We are open by appointment Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. To schedule an appointment, please email your request to asc@torontomu.ca or fill out our appointment form .
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.
This visit was featured in 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
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.
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)
Hairdressing (9 months)
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
King Street (1901 – 1917)
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.
Kodak Heights (1913 – 2005)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Did you know that the collections in the Ryerson Archives & Special Collections sometimes are shown outside the University? Ryerson Associate Professor Marco Polo and Chair of Architectural Science Colin Ripley have curated a wonderful exhibition titled “Architecture and National Identity: The Centennial Projects 50 Years On” on view at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in Charlottetown, PEI.
On view until January 11, 2015, the exhibition examines a range of public architectural projects created throughout Canada to commemorate the Centennial of Confederation in 1967. Several photographs from the Canadian Architect Magazine Image Collection, held in Special Collections, are featured in the exhibition and the accompanying catalogue, available at the Toronto Metropolitan University Library.
Did you know that Ryerson used to have a Rural centre and a ski lodge?
The Ryerson Rural Centre or Farm was located in Millbrook, about 19 km south of Peterborough. The 200 acre site was purchased in 1972 and was available for the Ryerson community to use. Activities included orientation, departmental seminars, and retreats. The farm house was equipped for over night rentals and cost an economical $2 per night. It was sold in 1980.
The Ryerson Blue Mountain Lodge was located just outside of Collingwood. The 7.5 acre resort, which was purchased in 1975, consisted of a central lodge, 4 chalets and boasted an outdoor heated pool. It was also available for booking by all members of the Ryerson Community and was accessible year round. It was sold in 1983.
To learn more about the farm and the lodge or to find out things about Ryerson you might not have known stop by Ryerson Archives & Special Collections located on the 4th floor of the Library in LIB404
Even today, just over two years since Kodak filed for bankruptcy, George Eastman’s name is unforgotten for the acute business prowess he demonstrated during the formation of his legacy, the Eastman Kodak Company. Often compared to Apple’s Steve Jobs, Eastman was known for his ingenious business strategies that began the mass commercialization of photography and put a camera in every home.
Looking at Eastman’s childhood, it is no surprise that he became such an incisive business man. Although his father, George Washington Eastman, passed away when he was only six year’s old, he still managed to found one of the oldest commercial colleges in the world, the Eastman Commercial College, that later became part of the Rochester Business Institute. Entrepreneurialism was in Eastman’s genes. His family did not fare well after the death of George Washington, and as Eastman grew up he watched his mother struggle to keep the lifestyle her family had been accustomed to. It could be said that this may have helped to motivate Eastman to follow in his father’s footsteps.
Having shown an early interest in photographs and stereoviews, Eastman’s real journey with photography first began in 1877, when he purchased his first camera to take pictures on a trip he didn’t end up making. At the time, photography was an expensive and labour-intensive hobby that required patience and a lot of equipment. Eastman began experimenting with this camera and before long he had patented his first photographic contributions: a gelatin dry plate emulsion and a mechanism for coating glass plates. With these he began the Eastman Dry Plate Company. By 1881 Eastman had turned his company into a successful and sustainable business, but it was a different invention that truly set the stage for what Eastman’s business would become: film.
Despite having already established such a prosperous business, Eastman still had bigger plans. At a time when the industrial revolution was still a recent memory, his 1932 biography by Ackerman states the four policy guidelines Eastman followed to encourage the growth of his company:
Production in large quantities by machinery
Low prices to increase the usefulness of products
Foreign as well as domestic distribution
Extensive advertising as well as selling by demonstration
Eastman wanted to find a way to replace the glass from a collodion negative, create a workable holder for that replacement, and build machinery that would be able to efficiently manufacture each invention. He looked to previous unsuccessful attempts at roll-film, such as one by Wernerke from the 1870s, and sought to improve on them and increase their usability. By June 1885, in collaboration with camera builder William Walker, George Eastman had patented and put on the market a form of roll film, a roll holder, as well as a form of sheet paper plates, a more recognizable substitute for glass. With this shift in focus towards his business, the Eastman Dry Plate Company was purchased by the Eastman Dry Plate & Film Company.
In 1889, George Eastman introduced Flexible Film in rolls, a lightweight, non-breakable substitute for glass. The transparent nitro-cellulose roll film base was cast on these 200-foot long tables.
