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Addressed to Toronto

By Stephen Michalowicz

The situation in Toronto this summer is grim, but it was much worse in 1906, when Toronto faced a crippling piano workers’ strike that was so thoroughly devastating that it was commemorated in a postcard (somehow, we don’t think this year’s city workers’ strike will get the same treatment). This quirky postcard is just one of the thousands of old Toronto-themed postcards, matchbooks, and menus that can be found on John Chuckman’s Toronto postcard blog. Since 2006, Chuckman, who professes to love history, has posted more than two thousand images in five volumes. According to his website, his catalogue “may be the largest collection of Toronto postcards on the Internet.” And while the collection is somewhat dulled by low-quality images (there are some great old aerial shots of Toronto that we wish were bigger) and an awkward labelling system, those are minor shortcomings in what’s an otherwise fascinating reminder of Toronto’s rich history.
All images are from John Chuckman’s Toronto Postcard collection.

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  • CanadianSkeezix

    That’s funny about the piano workers. But I suppose in an era before radio and talking movies, when even silent films were a relatively new phenomenom, pianos were far more central to one’s entertainment options (whether it was in the front parlour of one’s own home or on stage at the vaudeville palace or nickleodeon). I’m not sure what a comparable today would be.

  • http://undefined accozzaglia

    I personally like this shot of Yonge Street in 1970 far better. The colour is truer and the feel of evening is more palpable (thanks Kodachrome!).
    The real treasure trove, though, would be to find Kodachromes shot of the Yonge Street Mall between 1971 and 1974. I know of one person who has such a thing, but has a fear of film scanners.

  • David Toronto

    It took quite a while for gramophones to enter most houses, therefore the only music was by piano, reed organ or violin or other small instrument.
    Also at that time, most of the homes were not wired for electricity so only wind-up playback devices would work.
    Radio was still experimental for at least another decade.
    Such was life then when the only thing electrical could be a nearby street light and the streetcar trundling by.

  • http://undefined MariaPD

    A strike in the Apple Store? No more iPods for sale!