Category Archives: history

developing an interest

Posted on February 28, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. The ad at left is from an old Popular Mechanics magazine, courtesy of my good friend George Dunbar. George writes, “A Testimonial from GD: Many became photographers because of the magic of the darkroom.”. The ad, of course, is Kodak’s … Continue reading →

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family history

Posted on February 27, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Every family seems to have a ‘keeper’ of records and a photographer who diligently records and photographs the minutiae of life as it is lived. A few decades back, my parents answered a knock on their front door. A … Continue reading →

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remember when?

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. There was once a camera exchange across from Simpson’s department store in the Temple Building (Toronto’s first skyscraper) on the north-west corner of Bay and Richmond in downtown Toronto. According to the ad in the 1931 Magnet magazine, they had … Continue reading →

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flyin’ high

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Jeff Ward was here in the city in August of 2017 (Canada’s 150th) and spoke at our monthly meeting. Since then Jeff has been in periodic communication with the PHSC. Under Facebook in a series of articles called, “The … Continue reading →

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room for a better one

Posted on February 21, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. The title is a riff on the old saying, “… build a better mousetrap …“. One of the earliest cameras was called a mousetrap by the spouse of its creator. It was basically a very small camera obscura. A … Continue reading →

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ya can’t win ’em all …

Posted on February 20, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. There’s an old saying, “one born every minute” attributed to P T Barnum but actually older. The resulting population subset forms the potential audience for the type of gadget advertised in a 1950 issue of Popular Mechanics. Utilitron, the … Continue reading →

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Lucy

Posted on February 19, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. The Camera Lucida was often used by artists to view both the scene in front of them and the canvas in their lap. This marvellous little optical device  (Lucy) was invented by Wollaston around 1806. It is forever tied … Continue reading →

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closings and openings

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. An optimist would say as a door closes, another opens. That is, as technology goes ahead, old jobs and industries die off and new ones take their place. Photography is no different. When it was announced in 1839, a … Continue reading →

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Morse and Photography

Posted on February 16, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. Samuel F B Morse was both an artist (painter), and teacher. Closely involved with the North American telegraph, his name lives on as the co-inventor of the Morse Code.  This a code known to telegraphers and amateur radio operators … Continue reading →

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outta da blue

Posted on February 15, 2023 by Robert

Toronto. After my girls were graduated (about 1999), I bought them each a Konica  film camera with built-in metering, flash, and 35mm f/2.8  lens. One camera was red; the other blue. Both came with a matching case. One daughter was … Continue reading →

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