“When the remedy you have offered only increases the disease, then leave him who will not be cured, and tell your story to someone who seeks the truth.” – translation of Rumi, 13th-century poet This quote made me think of medical cure-alls — dubious remedies that claim to fix almost any ailment. You can find […]
From the Aga Khan Museum to the Humber River Trail to the Black Creek Pioneer Village, North York has many attractions for residents and visitors to enjoy. Did you know that 2022 marks the centennial of North York becoming an independent township, and that it didn’t actually become a city until 1979? If you are […]
We preserve some of TPL's own history in the Toronto Public Library Archives, part of our Special Collections. In addition to vintage photos of branches and annual reports, available on our Digital Archive, this collection has mysterious objects like a flat wooden shovel. Believe it or not, this shovel was used to retrieve hot fruit […]
In the late 1960s, there was a sense of buoyancy in much of Canada due to the country's economic growth. This blog post looks back at scenes in Ontario among affluent and high-profile partygoers at the time. Below are photos are from Toronto Public Library (TPL)'s Digital Archive Ontario, a free site with over 100,000 […]
Murdoch Mysteries is a tremendously popular Canadian television show. William Murdoch is a fictional police detective working in Toronto in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He solves many of his cases using methods that were unusual at the time such as fingerprinting and surveillance. At Toronto Public Library (TPL), our Special Collections & […]
Maps are important historical documents. Not only do maps represent geographies, they reflect the worldviews of when they were made and who made them. Many early maps of North America are available on Digital Archive Ontario, a free site of digitized items held by Toronto Public Library. This blog post features four of these maps […]
Note: This article includes historical materials from the collections of Toronto Public Library. Who tells the story, and how the story is told creates tensions when trying to present content written by settlers about Indigenous people. These materials can reflect offensive historic attitudes, and in some cases, were created by individuals directly involved in acts […]
On December 16, 1921, Toronto’s Globe newspaper carried a small article entitled “New Library Opened at Main and Gerrard”: “East Toronto’s new Public Library, at Main and Gerrard streets, was opened last night for the adult population, but the children will have their initial function on Saturday. The building is of brick and raftered stucco, […]
As an early Hollywood actress, Mary Pickford (1892–1979) was one of the most famous people in the world. Pickford's introduction to acting can be traced back to the red brick house that she was born in on University Avenue in Toronto. This post features digitized postcards and photos related to Pickford from TPL's Baldwin Collection […]
Fall is one of the best times of year to get out for a hike, a pastime long enjoyed by Ontarians across the province. Digital Archive Ontario offers a window into that history. It has over 100,000 digitized photos, maps, postcards and other items related to Ontario's past. Below is a bit of background on […]