We have sponsored Photographica-Fairs every year since 1974. Our Spring Photographica Fair is the oldest show of its kind in Canada. The one-day fairs are held every spring and fall in the Toronto area. Members and the general public come to buy, sell and swap old photographic equipment, images, and books. Recent shows have offered over 100 tables of photographic delights to 500 or more paying visitors and students. Everything from rare wet-plate cameras to usable accessory lenses and dark room equipment turns up at the shows.
If you need the date or directions to the next fair, please go to the navigation bar above and choose the current fair (eg Spring 2013) from the menu below the FAIR tab.
There is a growing emphasis on images as the transition from silver to digital has awakened in people the beauty and value of the old silver-based prints. The Spring 2008 show represented our first effort to promote the collecting of photographic images. Image dealers were invited to participate and be grouped together. The fall shows bring out the student photographers searching for usable gear. Both shows attract collectors and photo-historians.
We have a NO EARLY BIRD policy in order to permit vendors to set up on time and give all paying customers the same opportunity to find bargains. Most of the pictures on this page are from recent fairs and were taken by Bob Lansdale and Bob Carter.
pictures from recent fairs
Wow! How do I get a table? To become an exhibitor at the most successful photographica show in Canada, down load our Vendor Information file, and Table Reservation form. The file and form are Acrobat PDF files. The free Adobe Reader can be downloaded from here.
Mail the reservation form with your payment to the address on the form. The table charge is $65.00 to the public and $50.00 to society members. Reserve early… we are often sold out by show time! Each exhibitor must abide by the exhibitor rules. Every exhibitor must display goods for sale during the time the show is open to the public. Contact our fair chairman at fair@phsc.ca for further information.
How do I get to the Fair? Our Fairs are held at the Soccer Centre, 7601 Martin Grove Road, Northwest of Downtown Toronto (Woodbridge), 1/4 km south of highway 7, on the east side. Click here for a pdf version or here for a jpg version of the map.
What about Educational Displays? At our discretion, we allow a limited number of organizations or individuals to display collections, images etc. for free. To be eligible, the display must be consistent with photographic history or activity. For more information, e-mail our fair chairman at fair@phsc.ca.
PHSC PHOTOGRAPHICA-FAIR VIDEO
Never been to one of our fairs? Then have a look at this video and the excitement and bargains offered since 1974! PHSC Member George Dunbar prepared this seven and a half minute show bringing video to the PHSC web site. Footage was shot at our spring 2008 fair and interspersed with stills from this and other recent fairs. The music on the sound track is courtesy of his grandson, Tom Dunbar and friend Tyler Ball. Our thanks to George for bringing our website into the video age! (Note that the late Doug Dann, Tiit Kodar, and Ed Warner have also created long videos of our Toronto meetings for our archives.)
