those were the days, my friend …

Interior of Peake & Whittingham Studio c 1922-1941

Toronto. we thought they would never end … The song brings back memories … The smell of developer, of short stop, of fixer. Days when every shot counted. Huge studio cameras produced material for print advertisements in newspapers and magazines of the day. No digital technology. Material was prepared days to months in advance. The press was King. Presidents and Prime Ministers were believable –  aww those were the days!

This is a public domain print made from a modern copy negative. Print and negative reside in the City of Toronto Archives. The original was shot in the period 1922 – 1941 which was arrived at as follows: The print is an interior shot at the Peake & Whittingham studio at 159 Elm Street. Bill Whittingham (the headless cameraman) and two assistants, one his son Ted at left, are shooting an advertising campaign  for Squibb Vitamin Products. Peake & Whittingham moved their studio to Elm street in 1922 and Bill died in 1941.

No indication of who took this photograph but such shots of people at work are far less common than portraits or landscapes. My thanks to Goldie, a frequent contributor to the website urbanTO and a member of the PHSC. Goldie is a retired industrial photographer.

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