Capilano River and the LionsThe company was formed in 1920, superseding the F. Gowen Company Ltd. founded by Frank Gowen in 1919.Partners: Frank Gowen, a well-respected British Columbia photographer, and Alfred James Sutton, another English-born photographer who arrived in Vancouver in 1918, partnered to run the Gowen Sutton Co.

Photographer Ernest Crocker
Dated: Circa 1920
Type/Theme: RPPC
Publisher: Trio - Victoria BC Canada
Provenance: Hill House Photography Collection
Notes & Literature: Operated by E.W.A. Crocker.

The Trio Photograph and Supply Company was allegedly founded in 1903 by Ernest Crocker and two other English emigrants in Vancouver, Canada. Shortly after, the business moved to Victoria, B.C. where the partnership was dissolved, leaving Crocker as the main operator. In 1908, the studio relocated to Suite 8 at 604 Yates Street where it would remain for the next 37 years.In its early years, Trio produced scenic postcards which were sold at a cigar-stand at the Canadian Pacific Railway?s Empress Hotel. Around 1910, the studio was hired to photograph mining properties in Mexico. During both World Wars, Trio flourished as a military photographer, capturing many candid, portrait and group shots of soldiers and personnel. During World War I, the majority of photographs were taken at Exhibition Grounds at Willows Camp and during World War II, at Work Point Barracks in Esquimalt and the Officers Training Camp at Gordon Head. In addition to his military portfolio, Trio photographed local landscapes, indigenous and other cultural communities, and took portraits of Victorian families and individuals as well as sporting and school groups. Trio also photographed three Royal visits: the Prince of Wales in 1919, the Prince of Wales and Prince George in 1927 and King George VI in 1939.While Crocker remained the principal photographer at Trio, he appears to have received help during the course of his business. Sometime in the 1910s, G.E. Welsh joined Crocker in some form of business partnership before leaving in 1918. After that time, it would appear that a man named Orlebar (Charlie) Walls joined the studio as a part time assistant. In 1946, the Imperial Bank Chambers renovated the top floor of 604 Yates Street where the Trio studio was established, forcing them to evict the premises. Advanced in age, Crocker did not seek to reopen his studio.

•IDENTIFYING MARKS: Verso of photo print may contain a circular seal "Photo by TRIO Victoria B.C."

Condition Report Very Good

Subject References:
PCB2