Category Archives: history

action central

Posted on June 5, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. The photo at left is too new (about 67 years old) to be collectible. An old photo of any industrial process is of interest to a collector – the older the better. This is a photo of the telephone … Continue reading →

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the gang’s all here …

Posted on June 4, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. Later in the 1800s when CdV sales began to fall off, larger size cards were created (like larger smartphones today). The cabinet card shown here was large enough to allow small groups to be easily seen. In this example, … Continue reading →

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mama look a boo boo

Posted on June 3, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. Image collectors sometimes look for interesting people, and especially outdoors views. At left is a tintype of a family or two by a tree. The look of the people suggest an eastern European origin. Those into old photographs should … Continue reading →

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all the lovely people

Posted on June 2, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. Old photo collectors are an interesting bunch. The fully exposed image is sought but a less than perfect one fits the bill until a better one is spotted and the less than ideal photo becomes suitable for trade. An … Continue reading →

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famous people photos

Posted on June 1, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. A sub set of many photo collections is portraits of famous people – usually in politics or entertainment. We should see more famous people outside these two genres like those of the scientific world such as Michael Faraday (digitized … Continue reading →

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island in the chilly sun …

Posted on May 25, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. For the cover shot of issue 27-5, editor Lansdale searched his own collection for this stereograph of Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron taken by Mr J W Love about 1865. Bob explains, “Our cover illustration is taken from a stereograph … Continue reading →

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… now divide by 16, and …

Posted on May 19, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. For over 30 years now, light values have been of little interest, especially to those brought up on digital technology. Built-in metering and very fast sensitive media automatically compensate for light levels allowing the ‘photographer’ to concentrate on framing … Continue reading →

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the autochrome and the diascope

Posted on May 18, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. The early colour processes were usually additive and as such incredibly slow. In to the mid last century the alternative was to take a good B&W portrait and colour it with special dyes. In issue 27-4, Editor Bob Lansdale … Continue reading →

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travel scenes long before television

Posted on May 13, 2026 by Robert

  Toronto. Old photo collectors search diligently for photos that complement their collections. Travel scenes are often enthusiastically collected since many more studio scenes and portraits exist today. Around 2001/2002,  Thomas Ritchie wrote the article, “Pioneers of Landscape Photography in … Continue reading →

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boating long ago and far away

Posted on May 12, 2026 by Robert

Toronto. Image collectors can categorize pictures like that shown at left as ‘travel’, ‘water’, ‘canal’, ‘boats’ or even other names. The photograph was shot c1892 by Italian Paolo Salviati in Venice and titled “Rio Albrizzi”. Editor Lansdale used this shot … Continue reading →

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