37: The Unlocking the Next Level Edition
Plus: An AGO anniversary! Local passport programs! New home office! And more!
I suspect my father would be proud of the achievement I made this month: being published for the first time in a national newsstand historical magazine, one that he was a longtime subscriber to.
Not only that, but my piece on Canada’s conversion to metric during the 1970s is mentioned on the cover.
As I experience some upheavals in the my life, this is happy-making stuff.
The edition of The Beaver (link) published around the time I was born, when it was still published by the Hudson’s Bay Company and billed itself as the “Magazine of the North.” Stories inside include a peek at 19th century HBC governor George Simpson’s “character book” and a look at the glaciers of Baffin Island.
I’ve long dreamt of seeing my byline in such a publication. Too often I’ve let fear and time constraints prevent me from pitching, problems that I’ve worked on addressing over the past year as those are major handicaps for a freelancer. Seeing the final published piece makes me more confident in my ability to push my boundaries and scale back some of my anxieties about pitching (with the latter often surfaces as “do I really want to waste anybody’s time on an idea that probably has little chance of becoming reality?”)
From flipping through my dad’s copies as a kid to using it for research, Canada’s History has been a steady presence throughout my life. Amid history magazine sections in stores where 99% of the titles either deal with military topics, events that have been rehashed a million times, or pseudohistorical/sensationalized crap with cheesy artwork, Canada’s History stands out for its diversity of stories.
Hopefully there are more opportunities to come in the future.
You can find the June-July edition on sale now.
What’s New?
Also currently on newsstands is the latest edition of Spacing, where, as part of this issue’s theme of collecting items and experiences, I contributed a short piece on “passport” programs over the years, ranging from Caravan in the late 1960s to shop local initiatives.
Edward Atkinson Hornel. The Captive Butterfly, 1905. oil on canvas, Overall: 76.2 x 102.2 cm. Art Gallery of Ontario. Gift by Subscription, 1906. Photo © AGO. 402.
Online, as the Art Gallery of Ontario marks the 125th anniversary of its establishment, I look at its early years for Toronto Today. Born out of a longstanding desire to have a proper gallery, the Art Museum of Toronto (as it was originally known) spent over a decade organizing itself and looking for a home before it opened its permanent space in the Grange in 1913.
(link)
As Hudson’s Bay closes its remaining stores, Tales of Toronto takes a look at (likely) my final stroll through its Queen Street flagship, where ghosts of the past and lost opportunities abound.
(link)
Curio Collection
Canadian Art, Autumn 1959.
Looking through my research files on HBC, I found this print ad campaign which ran in Canadian Art magazine in 1959 and 1960. While these ads, which quote Ernest Thompson Seton’s 1911 book The Arctic Prairies, look back to the company’s past in northern Canada, changes were afoot that would affect its future. The company expanded its urban department store presence in 1960 when it acquired Montreal-based Morgan’s, which operated around 10 stores in Ontario and Quebec (including Cloverdale Plaza in Etobicoke and Lawrence Plaza in North York).
Canadian Art, March 1960.
Canadian Art, May 1960.
Note the patronizing tone in this ad, where HBC is depicted as assuming a father figure role for the First Nations living in the areas it controlled or serviced.
Hire Me
As the aftermath of our recent move slowly settles, I am booking writing/research projects for later this summer and into the fall. Privately message me at jamiebradburnwriting[AT]gmail[DOT]com if I can assist you.
Endnotes
Moving has been an exhausting experience mentally and physically, which I’m not sure I was 100% prepared for the effects of. Everybody told me how draining it was going to be, even though I felt like I had survived past moves pretty well…unless I was blocking out the downsides of those changes. I thought I’d be fine.
Hoo boy am I drained.
Downsizing the amount of stuff we have was draining, and will be an ongoing experience for some time to come. It makes you reassess certain things about your life - what you value, what you need, what’s important to you, and what you held onto for the sake of hanging on to it. We also hadn’t moved for 10 years, a timeframe in which you can accumulate a lot. For the past few days, our living space has resembled a labyrinth where I continually bump into boxes and bins while negotiating the maze.
The new office is taking shape. It’s been carved out of the open concept living room, and I have nearly the same amount of space as my old separate room. The shelves are starting to fill, as I empty boxes and try to figure out how to better organize my library. Already, I have a better defined area for Canadian media history, bringing together titles that were in numerous spots.
Being part of the living room means more natural light and more room to stretch out and take a break from my desk. In many ways, my old space was slightly caustrophobic and almost compelled me to be at my desk all the time, which led to a lot of distractions. This brings me back to past configurations, where my workspace was in my bedroom and all I had to do to think or relax was to escape to my bed. I can see better use of my time and more productivity in the months to come.
A giant thanks to everyone who, physically or empathetically, has helped us through this process.
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That’s all for this time. See you soon!