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A Few of our Favourite Things

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Archives and Special Collections have so many weird and wonderful items in our collections. For the summer we decided to feature some of them in an exhibition in the display windows in front of our reading room.

Wood in Glass (RG 0.04.21)

Clear glass sphere with large piece of wood with smaller piece of wood glued to it inside

These two wood pieces were found during the excavation of the site for the pool located in Kerr Hall. This piece, along with another section of wood donated at the same time to the Archives, were purportedly carbon dated at 12,000 years old. It is unclear who displayed them in this glass bowl or created this display piece.

Doozers (2012.005.05.07)

Three small green plastic figures with hard hats on.

Doozers, small industrious workers found living in harmony with the Fraggles on Jim Henson’s “Fraggle Rock”. These small plastic wind up figurines are an examples of some of the promotional materials created to advertise the show that originally aired 1983-1988. These figures are part of the larger Robert Hackborn fonds in Special Collections. Robert Hackborn worked for the CBC for nearly 4 decades on set design and creation, and visual effects. He worked on Fraggle Rock with the late Jim Henson. You can learn more about Robert Hackborn and this amazing collection by reading our blog on the topic: “The Man Behind the Glass: Robert Hackborn“

Lamp of Learning (RG 0.04.23)

metal oil lamp on a cylindrical wood base. It is sitting on a red velvet pillow

Legend has it that the lamp was purchased by a faculty member in a small shop in Rome, Italy in the 1950’s. It was brought back to the school and graced the top of the Chariot Race trophy. Chariot races were held at TMU in the 1950s and 1960s – usually in conjunction with football games.

Two men in suits holding a trophy in between them
Howard H. Kerr, TMU’s first principal, and D. G. W. McRae, head of the Architecture program, with the Chariot Race trophy (RG 95.1.28.03.01)

In the late 1950’s the lamp was removed from the trophy, fastened to the wood cylinder it currently resides on and used to lead the stage party into Convocation. The Lamp of Learning was used at convocation until the 1980s.

Line of men in black robes and mortarboards leaving building along tree lined path. Man in front is carrying an oil lamp on a pillow
Lamp being carried after Convocation 1961 held at Deer Park Baptist. Lamp carrier was Professor J. Handley. Immediately behind him is Ontario Premier John Robarts, walking with School Principal Howard H. Kerr

“Library Book” by Lise Melhorn-Boe (N7433.4 M445 L52 2005)

Pop up book open showing various small books

An artists’ book about reading library books. Created by Melhorn-Boe, this limited edition hardcover pop-up book features a story authored by Wendy Cain, a renowned Canadian paper and printmaker, about how she came to read all of Andrew Lang’s colour fairy books. It features copies of H. J. Ford’s illustrations from Lang’s books.

Stack of books
Green, Blue, Red, Yellow, Grey, and Pink Fairy books by Andrew Lang are part of the book collection in Archives and Special Collections

There are 12 Fairy books in total – Some of which can be viewed in the Archives and Special Collections reading room. Find them and other artist’s books by searching the library’s catalogue https://library.torontomu.ca/

Wellesley Hospital floor plan wood block printing plates (RG 946.02.12.04)

Three wood blocks with metal floor plan designs attached to them

Three wood block printing plates, created by Architect Frederick C. Lee, featuring the original 1912 floor plans for the Wellesley Hospital. The blocks are part of the Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association collection that came to Archives and Special Collections in 2011. If you want to learn more about the collection, The Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing, and how it came to be associated with TMU please consider reading the following blogs:

Magic Lantern Slide “Frogs” (2017.010.06.034)

Rectangular glass slide with 4 images of frogs in swimsuits jumping and playing in the water

Magic Lantern Slides were initially rectangular strips of glass with hand painted imagery and a mahogany wood border. Illustrations on the glass portion went from being hand-painted to mechanically produced, and by the mid 1800s photographic slides came into production as well. This slide is part of a larger donation of magic lantern and stereograph technology from the late Dr. Martin J. Bass and Gail Silverman Bass in 2018.

