We are open by appointment Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. To schedule an appointment, please email your request to asc@torontomu.ca or fill out our appointment form .
Although the Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing graduated its last class in 1975 when it officially became part of Ryerson’s School of Nursing, we celebrate its history and spirit – kept alive by its active and dedicated Alumnae Association – on what would have been its 100th anniversary year.
The school opened in 1912, with the official opening of the Hospital, It graduated its first class of 10 nurses in 1915, and its last class of 71 nurses in 1975. In between it graduated 2083 nurses. Its Alumnae Association was created in 1915 and is still active today. In 2011 The Association donated its collections of papers and artifacts to the Toronto Metropolitan University Archives (see earlier blog post Wellesley Alumnae donation )
To celebrate Wellesley’s centennial, the Ryerson Archives has created an exhibit and slide show. Both will be available for viewing in the Archives until the end of September. The Archives will be open for Alumni weekend on Saturday September 22. Contact us at (416) 979 5000 ext. 7027 to find out opening times for that day. Please enjoy the images included below – some are from the exhibit itself, and others are taken from the collection.
1972 Open House poster (RG 946.03.13.02)
E. K. Jones portrait
Portrait and uniforms in Archives window
Florence Nightingale letter and portrait (RG 946.02.01)
Exhibit in Archives reading room
Display case featuring items from The Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing Collection
Elizabeth Flaws portrait (RG 946.03.01.01.07.02)
Homewood – Original Wellesley Hospital building.
The Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing graduation pin (RG 946.03.04.02)
Are you a Wellesley grad? Was someone in your family a Wellesley girl? You can now email The Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association at: thewellesleyschoolnsgtoronto@gmail.com
The Heritage Camera Collection more than doubled in size this past January thanks to the generous donation of approximately 500 cameras and pieces of camera equipment from Wilfrid Laurier University. The collection improves the holdings in European and Japanese manufacturers, and provides a greater selection for research in early camera designs.
1920s studio camera from the Wilhelm E. Nassau Camera Collection
“Mouse trap” camera developed by William Henry Fox Talbot, ca. 1834 (replica made 2006) from the Wilhelm E. Nassau Camera Collection (2005.006.01.01)
Watch Camera from the Wilhelm E. Nassau Camera Collection (2005.006.06.02)
Polaroid Land camera, Automatic 110A from the Wilhelm E. Nassau Camera Collection (2005.003.2.17.03)
Crystar camera (2005.006.08.64) next to Pony 135 for size comparison. The Crystar measures only 3.5 x 5.5 x 3 cm. From the Wilhelm E. Nassau Camera Collection.
This past weekend the Ryerson Theatre School celebrated its 40th anniversary, but the history of student theatre on campus goes back well beyond that of the school. In 1951 the Ryerson Opera Workshop was first offered, headed up by English professor Jack McAllister. Students across campus, in any program, were invited to participate. The inaugural production was an exciting double bill of The Devil and Daniel Webster and Down in the Valley; the first was a re-telling of the classic Faust tale using a poor farmer as the lead character who sells his soul to the devil, and the second, a folk-opera peppered with famous American songs, including the titular “Down in the Valley.” According to newspaper reviews at the time, the shows were a success for the new Workshop.
Newspaper photo of the cast of “The Devil and Daniel Webster” from The Alumni Reporter, Fall 1952 (RG 718.044)
Although the name implies something different today, the Opera Workshops focused on popular musical theatre, and the repertoire included Broadway hits like Once Upon a Mattress, Bye Bye Birdie, Snow White, The Wizard of Oz, The Beggar’s Opera and Peter Pan.
In the 1970s, Ryerson established the Theatre School and became one of the first professional schools in North America to offer training in all aspects of the theatre arts, from technical production to arts administration. It wasn’t long after the first cohort of theatre students appeared on campus that the extracurricular productions of the Ryerson Opera Workshops finally ceased. The last performance by the Opera Workshop was a children’s show entitled Stick with Molasses (1976). Today, the popular student musicals are replaced by an ambitious program of student-driven work throughout the year.
