thecharioteer
Senior Member
One of the best photographers of "old" Toronto was James Victor Salmon, whose over 15,000 photographs are in both the Toronto Public Library and Toronto Archives. Many of his pictures are iconic images of the changing city (both downtown and the suburbs) and are an invaluable resource (and many are quite beautiful just as photographs). It would also appear that, like many of us at UT, he was an "amateur" passionate about this city. This thread will celebrate his work.
Biographically, Mr. Salmon is described on the Toronto Archives site thus:
Very little is known about James Salmon. He was born in Toronto in 1911 and grew up in West Toronto Junction. He later moved to Willowdale, Ontario which is evidenced by the fact that Willowdale is stamped on the back of many of the prints. Salmon wrote a history of the Toronto Street Railway and was interested in the history of Etobicoke, York Township, and West Toronto Junction. He died in November 1958 at the age of 47.
Salmon was a keen collector of photography from the Toronto area. His entire collection consists of 15,000 prints and negatives most of which are housed in the Canadian History section of the Metro Toronto Reference Library. In 1974, Toronto City Archivist Robert Woadden negotiated the transfer of approximately 2,200 of those prints and negatives from the Library to the City Archives. These images, mostly created by City Works Department photographer Arthur Goss, were acquired to complement the Archives holdings of Goss images in RG 8.
James Victor Salmon was a designer for the Toronto Hydro Electric System for thirty years and was fascinated by the history of public transportation. He was knowledgeable in the history of Etobicoke and York Township, particularly West Toronto Junction where he was born. He collected 14,000 photographs (Goss – see SC 229) on subjects that interested him, especially Toronto landmarks, vehicles and ships. He wrote Rails from the Junction, the Story of the Toronto Suburban Railway, but upon his death at age 47 in 1958 it was yet unpublished. His widow Jean Salmon completed the task of publishing the history in 1970.
Looking south from the Hydro Building on Carlton Street 1955:
SE:
Shea's Victoria, Richmond and Victoria, 1955:
Court Street, 1952:
Yonge, south of Grosvenor, 1955:
Victoria Street side of the Arcade Building, 1952:
Yonge and Front 1953:
Manning Arcade, 1955:
Front Street, 1954:
Bathurst, north from the 401 overpass, 1955:
Biographically, Mr. Salmon is described on the Toronto Archives site thus:
Very little is known about James Salmon. He was born in Toronto in 1911 and grew up in West Toronto Junction. He later moved to Willowdale, Ontario which is evidenced by the fact that Willowdale is stamped on the back of many of the prints. Salmon wrote a history of the Toronto Street Railway and was interested in the history of Etobicoke, York Township, and West Toronto Junction. He died in November 1958 at the age of 47.
Salmon was a keen collector of photography from the Toronto area. His entire collection consists of 15,000 prints and negatives most of which are housed in the Canadian History section of the Metro Toronto Reference Library. In 1974, Toronto City Archivist Robert Woadden negotiated the transfer of approximately 2,200 of those prints and negatives from the Library to the City Archives. These images, mostly created by City Works Department photographer Arthur Goss, were acquired to complement the Archives holdings of Goss images in RG 8.
James Victor Salmon was a designer for the Toronto Hydro Electric System for thirty years and was fascinated by the history of public transportation. He was knowledgeable in the history of Etobicoke and York Township, particularly West Toronto Junction where he was born. He collected 14,000 photographs (Goss – see SC 229) on subjects that interested him, especially Toronto landmarks, vehicles and ships. He wrote Rails from the Junction, the Story of the Toronto Suburban Railway, but upon his death at age 47 in 1958 it was yet unpublished. His widow Jean Salmon completed the task of publishing the history in 1970.
Looking south from the Hydro Building on Carlton Street 1955:
SE:
Shea's Victoria, Richmond and Victoria, 1955:
Court Street, 1952:
Yonge, south of Grosvenor, 1955:
Victoria Street side of the Arcade Building, 1952:
Yonge and Front 1953:
Manning Arcade, 1955:
Front Street, 1954:
Bathurst, north from the 401 overpass, 1955:
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