From 1934 to 1979, street photographer Foncie Pulice set up his camera on Vancouver city sidewalks and snapped candid shots of people strolling by. For almost half a century, he took thousands of photos, unwittingly capturing moments in time, the history of a city, and the lives of British Columbians.
Now documentary filmmaker Melanie Wood and British Columbia’s Knowledge Network are bringing these photographs together – collecting them from albums around the province and giving them a public home. Photo negatives of Foncie’s images do not exist. He destroyed most of them when he retired. Until now there was no central archive or collection.
Here are some thoughts from the mother and wife of the subjects of this 1954 photo:
"My husband Eddie is shown here taking our first born daughter, Robbyn Anne, about 5 years old, for a walk. She is wearing a coat that my mother-in-law bought from Woodward's. It was red with a black collar. Eddie and Robbyn are probably on a shopping trip of some kind. We lived on the North Shore and it would have been a real treat for her Dad to take her shopping downtown. They probably would have driven into town in our blue Roadster. We all grew up in West Vancouver where my dad was one of the first milkmen."
This is a story about Vancouver, about British Columbia, and about it’s people... so they need your help. Visit Knowledge.ca/FonciesCorner to add your photos and stories to the collection.
We're sharing a couple of Foncie photos here on V.I.A. each week leading up to the premiere of the documentary film being released in the summer. Share your memories (or the ones you find in your parents' and grandparents' archives) and become a part of Vancouver’s history!
