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Globe and Mail fonds

fonds1922-1953Fonds 1266

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Held by
City of Toronto Archives via City of Toronto Archives
Creator
Globe and Mail
Dates
1922-1953 (indexed as 1922–1953)
Level
fonds
Extent
ca. 140,000 negatives : b&w
Scope & content
Fonds consists of ca. 140,000 negatives created by and/or under the direction of the Globe and Mail's first staff photographer, John H. Boyd, between December 1922 and November 1953. The fonds begins with what an obituary described as Boyd's first assignment as staff photographer: a feature photograph of streetcar tracks being laid in front of the new Union Station on Front Street, December 7, 1922 (#1, TTC Construction, Front and York). For the next 42 years, Boyd continued to take pictures, and assign other photographers to take pictures, for the Globe and its successor, the Globe and Mail. The CTA now holds Boyd's surviving work for the first 31 years of his photojournalism career. Unfortunately, not all his photographs survive. The losses are greatest for the early years (e.g., only a third of the negatives logged between December 1922 and July 1928 have survived), although there are still significant losses in later years (e.g., only one of the shots taken when the Globe and Mail's new building was opened in 1938 have survived). Researchers should check the logbook photocopies to see if they contain a capital letter (usually a "G", "N", or "S") to the left of the negative number. These letters identify the type of negative, and also indicate that the CTA does have the picture. The range of the material is tremendous, providing a rich visual record of Toronto, especially in the 1930s and 1940s. Boyd and his photographic colleagues recorded both annual events (the Canadian National Exhibition) and unique events (the Christie Pits Riot on August 16, 1933, Toronto's 1934 Centennial, or the 1949 fire aboard the Noronic); major events (like the outbreak of War in September 1939, when coverage of a new recruit being inducted into the army was slipped between fashion assignments at Eatons and Simpsons); and local highlights (floods, car wrecks, and criminal activity); world and national figures (like Lloyd George and Mary Pickford), and more local celebrities (Premiers, Mayors, and Varsity athletes). Boyd and his photographers also followed extended stories. Chief among these was World War II, when Boyd and his team photographed all manner of activities on the homefront: recruiting, training, munitions manufacturing, airplane- and ship-building, blackouts, fund-raising, and finally an ecstatic VE Day. By comparison, coverage of the Great Depression is limited; Boyd and his editorial superiors seemed to favour photographs of the rich-and-famous over the down-and-out. Researchers may be rewarded by a close study of the logbooks to see what was and what was not photographed. Finally, the fonds contains a group of numbered negatives from the early 1950s that were neither logged or described.
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Subjects
World War, 1939-1945; Noronic (passenger ship); Royal Agricultural Winter Fair; Canadian National Exhibition; Toronto Centennial, 1934; Boyd, John Harold, 1898-1971; ROYAL VISITS; SPORTS; EVENTS; PARADES
Harvested
2026-10-22T03:55:37Z · source datestamp n/a · toronto
Original metadata as harvested (toronto)