Camera Workers, 1858-1950

The British Columbia, Alaska and Yukon Photographic Directory, 1858-1950

1852 - 1941 (88 years)

Name	Hamilton, Lauchlan Alexander
Birth	20 Sep 1852	Penetanguishene, Simcoe County, ON
Gender	Male
Where Active (Non-Specific Address)	1885-1886	Vancouver, BC
Death	11 Feb 1941	Toronto, ON
Person ID	I180	Camera Workers \| H, vol. 1, 1858-1900
Last Modified	19 Jan 2026

Photos » Slide Show		L.A. Hamilton portrait, 1880s. Courtesy City of Vancouver Archives, Port P147.2.
		L.A. Hamilton's photograph of the Hastings Mill wharf, 1885. The title on the print is "50. Hastings Mill Wharf--Vancouver". This image was reproduced as an engraving in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 24 Oct 1885, p. 156. Courtesy of the City of Vancouver Archives, Item Mi P30.
		Engraving based on L.A. Hamilton's photograph of the Hastings Mill Wharf, 24 Oct 1885. The engraving was published in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper on 24 Oct 1885, p. 156, along with six other engravings based on his photographs and sketches.

Notes

STATUS: Amateur.
BIOGRAPHICAL SUMMARY: The Canadian Pacific Railway deputy land commissioner and surveyor, he was also a watercolour artist. He was married in Apr 1888 in Vancouver. Further biographical information is available from the City of Vancouver Archives.
He was the first resident photographer to have his images published as engravings which appeared in the October 24, 1885 issue of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper. While Hamilton claimed in a 1934 letter to City Archivist Major J.S. Matthews that all his photographs had been lost in the June 13, 1886 fire, several photographs somehow survived, including the photograph of ships at the Hastings Mill wharf.
IDENTIFYING MARKS: Some print surfaces numbered, captioned and marked e.g., "58. The Island Coal Harbour L. A. H./85."