everyday, it’s getting closer …

Posted on September 27, 2025 by Robert

at the fall 2007 fair

Toronto. … our fall  fair, of course! The fair arrives on Sunday, October 19th, 2025 at the Trident Hall in Toronto’a west end.

Lots to see; lots to buy. A great opportunity to add to your collection. Free parking at the fair or close by; great food; and great bargains. Meet friends old and new at this 2025 event.

While we will be posting details at the top of the site’s first page in a week or so, folks can get the same info in the PHSC News for July, 2025 (issue 25-7).

Come early and stay late! Enjoy the show; enjoy the food; enjoy the people!

NB. Hats off to the late Buddy Holly and his 1957 song, Everyday, for the idea of this post. Here’s Buddy singing his song.

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it’s fall! it’s CAMERAMA time!

Posted on September 26, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. Hey gang! Gary’s show for the fall is this Sunday, September 28th!

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rise up, rise up

Posted on September 25, 2025 by Robert

rise up, rise up in the air

Toronto. A sub set of old images are transportation photos – cars, bicycles, ships, trains, etc. – and hot air balloons.

The image at left is just balloons at a child’s party.

In our 2025 events you can find all sorts of images and other goodies, not just hot air balloons.

Our next event is our fall fair as started by the late Larry Boccioletti. Set for next month on October 19th, you can find many things to augment your collection including old photographs, old cameras, old lenses, accessories, books, and other photographic memorabilia.

For details see the July 2025 PHSC News newsletter (issue 25-7). As we get closer to the fair date, I will post the information at the top of the first page on this site. By the way, if you would like a personal copy of our newsletter, with notification of availability sent directly to your mail box, just ask at news@phsc.ca.

NB. The post title is from a song last decade by Toronto’s Parachute Club. Here is that song as sung by the ‘Club!

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asleep in the deep …

Posted on September 24, 2025 by Robert

grannie grabs 40 winks …

Toronto. Fall is here and it’s time to go to the fair. Our next 2025 event is our famous fall fair, October 19, 2025. Details are in the July PHSC News newsletter (issue 25-7).

There will be lots of interesting items to see, many to augment your collection. See friends old and new. Free parking and good food. What a terrific way to spend a Sunday!

Remember to come out – don’t be like grannie! You snooze; you lose (on a great deal for a great item)!

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Christie’s at it again …

Posted on September 23, 2025 by Robert

Daguerreotype of a fire engine from Christie’s fall auction of photographs

Toronto. What’s an auction house without auctions? Well our friends at Christie’s always seem to have an auction on the go.

This one features photographs, like the fire engine at left, from various collections. Daguerreotypes are featured plus many other more recent photographs by well known photographers.

The auction runs from  25 September – 9 October  with the photos on exhibition 4 – 8 October. It’s a great opportunity for somewhat deep pocketed collectors to add to their collection.

Closer to home, our 2025 events are coming to a close now. Next is our famous fall fair on October 19th followed by our own estate auction on November 9, 2025. The fair details are in PHSC News for July (issue 25-7) and both fair and auction will be posted here closer to each event.

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stairway to heaven

Posted on September 22, 2025 by Robert

main stairway in the old WCH building c2013 – an example of architectural detail.

Toronto.  Around 2014 there was considerable activity here as the old WCH building and garage were replaced by new, more modern facilities as the province worked hard to change their medical management process.

For collectors of old images, one segment is architecture and architectural details. Old photos of times past can provide valuable historical details as places grow and change over time.

As we near the end of our 2025 events, collectors still have an opportunity to augment their collections with many interesting items at our coming events. Coming next is our famous fall fair on October 19, 2025. Details are in the July PHSC News (issue 25-7) and will be posted here early next month.

NB. The title of this post is the title of one of the more popular Led Zeppelin songs.

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fire sale

Posted on September 21, 2025 by Robert

December 24, 1958 – fire destroys the Schefferville, QC warehouse.

