Fonds PR-2013 - British Columbia Land and Investment Agency fonds

[Interior office of BCLIA] BC Land Office on Government Street Cuyler Armstrong Holland Albert Edwin Brayne

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British Columbia Land and Investment Agency fonds

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  • textual record
  • graphic material
  • multiple media
  • object

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  • Source of title proper: Title based on the contents of the fonds.

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Fonds

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PR-2013

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

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  • 1858-1960 (Creation)
    Creator
    British Columbia Land and Investment Agency, Ltd

Physical description area

Physical description

73.75 m of textual records, 77 photographs, and one metal key.

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1862-1962)

Administrative history

The British Columbia Land and Investment Agency (BCLIA) originated with Thomas Allsop & Co., founded in Victoria in 1862 by Thomas Allsop, an estate, financial and insurance agent. He was joined by Henry Slye Mason in the late 1870s, and the firm was restyled Allsop & Mason. The British Columbia Land and Investment Agency was incorporated in England in 1887 to acquire Allsop & Mason and generally to carry on the business of estate, land, financial, insurance and investment agents in British Columbia. The largest investor and one of the original directors was Thomas Dixon Galpin, who had been investing in British Columbia (principally Victoria) real estate through Thomas Allsop since 1872. The firm's headquarters were in London, and the main British Columbia office was located in Victoria, which was managed by the resident director Cuyler Armstrong Holland from 1887 until 1922. He was succeeded as Victoria manager by Arthur Wolfenden and R.H. Shanks. At different times there was a branch or agency in Vancouver and an agency in Nanaimo. The majority interest in the British Columbia operations was sold in December 1962 to Robin Raymond and W.O. Cameron, who continued the business as the British Columbia Land and Insurance Agency, Ltd. The London firm changed its name to British and Canadian Investments Limited in 1964. The BCLIA bought and sold real estate on its own account and for clients, managed properties, placed investment funds in mortgages and loans and operated a small deposit account service. In the 1880s and 1890s the company sold and serviced fire insurance for the North British and Mercantile Insurance Company. This was succeeded around 1890 by their agency for the London and Canadian Fire Insurance Company, a firm founded and owned by many of the same people in Victoria and London who held shares in the BCLIA. After the latter company became inactive in 1898, the BCLIA took up the agency for the Phoenix Assurance Company of London, a service which the BCLIA provided for the remainder of its existence. In 1895 the Canadian Pacific Land and Mortgage Company, another company owned by many of the same investors as the BCLIA and for whom the latter acted as financial agent in British Columbia, was merged with the BCLIA, which took over its assets consisting mainly of freehold properties in the Victoria area and mortgages. The BCLIA was also closely related to the Western Canadian Ranching Company, with which they shared directors and for which they acted as financial agents.

Custodial history

  • The fonds was donated to the City of Victoria Archives in September 1976 as part of accession 97609-01. The bulk of the accession was received from the Victoria office of the BCLIA; series 33 and 34 were donated by the firm's owners, British and Canadian Investments Limited of London, England. The fonds was held by the City of Victoria Archives as PR1 until March 2000 when it was transferred to the British Columbia Archives.
  • The portrait of Henry Slye Mason was held by the City of Victoria Archives as accession 98408-03. It was transferred to the BC Archives in 2009.

Scope and content

The fonds consists of articles of association (1896-1913), Board of Directors and annual general meeting minutes (1887-1948), minutes of meetings of the four percent debenture stockholders (1896-1956), Victoria office mortgage registration book (1903-1919), revocation and grant of powers of attorney (1892-1935), reports, notices, licences, correspondence, and other records of the Victoria and Vancouver offices. Records of the Victoria office include correspondence (1858-1960) with Thomas Dixon Galpin, the North British and Mercantile Insurance Company, the Great West Life Assurance Company, the Montreal Rolling Mills Company, and the Company's Nanaimo and Vancouver agencies and its London office, as well as correspondence and papers relating to Mayhew and Harlow, the Phoenix Assurance Company, Nicholles and Renouf Ltd., Frederick George Walker, the Douglas estate, and the estates of James Crawford, Jean-Baptiste Timmerman and Rev. Arthur Whiteside. Fonds also includes photographs of BCLIA properties, employees and offices. Fonds includes records of predecessor companies, Thomas Allsop and Company and Allsop and Mason. The fonds is arranged into 124 series.

A metal key for the BC Land and Investment Agency building was transferred to the BC Archives from the City of Victoria Archives in 2021. It is stored in container 935638-0679.

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General note

Archives code(s): MS-2880.

General note

Accession number(s): 93-5638, 2009.42, 2021.258

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