A family photo album belonging to Col. Richard Moody - Port Moody's namesake - has made it to the Royal BC Museum's list of 100 objects of interest.
The list was compiled by Royal BC curators from the more than seven million objects in the museum's galleries, archival stacks and work rooms behind the scenes for a collection of fascinating - and often seldom-seen - objects. The artifacts and artworks are featured on the Objects of Interest website, royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/100.
The Moody family album dates back to the early 1860s and includes images of two unidentified First Nations men, believed to be the earliest made and/or earliest surviving photos of First Nations people in B.C. Also in the album are photos depicting the Moody family's homes and travels around the world as well as an 1863 pencil sketch by Sarah Crease of the Moody home in New Westminster.
Col. Richard Moody, after whom Port Moody is named, headed the Royal Engineers tasked with clearing North Road, connecting B.C.'s capital of New Westminster with Burrard Inlet.
The 100 Objects of Interest range from the Moody album to John Lennon's yellow Rolls Royce limousine, which was wildly popular during Expo 86, several Emily Carr paintings, a silk kimono originally owned by a Japanese-Canadian woman interned during the Second World War and even a tiny ground mantid insect.
No matter their size or claim to fame, each of the 100 objects offers a compelling story and a connection to B.C.'s history, said Jack Lohman, CEO of the Royal BC Museum. Displaying them in the online exhibit is part of the museum's focus on innovative digital projects.