In a shocking but not completely unforeseen announcement last week, the Kodak corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States.
Happier were the good ol’ days of film production / 1937 advertisement from the Kodak Canada Corporate Archives & Heritage Collection advertising ledgers
As little as a decade ago, the future for Kodak still seemed bright. Company literature produced in the 1990s confirmed Kodak Canada’s optimism that digital photographers would continue to look to Kodak for leadership and innovation in image-taking technologies. The move to digital would be slow and considered, with Kodak confident that the rightproduct was better than any product.
Kodak Photo CDs were marketed to professionals as well as amateur photographers for digital image storage / 1993 photograph of Digital Imaging showroom from the Kodak Canada Corporate Archives & Heritage Collection
Was this transition too slow? Is Kodak still the master camera-maker it once was? Ryerson Professor Robert Burley and Curatorial Specialist Beth Knazook speculate on the unfortunate circumstances that have left Kodak in its current position.
Architectural models breath life into otherwise straightforward ideas on paper; they easily and quickly communicate complex design schemes, embellishments, finishes and details, and they facilitate an easier dialogue between architect and client. Well-crafted architectural models even win competitions. While these models are very rarely preserved once building is begun, the realized design in miniature form represents the very essence of the architectural practice.
From January 4th- February 13th, 2012, photographs of models taken for Canadian Architect magazine will be on display in Special Collections on the Library’s 4th floor. These images were originally captured for project announcements, and today they give us as much to discuss as the finished buildings themselves. See the process that the architect goes through when bringing his or her idea to the public, and consider some of the challenges the architect faces in communicating with that audience. Is it useful to see the detailed model superimposed onto a photograph of the existing landscape, as with the Toronto Eaton Centre image? Why do some architects choose to put contextual detail in the model itself, making tiny trees and cars on the adjacent streets? Every model has a purpose and an audience, which is perhaps even more apparent in the scenic model taken from the set design for a CBC television special [borrowed from the Robert Hackborn collection for comparison’s sake]. With this model, the purpose is to show the interior to the cameras – not the exterior to a client.
Whatever the goal with these miniature worlds, either to emulate a real three-dimensional building as closely as possible or three walls that merely suggest one, the model serves as a stepping stone to the final idea. Here the idea of architecture is on display – judge for yourselves whether the real lives up to the imagined.
Peter. It’s his name. An interesting fellow, don’t you think?
“The Dream That Fagged Out” is Peter’s official title. The word fagged in its historical usage means completely exhausted, and there certainly seems to be a weight on Peter’s shoulders. “The work is so successful in its depiction of human despair and misery that no one at Ryerson has been able to keep it for long.” [The Lectern, October 1975, Works of Art docfl.]
He was created by artist Julius Damasdy, (1937/38 – ) in the mid 1960s and was donated to Ryerson in 1967 by a founding member of the Board of Governors, Franc Joubin, who acquired him at an art show of the Ontario Society of Artists at the Toronto Art Gallery (now AGO). Mr. Joubin stated he would purchase whatever statue won in its class at the art show. As it turned out it was Peter who won and who became part of the university’s art collection.
He resided in the reception area of President Fred Jorgenson’s office (in Kerr Hall South). After two years of dismally greeting staff and visitors alike, Peter was moved to where he could cheer up the students. What better place than the Library (located, then, in the former Business Building, now the Victoria Building).
General feelings were:
“[I] couldn’t stand the sight of Peter staring at [me] every day.” – 1969, executive staff
“I can’t stand him staring at my face whenever I come out of the elevator.” – 1969 library staff
When the Library moved to its current location in the Library Building in 1974, Peter insisted he come along. His new home was in a semi-dark area (they tried to hide him) near the 2nd floor elevators. He later moved to the 6th floor stacks.
