2017 Year in Review: Films in the Collection

Posted on January 15, 2018 by olivia.wong

Happy 2018!

As we begin a new year and semester at Ryerson, I would like to share highlights from the collections by looking at films I inspected in 2017. I started working at Archives & Special Collections in July 2017 as an Audiovisual Assistant with the goal to survey their moving image assets for preservation and digitization initiatives. It has been an incredible experience digging through the vault, and I would like to share some of my discoveries by using the reference images I took while inspecting the films.

The Archives have several promotional films that examine the history of Ryerson and the programs offered since the university’s inception. What’s an Expert explores the Secretarial Science program, which was available at Ryerson between 1952 and 1985.

Ryerson Is, another promotional title, presents brief vignettes on Ryerson’s academic programs.

Nana Mouskouri in Belafonte at the O’Keefe (1965).

Opening title for the CBC special featuring Duke Ellington. The show was produced and directed by Sampson (1964).

I found several hidden gems as part of the Paddy Sampson Fonds in Special Collections. The films in this collection include raw and edited footage from musical television programs that Sampson produced for the CBC in the 1960s and 1970s. One of my favorites is Belafonte at the O’Keefe, a show featuring Harry Belafonte accompanied by the Greek singer Nana Mouskouri and the Folk-blues duo Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.

Shot from the Buffy Ste-Marie CBC Special (1980).

The collection also holds a Duke Ellington variety special with a beautiful animated introduction, as well as raw footage from a television program on Buffy Ste-Marie.

Kraft Miracle Whip advertisement from the Sampson films.

One of my favorite parts of the Sampson films is that we have kinescope copies (black and white film recordings of television broadcasts) since these reels include the advertisement breaks during the shows!

Recently, I have been looking into Ryerson’s past, and learning about the Ryerson Media Centre (now called the Digital Media Projects) through films they produced in the 1970s. An untitled reel featured media and radio staff members showing off their equipment and facilities.

The Film/Paper Story by the Eastman Kodak Company (1980).

The Kodak Canada Corporate Archive and Heritage Collection has several great instructional films, including one on the process of making photographic paper and film stocks.

Opening of a film by the Eastman Kodak Company (1980).

Ryerson Media Centre film on the construction of the new library resource centre (1971)

Our biggest milestone for 2017: A&SC moved into a new space on the 4th floor of the library!

Stop by to visit the reading room and learn more about films in the collection! We even have a 16 mm circulating film collection for faculty and instructor use.

See you in the new year!

New Exhibition: Projecting Magic

Posted on October 31, 2017 by olivia.wong

Have you ever wondered what people watched at home and in theaters before Netflix and the invention of cinema? This exhibition hopes to demystify one aspect of pre-cinematic technology: magic lantern projectors. These early optical devices used oil or gas light sources to project glass slide images onto a screen. Some say magic lanterns are the precursors to Powerpoint presentations!

The first report of the construction of a magic lantern is generally considered to be referring to the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens in 1659. It was inspired by precedent optical inventions such as the camera obscura (which was a room containing a pinhole that a scene was projected through onto the opposite wall), and magic shadow shows which used puppets and hands to recount stories.

Lampascope Boule magic lantern, meant to be placed above an oil lamp.

By the eighteenth-century, the magic lantern was “openly displayed” for public events by traveling lanternists in public venues. Several showmen used the lanterns to produce horror shows, popularly known as “Phantasmagoria” shows. These presentations projected ghostly images onto smoke screens to create the effect of conjuring evil spirits.

Initially lanterns were illuminated by candlelight or oil lamps, but this did not produce enough light to project a clear image from afar. Lanternists began to use limestone in the early 1800s, as they could successfully be used for projection in large theaters. Limelight is produced through the combustion of hydrogen and oxygen directed at a piece of lime (calcium oxide). This method was quite complex and potentially hazardous, since at the time putting gas under pressure was achieved by sandwiching rubber bags filled with gas between two pieces of wood.

Magic Lantern Slide by the German manufacturer Ernest Plank, with their trademark initials E.P.

By the mid 1800s, a huge variety of magic lanterns became available to the professional and home market. On display in the exhibit, we have lanterns with varying functions, from a decorative circular lantern meant to be placed above an oil lamp at home, to a large biunial (or double lens) lantern that could be used in large halls for theatrical presentation or educational lectures.