2017.017.01.004

The slides were projected by Magic Lanterns. The first time a magic lantern was constructed is considered to be in 1659 and were used for entertainment. The lanterns were first illuminated using candles or oil lamps, but this did not produce enough light to project a clear image from afar. Limestone began being used in the early 1800s, allowing for projection of the slides in large settings. By the mid 1800s, a huge variety of magic lanterns became available to the professional and home market. During this time they were also used more widely in educational settings. For more information on Magic Lanterns and Lantern slides please take a look at our earlier blog in the topic https://library.torontomu.ca/asc/2017/10/new-exhibition-projecting-magic/

Foundation of the University Archives (RG 12.192.004.009)

2 page memo regarding collecting materials for an archives

This 2 page memo was sent by then school President Donald Mordell in November of 1970 encouraging all Deans, Chairmen and Department heads to stop discarding university records as “It is natural and laudable to throw out the ‘garbage’ from time to time but sometimes what is thought of as garbage may contain very useful information for the historian”. This memo was sent out before there was even an established archives or an archivist hired. The Archives was established in 1971 as a result of a recommendation in the the Smyth Commission Report (RG 220.54). The first Archivist Jim Peters was a member of the English Faculty. If you want to learn more about the foundation of the Archives you can view the following blogs:

Yashica-44 camera (2005.006.12.08)

The Yashica-44 series camera was first produced in 1958 by the Yashica Company (founded in 1949 in Nagano, Japan). The 44 model is a crank wind twin reflex camera with a waist level viewfinder and was advertised to be 25% smaller than their full reflex camera and weighed only 26oz. Three variations were created (44, 44A and 44LM) and production of the cameras continued until 1965. The camera used 127mm film and created black and white or colour 4 cm x 4 cm images – usually slides.

Baby Rollei Camera, c1957 (2005.006.12.06)

The Yashica-44 was based on the Baby Rollei Camera produced by Franke & Heidecke, a German Company founded by Paul Franke and Reinhold Heidecke in 1920. Both of these cameras are part of the Heritage Camera Collection and were donated to Special Collections by Wilhelm E. Nassau in 2011. You can learn more about twin lens reflex cameras by following this link https://archives.library.torontomu.ca/index.php/twin-lens-reflex-cameras

To see more of what Archives and Special Collections has to offer or to do research please contact us at asc@torontomu.ca.

Fraggle Rock in Special Collections

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Three fraggles hanging out.
2012.005.02.055                                    
Images from the set of Fraggle Rock, 1983-1987
by Robert Hackborn

This week the nostalgia machine has churned out never before seen images of everyone’s favourite puppet cartoon show, Fraggle Rock! Yes, you heard that right, Muppets.

Green Fraggle puppet perched on a rock.
2012.005.02.055
Image from the Fraggle Rock set, 1983-1987
by Robert Hackborn

Our collection includes nearly 600, full colour vintage negatives of everything from the backdrop, to the set, props, and of course the stars of the show; otherwise known as the supreme rulers of the universe, the Gorgs! Oh, and some Fraggles and Doozers as well. You can also see the amazing production team behind our beloved creatures, but rest assured the magic is still there once the illusion is shattered.

The three members of the grog family engaged in dialogue in the forest
2012.005.02.055                              
Image from the set of Fraggle Rock, 1983- 1987
by Robert Hackborn

 These images provide a once in a unique intimate opportunity to see the innerworkings of how the internationally acclaimed TV show was produced.  The collection was graciously donated by the Canadian production designer Robert Arthur Hackborn who workers for the CBC. His work as a set designer and a film director have greatly influenced the trajectory of the creative vision of multiple productions, not just Fraggle Rock. Make sure to check out the rest of his donated works of audio visual, photography, published materials, textual records, objects, and graphic materials!

 

Archives A to Z 2022 Week 1

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We’re joining the Archives of Ontario in their #ArchivesAtoZ month-long campaign. The aim is to increase the public’s awareness of archives and their collections. We’ll be sharing four blog posts throughout the month showcasing items from our holdings and demystifying archival concepts related to each letter of the alphabet.

  • April 4: A to F
  • April 11: G to M
  • April 18: N to S
  • April 25: T to Z

Artifacts (oversized!)

