Garden Party at Stanley Barracks. 1904 by Alex Galbraith from
City of Toronto Archives SC 568-392 (gift of the Globe and Mail newspaper)
Toronto. Issue 17-3 has an article on commercial photography by Toronto’s City Archivist, Steve MacKinnon. The photo at left shows the lack of sky detail in early work when all films were orthochromatic (insensitive to red and barely sensitive to orange, green, etc.). The use of yellow ‘partial’ filters would later bring out cloud detail in the sky.
Ev introduces the archivist thusly, “Steve MacKinnon was educated at St. Paul University, Ottawa and Ryerson Polytechnical Institute, Toronto [now TMU] where he received the degree of Bachelor of Fine Art in 1981.
“Since 1983 he has been archivist at the City of Toronto Archives. He has had four solo exhibitions of photography in Canada, participated in numerous group exhibitions and produced an a-v dance presentation for the Douglas Nielson Dance Company of New York.
“As curator, the 1988 Market Gallery exhibition “The Camera at Work” and the current “A Commercial Focus” are the result of his expertise.”.
Near the beginning of his article, McKinnon says, “F. W. Micklethwaite and Alexander W. Galbraith were accomplished commercial photographers, active during a period of rapidly escalating urban growth and development.
“Between 1890 and 1915 the population of Toronto doubled as a result of immigration and annexation. Financial institutions, insurance companies and the manufacturing sector flourished during the economic boom of the 1890’s. The construction of landmark buildings altered Toronto’s skyline as the city progressed toward corporate dominance in Canada.
“Public buildings such as Massey Hall (1893), Holy Blossom Temple ( I895), E. J. Lennox’s City Hall (1899), and the King Edward Hotel (1903), appeared downtown, while the elite built their suburban Rosedale and Avenue Road homes, often in the style of English gentry mansions.
“Casa Loma, Sir Henry Pellatt’s hilltop Castle (1909-1914), was perhaps the most conspicuous symbol of the fortunes acquired during the early years of this century. It overlooked the city in marked contrast to the problems of public welfare which inevitably accompany rapid growth.”.
Members read the entire article on the PHSC DVD sent to all members. To join, see the menu item ‘MEMBERSHIP’ above and/or ‘Members – Join or Renew Now!’ at the right. Questions? Ask Lilianne, our membership Secretary member@phsc.ca.
And our events are a great source of new items for your collection. The next event is the fall fair on October 20th. See the post here for details.
