Impressions: 250 Years of Printing in the Lives of Canadians

Impressions: 250 Years of Printing in the Lives of Canadians

The Mackay directories evolved into the famous Lovell directories after the author's death.

Robert Walter Stuart Mackay, circa 1809-1854
The Montreal Directory for 1844-5...
Montreal: Printed and sold by Lovell and Gibson, [1844]. 300 p.

The first 19th-century Quebec City directory (after Hugh Mackay's directories of 1790 and 1791). Aside from a listing of merchants, traders and householders, it contains a description of public and commercial services, the Rules and Regulations of Police, and some advertisements. A very useful large plan of the city was engraved on copper and sold with the book. In his preface, the compiler addresses the issue of the numbering of houses: "In particularizing the numbers of the houses, no regard has been paid to those already placed upon them unless found correct. The majority of them are incorrect, but the numbers inserted in the Directory will be found accurate when a general numbering takes place."

Thomas Henri Gleason
The Quebec Directory for 1822...
Quebec: Neilson and Cowan, 1822. xi, 142 p.

This is the second Toronto directory (the first was for 1833-34). The compiler was a notary. It is divided into three parts: the almanac; the list of inhabitants, and their occupation, of the city of Toronto, and of the counties of York and Simcoe; and a listing of commercial and public institutions not contained in the almanac section. This copy belonged to eminent Toronto lawyer and jurist John Godfrey Spragge (1806-1884).

George Walton
The City of Toronto and the Home District Commercial Directory and Register, with Almanack and Calendar for 1837...
Toronto: Printed by T. Dalton and W.J. Coates, [1836]. 48, 192, 45 p.

The first directory published in British Columbia. Although printing had already been established in the colony, it was printed in San Francisco by Towne & Bacon. It contains a list of residents of Victoria and New Westminster and is especially valuable for the advertisements. It took another 15 years for the next directory to appear.
	Frederick P. Howard and George Barnett, compilers The British Columbian and Victoria Guide and Directory for 1863... Victoria, V.I. [Vancouver Island]: Office of the British Columbian and Victoria Directory, 1863. 216 p.

This early Manitoba directory combined information from the traditional almanac, including many advertisements, postal information, and a 15-page listing of the "Male adult residents of Winnipeg."
	**Winnipeg Directory and Manitoba Almanac for 1876. Postal Guide and Handbook of General Infromation** [sic]. Winnipeg: Cook & Fletcher, [1875].

The T. Eaton Co. Limited
Spring-Summer 1906 catalogue no. 74.
Toronto, [1906]. 210 p.

Timothy Eaton (1834-1907) opened his first Toronto store in 1869, and published his first catalogue in 1884. Over the years, the company opened outlets throughout the country, each having its own catalogue such as this one from Moncton for 1926. An Eaton's catalogue was found in most households across Canada.

The T. Eaton Co. Limited
Spring and Summer 1926.
Moncton, [1926]. 414 p.

This company was founded by Robert Simpson (1834-1897) in 1872 in Toronto. It issued catalogues beginning in 1894. It was always a great competitor of Eaton's.
	The Robert Simpson Company Limited White Goods Catalogue No. 96. January 1906. Toronto, [1905]. 48 p.

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Created: 2001-03-05 Updated: 2001-04-09	Top of Page	Important Notices