Letter to the Anglo-American Canning Company from Kwong On Wo & Co.

Letter to the Anglo-American Canning Company from Kwong On Wo & Co.

British Columbia
industry
Chinese
employment
immigration
canning
cannery
trade

This is a handwritten letter, on printed Kwong On Wo & Co letterhead paper and penned in 1901, informing the Anglo-American Canning Company of charcoal prices. A certain care in the letters presentation is noticeable with formal addressing and signing off by the author. Kwong on Wo were importers and dealers of Chinese and Japanese foods based in British Columbia, serving the significant population of Asian migrants in the province. Asian immigrants, particularly Chinese, were pioneers in BC’s Salmon canning industry, and charcoal was the resource relied for powering the salmon canneries, which suggests why these two companies would have an interest in the resource. This source highlights the themes of the Asian immigrant contribution to BC’s economic and industrial development. Also, the expanding network of Canadian industry in working with American companies, such as the Anglo-American Canning Company, made possible by improved transportation and communication that developed through the centuries, with a significant portion of Asian migrant labour used in their construction.

Kwong On Wo

University of British Columbia
The Chung Collection

https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/chung/

8 February 1901

Sebastian Jones

University of British Columbia Library Rare Books and Special Collections.
The Chung Collection: CC-TX-100-36-6

English

Textual - handwritten letter

20th century British Columbia