Toronto. Another reason to shop early for Christmas! In late 1958 I moved from the Labrador woods to the metropolis of Knob Lake, Quebec (renamed as Schefferville, Quebec). Its main employer was the mining company called Iron Ore and its open pit iron mine. The massive company was headed by Brian Mulroney – destined to become Prime Minister of Canada in 1984.

A few weeks later on December 24, 1958, the main warehouse for the town caught fire and was totally gutted.  Which brings to mind a subset of images for many old photo collectors – fires and their aftermaths.

Be sure to visit all of our 2025 events. While we can’t promise you will find pictures of the mine or town, we can promise you will have fun and discover many choice items just right for your collection. On October 19th, 2025 we host the next event – our famous fall fair. See our summer  (July 2025) newsletter for details.

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midnight at the films

Posted on September 20, 2025 by Robert

night scene in the digital era c 2007

Toronto. Today we take the amazing speed of our media – sensors – for granted, but for much of the pre-digital era, media was far too slow for night scenes unless a tripod was used, subjects were motionless (or followed a known path), or artificial lighting was used.

And in movies, aside from film noir titles (which always manage to be dark and gloomy) night scenes were always a challenge.  The major problem was film speed. Many movies seemed to use daylight darkened by filter or aperture and fake lights etc. while avoiding bright skies to give the illusion of night.

Stills demanded tripods and some form of artificial lighting or a tripod and very long exposures. Your collection may well include night shots taken with great skill and patience on a media that was far too slow for such scenes if fast or unpredictable motion existed. In fact street scenes in the early days of photography seemed to be devoid of people or transport – such ‘things’ were there, but hidden by motion and not captured.

Visit our 2025 events to add that special item to your collection. Next moth we host our famous fall fair on October 19th. See details here in our July 2025 newsletter.

This post was brought to light by memory of “Midnight at the Oasis” as sung by Maria Muldaur.

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the good old hockey game …

Posted on September 19, 2025 by Robert

the good old hockey game …

Toronto. With fall comes cold weather … and hockey. Image collectors sometimes have a sub-collection of sports photos. All sort of games and sports photos over the years are candidates for collectors – action shots, individual players, or even team photos. Years back, games here were usually Lacrosse, hockey, curling or baseball.

These games have been expanded to football, soccer, and basketball. Until very recently (aside from the war years) the leagues have been male. In recent years we have seen a growth in women’s leagues.

South of the border saw mainly whites in the leagues with  blacks playing in a separate league. Today the leagues have shifted to embrace all races and colours.

While our 2025 events feature all kinds of tasty things to augment one’s collection, we can’t say you will find just the right sports photo for your collection. We do know for sure that each event will offer an unusual item just perfect for your collection of photographica. In a few weeks we will be hosting the famous fall fair (October 19th, 2025), Details are in the July edition of our newsletter, PHSC News issue 25-7.

The title for this post is a line from the late Stompin’ Tom’s iconic hockey song. I should also mention he is one of my favourite song writers and singers.

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a kid again …

Posted on September 18, 2025 by Robert

a colour strip from the more recent photo booths. Earlier last century the tiny positives were always monochrome – photo courtesy of the Guardian article

Toronto.  … doing what I did again. When PHSC president Clint Hryhorijiw sent me an  email with this link to a Guardian article on Photo Booths, it immediately brought to mind the booths I saw at fairs and malls last century. We even had a journal article in in Photographic Canadiana 33-1 (May, 2007) by George Dunbar on his discovery of a Canadian photo booth called a Phototeria.

I did a couple of posts on the photo booth. The posts are “now just a minute” in Nov 2020 and “pictures at the fair” in June 2024. In July of this year, I (PHSC) received an email from Emily Botelho regarding the display in NYC which is discussed in the Guardian article. Emily spoke with George Dunbar about his discovery with hopes to have it recognized down in the Big Apple.

While it’s unlikely you will find a photo booth or any parts of one at our 2025 events, you will indeed discover items to complement your collection. Our next event is the famous fall fair on October 19th, 2025. Check out our summer newsletter, PHSC News issue 25-7 for all the gory details.

NB. The title of this post is from a song I remembered from years ago, sung here by the truly great Ms Barbra Streisand “I’m five/kid again“.

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