Peter got a medical diagnosis in the mid 1970s by a few Ryerson nursing students. They posted their diagnosis from his neck, stating, for example, he suffered from: Malnutrition, Scoliosis, Stove Pipe Legs, Middle Age Spread, Facial Paralysis, and other interesting ailments.
Finally, in an attempt at banishment, Peter was offered to the Archives in the mid 1970s. He was cheerfully accepted and has been in safekeeping there since, still creeping-out researchers and Archives staff.
Sixty years ago Ryerson’s men’s varsity teams were called the Ryerson Rams. Why the ram? One theory is the school’s namesake, Egerton Ryerson, was born on March 24, 1803 – the ram in the zodiac. Aries the ram is described as an extrovert with energy, assertiveness, a competitive nature and while courageous, impulsive and stubborn.
We all know our beloved Eggy. We see him at school events. Not so long ago, in the near-distant past of 1961, Eggy had a, shall we say, realistic look. Four students from the Student Administrative Council, wanting to boost school morale, acquired a ram for a reported $25 from the Toronto Stockyards. The little ram, decorated with Ryerson pendants and ribbons made his grand debut at a Varsity Arena hockey game with Waterloo University. Ryerson subsequently won the game, the little ram became a hero, and the rest is history.
Eggy I‘s debut at hockey game with University of Waterloo, Varsity Arena / Ryersonian, RG 95-1, Hockey, 1960/61
Then, as today, Eggy attended celebrations, sporting, and parade and picnic events.
Eggy I in his finery / Ryersonian, RG 95-1, Eggy, 1960/61
Eggy I oversees the band at a football game / Ryersonian, RG 95-1, Football, 1961/62
Eggy II attends Convocation, ca. 1962-1968 / Photographer: Roy Nichols, Cliipping file Eggy
Eggy III helping with 1970 Shinerama fund raising / Ryersonian, RG 95.6.24.45
There were a total of five real ram mascots between 1961 and 1991. Eggy I lived on campus during the school year in a pen and shelter behind Oakham House (then called Kerr Hall) and spent the summer on a farm outside the city. Eggy II did the same until the mid 1960s. From that time, Eggy II through V lived on a farm year long and was transported to campus for events.
Living on campus, Eggy II with his caretaker “Poppa” Wycik and his companion dog Lucky / Toronto Telegram, 24 April 1964 / with permission from York University Libraries, Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections, Toronto Telegram fonds, ASC07139
Eggy III was known to be a little ornery, charging bales of hay, fence posts, his handler, and just about anything in front of him.
Eggy III, 1975 / Ryersonian, November 13, 1974
Eggy III reviewing frosh contestants / Photo: Brenda Lee Allan, Ryersonian, October 17, 1970, Clipping File Eggy
Eggy IV is reported to have been gentle and willing to pose for photos.
Eggy IV debuts on campus in luxury / Photo: Fred Lum, Eyeopener, February 4, 1982
Eggy IV had very curly horns / Ryersonian, September 11, 1987
Eggy V was the last live mascot. He died in 1991. The Human Society pressured universities using live animals as mascots to stop the practice due to cruelty.
While the real Eggy was still making appearances, Athletics and Recreation had a costumed Eggy from about the 1980s. Possibly the first costumed Eggy – we’ll call him Costumed Eggy 1 – had a triangular nose and had developed floppy horns.
Eggy with his floppy horns gets his send off, as seen in this strange double image / Photographer: Bogdan Hoshowsky, Ryersonian, March 1, 1989
This variety of Eggy is a little frightful / Eyeopener, September 10, 1997
1989 – 1997 : An Eggy to be proud of – Costumed Eggy 2 – Note his heart-shaped nose with hoofed hands and feet.
Eggy pumps hand weights in front of the RAC entrance, 1989 (RG 76.14.564)
1997 – 2004 : Costumed Eggy 3 had an upward sweeping, sharp-cornered nose with hoof hands and running shoes.
