The Pacific Empresses
An Illustrated History of the Canadian Pacific's Trans-Pacific Ocean Liners
by Robert D. Turner
From Vancouver and Victoria on the west coast of British Columbia, across the North Pacific by the great circle route that skirts the Aleutian Islands, to Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong and the Philippines; this was the realm of the Pacific Empresses. For fifty years these beautiful ocean liners provided a fast link with the Orient. The Empresses brough tea, silk, spices and produce from the Orient and returned with Canadian cargoes.
The first Empresses came to the Pacific in 1891, providing a fast, reliable steamship service connecting the western terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway with the Orient. The ships were the beautiful clipper-bowed Empresses of India, China and Japan. Later, as steamship design advanced and the service grew, the larger, record-breaking Empress of Russia and Empress of Asia joined the fleet. The Empresses consistently broke speed records for the North Pacific and set standards of service and reliability few steamship lines could match.
Nautical • 200 pp • 8½ x 11
ISBN 0-919462-61-8 • hardcover • $49.95
ISBN 1-55039-149-6 • softcover • $39.95
The Pacific Princesses
An Illustrated History of the Canadian Pacific Railway's Princess Fleet on the Northwest Coast
by Robert D. Turner
The Pacific Princesses were the finest and most elegant coastal steamships on the Northwest Coast of North America. For over one hundred years, the Princesses and their predecessors provided the communication links, the routes to market and often the only means of travel along the rugged, glaciercarved Pacific coast. These famous steamships, still remembered with affection and fondness, were household names all along the coast.
With over 300 photographs and illustrations, drawings, maps, timetables, a full bibliography and index. Beautifully designed and printed, and of the same high quality as its companion volume, The Pacific Empresses, The Pacific Princesses is an essential addition to any history or ship-lover's library.
Nautical • 252 pp • 8½ x 11
ISBN 0-91946204-9 • hardcover • $49.95
ISBN 1-55039-150-X • softcover • $39.95
Those Beautiful Coastal Liners
The Canadian Pacific's Princesses
Robert D. Turner
The Princesses were the finest coastal liners on the Pacific coast. They broke all the intercity speed records between Vancouver, Victoria, and Seattle and established an enduring reputation for elegance and beauty that remained unmatched for over sixty years. Their names became legends along the coast and they were the best and often the only way to travel along the British Columbia Coast. The Princess Victoria, Princess Kathleen, and the lovely Princess Marguerite, the last of the coastal liners, are just a few of the beautiful steamships remembered in this all-new volume.
Nautical History, 160 pp, 9 x 10.5, 225 colour and b/w photos, illustrations
ISBN 1-55039-109-7, paper, $39.95
The S. S. Moyie
Memories of the Oldest Sternwheeler
Robert D.Turner
For nearly 60 years, the mountains of the West Kootenay region in southern British Columbia echoed to the deep, resonant whistle of a steamboat called the Moyie. The Moyie was the last passenger-carrying, sternwheeled steamboat operating in western North America. She is a National Historic Site and a Provincial Historic Landmark. An affectionate biography of the Moyie, extensively illustrated with photos and drawings spanning her entire career.
Nautical History
ISBN 1-55039-013-9, $14.95
The Sicamous & The Naramata
Steamboat Days in the Okanagan
Robert D.Turner
In 1914 the Sicamous was the epitome of elegant, efficient travel in the Okanagan and one of the finest vessels ever to operate on British Columbia's inland waters. For the next 23 years, this stately Canadian Pacific sternwheeler carried passengers, mail, express and the prized fruit of the Okanagan. The Naramata served the Okanagan for 53 years and is now the last surviving steam tug in the Interior of British Columbia. Here is the story of two ships... their history, service, restoration and the heritage preservation efforts surrounding both vessels.
Nautical History
72 pp, 9 x 8, 85+ b/w and colour photos and illustrations
ISBN 1-55039-057-0, paper, $14.95
Sternwheelers and Steam Tugs
An Illustrated History of the Canadian Pacific Railway's British Columbia Lake and River Service
Robert D. Turner
The dramatic story of the CPR sternwheelers which served the waterways of southern BC, connecting the major rail lines with remote mining camps, boom towns and settlements. These beautiful sternwheelers served the interior for decades and their routes traversed some of the most breathtaking country in western Canada. The Stikine River service of the Klondike Gold Rush era is featured, and new material looks at the restoration projects surrounding two CPR sternwheelers and other early vessels. First time in paper, includes new colour photographs.
Transportation/History, 302pp, 8½ × 11, paper, photos maps routes timetables drawings
ISBN 1-55039-089-9, $39.95
There's a Landing Today
Stories About the Lives of West Coast Residents of Vancouver Island Between Port Renfrew and Cape Beale
Tales from the Remote Communities of Vancouver Island
Richard E. Wells
Don't miss this fascinating account of the history and development of communities and facilities on some of the isolated and beautiful shorelines of Vancouver Island. Wells describes bridge building, hollowing canoes from cedar logs, and rescue operations of shipwrecked crews.
Nautical, History, ISBN 1-55039-006-6, 100 pp, 6" × 9", paper, $8.95
over 90 b/w photographs and maps
The Vancouver Voyages of the Barque Pamir
by Richard E. Wells
One of the few sailing ships to survive in ocean trade into the first decades of the twentieth century, the barque Pamir was the last of a once great fleet of German square riggers. After an extensive refit, the Pamir was operated by the Union Steamship company of New Zealand; it appeared in Vancouver in June 1945 with a cargo of tallow in exchange for wheat. The story of the ship's three Vancouver voyages will appear to all those interested in maritime history, seamanship and the breathtaking grandeur of the square riggers, graceful ghosts of the high seas.
Nautical • 137 pp • 8¾ x 7¾
ISBN 1-55039-128-7 • paper • $19.95
At Sea and By Land
The Reminiscences of William Balfour Macdonald, R. N.
S. W. Jackman
This service autobiography of William Balfour Macdonald, the first British Columbia-born individual to be named cadet at Britannia, is a must-have for navel history enthusiasts. Macdonald served in the Pacific Rim, from Hawaii to China, and commanded one of the first two vessels of the infant Canadian navy.
Nautical, History, ISBN 0-919203-05-1, 152 pp, 6" × 9", paper, $8.95
b/w photographs