Qwillamina and Qwilly examining the Toronto section of this year’s Victoria College book sale.
It’s late September, which traditionally has meant fundraising book sale time for me. Whether it’s the quartet of sales at U of T or a few outside the city, you’ll usually find me hauling around a grocery bag or two of the latest additions to my home research library.
This year is different.
As of this newsletter, I have gone to two of the sales and bought absolutely nothing, which may be a first since I became a dedicated book sale browser.
There are a few factors at play.
* I haven’t gone on day one, when selection and crowds are at their peak. By day two, you can already tell which sections were decimated.
* I am trying to be more conscious about my spending at the moment, as I try to work my way out of a bad freelancing lull.
But the key reason? I’ve been in library purge mode for the past few months, preparing for some upcoming downsizing (in a very good way). As I clear shelves of unread or unwanted titles, there’s little urge to replace them, nor buy books on the chance I might read them someday. I’ve also become pickier about the research material I keep, feeling less inclined to go for inpenetrable works or collections where 1 out of 15 essays might be useful in the future (unless it’s a darn good essay!). It’s been a good exercise, and will make my buying decisions much easier in the years to come.
I am also realizing the importance of determing where my library should go whenever I shuffle off this mortal coil. I was recently invited to check out the remains of a giant collection that had resided outside the city. Many of the books were in poor shape, having succumbed to water damage or spider webs. Seeing the vast volume made me think that I don’t want to fall into hoarding and that I don’t want to leave anyone in the position of figuring out how to dispose of my collection without some sort of roadmap. Determining a plan will become a side project that I’ll update from time to time, based on what possibilities for people and places who could use my collection emerge in the future.
What’s New?
Ottawa Journal, May 5, 1979.
For TVO, I looked at the development of bicycle lanes in Ontario during the 1970s, primarily through Toronto’s experience (with a dash of Ottawa tossed in). While researching this piece, it quickly became apparent that we’ve heard the same pro and con arguments over the past half-century.
This piece also demonstrated that for a historian who works in the realm of looking at the past to provide context for the present, Doug Ford is the gift that keeps on giving. Let’s just say that my next published piece will be inspired by another head-scratching policy announcement Ontario’s premier made this week…
Toronto Star, September 8, 1952.
After too long a hiatus, Tales of Toronto returned this week with a look at the birth of television in Toronto.
Side note: there is a perpetual commentator who leaves notes on Tales of Toronto that I never publish because half the time they’re rambling missives about the “good old days” that devolve into gibberish, and half the time they’re trying to correct me when no correction is required. This ad is a good case in point, as they claimed CBLT was never on channel 9 - it’s right here in the ad I posted in the article!
For the record, CBLT was on 9 until 1956, when it moved to channel 6. The spot was allocated to CFTO a few years later.
Recycling Department
At various points in time, I’ve launched blogs, kept them up for a time, then let them lapse. Such was the case with Scribbles and Chicken Scratchings, which was intended to be a scratch pad for writing exercises and loose ends. This post, featuring bizarre-looking ad pitchpeople I found during newspaper research sessions, was originally published in February 2018.
Toronto Daily News, November 17, 1917.
This fellow topped an ad for a downtown Toronto furniture store. The pinprick eyes and dark shadows surrounding them suggest something alien or robotic. Is a trace of an evil smirk detectable? Or is he hypnotizing the reader into buying beds and victory bonds?
When he talks, it's in a slow, mechanical, increasingly menacing way.
"How may I help you? Interested in that chair? It's not within your financial limitations. What you should buy is a bond. A Victory Bond. A bond to help the war effort. Our war effort. BUY THAT BOND TO-DAY. It's good bih-zi-NESS! It's pay-tree-OT-ISM!!! We will win the WAR! CONQUER! ANNIHILATE!!!"
(At which point the store manager comes to unplug our creepy friend, apologize to the scared customers, and sell them more victory bonds).
Lindsay Watchman-Warder, February 17, 1910.
Cure-all patent medicines like Zam-Buk used illustrations of "customers" testifying to the miraculous powers of their product. Sometimes, you might accept the stuff worked. Not so sure in this case. Mrs. Minnett still doesn't look too happy (she had been in pain for 60 years, and was possibly suffered from phantom remnants of her long-term ailment), unless she simply hated the camera. Maybe it's the low-grade reproduction, but when Louisa and I looked at her picture, we decided she was the offspring of Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy and Cloris Leachman as Frau Blucher from Young Frankenstein. Also, her hair was possibly sculpted from clay.
Toronto Daily Star, February 9, 1933.
This ad does not make a strong case for the effectiveness of Kruschen Salts. Before, our testifier moved like a wooden man. After, he looks like a wooden man, with an unnatural smile only a ventriloquist's dummy can flash.
Hire Me
‘Tis the season for looking for new clients and work!
Seeking a writer/researcher/editor for your latest project? I am always taking on new work, especially as I have hit one of those periodic freelancer lulls. Beyond my historical niche, which often leads in surprising directions, I want to expand my horizons and explore new ways of utilizing my skills. I am interested in working on general projects in the corporate, educational, and non-profit sectors where clear communication and delivering solid facts are required. Feel free to check out my portfolio.
Privately message me at jamiebradburnwriting[AT]gmail[DOT]com if I can assist you.
***
I’m going to attempt to publish this newsletter more frequently, especially as my enthusiasm for social media continues to wane. It will probably/hopefully be timed to weeks where my articles are published. In which case, see you next week!