1941 Hammack Pictorial Map of Coastal British Columbia, (Vancouver) Canada

This is a 1945 Edwin S. Hammack pictorial map of coastal British Columbia. Created to promote the Malibu Club in Canada, the map depicts from Vancouver north along the Strait of Georgia and Jervis Inlet to Princess Louisa Inlet. Cartoonish illustrations appear throughout and highlight locals and tourists enjoying the wonders of Vancouver Island and the Strait of Georgia. Vancouver appears in the lower right corner. Numerous smaller islands, including Gambier Island, Bowen Island, Anvil Island, Texada Island, and Nelson Island are all labeled. An inset in the upper right focuses on Princess Louisa Inlet and the Malibu Club. Vacationers frolic in in the inlet, hunt and hike in the surrounding forest, and ski. Information about the club and a photograph of one of its charter yachts, appears along the bottom border.

The Malibu Club in Canada

Bill Boeing (the aircraft manufacturer) vacationed in British Columbia with Seattle industrialist Tom Hamilton in 1938. While cruising in their yachts, Boeing introduced Hamilton to Princess Louisa Inlet. Hamilton's wife immediately fell in love with a small island in the inlet. Two years later, Hamilton bought the island, and what had started as a family retreat became a sweeping vision for a retreat of the rich and famous. He bought all the surrounding land (with a small exception) in 1941 and began his project. This resort became the Malibu Club. Hamilton spent nearly a million dollars (then a lot) building the club, with its affiliated fleet of charter yachts and aircraft. The club prospered over the next few years. However, Hamilton abandoned the project in 1950 for unknown reasons. Two years later, in 1952, Jim Rayburn, the founder of Young Life, visited the former Malibu Club. He saw its potential as camp for young people, and so bought the property. Today, Young Life still operates a camp there.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn Edwin Selleck Hammack and published by John D. Roche, Inc. in 1941. This map is not cataloged in OCLC. This is the only known surviving example.