Category Archives: retro

I could spend hours looking at old ads (and I sometimes have). Here is a Ford car ad from the Toronto 1921 city directory that was not afraid of blank space: This ad was a header page for a section of … Continue reading →

Here’s yet another ad from the 1921 Toronto city directory, since I enjoy them so much: Here’s a close-up of the top of the building: Did they really have a flag that read “Nerlich & C0.”? There are lots of … Continue reading →

Here’s another ad from the 1921 Toronto city directory: I love the very idea of Broughton’s Pink Stropping Dust. Sadly, Google turned up no additional information on Geo. H. Broughton or his wondrous dust. It is seemingly lost to history.

Here’s an ad in the 1921 Toronto city directory, placed by Might Directories, the people who created the directory: I wonder what training you needed to become an Addresser or Mailer. Did Might Directories have a reserve force of on-call … Continue reading →

Here’s a section from the Toronto 1921 city directory that caught my attention: The last sentence states that Toronto contains 1,802 streets and 121,311 buildings of all kinds. This means that somebody went through the city directory and counted the … Continue reading →

Page 946 of the 1900 Toronto city directory, which I mentioned yesterday, contains this ad at the top of the page: I’m not sure why Mr. McConkey restricted his restaurant to men only. I can guess, but the answer probably … Continue reading →