Prior to the creation of the BC Book Prizes in 1985, the Eaton's Book Award was widely considered to be the province's top literary prize. It overshadowed the venerable Lieutenant Governor's medal for history largely because its perennial judges Margaret Prang (UBC), Walter D. Young (UVic) and Gordon Elliott (SFU) maintained unusually high standards. The Eaton's Book Award for "best B.C. book of the year"; was first presented to Robert E. Cail for Land, Man and the Law: The Disposal of Crown Lands in British Columbia, 1871-1913 (1974). Subsequent winners included Jack Hodgins for Spit Delaney's Island (1976); Howard White as editor for Raincoast Chronicles First Five: Stories and History of the B.C. Coast (1976); Terry Reksten for Rattenbury (1978); Ulli Steltzer and Catherine Kerr for Coast of Many Faces (1979); Barry Downs for Sacred Places (1980); Hugh Brody for Maps and Dreams (1981); and Lynne Bowen for Boss Whistle: The Coal Miners of Vancouver Island Remember (1982).