Philip Thomas Timms was born in Toronto in 1874 to pioneer music printers. Attracted by the possibilities of the Klondike Gold Rush, he moved to Vancouver in 1898. Timms intended to work as a picture framer while pursuing photography on the side; however, he quickly became a commercial photographer. From 1900 to 1968 Timms operated a photography and printing shop; becoming the oldest active printer in Canada by the end of his career. He is best known for the photographic record he created of Vancouver and the lower mainland between 1900 and 1910.
Timms was a member of the Royal Photographic Society and the official photographer for the Vancouver Museum. He also had a variety of interests ranging from amateur archaeologist, historian, and lecturer to musician, choir and band leader, and actor. Timms died in 1973.
