Private or non-governmental records that document the history and development of Victoria are also acquired by the Archives through donation. Private records consist of documents created in the normal course of affairs by a business, organization or family, such as correspondence, journals, ledgers, photographs, and property files. Private documents generally consist of small accumulations of miscellaneous material such as business cards, pamphlets, and postcards. Some of the larger bodies of records (or "fonds") include the Commonwealth Games Society fonds, the business records of W. & J. Wilson, and the photographs of Harry Upperton Knight.
Descriptions of many of the private records (but not the private documents) held by the Archives can also be accessed on the Internet through the British Columbia Archival Union List (BCAUL). Although the descriptions on the BCAUL are not as detailed as those available on this site or in the Archives, the BCAUL contains descriptions of records held by archives throughout British Columbia, and can therefore provide a more comprehensive search in some cases.
