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| Photo courtesy of the City of Vancouver Archives |
I usually do not do this, but right now I am working on a House History Research project concerning a house here in Vancouver (seen above) built just prior to World War I by a German Count named Viktor Eugen Felix Voß-Schönau. Victor Voss (as his name is sometimes rendered in English) was a famous tennis star in the late 1800s winning a number of German championships. He has an interesting history. According to this article published in the New York Times on September 24, 1911, he left Germany to come to North America to marry a divorced Italian Marchesa.
The friend mentioned at the end of the article is the enigmatic Count Alvo Von Alvensleben who made quite a splash here in Vancouver in the early 1900s.
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| Alvo von Alvensleben |
Alvo Von Alvensleben built a huge financial empire and building a number of landmark buildings in the area, including the iconic Dominion Trust Building at Hastings and Carrall, before he had to flee Canada for the United States upon the outbreak of the Great War.
It is clear from this directory listing that Count Victor Voss worked for or with Alvo Von Alvensleben while he was here in Vancouver.
My problem is, that that although I can find many references to Count Voss online including his tennis championship records and biographies in English and German on Wikipedia, I cannot find any picture of Count Voss anywhere. Is there anyone out there that can help me find a link to an online image?
Vielen Dank für Ihre Hilfe.
