Category Archives: history

it pays to advertise

Posted on July 1, 2021 by Robert

Toronto, In 1921, the Mission Art Company, of South Spring Street in Los Angeles sent this  truck cum camera and its phtographers to promote its business. Mark Osterman, who along with his wife, spoke to us back in June of … Continue reading →

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a little slip of a thing …

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. … said my mother in describing a skinny young girl. She could just as easily have been describing a Waterhouse stop, or a leaf in a photographic iris diaphragm. In fact, have you ever wondered when and who invented … Continue reading →

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monochrome memories

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Snapshots are a visual family history. Without them we have no way to tell how our ancestors looked, worked, partied, vacationed, lived, etc. Or what pets and possessions were special to them. The late Brian Coe knew this when … Continue reading →

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let Ed do it

Posted on June 27, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. One of the best known photographers in America was Edward Weston. I have a massive coffee table size book simply titled “Edward Weston: Fifty Years“. Published in 1973 by Aperture in the States, I bought my copy  new a … Continue reading →

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when it all began

Posted on June 26, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Collectors and photo enthusiasts seldom remember Robert Hunt, an enthusiastic amateur photographer. Other prominent folk at the beginning of photography like Daguerre, Talbot, and Herschel are all well known for various reasons. Daguerre of course for his pre-eminent Daguerreotype … Continue reading →

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cross purposes?

Posted on June 25, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. On page 9 in the April 1946 issue of Popular Photography, a company called De Mornay-Budd based in NYC, took out a large advertisement for an unusual Leica/Contax series of viewfinders. The viewfinder mounted on the camera’s accessory shoe … Continue reading →

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when hype beat reality

Posted on June 24, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. The heady days of the late 1940s! War was over. Pent-up demand for all kinds of goods exceeded supply leading to continued wait lists. Telephones just outside the town took two years for the cables to town alone to … Continue reading →

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dancing on the head of a pin

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. For centuries, the expression “number of angels that can dance on the head of a pin” has been around. Originally religious (as you can likely tell), it shifted to ordinary usage and meant arguing absurdities while real issues went … Continue reading →

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hi Norman!

Posted on June 22, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. As a kid I loved reading back issues of the Saturday Evening Post while waiting at Nels MaGee’s for my bi-weekly hair cut.  Most exciting to me was when the cover used a Norman Rockwell painting. The web site, … Continue reading →

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Canadian, eh?

Posted on June 21, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. For the most part, Canada is a nation of immigrants. When I was a kid, we were part of the British commonwealth (to the dismay of Quebecers).* Many of us could trace our roots back to the UK or … Continue reading →

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