was the language spoken in Jewish homes and in the sermons at the Synagogue.
Used by David Matlin; apprenticed under his father Simon, who was a master tailor from Liverpool, England. The family immigrated to Winnipeg in 1907, when David was seventeen, he became a ladies' coat and dress designer, working in clothing factories in Winnipeg and Vancouver for over 50 years. He moved to Vancouver in 1952 and spent the last 35 years of his life there. This sewing machine was used in David Matlin's home.
Tie owned and worn by Murray Goldman, owner of Goldman and Son store, Vancouver, BC. Murray Goldman was born in Poland and raised in Montreal, Quebec, until he entered the armed forces in the Second World War. He was stationed in British Columbia and moved to Vancouver after he left the service. Goldman's entertaining marketing ploys, such as cutting his tie in half in a television ad promoting a half-price sale, contributed to his success as a menswear retailer and fashion leader.
First Nations moccasins typical of souvenir goods sold at Lando's Ltd, "The House of Fine Furs" Vancouver, BC; owned by Harold Lando
Used at the Vancouver Manufacturing Umbrella Co. for steaming creases out of fabric used to make umbrellas.
Used by Max Dodek of Max Dodek Fur Ltd. Tool used for pounding nails into and pulling nails out of skins.