Slides also varied in their typology, becoming more detailed and elaborate with each new iteration. Initially they were rectangular strips of glass with hand painted imagery and a mahogany wood border. When separate wooden slide carriers were developed, the wooden border attached to the wood slides themselves was removed from the design. Then, the illustrations featured on the glass portion went from being hand-painted to mechanically produced, and by the mid 1800s photographic slides came into production as well.

Magic lantern projection also demonstrates the aspiration to present not only static, but moving images to an audience. Lanternists would use panoramic slides, which when passed in front of the projector’s lens would create the illusion of movement. This quickly progressed into animated images which came about with creation of ingenious mechanical slides. This included rack-and-pinion slides where glass discs were rotated using a handle (and which were often astrologically themed), lever slides, or single pulley slides which used a rope pulley system.

Items on display are part of a recent donation of magic lantern projectors and slides from John Tysall. Stop by the Archives and Special Collections Department on the 4th floor of the Ryerson Library to see the new exhibit located in the display case by the 4th floor reading room doors. The exhibition is designed and curated by Jocelyn Oprzedek and Olivia Wong.

A Window in Time – 1899

Posted on August 25, 2017 by Rosalynn

What is that date on the window?

The Archives and Special Collections (A&SC) windows feature a series of seemingly random numbers worked into the window’s graphic pattern. The numbers are actually dates, chosen by A&SC staff, that are significant to the City of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University, and Archives and Special Collections. Over the course of the next year our blog will feature some of the window dates and explain their significance.

1899

In 1899, after successfully operating on the American market for over a decade, George Eastman dispatched Kodak employee John G. Palmer to Toronto to determine the viability of establishing a subsidiary in Canada. Palmer discovered a robust market for photographic products and, on November 8, 1899, Canadian Kodak Co., Limited was incorporated under the Ontario Company’s act. The nascent company established headquarters in downtown Toronto, embarking on a relationship with the city that would last more than a century and would constitute the heart of the company’s manufacturing operations in Canada.

For more information on Kodak Canada, please read our earlier blog – “Kodak in Toronto”

Practical Nursing – nursing notes from The Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association fonds

Posted on May 27, 2017 by Rosalynn

The Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association fonds came to the Ryerson Archives and Special Collections in 2011. In it are several notebooks filled with course notes, and practical knowledge for the student nurse.

One of the notebooks dates to the 1920’s and belonged to Wellesley School of Nursing class of 1925 graduate Elsie Kathleen Jones. Elsie K. returned to The Wellesley in 1928 and became the Director of Nursing in 1937, the role she held until her retirement in 1964.

Elsie K. Jones student notebook (RG 946.03.12.02)

In the notebook there are notations regarding everything from making a proper hospital bed and caring for the sheets, to recognizing and treating a hemorrhage in a patient. The following are some excerpts from the notebook.

To Make a Closed Bed

Loosen all the covers, removing one article at a time. Fold and place on a chair
Brush mattress well and turn from end to end
Place mattress protector on mattress
Put on lower sheet, wide hem at top, tucking in nine (9”) at top of mattress drawing tightly and turning straight corners.
Place the draw rubber, pulling on tightly, so there are no wrinkles
Place draw sheet, folding about 1/3 under at the top and tucking in tightly on each side
Place top sheet with the hem wrong side up, first coming to top of bed. Tuck in at the foot and make straight corners
Place blanket about 9” from top of the bed. Tuck in at the foot and make straight corners.
Then fold top sheet over the blanket and tuck in on both sides
Place the spread, reaching to the top of the bed, making straight corner at the bottom.
Place two pillows in bed. See that the pillows are well on the corners of the slips. Fold and place with closed end toward the door

The notebook also included instructions on how to make an “Ether” or surgical bed. The following are instructions for making up a surgical tray:

Surgical dressing tray

Six packages of absorbent wipes
Two large and two small dressings
One package of sterile towels
Set of instruments (forceps, scissors, probe)
Adhesive straps
Adhesive tape
Antiseptic powder (Borace or Bismuth Formic Iodide)
Bandages 2” x 3”
Bandage scissors
Curved basin
Sterile doctor’s gloves
Sterile bowl or basin of warm boracic solution
Packing

The nurses were also responsible to pre-treating the bedding if stained before sending them out to be washed:

