Very old sepia tone photo of an Asian man wearing a suit and holding a baby on his lap. The baby is dressed in a long white dress and wearing a white bonnet. There is a woman standing beside him with her wrist resting on his shoulder. She is wearing a ladies suit of the era, with a skirt and a small black hat. In from of her is a toddler sitting on a chair, wearing a white tunic and small black cap. There is a plant in the background, a globe on a stand, and what looks to be a vase.

Asian Heritage Month ~ Photographer Yucho Chow

As May begins, the Regional Archives will be helping us celebrate and promote Asian Heritage Month by featuring a vignette from our history.  For this first feature, we visit Vancouver’s Chinatown.

In Vancouver, Yucho Chow is celebrated as Chinatown’s first and most prolific photographer.  He operated a studio from 1906 to 1949.  His photographs document a greater diversity than one might expect.  At a time when many white businesses refused service to non-white customers, Chow opened his doors to many other marginalized communities, including Sikh and Hindu immigrants, Black residents, Indigenous peoples, and mixed-race families.

The Pacific Mountain Regional Council (PMRC) Archives holds several Yucho Chow photos within its collections, because the Chinese Methodist/United Church was one of Chow’s customers.

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