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formally registered; whenincorporated on 21 November 1911,it was known as Palmer Burmesterand Von Gravenitz Ltd. The articlesof agreement list the directors asGeorge Greyham Palmer, CharlesMansel Burmester, and Mario vonGravenitz. 8There were three othershareholders, who transferred theirinterests to the principals within a fewmonths. In 1913, the companychanged its name to Palmer and vonGravenitz Ltd. It was dissolved in1919, restored in 1920, and finally redissolvedin 1922. 9 Karloff’s careerwith the firm didn’t last long,however, and soon he was workingfor B.C. Electric, another positionClaudet helped him get. Accordingto Cynthia Lindsay:He dug ditches, laid streetcar tracks, cleared land, shoveledcoal, and worked on survey parties … He was now earning$2.50 a ten-hour day instead of $10 a month. Any time off… [he] devoted to approaching, with no success, localtouring stock companies in hopes of his first break. 10Karloff himself said he “got a job at 28 cents anhour with a pick and shovel laying tracks. I wasn’tmuch good at laying tracks.” 11 Other sources say hegot a job as a carpenter helping build the PacificNational Exhibition. However, the “10-hour days andblistered hands weren’t for him, so he went back intoacting.” 12 The Vancouver civic directories for 1911-16do list a William Henry Pratt, but this one was a CPRinspector and later assistant superintendent – unlikelyto be Karloff. 13Around this time, he was also offered a halfinterest in a goldmine for £100: “I had the money too.I asked the advice of a banker friend of mine and hesaid ‘No.’ that mine was subsequently sold for£3,000,000.” 14 There is no indication which mine thiswas, but Karloff didn’t regret his decision: “Imaginewhat would have happened to me. It would haveruined me.” 15Bride of FrankensteinKarloff did something else in Vancouver in1910, which has been completely forgotten: he gotmarried. It’s not clear if this was his first or secondtrip down the aisle; he eventually had six or sevenwives, four of whom are enigmatic because he nevertalked about them. But a check of theB.C. vital events index reveals thaton 23 February 1910, William HenryPratt wed Grace Jessie Harding atHoly Rosary Cathedral. 16 There’s noquestion it’s Karloff; his age,birthplace, and parents’ names allmatch.At the time, he was 22 and hisbride was 23. She was born in NewZealand to Harry Laurie and MaryJessie Maria (Delamore) Harding.Her parents were actually English; itappears they came to Canada about1904, and to B.C. two years later. 17Her father was a clerk with theDepartment of Finance in Victoriafrom about 1916-31. 18 Rev. AnthonyMadden conducted the ceremony, 19but there was no mention of it in thesocial notes of the Vancouver Province.On the marriage certificate, Karloff listed hisprofession as broker, presumably of real estate. Thewitnesses were Charles Burmester – one of thepartners in the firm he worked for – and Grace’smother Mary. 20The marriage was short-lived. On 8 January 1913,Grace sought and obtained a divorce order on thegrounds of adultery. Karloff had taken up with MargotBeaton, an actress with the theatre company he had bythen joined. In fact, she may have been the leading lady’ssister. 21 Karloff, who did not appear in court, was orderedto pay his ex-wife’s costs. 22Ten days later, Grace wed a second time, to CecilAngus Hadfield, another realtor. 23 They moved toCalgary, where Cecil lived, and had a son, Philip, whowent into accounting. 24 Cecil died in 1918 of typhoidfever at age 38 and was buried in Calgary’s Unioncemetery. At the time he was manager of the BownessImprovement Co. 25 By 1929, Grace was living at 12-606 Centre St. in Calgary, and working as a musicianat the Palace Theatre. From 1932-34, she taught atMount Royal College. 26Grace’s parents lived at 556 Simcoe St. inVictoria. 27 Her father died in 1931 and her mother in1945. 28 Both are buried in Ross Bay cemetery inunmarked graves. 29 On her mother’s death certificate,Grace gave her own address as 1154 Robson St. inVancouver. Civic directories list this as a photo studiofrom 1945-50. 30 Maybe she lived in an upstairsapartment? However, there’s no sign of her in theNotes1 Cynthia Lindsay, Dear Boris:The Life of William Henry Pratta.k.a Boris Karloff (New York:Knopf, 1975), p. 132 Ibid., p. 2, 103 Ibid., p. 11. There was afarmer named Terrance O’Reillylisted on the 1901 and 1911Canadian censuses at HaldimandCounty, Ont. However, he wasnot head of the household; atboth times, he was living with hisparents, John and Mary O’Reilly.4 Ibid., p. 13.5 Ibid., p. 13-14. Henry HaymanClaudet (1874-1954) was the sonof noted early B.C. photographerand coin-maker Francis GeorgeClaudet. Hayman was a miningengineer and assayer in Rossland,ca. 1903-08.6 E-mail from Ron Welwood, 26April 2005, citing 1910 Vancouvercivic directory7 Ibid. and Vancouver Province,22 February 19108 Palmer and Von Gravenitz Ltd.,B.C. Archives Microfilm No.B05125, Incorporation No. 827. It’snot clear if Hans and Mario vonGravenitz were the same personby two names, or relatives.9 Ibid.10 Lindsay, Dear Boris, op. cit.,p. 1411 Paul M. Jensen, Boris Karloff &His Films, (South Brunswick: A.S.Barnes, 1974), p. 12. In 1961, Dr.Willson Knowlton wrote B.C. Electricasking if they had any record ofKarloff’s employment. They hadn’t.The correspondence is at theKamloops Museum & Archives.12 http://www.vancouvermagazine.com/9708/ secrets_source.html,viewed 3 December 200513 E-mail from Ron Welwood, 26April 200514 Peter Underwood, BorisKarloff: Horror Man,(New York:Drake Publishing, 1972), p. 154-55BRITISH COLUMBIA HISTORY - Vol. 39 No. 1 17