Frederick Dally (1838-1914), who was born in England, 'arrived in Victoria, Vancouver Island, in 1862 at the height of the Cariboo gold rush and began business as a general merchant. In June of 1866, he opened a photography gallery on Fort Street, where he produced cartes-de-visite of prominent citizens, and sold albums and views of public buildings, local scenes, and special events. That same year, he accompanied Vancouver Island Governor Arthur Kennedy on a trip around Vancouver Island. As a keen observer and amateur anthropologist, he produced an extensive record of the native peoples of British Columbia and also collected native artifacts. Best known are his 1867–68 photographs of the Cariboo Wagon Road and the goldfields' (Encyclopedia of Nineteenth-Century Photography, 2008, p. 377).

This album appears to have been compiled by the photographer: another album in an identical tooled binding, but in brown morocco, and with the same title on the upper cover was presented to Queen Victoria on January 6th 1883 by Dally, and is preserved in the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle.