Fall/Winter hours: We are open Monday to Thursday from 9am to 4pm and Friday by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, please fill out our appointment form or email us at asc@torontomu.ca
Now one of the most established Canadian fashion designers on the international scene, Sung began his career as a fashion entrepreneur in the 1970s when he opened retail clothing store, Moon, in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood. In 1979, he and fellow fashion entrepreneurs, Joseph and Saul Mimran, established the Monaco Group Inc. and began designing and distributing ready-to-wear clothing to fashion retailers throughout North America under the Alfred Sung label. Five years later, the group opened a series of free-standing retail stores under the now-well-known name Club Monaco.[1]
In 1986, Sung signed on with Ryerson for a one-year term to teach Apparel IV, a fourth-year course in tailoring and sportswear design. The course was meant to give students practical experience creating a comprehensive collection[2] and to teach burgeoning designers the business side of the industry[3]. Sung knew this side all too well: the year he joined Ryerson, his company had just branched out into sportswear with Sung Sport, was launching its first perfume line, and was the first Canadian designer brand to be traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange.[4]
As described in The Ryersonian, Sung agreed to take on the teaching post because he wanted to give back to an industry that had been so kind to him. He even donated his salary to the School, creating two scholarships in Apparel Management and Design, each equal to a year’s tuition [5]. His hiring kicked off the School of Fashion’s practice of recruiting leading contemporary fashion designers to teach Ryerson students. This hiring trend, not yet common in Canadian fashion programs at the time Sung signed on, continues to benefit students in the School today.
To learn more about the history of Ryerson’s School of Fashion and about other notable Ryersonians past and present, or simply to peruse back issues of The Ryersonian, The Ryerson Rambler, and The Eyeopener, visit Ryerson Archives & Special Collections on the 4rd floor of the library.
References
1. “Alfred Sung: Biography.” Alfred Sung. Accessed March 31, 2015. www.alfredsung.com
2. McDowell, Carol. “Sung has designs on teaching.” The Eyeopener, November 13, 1986.
3. “Ryerson Report: Sung teaches course for School of Fashion.” The Ryerson Rambler, Winter 1986.
In the age of social media there are many ways for news to be communicated. Faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the general public can find out what is going on around campus through Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and many other sources. How did Ryerson get the word out there before the internet and smart phones – let’s take a look.
University Media
Ryerson has had various departments and offices responsible for getting the official news out to the community and the public. The Office of Information Services, the Department of Community Relations, the Office of University Advancement, and now University Relations were/are responsible to spreading the official word of Ryerson.
What’s Happening around Ryerson
What’s Happening around Ryerson (1971-1977) was published once a week as an events calendar by the Department of Information Services. It was replaced by On Campus this Week (1977-1986). The Office of University Advancement published Campus News (2004-2009) which was emailed out to the Ryerson Community announcing individual events, campus notes, and other related information. This was discontinued in 2009 with the creation of Ryerson Today. The Office of University Advancement, and now the Department of Communications, Government, and Community Engagement periodically send out news releases about significant Ryerson occurrences and events.
What’s Happening around Ryerson/On Campus this Week (RG 4.01)
The FORUM newsletter
The FORUM was a newsletter of information and opinion first published by the Department of Information Services September 12, 1977. The FORUM continued to be published by the Department of Community Relations, and the Office of University Advancement changing styles and formats. It went to a digital only format in 2006 and continued on until 2009 when it too was replaced by Ryerson Today.
FORUM Newsletter (RG 4.10)
FORUM Newsletter (RG 122.04)
FORUM Newsletter (RG 122.04)
FORUM Newsletter (RG 122.04)
FORUM Newsletter (RG 395.06)
FORUM Newsletter (RG 395.06)
FORUM Newsletter (RG 395.06)
The Ryerson Rambler
The Ryerson Rambler (RG 151.01) was first published in June of 1962, was Ryerson’s alumni magazine. It was published initially by the Students’ Union. According to then Ryerson Principal Howard Kerr, “It is hoped in time that the Ryerson Alumni Association will be sufficiently strong to assume the responsibility involved in the financing of this project…”. It would appear that the Alumni Association took over publication in 1967. The Rambler continued publication until 1972, when it was replaced by Technikos as a source of information for Ryerson Alumni.
Technikos and Ryerson Review
Technikos the news magazine for Ryerson Polytechnical Institute was first published in the Spring of 1971 by the Department of Information Services and according to then Ryerson President “it would be mailed to the home address of each undergraduate…Copies will also be sent to potential employers…high schools, colleges, universities, and Ryerson alumni…”. It was published twice yearly until Summer 1977 when, according to the Ryerson Rambler, “…the costs have caught up with us and a quality magazine like Technikos cannot be produced economically enough to enable us to send it to you regularly…” so publication was cut down to one magazine per year sent out during the summer months. In 1978 the name was changed to The Ryerson Review. Its last publication was Summer 1980.
Technikos Magazine (RG 4.26)the Ryerson Review (RG 4.27)
The Rambler redux
The Rambler returned in February of 1978 when the cost of producing Technikos became economically unfeasible. It was published 3 times per year. In 1994, the winter issue of the magazine was discontinued – replaced by What’s On, a newspaper-style newsletter.In 1997 they discontinued What’s On and started publishing the winter edition of the magazine again.
Ryerson Rambler (RG 151.01)
Ryerson Rambler (RG 151.01)
What’s New (RG 151.04)
Ryerson Rambler (RG 151.01)
Ryerson Magazine
With the spring 1997 edition the name changed to RyersonMagazine (RG 395.07.02)and began publishing only twice a year. In 2001, it changed its name to Ryerson University, the magazine – reflecting the name change of the University from Ryerson Polytechnic University to Ryerson University. It changed its name again in 2002 to Alumni Magazine, with a final name change in 2022 to Ryerson University Magazine.
Student Media
On the student side of the School, Ryerson has had student created publications since its inception in 1948.
The Ryersonian
The School of Journalism began publishing a newspaper called the The Ryersonian (RG 95.05) in 1948. The first paper was published in December of that year. Starting in January of 1949 until April of 1951, the paper was published on a monthly or bi-monthly basis. In the 1951-1952 school year the paper began being published on a daily basis. It continued this way for many years, until they began publishing Tuesday – Friday, and then only on Wednesdays and Fridays. During the 1993-1994 school year it started its present schedule of weekly publication on Wednesdays. The paper is also available online at www.ryersonian.ca/.
Ryerson Daily News
In June of 1949, the School of Graphic Arts, and the Journalism program started printing Ryerson Daily News. It was a one page leaflet with Canadian and International news stories.
Starting in 1950 they also published the Little Weekly, a larger format newspaper style publication. Both the Daily and the Weekly ended publication in January of 1951.
To replace The Little Weekly, Journalism students started printing three different small newspapers on three different days – The Blue (RG 95.31) on Tuesdays, The White (RG 95.28) on Wednesdays, and The Gold (RG 95.30) on Thursdays. They were produced between February and April of that year. In March and April of 1951 Journalism also printed The Blue Review (RG 95.33).
RG 95.31
RG 95.28
RG 95.30
RG 95.33
The Campus Week and TY-PI
The Campus Week also was created to replace the Little Weekly. First printed February 3, 1951, it was written and edited by Journalism students and printed by the the School of Graphic Arts. It had a four page format – mirroring that of The Ryersonian. It does not appear that this continued to be published in the 1951-1952 school year. There was an independent publication created in 1951 called “TY-PI”, created by first year students in the Graphic Arts and Journalism programs.
In 1967 the Eyeopener Newspaper (RG 146.1) – at first called the Eyeopener Magazine took its name from the Calgary Eye Opener, newspaper published by Bob Edwards 1902-1922. It was created because, as its first editor Tom Thorne stated, many students felt that the Ryersonian was not representative of all of Ryerson’s students. Published on Tuesdays by the Students’ Administrative Council on a weekly basis, it was a member of the Canadian University Press. During the 1968-1969 school year it began being publishing on Thursdays and starting in September 1990 it changed to its current schedule of publication on Wednesdays. The Eyeopener is available online at theeyeopener.com.
All of these publications contain valuable information about the life and times of Ryerson and its students, staff, and faculty. They have been an invaluable resource for many research projects.
They are available for viewing in Archives & Special Collections. Please call (416) 979-5000 ext. 7027 or email asc@ryerson.ca for an appointment.
For those who can’t get enough of Gatsby fashion, RULA Special Collections recently acquired a small donation of 1910s- and 20s-era stylebooks from American clothiers Hart, Schaffner & Marx and The House of Kuppenheimer.
The companies date back to the late nineteenth-century. Hart, Schaffner & Marx began operations as Harry Hart & Bro. in 1872, when brothers Harry and Max Hart opened a small men’s clothing outlet in Chicago. By 1887, the company had undergone two name changes and a series of new partnership agreements but settled on the name Hart, Schaffner & Marx. It was soon the largest manufacturer of men’s clothing in America, selling nearly $1 million worth of clothing annually.[1]
The company’s rival, The House of Kuppenheimer, was also based in Chicago. Established by Bernard Kuppenheimer in 1876, the company reached sales of $1 million per year by the 1880s. By the 1910s, it employed nearly 2000 workers.[2]
The companies specialized in tailored clothing for men, young men, and boys and distributed their catalogs through the retailers that sold their products. These catalogs capitalized on the allure of the wealthy American elite as the companies hired well-known illustrators[3] to create images that associated the brands with the fulfillment of the American dream. Taglines referring to “prep school boys” and “stylish business men” accompanied images of young men and women hunting, horseback riding, attending lavish banquets and performing other activities associated with America’s burgeoning leisure class.
Yet, much like F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic literary portrait of the era, the catalogs also reveal the tensions underlying the pursuit of this elusive lifestyle. Indeed, the catalogs’ subjects are, like Gatsby himself, often as remarkable for their gaiety as for their unshakeable ennui. Meanwhile, the catalogs’ recurring concern with ‘rightness’ and ‘correctness’ betrays the intense pressures of conformity that governed the American upper classes.
Despite the catalogs’ glamourous subject matter, their emphasis on value and economy additionally reveals a target consumer more likely to pinch pennies and aspire to upward social mobility than to enjoy the breeze from an already-purchased yacht. In their most disconcerting form, the images flatly expose the American dream as a reality accessible to only a precious few in terms of race and gender.
The catalogs thus stand as a rich resource not only for those interested in the history of fashion, graphic design, or advertising, but also for anyone exploring race, class, and gender politics in America in the 1910s and 20s. Stop by Ryerson Special Collections on the 4th floor of the library to see these small but powerful documents of American history (call numbers: TT620.K87 1916-1921 ; TT620.H36 1911-1925) and to peruse other resources related to the history of fashion in North America, Europe and elsewhere.
In many ways, living in the USSR was quite unlike what we experience in present day Canada. Because of the stark contrast in the portrayal and treatment of political leaders between our cultures, researchers do not have to be familiar with Soviet history to identify unmistakable differences.
An infant Lenin was the face of the Little Octobrists, the Soviet children’s league. Similarly, Baby Jesus is often depicted in Christian art. This Lenin banner resembles those common in Eastern Orthodox Christianity, the dominant religion of the areas encompassing the former Soviet Union. The Lenin image makes use of the familiar Eastern Christian halo design, as depicted in the Byzantine-style icons being carried in the procession.
Left: Little Octobrists small banner.2008.005.01.013. Leniniana Collection, Toronto Metropolitan University Archives & Special Collections. Centre: Baby Jesus 04 by Waiting For The Word via Flickr. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC-By-SA). Right: A cross Procession in Novosibirsk, Russia. By Testus (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons.
In Canada, it is not commonplace to find flags, banners, note cards, statues or paintings created and showcased in devotion to our Prime Minister. Conversely, Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin was featured on these sorts of materials and more, achieving a venerable status throughout the Soviet Union and beyond. This is easily seen in Toronto Metropolitan University’s Leniniana Collection, which consists of more than 800 items featuring the image of Lenin. A messianic Lenin effectively filled the void brought about by the USSR’s violent suppression of organized religion:
Certain symbolic forms probably recalled religious icons. The extensive use of the colour red, the distorted perspective (Lenin is far larger than the sun, the globe, and the worker and peasant on either side), the composition (Lenin flanked by the worker and peasant, just as Christ was sometimes flanked by two apostles), and the circular frame that surrounds Lenin (Christ was often situated in an oval frame) must have been familiar to Russians accustomed to the conventions of religious icons. (Bonnell, 1999, p. 146)
By applying Lenin’s likeness, the colour red and Communist slogans and imagery such as stars, hammers and sickles onto a wide range of materials, Lenin and his party became omnipresent – like a god. When they replaced the paranormal God with themselves, Soviets made their party into an alternative to Christian theocratic rule (Riegel, 2005). The fact that Lenin was not supernatural was irrelevant: Leninism became the political religion of the state.
Lenin tells followers to let the party know everything, much like religious confession.
Despite the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the propagated deification of Lenin continues to fascinate scholars and non-academics alike. Much like saints of Christianity, Lenin’s corpse lies in a sacred mausoleum. This site remains popular among tourists and researchers continue to seek to learn more about this infamous figure of revolution.
A lapel pin reads, “Lenin lives.” The banner next to it proclaims the same about Jesus.
Left: Mounted object with various lapel pins of Lenin.2008.005.06.005. Leniniana Collection, Toronto Metropolitan University Archives & Special Collections. Right: Jesus Lives – Signage And Posters In Dublin by William Murphy via Flickr. Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC-By-SA). https://www.flickr.com/photos/infomatique/4674198019/
To discover the Leniniana Collection at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Special Collections, please make an appointment between 9am-5pm, Monday-Friday. Contact us at asc@ryerson.ca or at 416-979-5000 ext 4996. We are located on the fourth floor in the library in room LIB 492.
Lenin and Jesus: both in the clouds, above the people.
To read more about Leninism as a political religion, refer to the works cited. Both sources are available through the Toronto Metropolitan University Library.
The Lenin lapel pin reads, “Lenin is always with us. Kaliningrad.” The shirt reads, “We are Russian! God is with us!” Leninists appropriated this common religious saying.
Left: Mounted object with various lapel pins of Lenin. 2008.005.06.005. Leniniana Collection, Toronto Metropolitan University Archives & Special Collections. Right:Мы русские-с нами БОГ by ФестивальБратья via Wikipedia. Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0, 2.5, 2.0 и 1.0.
Yousef Karsh, world renowned photographer best known for his portraits of the many people who shaped the 20th century, visited Ryerson on December 4, 1957 to interview third year photography students for a position as one of his assistants.
Ryerson Director of the School of Photographic Arts Reginald Soame and Yousef Karsh. (RG 95.1.72.12.01)
This visit was featured in the Ryersonian newspaper.
News story published December 5, 1957. (courtesy of the Ryersonian Newspaper)
Yousef Karsh, born December 23, 1908 in Armenia, immigrated to Canada in 1925 to live with his uncle, a photographer, in Sherbrooke, Quebec. This move would change his life. His original goal in life was to be a surgeon. In 1926 he went to work for his uncle and then apprenticed with John Garo in Boston. In 1931 he opened his own studio in Ottawa. The turning point in his career was befriending then Prime Minister of Canada William Lyon MacKenzie King. This friendship gave him the opportunity to photograph English Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1941, which Karsh felt changed his life.
He went on to do over 15 000 portrait sittings with some of the most influential people of the 20th Century. He travelled to London during WW II, photographing the Royal Family and others. In 1952 he began what would become a 17 month assignment with MacLean’s magazine documenting a post-war Canada.
He closed his Ottawa studio in June of 1992 and stopped taking commercial assignments as well. Yousef Karsh died July 13, 2002.
Toronto Metropolitan University offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs, and is home to more than 40, 000 students and 2700 staff and faculty. But how many students attended Ryerson the first year it opened? What kinds of courses were available for students to take and are any of them still offered today? Let’s take a look back at the first year of the Ryerson Institute of Technology.
1948-1949
1948 Course Calendar
When the Institute opened its doors to approximately 200 students in September of 1948, it was one of four technical institutes run by the Department of Education for the Province of Ontario. The other 3 were: The Institute of Textiles (Hamilton); The Institute of Mining (Hailebury); and The Lakehead Technical Institute (Port Arthur).
It offered 4 different options for education: technological courses; extension courses; courses supervised by Department of Education for other governmental departments; and courses for the University of Toronto.
Technological courses
There were 10 schools that first year that offered 2 year diploma and certificate courses on the level between high school and university. Admission requirements were a minimum of a grade 12 education or an equivalent standing based on age, practical experience, and educational background. Fees were a $5 registration fee, a $25 tuition, a $10 laboratory or shop fee, and a $10 Students’ council fee. For non-resident British subject students tuition was $200, and for non-resident non-British subject students tuition was $300.
The schools were:
School of Architectural Draughting – architectural and structural draughting and design
School of Business – retail merchandising and business machines
School of Costume Design – dressmaking, pattern making, draping, and designing
School of Electronics – radio communications, radio and appliance servicing, industrial electronics, electronic laboratory practice, marine operating, announcing and production
School of Food Technology – commercial cooking and commercial baking
School of Furniture Crafts – cabinetmaking, upholstering, wood finishing, and furniture design
School of Graphic Arts – hand composition and typography, letterpress presswork, linotype, intertype, monotype, photo lithography, offset presswork, printing design and layout, bookbinding, and journalism
School of Jewellery and Horology – goldsmithing and gem setting, watch making and repair
School of Industrial and Mechanical Technology – general mechanical, tool design, tool and die making, mechanical drafting, and welding
School of Photography – portraiture, commercial, and industrial
With the exception of the School of Jewellery and Horology, all of these schools evolved into programs offered by Ryerson today.
Extension Courses
Ryerson also offered 2 extension courses at the trade level. They were Men’s tailoring, and Women’s tailoring. The Admission requirements were a grade 10 or equivalent education and you had to be at least 16 1/2 years old. Course fees were the same as the Technology courses.
Women’s Tailoring
The extension department evolved in to the present day G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education. The school now offers 88 certificate programs, and accreditation courses for 10 professional institutes and associations.
Department of Education supervised courses
Housed at Ryerson were courses offered by the Department of Labour and the Department of Health, which varied in length from 2 months to 9 months. Admission requirements, course of study, standards of attainment, and final exams were the responsibility of the sponsoring department. The Department of Education supplied the staff and supervised the courses. All the courses were trade courses. They were:
Department of Labour
Apprenticeship courses in building trades, millroom, and motor vehicle repair trade (2-3 months)
Barbering (9 months)
Barbering
Hairdressing (9 months)
Cosmetology
Stationery Engineering (9 months)
Department of Health
Certified Nursing Assistant course (9 months)
Courses for the University of Toronto
Offered by Ryerson, in co-operation with the University of Toronto, were 2 courses for their students.
Occupational Therapy – printing and woodworking
Institutional Management – commercial cooking
To learn more about Ryerson’s beginnings drop by Archives and Special Collections on the 4th floor of the Library in LIB 404
This unique cabinet card from the Lorne Shields fonds of the Historical Photograph Collection at Ryerson’s Special Collections features not only an uncommon composition, but also an interesting history of Canada’s railway systems inscribed on its verso.
2008.001.184. [Portrait of two women in a doorway with tree branch], cabinet card [ca. 1910], 20.4 x 12.6 cm (with mount). Left: recto, right: verso.
Written in pencil on the back of this cabinet card are the arrival and departure times for a journey from Ingersoll, Ontario to Kingston, Ontario via both the Grand Trunk Railway and the Canadian Pacific Railway circa 1905.
2008.001.184. Detail of inscription reading: “Leave G-T Kingston 3:45 pm Toronto ar 10:15 pm leave 11pm ar at Hamilton 12:30 leave Hamilton 2:35am in Ingersoll 4:31”.
Impressively, using the Grand Trunk Railway (inscribed as “G-T”), the traveller would have been able to make the trip in just under 13 hours, leaving Kingston at 3:45 p.m. and arriving back in Ingersoll at 4:31 a.m. with transfers in Toronto and Hamilton. According to Google Maps, the same journey today would take 13 hours and 50 minutes using Via Rail Canada (including transfer waiting time). Whether either of the women in the photograph were travelling can only be speculated.
Screenshot of Google Maps route from Kingston to Ingersoll using Via Rail Canada and Kingston Transit.
Special Collections, located on the fourth floor of the Ryerson Library, holds numerous examples of late nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century photographs, including cabinet cards, cartes de visite, tintypes, daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, as well as contemporary guidebooks and manuals. To access Special Collections give us a call or send us an email to book an appointment at asc@ryerson.ca or 416-979-5000 ext. 4996.
Over the course of its 106-year presence in Toronto, Kodak affected more than just the history of photography in Canada. In satisfying its need for cutting edge photographic manufacturing facilities, the company contributed several ambitious architectural projects to the cityscape. Through these contributions, Kodak left an indelible mark upon the city, the traces of which are still visible today.
The following history documents Kodak’s presence in Toronto from 1899 to 2005, focusing on its three central facilities on Colborne Street, King Street, and at Kodak Heights. This history was constructed from documents and artefacts contained within the Kodak Corporate Archives and Heritage Collection at Toronto Metropolitan University (Accession #2005.001). These items and more are currently on display on the 4th floor of Ryerson Library. For more information, visit Ryerson Archives and Special Collections.
Kodak’s early days in Canada
In 1888, George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, NY. In 1899, after successfully operating on the American market for over a decade, Eastman set his sights north, dispatching Kodak employee John G. Palmer to Toronto to determine the viability of establishing a subsidiary in Canada. Palmer discovered a robust market for photographic products and, on November 8, 1899, Canadian Kodak Co., Limited was incorporated under the Ontario Company’s act. The nascent company established headquarters in downtown Toronto, embarking on a relationship with the city that would last more than a century and would constitute the heart of the company’s manufacturing operations in Canada.
Colborne Street (1899 – 1901)
From Atlas of the city of Toronto and suburbs : in three volumes, Goad’s Atlas and Plan Co., 1923. G1149.T6 G6 1923 r
Following Canadian Kodak’s incorporation in 1899, the company established premises in an existing building at 41 Colborne Street, Toronto. The property was intended to serve as an assembly and distribution centre, rather than a site of manufacturing: the fledgling company imported bulk film and photographic paper, as well as completed cameras, from Rochester for packaging and distribution in Canada. The property was leased to Canadian Kodak Co., Ltd. for 3 years at $840 per year. Consisting of four floors and a cellar, 24 ¼ x 71 feet each, the site housed the entire Kodak plant and its staff of ten. A further 7-year option on the property was offered by the owner but never taken. Largely unchanged from its original structure, the Colborne Street building still stands today.
2005.001.3.259. Canadian Kodak Co., Ltd. Headquarters (1899-1901), 41 Colborne Street, Toronto
41 Colborne Street, 2014. The original building on Colborne Street still stands today. Image courtesy of Google street view.
King Street (1901 – 1917)
From Atlas of the city of Toronto and suburbs : in three volumes, Goad’s Atlas and Plan Co., 1923. G1149.T6 G6 1923 r
The Colborne Street premises soon proved insufficient to house the rapidly growing Canadian subsidiary. With its lease set to expire in 1901, the company set out to find a new site for its operations in what was then Toronto’s manufacturing district. In September of that year, Canadian Kodak purchased an empty lot at 588 King Street for $70 per foot and hired Toronto architects Chadwick & Beckett to build a new plant. Over its 17-year tenure at this facility, Canadian Kodak began its transition to a manufacturing operation, producing its own photographic film, paper, and mounts. The company also began to import camera parts—rather than completed cameras—from Rochester for assembly and distribution in Canada. Like the Colborne Street site, the King Street premises quickly proved too small to house the growing business and two additional buildings were constructed in an adjoining lot. By 1908, the King Street factory had expanded to its full capacity and the company had grown to 108 employees. Like Kodak’s Colborne Street plant, the King Street facility still stands today, now part of a busy retail strip in downtown Toronto.
2005.001.03.1.02.1. Scaife Patent Gravity Filter, W.B. Scaife & Sons, Co., 1909. This cyanotype is one of only two known surviving blueprints from the King Street premises.
2005.001.08.01.02. Letter, December 24, 1903. George Eastman authorizes John Palmer to purchase the vacant lot adjoining the existing King Street plant for the purpose of expansion.
2005.001.3.260.004. King Street premises, 588 King Street West, Toronto, frontal view, 1901-1917.
2005.001.3.260.012. King Street premises, rear view, 1926. This portion of the factory, bordering Adelaide Street, was constructed during Kodak’s King Street expansion. This image was taken nearly ten years after Kodak had completed its move to Kodak Heights.
588 King Street, 2014. Like the Colborne Street property, the King Street building still remains. Image courtesy of Google street view.
Kodak Heights (1913 – 2005)
From Atlas of the city of Toronto and suburbs : in three volumes, Goad’s Atlas and Plan Co., 1923. G1149.T6 G6 1923 r
By 1912, Canadian Kodak had outgrown its King Street facilities. That year, George Eastman visited Toronto to establish a sustainable plan for expansion. The result of his visit was the purchase in 1913 of 25 acres of farmland at Eglinton Avenue and Weston Road, Toronto, for $5,000 per acre. Soon after the deed was signed, construction began on the original seven buildings at Kodak Heights. The property was nicknamed Kodak Heights by company executive S.B. Cornell.
2005.001.06.06.1.071. George Eastman visits Toronto, 1912. Eastman and executives John Palmer and S.B. Cornell survey the land that would soon become Kodak Heights.
2005.001.03.1.05.2. South Elevation of Building 5, 1914. This architectural ink drawing on calendered cloth shows one of the original seven buildings and one of the largest buildings at Kodak Heights.
2005.001.06.01.002.4. Workers in horse-drawn buggies excavate building 7, Kodak Heights, July 27, 1914
2005.001.06.01.002.4. Constructing the bridge connecting building 3 & 5, Kodak Heights, September 20, 1915
2005.001.06.01.002.4. Kodak Heights construction, looking NE, Building 5, October 15, 1915
Meeting the Plant’s Power and Transport Needs To meet its massive energy needs, Canadian Kodak built and maintained its own Power House (Building 1) at Kodak Heights. Upwards of 50 tonnes of coal were burned every day, the smoke from which was released through a 200-ft chimney constructed by the Custodis Canadian Chimney Co. The structure soon became a local landmark.
2005.001.08.03.01.02. Drawing for Power House chimney, Canadian Custodis Chimney Co., Ltd, 1914
Canadian Kodak also contracted with the Canadian Pacific Railway Co. to extend tracks into the Kodak Heights property, allowing easy delivery of supplies and coal. The tracks ended inside the Power House, reaching the building via a custom-built trestle.
2005.001.03.1.03.3. Proposed Sidings for the Canadian Kodak Co., Ltd., Canadian Pacific Railway, 1914
2005.001.2.254.012. Rail trestle to Power House, ca. 1918
Architectural Design Challenges The manufacture of film was a complicated multi-step process that required equally complex facilities. The sensitivity of film and paper to their environment required extreme cleanliness and climate control. Many steps of this process were performed in dark rooms lit by safe lights. In addition, the production and storage of cellulose nitrate film required safety precautions that impacted the plant’s design.
2005.001.07.03.05.08. This diagram, from the 1954 promotional brochure ‘Kodak in Canada’, illustrates some of the production activities accommodated at Kodak Heights. Note dark rooms 9 through 12.
2005.001.06.03.733. Employees operating Pako Corp. Filmachine, ca. 1950-1960. Due to strict environmental controls and low lighting, employees often wore clean white uniforms and carried “safe” flashlights, much like these two employees in the film processing department.
2005.001.08.03.01.01. Letter (excerpt), October 31, 1913. A Kodak plant engineer describes the result of an insurance inspection in which Associated Factory Mutual Fire Insurance deemed the plant too risky to insure unless hazardous film was produced and stored in a separate building from photographic paper.
2005.001.06.03.216. Nitrate film production table, early 20th-century. Plant design had to accommodate the production of hazardous flexible cellulose nitrate film base, which was cast on 200-ft long tables such as this one.
A New Home for Kodak By 1916, the original seven buildings of Kodak Heights were complete and the company began its move from the King Street premises—a move that would finish in 1917. Kodak Heights was a source of pride for Canadian Kodak. The facility was often opened for tours and played a significant role in the company’s marketing. The property would become Canadian Kodak’s headquarters until its closure in 2005.
Kodak Heights Expansion Kodak Heights grew steadily over its lifetime. In 1939, construction began on the Kodak employees’ building (Building 9). This 4-storey building was designed to accommodate the activities of the Recreation Club, the Department Managers’ Club, and the Kodak Heights Camera Club. It housed an auditorium, cafeteria, gymnasium, club room, locker room, and camera studio and had an adjacent lawn bowling green. The building opened in 1940. Expansion at Kodak Heights continued until the late 20th-century. By 1987, the property housed 18 buildings.
2005.001.3.271. Cafeteria, Building 9, Kodak Heights, 1948
2005.001.3.272. Ladies Lounge, Building 9, Kodak Heights, 1964
Kodak Heights Demolition and Remains On December 9, 2004, Kodak Canada announced the closure of its manufacturing operations. June 30, 2005 would be the last day of operations at Kodak Heights. In the subsequent months, most of the plant was demolished. Today, only the Employees’ Building remains.
Employees’ Building (Building 9), Kodak Heights, 2014. Photograph courtesy of author.
Kodak Heights, 2014. Photograph courtesy of author.
To learn more about the history of Kodak Canada, the history of Canadian architecture, and the history of photography, visit Ryerson Archives and Special Collections on the 4th floor of the library.
As 2014 winds to a close, we looked into the Archive’s collections to see how the holidays were celebrated in days of Ryerson past.
Snoball, 1963
Jorgenson Hall carol sing, December 2002
In 1973, The Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing amalgamated with Ryerson’s School of Nursing.
Here are a selection of Holiday cards mailed out by the School.
A series of Ryersonian Newspaper covers from years past.
The staff at the Ryerson Archives & Special Collections wish everyone the Happiest of Holiday Seasons and best wishes for the New Year. Hope to see you in 2015.
Not long after the announcement of L. J. M. Daguerre’s daguerreotype process in 1839, the photographic medium and its technologies began to develop rapidly. While the unique image of a daguerreotype was well-suited to decorative portraiture, the lack of a negative and long exposure times made the process less profitable for landscape or travel photography since photographers could not reproduce multiple prints to sell to the public. As photographic technologies advanced, the invention of tintypes helped to lower the price of photographs by producing images on affordable metal plates, the sturdy nature of which also allowed for them to be shipped or mailed abroad. The increased use of the “wet-plate” negative process in the mid-nineteenth century allowed photographers to make multiple, saleable prints from one negative and thus became one of the more profitable processes for a travelling photographer despite the process’s cumbersome nature.
It was not until the invention of the Kodak camera in 1888 that photography truly became a popular hobby. Persuaded by the company’s slogan, “You push the button and we’ll do the rest”, consumers embraced the newly accessible nature of photography which no longer demanded the knowledge and technical skills as had been previously required.
While it was not until the last quarter of the nineteenth century that photography fell into the hands of the general public, photographers had long since been documenting exotic places abroad, returning with images that allowed citizens in their home countries to become familiar with far-away, foreign places despite having never left their hometown. Early photographers** known for doing so include Francis Frith, Maxime du Camp, J. P. Sebah, and Samuel Bourne, to name just a few.
As travel methods advanced and became more readily accessible, people carried their own cameras and documented their travels, returning home to brag to friends and relatives about where they had been, presenting their photographs as proof of their exotic experiences. It is these types of photographs that we find in the Lorne Shields fonds. Containing photographs of scenic landscapes, major sites of attraction and other tourist snapshots, we can explore countries not only half way around the world but also as they existed over a hundred and fifty years ago.
Today, travel photography remains popular as ever as both cameras and global travel become increasingly accessible to the public. Tourists now scramble to get photographs of themselves at whatever landmarks are deemed “must-sees” in their respective destinations, with the infamous “selfie” becoming a dominant sub-category in travel photography. While the photographic medium has improved exponentially since its conception, we must be wary of our recent addiction to the accessibility and instantaneity that digital photography – particularly cell phone photography – continues to provide us with. In light of our haste to document and communicate our travels, we must pause to consider a concern that many have started to address: at what point are do we sacrifice our genuine appreciation of the travel experience in order to prove our being there, as we increasingly spend more time producing or interacting with these “proof of experience” photographs than with the actual landmark or destination itself.
Travel Photography in the Lorne Shields Fonds
Best known as an avid bicycle collector and historian, Lorne Shields’ interest in collecting began at an early age when he observed – and later helped to operate – his father’s business, selling bicycles and various parts and accessories. Though his initial interest was primarily focused on acquiring bicycle-related objects and memorabilia – such as photographs, books and magazines–, his passion for and dedication to collecting soon expanded. Photography became one of his many collecting interests and in 2007 he donated part of his photographic collection to Special Collections at Toronto Metropolitan University’s Library.
Comprised of boxes of photographs, textual materials and photographic albums, the Lorne Shields Fonds includes a variety of photographic material including studio portraiture, landscape photography, and many amateur snapshots, and almost half of the photographic albums are titled after countries or travels abroad.