Archives and Special Collections often go beyond papers, books, and photographs in their collections. Many will have objects and artifacts as well. Our Archives and Special Collections is home to a robust collection of artifacts in all shapes and sizes, including many oversized and heavy ones that make storage tricky. Here are a few examples from the collections. (tap on the photographs to learn more about the objects)

EMI 203 Image Orthicon black and white TV Studio Camera. One of three used in the RTA studios in the 1960’s. (RG 102.39)
Silver lined kettle used by Kodak employees to make photographic emulsion for black and white photographs. (2005.001.05.05.017)
“KATiE” soap box car built by Engineering students and raced between 1990-1999. (RG98.34)

Books

Our collection contains a large variety of published materials including books and journals. The Archives previously collected the published works of faculty. Special Collections houses rare books with a photographic focus, children’s books and History of Toronto books. They also have a large collection of photography related journals. Unlike the rest of the library – these books are not out on open shelving for viewing – they need to be pulled by Archives and Special Collections staff, and they are not available to take home. The books can be searched using the library catalogue and narrowing the location to either Archives or Special Collections

books on shelves
Books and catalogues on the shelves in Archives and Special Collections.

Campus Maps

Campus maps are an important part of our collection. They show the evolution and growth of the campus starting with its creation in 1948. They highlight not just the growth of the campus, but also show movement within the campus by the programs and schools that make up the University. For example the School of Architecture is currently located at 325 Church Street. But in the 1960s it was located at 44 Gerrard Street (former School of Performance building), in the early 1970’s it was housed at in the City Hall annex building at 465 Bay Street and after a fire in that building Architecture was housed at 720 King St. (near Bathurst).

1948 Campus map. None of the buildings on this map are still in existence. They were all torn down to make way for Kerr Hall.
Variety of Campus maps

Doozers

The Doozers, a favourite of the Archives and Special Collections staff, were part of the Jim Henson Television show “Fraggle Rock”. These tiny creatures were forever building structures only to have them eaten by the Fraggles. The photograph and the book are part of the Robert Hackborn Fonds. This collection contains extensive documentation of the creative processes for television show including on-set images, sketches of set designs and correspondence. Robert Hackborn was a Canadian set designer and art director. He started working at the CBC in 1955 as a scenic paint artist and later progressed to the Set Design Department where he would produce versatile special visual effects incorporated in years of Canadian film and television programming. (Tap on the photographs to learn more about the records)

Doozer set photograph ca. 1985 (2012.005.02.171)
Doozer set photograph ca. 1985 (2012.005.02.172)
“The Doozers of Fraggle Rock” published by CBC enterprises in 1984. (2012.005.03.15)

Exhibition publications

Special Collections has a selection of pamphlets, press releases and publications for exhibitions in museums, galleries, festivals and universities across Canada, the United States and abroad. The collections is continuously growing, but the original acquisition was donated by Alison Nordström, the Curator of Photographs at George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film, who collected the material between 1986 and 2011.

Exhibition announcement from the file 2012.014.01 -Exhibition prior to 2000
Verso of exhibition announcement from the file 2012.014.01 -Exhibition prior to 2000

Frank Sommers interviews

The Frank G. Sommers Fonds contains text and audio records of interviews he conducted with European and Canadian film directors Marianne Ahrne, Walerian Browczyk, Bert Haanstra, Claude Jutra, Ettore Scola, and Alain Tanner between 1978 and 1979. The goals of the interviews were to review converging trends in international cinema through director’s perspectives and gain a deeper understanding of the works.

Promotional material accompanying the Ettore Scola interview (2018.019.05)

Next week we’ll highlight items and archival concepts for the letters G to M!

“These are a few of our favourite things…” – Fraggle Rock

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The staff in Archives and Special Collections brings you some of our favourite things. Objects and photographs from the collections that hold a special place in our hearts. Each post will highlight a different item, along with an explanation of why it stands out.

With such an amazing collection of materials – sometimes it is hard to pick just one…

This post is Archivist Curtis Sassur’s choice:

Photograph taken on set during the filming of the television series “Fraggle Rock” (2012.005.02.86)

I love this photo because I was a big fan of the show Fraggle Rock as a kid, but also because this image, like many others within the Hackborn Fonds, highlights Robert Hackborn’s casually keen photographic eye. At first glance, it seems like the shot could be a still from the show, but then the subtle production elements at the bottom of the image tease a little notion of the creative process entailed in producing a principally puppet-powered program such as this.

  • To see what other photographs are in this series – click here
  • To see what else is in the Robert Hackborn fonds – click here