Armstrong, Beere and Hime panorama
Encyclopedia
The Armstrong, Beere and Hime panorama is an almost complete panorama
of the city of Toronto
taken in 1856–1857 by the firm Armstrong, Beere and Hime. They are the earliest known photographs of the city of Toronto, and create an almost complete record of the city at that time. A fictionalized history of the photographs and their story plays a central role in Michael Redhill
's Consolation.
They were created by the firm Armstrong, Beere and Hime under contract from the city of Toronto. In 1857 the British Colonial Office
was deciding which city should be made the capital of The Canadas
. As part of their bid, the city of Toronto elected to present a set of photographs of the city to the authorities in London. The city paid Armstrong, Beere and Hime £60 to create four copies of 25 pictures. The panoramic images were taken from the roof of the Rossin House Hotel, at the southeast corner of King and York streets.
Toronto's bid to become the capital failed, and the photographs were lost and forgotten. They were rediscovered on October 9, 1979, when archivist Joan Schwartz located them when looking through records at the Colonial Office Library. Subsequently a second set of the pictures was found in Ottawa.
A set of modern duplicates, reproduced from copy negatives, was presented to the City of Toronto as a Sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) gift from the British government in 1984. These are housed in the City of Toronto Archives
.
Panorama
A panorama is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film/video, or a three-dimensional model....
of the city of Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
taken in 1856–1857 by the firm Armstrong, Beere and Hime. They are the earliest known photographs of the city of Toronto, and create an almost complete record of the city at that time. A fictionalized history of the photographs and their story plays a central role in Michael Redhill
Michael Redhill
Michael Redhill is an American-born Canadian poet, playwright and novelist.Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Redhill was raised in the metropolitan Toronto, Ontario area. He pursued one year of study at Indiana University, and then returned to Canada, completing his education at York University and the...
's Consolation.
They were created by the firm Armstrong, Beere and Hime under contract from the city of Toronto. In 1857 the British Colonial Office
Colonial Office
Colonial Office is the government agency which serves to oversee and supervise their colony* Colonial Office - The British Government department* Office of Insular Affairs - the American government agency* Reichskolonialamt - the German Colonial Office...
was deciding which city should be made the capital of The Canadas
The Canadas
The Canadas is the collective name for Upper Canada and Lower Canada, two British colonies in Canada. They were both created by the Constitutional Act of 1791 and abolished in 1841 with the union of Upper and Lower Canada....
. As part of their bid, the city of Toronto elected to present a set of photographs of the city to the authorities in London. The city paid Armstrong, Beere and Hime £60 to create four copies of 25 pictures. The panoramic images were taken from the roof of the Rossin House Hotel, at the southeast corner of King and York streets.
Toronto's bid to become the capital failed, and the photographs were lost and forgotten. They were rediscovered on October 9, 1979, when archivist Joan Schwartz located them when looking through records at the Colonial Office Library. Subsequently a second set of the pictures was found in Ottawa.
A set of modern duplicates, reproduced from copy negatives, was presented to the City of Toronto as a Sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) gift from the British government in 1984. These are housed in the City of Toronto Archives
City of Toronto Archives
The City of Toronto Archives is the municipal archives for the City of Toronto. It holds records created by the City of Toronto government and its predecessor municipalities from 1792 to the present day, as well as non-government records created by private groups and individuals...
.
The images
There were 25 pictures taken in total. 13 make up the almost complete panorama of the city, others were taken of various prominent buildings.See also
- Edwin Whitefield's 1854 lithograph of Toronto