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 At the beginning of the last century, leisure time was very limited for most Canadians. Imported by British and Scottish immigrants, traditional sports, such as curling and cricket, were practised by officers of army garrisons and well-to-do citizens who organized their activities around clubs. By mid-century, factory owners and merchants were obliged to make the working day shorter, liberating evenings and Saturday afternoons for sporting activities. Enjoyed by all, friendly competitions occurred during association or company outings. Recreational activities such as cycling, rowing, and skating were encouraged by the development of manufactured equipment and the opening of new facilities. Canadians also began to develop their own sports such as lacrosse. The opening of railway lines allowed teams to travel and leagues were formed. As sporting activities became more organized, rule-books and instruction manuals were printed locally. The appearance of professional sports, and by the same token, spectator sports, gave rise to a very active market for statistical manuals and programs directed at the fans. Hobbies such as stamp and coin collecting also had their own specialized publications. Of course, reading of works of fiction had always been a favourite means of relaxation. Early Canadian novels were printed by subscription and limited to a few readers. Cheaper imported books far outweighed local productions and it was only at the beginning of this century that a few Canadian writers began to enjoy a large audience. During this century, Canadian-printed pulp magazines, comic books and popular novels did compete with the American market for certain periods of time. 
Although the first curling club was formed in Montreal by a group of Scotsmen as early as 1807, the sport only became popular in the 1830s. By the 1850s it had become very popular and was played by all classes of society. The author was secretary of the Toronto Curling Club. James Bicket The Canadian Curler's Manual; or, An Account of Curling, as Practised in Canada: With Remarks on the History of the Game. Toronto: Published at the office of the British Colonist for the Toronto Curling Club, 1840. 40, [1] p.
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