Blood stains are soaked in cold water, then washed with soap and tepid water. For tea, coffee, and fruit stains use boiling water. If stains are still very persistent, use a solution of oxalic acid and rinse well afterwards in cold water.
Cocoa or anything containing milk use cold water
Grease stains, use hot water and soap or benzene
Iron Rust – spread over boiling water cover with salt and lemon juice, place in sun, if possible, and rinse thoroughly before sending to laundry
Ink stains – cover with salt and lemon juice and rinse thoroughly
Iodine – use ammonia or alcohol
When it came to treating their patients there were basic instructions such as recognizing sings of and type of fevers and proper care of thermometers:

Care of thermometer

Keep thermometer in bichloride of mercury solution 1-1000. Wash in cold water and dry before giving to patient

Types of Fever

Continuous fever which remains high with slight variations
Remittent, which remain above normal with considerable variations between highest and lowest temperature
Intermittent – alternately rises to high fever and falls to or below normal

Keep thermometer in bichloride of mercury solution 1-1000. Wash in cold water and dry before giving to patient

The notebook also has a number of recipes for poultices, enemas, purgatives, and various medical solutions used by nurses to treat a variety of medical conditions. The Linseed poultice was used for treating chest congestion and pneumonia:

Linseed Poultice

Is made from linseed or ground flax seed meal. It is most effectual because it can be used at higher temperatures with blistering, as the linseed contains considerable oil.

Preparation

For a small poultice, use about 2/3 cup of linseed to 1 cup boiling water. Add the linseed slowly to the boiling water, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or spatula. Turn the gas low and just let come to a boil. Remove from gas and beat vigorously. Spread the linseed about 3/4” thick on poultice gauze leaving a good margin for folding in. Carry to the patient between heated plates. Have ready oiled muslin flannel protector binder and pins

*Note – Linseed poultice must be hot, light and smooth.

To view the notebook in its entirety or look through other items in this fonds – please contact Ryerson Archives and Special Collections at asc@ryerson.ca

New Exhibition: Canada 150, Picturing the Canadian Landscape

Posted on April 19, 2017 by Alison

Canada 150: Picturing the Canadian Landscape. Ryerson Library Archives and Special Collections

The plains of the prairies, the forests of the interior, and the seascapes of the Atlantic and the Pacific have served as muses for Canadian artists and writers for centuries.

In Canada 150: Picturing the Canadian Landscape, photographs and ephemera of the Lorne Shields Historical Photograph Collection at Toronto Metropolitan University showcase the ways in which the natural landscape has been an essential part of the identity and history of Canada.

Incorporating extraordinary cameras from the Heritage Camera Collection and the Kodak Canada Corporate Archives and Heritage Collection, and rare books from Toronto Metropolitan University’s Special Collections, this exhibition reflects on the photographic, recreational, and artistic responses to Canada’s natural landscape by artists, enthusiasts and writers throughout the years.

Drop by the Archives and Special Collections Department, on the 4th floor of the Ryerson Library, to see the exhibition, curated by Image Arts students Bowie Fan, Gabriele Tai, Georgia Love, Justine Marasigan, and Lodoe Laura.

The 2017 First Edition Book Award Winners

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Alison

Winners of the 2017 First Edition Book Award

Award Recipients

Adrian Walton-Cordeiro – Contesse De Bertren
Ailene Devries – Two Cities and a River
Fehn Foss – Remembering, Faring
Julia Garnet – Elements
Feline Gerhardt – About Mankind and the Attempt to Increase Significance
Warren Rynkun – The Yard

Honourable Mentions

Grayson Alabiso-Cahil – We’re not the first, and we won’t be the last
Rena Balmain-Matthews – Poems
Jana Beaton – Wallpaper Floorboards
April Beatson – Skate
Rebecca Bentolila and Natasha Serio – Yours and Mine

About the Award

As part of MPS507, a 3rd year Toronto Metropolitan University Image Arts class in The Photographic Book, students are expected to conceive of and create their own photobook. This is, in part, related to work that has been completed in the co-requisite class, MPS506 – Photographic Production. These are both required courses for the Bachelor of Fine Arts (Image Arts) Photography Studies Option. Each year, the Library purchases the top photobooks in the class, as judged by the Special Collections Librarian, Alison Skyrme, and a special invited guest (this year Robyn York of Anchorless Press). The library pays fair market value for each book, and commits to spending a maximum of $1000 per semester. The books are judged at the First Edition Photobook Show – an exhibition of the photobooks at the end of the semester. For evaluation, particular attention is paid to design, sequencing, and integration of images and text. The library catalogues each book, including a note about the award, and houses the books in Special Collections. Occasional exhibits are created to showcase the works.

