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 one of relatives of the subjects of this photo:
"This is a photo of my dad, Michael (in the middle), my Grandma Horton (on his left), and my uncle Robert (on his right). I cherish the memories of my grandma reminiscing about this photo. This photo currently lives on my fridge in Australia - My Grandma let me rip it out of her photo album before I moved here over 10 years ago. I believe my dads suspenders are the coolest thing I have ever seen, almost as stylish as my Grandma!"
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. Learn about the exhibit happening NOW at the Museum of Vancouver HERE.