These travel albums consist of photographs primarily from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and include photographs taken in Italy, France, Spain, Sweden, England, Morocco, Malta, Korea and many other countries. Photographs of well-known landmarks and tourist attractions include sites such as Place de la Concorde in Paris, France; Plaza de Isabel II, Spain; The Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy; the Temples of Venus, Mercury and Jupiter in Rome, Italy; various locations in the Grand Canyon, in Arizona, U.S.A; and many more. Below is a small selection of the vast number of images in the fonds that address photography’s use in documenting travel in the late nineteenth and early to mid- twentieth centuries.
Seoul, 14 Januari 1913. From the album Transiberia. Not all travel photographs were fantastic vistas or of popular tourist attractions; some were about the more typical daily scenes experienced. 2008.001.013
Kung Chu Ling {Mantsjoerije) 13 Januari 1913. From the album Transiberia. Documenting travel methods, like trains and steamboats, was not uncommon. 2008.001.013
Cadix, 24/25 Mei 1912 / Parque Genovès. From the album Tangiers. A view of Parque Genovès in Cádiz, Spain. 2008.001.020.
2 Juni 1912 / Stierengevecht. From the album Spain. There are several page with photographs of bullfighting. 2008.001.027
Photographs in Egypt, c. 1900-1920. From album Egypt. An image showing a page of photographs in the Egypt album. 2008.001.032
More photographs in Egypt, c. 1900-1920. From album Egypt. 2008.001.032
Malta / Chapel of Bones, Valletta. c. 1930-1941. From album Malta, Italy, China. 2008.001.2.002
Naples / King’s Birthday Review, c. 1930-1941. From album: Malta, Italy, China. Captions (left to right; then top to bottom): Artillery returning / Commander-in-Chief + Staff returning / Queen returning / King returning. 2008.001.2.002
Street of Fortune, c. 1930-1941. From album Malta, Italy, China.2008.001.2.002
Temple of Venus, c. 1930-1941. From album Malta, Italy, China. 2008.001.2.002
Temple of Heaven, Pekin / Bronze Urn in Llama’s Temple Compound, Pekin, c. 1930-1941. From album Malta, Italy, China. 2008.001.2.002
Italy / Bay of Baia, c. 1930-1941. From album Malta, Italy, China. Three photographs are presented together to form a panoramic vista of the bay. 2008.001.2.002
Bottom Castle Yorkshire, c. 1871-1892. From the album Europe. 2008.001.2.001
Paris 1872.From the album Europe. A page showing multiple photographs taken in Paris. The top left photograph is of Pailaisides Tuileries (handwritten notation “1871”); the top middle of the Bastille Column (handwritten caption “Colone de la Bastille”). The bottom photographs show the Hotel de Ville before the commune (bottom left) and after (bottom right). 2008.001.2.001
Palaise du Luxembourg, c. 1872. From album Europe. 2008.001.2.001
A page of photographs from the album Grand Canyon. 1947-1950. People took photographs of each other at their exotic destinations to show family and friends when they returned home. Handwritten notation “Morning Tour – Grand Canyon, Ariz.”. 2008.001.028
Cedar Mountain + Painted Desert /Lookout Point – Grand Canyon // The Water Tower / Grand Canyon, 1947-1950. From album Grand Canyon.2008.001.028.
Bay Brdige from Ferry, San Francisco, Cali. / San Francisco from Twin Peaks, March 28 1947. From album Grand Canyon. 2008.001.028
Conclusion
Almost since the beginning of photography’s existence, photographers have been documenting their travels in foreign countries abroad. Improvements in photographic technologies made travel photography increasingly profitable for photographers until the invention of the Kodak camera in 1888, which granted widespread accessibility to photography for the general public and led to an abundance of scenic landscape and tourist snapshots as individuals documented their travels across the globe.
The Lorne Shields Fonds presents numerous travel photographs in many of its photographic, documenting several countries and well-known sites in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These photographs represent a specific type of photography at a specific point in time. Today, this type of photography – travel photography – is increasingly affected by the instantaneity possible with digital and cell phone photography, allowing photographs be shared literally moments after they are created. It is this instantaneity that we must be wary of, as many begin to worry that the perceived importance of sharing these images immediately may detract from the experiences of travel itself.
![2008.001.184. [Portrait of two women in a doorway with tree branch], cabinet card [ca. 1910], 20.4 x 12.6 cm (with mount). Left: recto, right: verso.](https://library.torontomu.ca/asc/files/2015/01/combined1.jpg)
![Seoul, 14 Januari 1913. [In the album "Transiberia".] Not all travel photographs were fantastic vistas or of popular tourist attractions; some were about the more typical daily scenes experienced. 2008.001.013](https://library.torontomu.ca/asc/files/2014/11/347Seoul.jpg)
![Kung Chu Ling {Mantsjoerije) 13 Januari 1913. [From the album "Transiberia".] Documenting travel methods, like trains and steamboats, was not uncommon. 2008.001.013](https://library.torontomu.ca/asc/files/2014/11/353-Kung-Chu-Ling.jpg)