History

The First Edition Photobook Award was established in 2015 by Image Arts instructor Christopher Manson and the Ryerson Library to honour 3rd year photography students who have made exceptional achievements in photobook production. It provides incentive for them to achieve early recognition that will have a lasting legacy in our collection.

Previous Award Recipients

The following 2016 award winners were presented with a certificate during the Image Arts Awards Night, November 19th, 2016: Andrea Chartrand, Kaya Kelley, Mina Markovic, Terence Reeves, Gabriel Steele, Alia Youssef.

2017 Award Winners

Warren Rynkun – *The Yard* (inside spread)

Ailene Devries – *Two Cities and a River*

Adrian Walton-Cordeiro: *Contesse De Bertren*

Feline Gerhardt – *About Mankind and the Attempt to Increase Significance*

Feline Gerhardt – *About Mankind and the Attempt to Increase Significance* (inside spread)

Robyn York - Anchorless Press — Robyn York – Anchorless Press

Guest Judge

Robyn York is a photographer and book artist whose work explores collecting, memory loss, and impermanence of place. She runs Anchorless Press, an independent publishing company that works with emerging artists to publish photo-based artists’ books, and has self-published and assisted in the design and production of over a dozen artists’ books and novels.

The New Archives and Special Collections Reading Room is Open for Business!

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Rosalynn

Now open to all students, staff, faculty!

The new Archives and Special Collections reading room is now open for business. We are now located on the 4th floor of the Library in LIB 404, adjacent to the new quiet study and teaching room, LIB405. The Archives and Special Collections reading room is open from Monday – Friday form 9-5.
Artifacts and exhibits are still being installed, but we are open for visitors and researchers. Here are a few photographs of our new digs.

At the front desk, Daisy and RISIS are waiting to welcome you.

One of our “new” reading room tables, actually used by in a Ryerson Board Room in the 1970’s.

The reading room research materials are now all handily in one spot.

One of the most exciting changes for A&SC staff is the new mobile shelving for the collections. Not only did it double our storage capacity, it is also totally separate from the reading room and offices.

For Instructors and Faculty: Teaching With Archival and Special Collections Material

If you are a teaching a class that might benefit from including primary source material, the quiet study/teaching space can be booked for classes. The archives and special collections staff can work with you to select books, photographs, documents, artifacts or other primary source materials from our collections. More information on our collection can be found on our website, and you can search for material on our online database. For more information, or to book a class, please email the Archives and Special Collections at asc@ryerson.ca.

New Quiet Study Area:

A large quiet study area outside of Archives and Special Collections (LIB405) is now open as well and is available during library opening hours, but will occasionally be closed for booked classes. Signage will be posted indicating scheduled bookings.

The A&SC staff encourage you to stop by and visit if you get the chance.

Integrated Pest Management 2.0 in A&SC

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Teresa Wong

Pokémon Go pests infesting your reading room? Who you gonna call? Student intern! Problem: your once peaceful reading room has been overrun with strange colourful pests.

Drowzees were found all over the place, whether it be hiding with our reel collection…

…or sitting by the Archives entrance waiting for archival research assistance.

Speaking of sitting, a Jynx was spotted on top of the Normal School desk. It seemed to be enjoying itself hanging out with Egerton Ryerson and our resident Kodak Kolorkin genealogist.

A Pidgey was discovered lounging on the architectural model of the Toronto Normal School and St. James Square.

IMG_2016-07-20-11485454 — Toronto Normal School and St. James Square architectural model.

Pokémon seem to really enjoy our architectural models as a Bellsprout was found listening in on a meeting.

IMG_2016-07-20-11464380 — Jorgenson-Learning Resources Complex architectural model (RG 8.17)

A Rattata was seen keeping one of the reading room tables all to itself.

Even the books from Special Collections were infested with Zubats flying around the shelves.

