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  1. City of Toronto Archives
  2. E.L. Ruddy Company fonds
  3. Photographic ledgers of E.L. Ruddy Company

Photographic ledgers of E.L. Ruddy Company

series[ca. 1904]-1968Fonds 1488 > Series 1230

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Held by
City of Toronto Archives via City of Toronto Archives
Dates
[ca. 1904]-1968 (indexed as 1904–1968)
Level
series
Extent
9,558 photoprints : b&w ; 20 x 25 cm and smaller; 3,540 photoprints : col. ; 9 x 13 cm
Scope & content
Series consists of photographic documentation of E.L. Ruddy Company Limited signage, pre-production and on location, consisting of billboards, painted wall advertisements, storefront signage, neon signage, and other related outdoor advertising products. Many of the pre-1960 photographs show the outdoor advertisements in situ, with recognizable buildings and streetscapes around them. Some images were taken to record visibility of the advertisements from various pronounced distances. A significant amount of images from the 1930s depict Art Deco infused designs. As well as outdoor advertisements, the Ruddy company designed entire storefronts and, in the case of several Toronto gasoline service stations and theatres, integrated outdoor and indoor neon signage and lighting. Many Ruddy billboards through the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s incorporated three-dimensional components as well as mixing flat signage with neon and other electric components. Some of the billboards bear company names other than Ruddys. These may have been companies Ruddy had some relationship with. The post-1960 photographs are for the most part colour close-up shots of the advertisements without peripheral information. The photographs were originally pasted into thematic and chronological ledgers. Many of the earliest photographs were taken by Pringle & Booth Limited. Many others from the 1930s through the 1950s were taken by G. Hugh Robertson of Panda Photography and Jean Gainfort Merrill of Herbert Nott Associates. By the 1960s, E.L. Ruddy staff had begun to do all of the company's own photo documentation. Staff taking photographs included Allan J. Gloucester, Ernie Maddocks, Ed Vaar and Arthur Austerberry.
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Harvested
2026-10-22T06:07:41Z · source datestamp n/a · toronto
Original metadata as harvested (toronto)