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It’s September, and that means back to school, so our featured photograph this month is one of several Strathcona Elementary School portraits from the Chung Collection:

Strathcona is Vancouver’s oldest elementary school, founded in 1891. In the early 20th century the Strathcona area was a working-class district, and the home of a diverse array of immigrant families. Strathcona Elementary was so diverse that it earned the nickname, “The League of Nations.” This photograph we believe to have been taken sometime in the 1920’s.

This photograph was taken by Yucho Chow studios, and is one of 20  photographs in the Chung Collection known to be taken by Yucho Chow, most of which are in fact Strathcona school portraits.  According to Camera Workers of British Columbia, Yucho Chow was the first Chinese photographer in Vancouver. At the Museum of Vancouver website, you can see his photographic case.