Eggy helps at the Community Barbecue with then Chancellor, John-Craig Eaton, 1999 / Forum, October 1999 (RG 395.38.126)
2004 – 2011 : Costumed Eggy 4 had a distinctive nose outlined in grey/silver and flatter sitting horns.
At the basketball court / Photographer: Don McHoull, Eyeopener, February 11, 2004
2011 – present : Costumed Eggy 5 – This academic year started with a new look – a trimmer, fitter Eggy with two faces: his mean face and his party face.
He’s muscular and mean / Courtesy of Athletics and Sports, RAM 4879 (cropped)
Party-face Eggy shows off his dexterity by holding a cup of coffee. / Courtesy of Athletics & Recreation, RAM 4378-1
To learn more about Eggy and other Ryerson history facts visit Archives and Special Collections on the 4th floor of the Library.
Style changed forever in the 1960s (and we’re not just referring to the hemlines). Space-age design met space-age fabrics, many of which are still in use today: polyamide, polyester, acrylic, polyvinyl, and spandex to name a few. These are laboratory-brewed fibres, extruded through spinnerettes in liquid or molten petro-chemical streams. These were cheaper and more versatile than many of the natural fibres used in clothing up to this point.
The dresses currently on display in Special Collections each use an unexpected fabric to achieve their look, whether it is the plasticized cloth of this shiny-copper mini-dress, the silver lurex suit with multicolored threads from the disco-influenced 70s, or the 100% silk power suit from the 80s. Visit Special Collections today to see these fashionable fabrics produced by Canadian designers.
Olena Vivcharyuk, photographer
Renée Munn, photographer
Renée Munn, photographer
The dresses in this exhibit were taken from the Fashion Research Collection at Toronto Metropolitan University, a collection of costume items, accessories, flat textiles and paper patterns donated to the School of Fashion for use in teaching and research. The collection consists of about 4,500 items of mid-twentieth century men’s, women’s and children’s clothes and accessories and illustrates many of the social, cultural, technological and economic influcences on style made or worn in Canada. It contains designs by leading Canadian figures such as Beate Ziegert, Ira Berg and Pat McDonagh, as well as internationally famous names such as Sonia Rykiel, Christian Dior, Calvin Klein, Givenchy, Diane von Furstenberg, Perry Ellis, Laura Ashley, Thierry Mugler and Valentino. There are also pattern and reference books, magazines and articles which are not duplicated in the Ryerson Library catalogue, making this a rich and valuable resource for fashion education.
It is almost that time of year again…time for Ryerson’s parade and picnic. The annual event has students marching down Yonge Street to catch the ferry for a day of music and fun on Toronto Island. In honour of this rite of passage for all Ryerson students, please enjoy this selection of images of parades and picnics from decades past.
The Kodak Canada Corporate Archives & Heritage Collection cameras are still on display in our summer exhibit on the 4th floor, but in today’s post we’re thinking outside the little black box. Although Kodak was easily the most popular camera manufacturer of the 20th century, and their products form the bulk of our camera collection, there were and are still other mass-market brands. One such company was Ernst Leitz, GmbH, located in Wetzler, Germany.
Leitz opened for business as an optical manufacturer called Ernst Leitz Optische Werke, an appropriate start for a brand that would become known for producing photographic lenses that rendered even small negatives sharp and clear. Their improved lenses allowed the Leica camera to use 35mm film, then the common gauge for motion picture film. Although 35mm stock was readily available to be chopped up as still film, the Leica was the first camera to make enlarging those small frames with clarity possible. Most consumer film cameras today use some variation of the Leica camera body design, spreading rolled film across the camera horizontally, from left to right and rewinding from right to left when each frame has been exposed. Add to these innovations a self-capping shutter that ensured an even exposure and it is easy to see why this portable, professional camera brand became the gear of choice for documentary photographers.
Leica IIf, ca. 1953-55, Heritage Camera Collection (2005.006.13.02)
Leica R4, 1981, Heritage Camera Collection (2005.006.13.01)
