Author Archives: Robert

auction-time … and the bargains are many

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Robert

Toronto.  Next month will be fall … and Auction time again! Be sure you mark the date: SUNDAY, September 17th. It’s another INDOOR AUCTION down in the Long Branch area of Toronto at the usual venue and our slightly later … Continue reading →

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it ain’t no Leica

Posted on August 1, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Like many 1940s, and ’50s 35mm cameras in contemporary ads, Clarus touted quality comparing the camera indirectly to a Leica, but far less costly. Like the famous little camera manufactured in Germany by Leitz, Clarus was small, compact, chose … Continue reading →

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the stone kids

Posted on July 31, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Giass was king of the photographic base materials for decades covering wet plate, dry plate, and into the film era. Glass was an ideal medium for photography. It was transparent, flat,  grain free – if carefully made – and … Continue reading →

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focus eruptus

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Photography was used to record volcanic activity over a century ago, an activity that continues to this day. A more recent example being a colour video of  an eruption in Hawaii (shown on TV). The record of an eruption … Continue reading →

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Camera Technician Horst Wenzel 1939-2023

Posted on July 29, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. My friend Tonchi Martinic in BC writes, “… we have very sad news to share with all of you. Our best friend and well known camera technician Horst Wenzel has passed away. We share our sadness with all of … Continue reading →

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when the stars come out

Posted on July 28, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. My good friend and fellow PHSC member sent along a note with an image of  stars Mary Pickford and husband Douglas Fairbanks at Montreal’s French radio station CKAC in 1922, the year it first went on the air. “Pickford’ … Continue reading →

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going to the Van’ this fall?

Posted on July 27, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. I received a note the other day from Tonchi Martinic out in BC. The folks in the Vancouver area will be holding their next camera show this coming October 1st. If you are out that way, drop in at … Continue reading →

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a hint of fall

Posted on July 26, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. No, not the overnight chill or the balmy days, but the September 17th auction. Our president and auctioneer, Clint Hryhorijiw, has delivered the first batch of lot photos to me. And the auction will be memorable! Rare subminiature cameras … Continue reading →

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hop a bus, Gus

Posted on July 25, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. The photograph here shows a 1922 trolly bus on Merton Street in Toronto. The photograph is part of the vast collection at the City of Toronto Archives. As we have said many times before, archives are a rich source … Continue reading →

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no rolling stone in this park

Posted on July 24, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. My friend and fellow executive member, David Bridge, sent me a note recently about a project at Moss Park by Sara Jabakhanji, who wrote the story in this link. Being an historical society, we often forget that photographs taken … Continue reading →

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