Because of the contemporary fascination with the photography, as well as the labour intensive traits of the hobby, many people involved in the technology were eager to improve on it. During the late 1800s and into the early 1900s many ideas were popping up and photographers wanted to ensure they would receive the credit for them, by applying for patents. Eastman himself was aware of the need to protect his inventions and made sure to attain patents (through application or buying them from other inventors) for every step of his new film system, a strategy continued throughout the life of the company. He, along with his business partners at the time, bought out all their foreign patents as well, and began to initiate step 3, opening an outlet in London, U.K. in 1884. By 1886 Eastman had placed a man named Joseph Thatcher Clarke in charge of in charge of linking the United States with Europe, to help protect the company’s American inventions.
Many doubted Eastman’s commitment to his early flexible films, and it did not initially catch on with experienced photographers. Consumers, still primarily established photographers, were not able to produce as good of results as they could with their glass plates. However, Eastman had confidence that the inexpensive and effective qualities of this product would eventually lead to mass manufacturing. In reaction to poor public response, Eastman added new products to his business: American film and a developing out paper called “Permanent Bromide”, which yielded better results than his earlier paper-based films. He dreamt of popularizing photography to the extent that everyone would participate in the practice, and added a photofinishing service that could provide enlargements and prints to those who used his films. Eastman now sold films, paper, prints and enlargements, yet there was still one component missing from the Eastman Dry Plate & Film Company that was hindering his products from reaching every household, and that was a camera.
The first Kodak camera, introduced in 1888, sold for $25, loaded with enough Eastman film for 100 exposures. It produced a 2 1/2 inch diameter negative.
It was in 1888 that George Eastman coined the word Kodak, a unique, short, memorable name that could not be mispronounced, and unveiled his first box camera along with a new system of photographic image making that anyone could use. Along with the slogan “You press the button, we do the rest”, Eastman had found a new market to sell his products to that experienced photographers had refused to buy. Anyone could purchase a camera pre-loaded with a pre-loaded 100 exposure roll of film, take their 100 shots, mail the camera back to the Eastman Dry Plate & Film Company in Rochester, and wait to have their prints and the camera loaded with a new roll of film mailed back to them. Within the next decade Eastman was able to improve his technology to make photography even more affordable, and his dream a reality.
Ryerson Library Special Collections, located on the fourth floor of the Ryerson Library, holds numerous examples of the formation of the Eastman Kodak Company, particularly in Canada, including cameras, films, photographs and more! 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.
References:
Ackerman, Carl W. George Eastman.
Brayer, Elizabeth. George Eastman.
Collins, Douglas. The Story of Kodak.
Jenkin, Reese. Images and Enterprise: Technology and the American Photographic Industry, 1839-1925. Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1897.
Ryerson’s campus is a work in progress. Since the school’s inception in 1948, it has been slowly increasing its footprint in the downtown core through acquisition, demolition, renovation, and original construction. From the original Department of Education Buildings the campus has pushed East to Jarvis Street, South to Dundas Street, West to Yonge Street with the new Student Learning Centre, and further West with the Ted Rogers School of Management at Bay and Dundas Streets.
The following photographs are highlights from the new Archives and Special Collections exhibit documenting Ryerson’s 66 year evolution.
Ryersonian front page news story about the start of demolition and construction for Howard Kerr Hall. The Ryersonian November 29, 1956
Demolition of buildings along Victoria Street, making way for Unit 1 (Jorgenson Hall) and the Podium building. The Library site has not yet been cleared. (RG 122.10.092)
Contruction of Jorgenson Hall and the Podium Building. (RG 122.10.098)
The Library building under construction. You can see the Sam the Record Man building in the bottom left hand corner of the photo. (RG 122.10.093)
Construction of the Ryerson Athletic Centre (RAC). This was Ryerson’s first green roof building. (RG 76.14.235)
Construction of the rotunda at the front entrance of the RAC. Patrons will eventually enter into the building through the facade of the old Ryerson Hall Building. (RG 76.14.235)
The Rogers Communications Centre and bridge over Church Street. The bridge connects the RCC with Howard Kerr Hall. (RG 76.14.264)
Completed bridge between Howard Kerr Hall and the Rogers Communications Centre. (RG 76.14.1053)
Construction workers pouring concrete for main floor of new Student Learning Centre.
The changing corner of Yonge and Gould Streets.
The exhibit runs from April 11 to June 30th and is located on the 4th floor of the Library in the Special Collections windows.