June often marks the start of summer weather in Ontario, whether it's 2019 or 1919. Below is a sample of old — and not so old — summertime photos from Digital Archive Ontario (including digitized images from the library's Toronto Star Photograph Archive). They span several Ontario communities, all evoking warm weather. One page of […]
Situated on the St. Lawrence seaway, Cornwall is Ontario’s easternmost city. It's also a port-of-passage joined to the United States by the Three Nations Crossing on Cornwall Island, which is inside the Ontario portion of the Mohawk Akwesasne reserve. Cornwall was settled on the land of the St. Lawrence Iroquoians, Mohawk, Huron-Wendat and Haudenosaunee (Native […]
Below is a list of websites to help you find vintage images of Ontario. These images include photos as well as sketches, paintings, maps, postcards, posters and other bits of history. Each website gives you instant access to items digitized by a library, archive or other heritage organization. No library cards or accounts needed. (Only […]
Archives of Ontario's wonderful exhibit ANIMALIA: Animals in the Archives inspired us. So we pawed through our Digital Archive Ontario to dig up items with a particular pet in mind — dogs. (Sorry, cat lovers!) A lot of items highlighted below are either from our large number of digitized early children's books or Toronto Star photos. May your […]
Jonathan Locke Hart, a Canadian poet and literary scholar, is launching his new book, Unforgetting Private Charles Smith, at Ben McNally Books tonight. The book is based on a small diary that Hart came across in the Toronto Public Library’s Special Collections Department. Last week, Mr. Hart gave a sneak preview of his book at a […]
North of Village of Malvern (now Scarborough), circa 1880. Toronto Star Photograph Archive. It's 1886. You need flour to bake a loaf of bread to go with the beef stew you're serving for dinner. Where do you go? More than likely, the general store. General stores were the place to go if you lived in a […]
On April 18 and beyond, those interested in Toronto history are invited to take a moment to remember journalist and philanthropist John Ross Robertson (Born: December 28, 1841 in Toronto; Died: May 31, 1918 in Toronto) who founded the Toronto Telegram newspaper on April 18, 1876. The Telegram ceased publication on October 30, 1971 but […]
“It is an appalling reality that, during the first five years of World War II, 36,000 Canadians died of TB, while 38,000 Canadians were killed by enemy action.” — Saturday Night newspaper, quoted in Katherine McCuaig's The Weariness, the Fever and the Fret Tuberculosis (TB) used to impact a huge number of Ontarians. It's hard to even imagine […]
Toronto city directories are invaluable for researching local history, genealogy and other topics. Now, for the first time, there is an online guide – Places in Digital Toronto City Directories, 1837-1969 – to help researchers quickly find directory information about more than 100 former hamlets, villages, small towns, townships and boroughs that now are part of […]
Saplings, 1994. Toronto Star Photograph Archive. (Subtitle is from the poem, "The Miller's Daughter" by Lord Tennyson.) Is it still chilly outside? Can we safely assume that temperatures will continue to rise? Is it reasonable to store away our scarves, hats and winter coats? These questions go through the minds of many Canadians who are […]