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Miscellany Toronto Photographs: Then and Now

M II A II R II K said:
These photographs are the earliest known images taken in Toronto in 1856.

Trinity College: http://www.toronto.ca/archives/images/zoom_f1498_it0011.htm

King St. East Looking East: http://www.toronto.ca/archives/images/zoom_f1498_it0001.htm

Front St. East Parliament Buildings: http://www.toronto.ca/archives/images/zoom_f1498_it0010.htm

Second United Presbyterian Church: http://www.toronto.ca/archives/images/zoom_f1498_it0007.html
Click to expand...

Certainly, those are historic photographs, but these panorama images were also produced in 1856.

TorontoPanorama1856Armstrong_Beere__Hime_zps2ba6f5a7.jpg


I expect it's a mystery as to which was actually the very FIRST photo to be made in Toronto.
 
Goldie said:
Certainly, those are historic photographs, but these panorama images were also produced in 1856.

TorontoPanorama1856Armstrong_Beere__Hime_zps2ba6f5a7.jpg


I expect it's a mystery as to which was actually the very FIRST photo to be made in Toronto.
Click to expand...


Goldie, your question will probably never be answered, but a discovery of more photographic plates from that era of Toronto would be something rather more than exciting.

M II A II R II K's bringing up the topic of Toronto's earliest 'sitting' for the photographer is a something very worthwhile to consider for a moment.

Toronto's 'Victorian' Age is well documented in literature, news, maps and Armstrong, Beere and Hime's panorama, but photographers seemed to be otherwise pretty scarce on the ground at that time. Consider that the panorama was rediscovered only in 1984.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armstrong,_Beere_and_Hime_panorama
 
"the topic of Toronto's earliest 'sitting' for the photographer is a something very worthwhile to consider for a moment."
QUOTE: Mustapha.

I especially enjoy the human touch brought by the sight of the site of the site's "Site of The Long Underware" which is hanging

to dry within the lower centre of the seventh pic.

(LOL)


Regards,
j t
 
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Then and Now for February 21, 2013.





Then. National Trust branch. c1965-ish?, just my guess. NW corner St. Germain and Yonge. National Trust branches were a common sight up until about 15-ish years ago when they were rolled into Scotiabank.

978.jpg





Now. August 2012.

979.jpg
 
Mustapha said:
...but photographers seemed to be otherwise pretty scarce on the ground at that time.
Click to expand...

Actually, I’ve been surprised by how many “photographers†I’ve stumbled across whilst perusing the old directories. I’ve just performed a cursory search of the 1856 directory, and it turned up only one photographer, a C.J Fox, “Photographic Artist,†on King East, south side, fifth door east of Church. However, the 1861 directory has 14 listings (Armstrong, Beere and Hime counting as one listing), and it states “All are Daguerrean and Ambrotypists.†All but two were on King East, so I guess that was the photography district back then. :)

Update: A further search of the 1856 directory for “dauger†turns up four more names, including Eli J. Palmer, a noted Toronto photographer, and three gentlemen with the first name “Frderick.â€
 
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Has anyone produced an (online) annotated version of the panorama? I've blown up the relevant part of the 1857 Fleming & Ridout map (courtesy skritch). But I still can't seem to line everything up. For example, which street stretches out immediately to the east of the camera, and what are the towers visible on the horizon in that direction?

8496035876_ac9cbabbeb_h.jpg
 
Mustapha said:
That's a great picture k10ery, thank you!





And the black car with the 'over under' lights; I think that's a Pontiac.

Front left is a Karmann Ghia.

I'm not good at rattling off the year just by looking at a car; but those cars sure do make that picture.
Click to expand...

The nose doesn't seem long enough for it to be a Karmann Ghia, plus the KG didn't have front quarter windows, I believe.

It may be a VW Type 3 (squareback/notchback/fastback).
 
k10ery said:
Has anyone produced an (online) annotated version of the panorama? I've blown up the relevant part of the 1857 Fleming & Ridout map (courtesy skritch). But I still can't seem to line everything up. For example, which street stretches out immediately to the east of the camera, and what are the towers visible on the horizon in that direction?
Click to expand...

Since these photos were supposedly taken from the roof of the Rossin House, I expect that street in the easterly-looking view would be King St.
I wonder if the towers to which you refer might be St. James Cathedral (before the steeple was built) and St. Lawrence Hall (with its clock tower).
 
Mustapha said:
No Then and Now today.. taking a long weekend.
Click to expand...

The inmates are taking over!

The image below wasn’t taken in Toronto as far as I know, but it’s one of the most interesting I’ve come across during my endless scouring of trade publications scanned at Internet Archive. From the April 1919 issue of “Dry Goods Review.â€

BookReaderImages.php



A higher resolution version is available at the link below. I’ve cropped the photo out of the ad and now it’s my desktop wallpaper. It intrigues the youngsters.

http://ia701208.us.archive.org/Book...p2/dgrstyle1919toro_0607.jp2&scale=1&rotate=0
 
the lemur said:
The nose doesn't seem long enough for it to be a Karmann Ghia, plus the KG didn't have front quarter windows, I believe.

It may be a VW Type 3 (squareback/notchback/fastback).
Click to expand...

Never mind, I see now that there's a Karmann Ghia in the Melinda/Jordan pic. I thought the reference was to the photo of Modern Laundry on Dupont (VW Type 3 obscured by tree).
 
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