However, our biggest problem seems to be in the stacks. In the span of a few minutes a Gastly, a Rattata, and a Spearow had to be caught in order to keep everything in order!

We’ve resorted to hanging these pheromone traps around the archives and tracking them down…

…but if anybody can think of a better way to capture and remove these critters, we’d love to hear from you. We’d hate to have to resort to letting these hard workers out of their box…

doozer twitter 1001 (1) — Doozer figurines (2012.005.05.07)

…but if we need to, our contingency plan involves setting up intricate sugary lattice traps in the hopes of attracting and capturing these pests.

For now we’re hard at work catching Pokémon when we find them! Or you might say we’re hardly working…

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS IS ON THE MOVE!

Posted on May 17, 2016 by Rosalynn

Doozer construction sign from the Bob Hackborn fonds 2012.005.06.59

Beginning Monday May 16 Special Collections will be rooming with the Toronto Metropolitan University Archives while renovations happen on the 4th floor. The Archives is located on the 3rd floor in the Library in room LIB387.

The move will take several weeks to complete, but we will continue to offer reference and research appointments while the shifting takes place.

To access Special Collections please email asc@ryerson.ca for an appointment.

Empty shelving in Special Collections — Fitting, Kodak was Special Collections first fonds and it is the first to relocate to the third floor.

Fans of shelves against wall. — Shelves waiting for assemble in the Archives

Kodak ledgers on shelving in Archives — Kodak advertising ledgers in their home

Archival boxes on shelves in Archives. — Doesn’t take long to fill up the shelves.

We are looking forward to an exciting Summer and Fall with A&SC finally located in one place! Check back here for move updates and photographs.

It’s Preservation Week, do you know where your photos are?

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Alison

ALA’s Preservation Week.

It’s Preservation Week, an initiative headed up by the American Library Association to raise awareness around the millions of artifacts in public collections that require special preservation attention. Photographs, films, videos, manuscripts, artworks and digital material can be invaluable cultural objects, containing unique information not found elsewhere. Many of these objects are in danger of becoming damaged or obsolete over time, and require more care than institutions can offer.

What we’re doing

Ryerson Library is doing its part by digitizing photographic and film materials that are degrading, including producing digital scans of the Canadian Architect photograph collection to make them accessible, and freezing the negatives to stop further damage to the original objects. Propaganda and documentary films from the Leniniana collection have also been digitized and are now accessible without having to run the fragile films through aging projectors.

What you can do

Closer to home, what happens to all those selfies you take? The likelihood is you’re not printing them (Some estimate that over 80% of all photographs taken now remain digital and are never printed out). The speed at which technology changes makes this is a cause for concern. Vint Cerf, Vice President of Google, noted at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science that the loss of our primarily digital culture due to obsolescence may create a “forgotten generation, or even a forgotten century”.

There are some simple steps you can take at home to protect your personal digital photos, videos and file:

Don’t keep everything: every once in awhile, go through your images and select the most important memories to keep. Do you really need all those photos of your cat?
Organize your stuff: use a file organization and file naming system that makes sense to you. This could be chronologically, by subject or a combination of those (ex. by year and then by event).
Make several copies: store your important files in a few different places (on your desktop, on a portable hard-drive, DVD, or on cloud storage), and make sure at least one copy is physically in a different place. Be careful relying solely on third party providers, if a company goes out of business you might be out of luck!
Save files in common formats: proprietary files such as raw image or specialized software formats are at a higher risk of becoming obsolete. Save important files in high-quality formats like PDF or TIFF.

For more information on preserving different file formats, see the Library of Congress Personal Archiving site for helpful tips.

Feeling old school?

Still taking polaroids? Do you have boxes of old family photographs in your closet? Or worse, one of these:

For information on how to preserve them, see this Archives and Special Collections blog post from last summer about caring for your family photos.

Celebrate Preservation Week with us, back up your photos and videos!

Alison Skyrme
Special Collections Librarian

Happy 2018!

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What is that date on the window?

1899

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Award Recipients

Honourable Mentions

About the Award

History

Previous Award Recipients

2017 Award Winners

Guest Judge

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Now open to all students, staff, faculty!

For Instructors and Faculty: Teaching With Archival and Special Collections Material

New Quiet Study Area:

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ALA’s Preservation Week.

What we’re doing

What you can do

Feeling old school?

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