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Tag: Canadian History

The Spring Edition of My Favorite Vintage Online Reads & Videos

It’s been awhile since I have done a roundup of some of my favourite online vintage reads and videos. So here we go….

Questions about the Vintage communit by Flashback Summer

Vintage Wearers Speak‘. This blog series by Flashback Summer is a Q & A with the vintage world, that myself and other vintage clothing fans recently participated in. It was a fantastic idea and I really enjoyed everyone’s diverse and interesting answers. Check them out below.

Vintage Wearers Speak:

If you could give one piece of wisdom or advice to vintage brands as an influencer and/or consumer, what would it be?

When do you NOT wear vintage styles?

Have you developed any new skills as a result of your interest in vintage style?

What is one area of vintage style that you struggle with?

What non-Western fashion aesthetics are you particularly attracted to or draw inspiration from?

What is one of your favorite interactions you’ve ever had with another vintage wearer on social media or a blog post?

When you first started wearing vintage, what was one thing that encouraged you to continue?

What vintage reproduction piece (or supply to reproduce your own vintage) has become a treasure to you?

Myth Buster! ‘Flappers Didn’t Really Wear Fringed Dresses‘. Article by Zoe Berry for Racked all about how the iconic flapper costume wouldn’t fit in at one of Jay Gatsby’s parties.

1920s photo of flappers and musicians having a party

Mary Travers, a.k.a. La Bolduc (seen above). La Bolduc was Canada’s first “chansonnière,” singing about the daily problems and difficulties of ordinary life. Her songs would cheer on les Québécois during the Great Depression. Take a look at her Heritage Minute below, focusing on the payment for her first recording session in 1930 (Video Clip).

Mary Bolduc, Canadian 1930s Famous Female Singer.
Source: Library and Archives Canada

The Google Doodle on June 4th was all about Canadian Tom Longboat on what would have been his 131st Birthday. Tom was an Onondaga from the Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario and was one of the world’s great long-distance runners.

It celebrates the Canadian long-distance runner Tom Longboat on what would have been his 131st birthday.

He ran his first official race in Caledonia in 1905 and two years later shot to international attention with a record-breaking win in the Boston Marathon. He represented Canada in the 1908 Olympics. Hailed as professional world champion the following year, Longboat went on to set world records for 24- and 32-km races. During the First World War, he served as a dispatch runner with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces (1916-19). Tom Longboat is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame (Source).

Seventy-Five Years Ago, Women’s Baseball Players Took the Field.  Article by the Smithsonian

For further images, please check out my ‘All American Girls Baseball League‘ blog post.

History of Women's Baseball in United States during the 1940s-League of their Own
Source: Smithsonian

Canadian Born, Rose Marie Reid’s Vision For Beachwear Helped Shape The Modern Swimsuit. Article by the Smithsonian.

About: In the dead of winter, 1950, a Los Angeles fashion designer named Rose Marie Reid–already known for designing the beachwear of stars such as Marilyn Monroe–patented a one-piece bathing suit made using elastic fabric that could just be pulled on. Reid, who already held a number of bathing suit-related patents, had just created the earliest version of the modern one-piece suit (Source).

1950s Starlight Swimsuit. Rose Marie Reid
Source: Wikipedia

Further Reading: 1940s & 1950s Canadian Swimsuit Designer-Rose Marie Reid (Vintage Inn Blog Post)

Rose Marie Reid 1950s Swimsuit designer

The Swing Reival in the 90’s is a big part of why I am a lindy hopper and vintage fan today. So the music from that time will always hold a place in my heart. Billboard magazine wrote this long but very interesting article entitled “In Defense of the Swing Revival: Why America Flipped for ’40s Sounds in 1998“. Check it out to see why they had to defend it.

(Video Clip)

This last article/video brings us to the end of this edition of the vintage roundup. I hope you enjoyed what I had to share and thanks for stopping by!

Question time: What article or video did you enjoy above? Did you read or see anything that is in the vintage world that you found interesting? Share in the comments below! You know I love to hear from you.

Liz

The Vintage Covers of the Canadian Tire Catalogue

There is an a vintage item on my want list that has been there for some time and it’s a vintage copy of a Canadian Tire Catalogue. Canadian Tire is a Canadian institution that has been around since 1922. It’s hardware store, meets car parts store, meets a home and garden store and I LOVE IT! Why? I have no clue, but I have been a loyal shopper for years and years and will continue as long as the store remains open.

Canadian Tire original mascot
Canadian Tire’s original mascots: a dollar coin and a tire on the run. Source: Auto Focus

As mentioned above they used to put out a catalogue of all their goods and services and while the more recent copies (up to 2008 when they discontinued them) were not too exciting, the vintage copies from 1920s to the late 1960’s are  colourful and fun and NOT what you are going to expect.

The Vintage Covers of the Canadian Tire Catalogue

The History of the Catalogue:

In 1926, Canadian Tire introduced their first catalogue / road map which featured a road map of Ontario and area on one side and advertised items for sale on the reverse.

1926 Canadian Tire Early Catalogue
Source: Auto Focus

The catalogue business continued to grow and the 1930’s saw Canadian Tire introduce it’s first “Spring and Summer”, “Fall and Winter” and “Radio” catalogues. Many other specialty versions of catalogues were issued over the years and by 1968 over 2.5 million copies were mailed to customers increasing to over 6 million copies by 2007. In 2008, Canadian Tire announced the end of an era, discontinuing their catalogue mailings after more than 80 years, however, 2011 did see the return of an automotive catalogue (Source).

Now without further adieu here are some fantastic examples of vintage covers up to the year 1969:


Disclosure: Some of the links on my blog from Etsy , eBay, are Affiliate Links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.


1935 Catalogue Collage. To see inside the full catalogue, visit this link HERE.

Canadian Tire 1935 Catalogue Collage Vintage
Source: Flickr

1939 Radio Catalogue. Look at that Font?! Totally nerding out on the graphic design right now.

1939 Canadian Tire Radio Catalogue
Source: Pinterest

1939 Canadian Tire Spring & Summer Catalog

1939 Canadian Tire Spring & Summer Catalog

Source: eBay

The Canadian Tire Catalogue Mascot and the “Cover Theme”:

A white haired old gentleman with a moustache made his debut on the cover of the 1941 “Spring and Summer” catalogue. Although he was never given a name, he was later featured with a young woman and his two sons for almost 30 years until the “Spring and Summer” catalogue of 1969 where they all had their last appearance as head shots only. Subsequent years featured products on the covers.

Note that most of the covers after 1941 also had a theme that was stated typically near the bottom.

1941 spring and summer canadian tire magazine vintage
Source: O Canada Blog

Wartime Catalogues: WWII saw some changes to the catalogues including the cover theme and there was no “Spring and Summer” catalogue issued in 1944. Canadian Tire came back with a 100 page catalogue in 1948-49 with a page 3 advertisment stating “Your first full-size C.T.C. catalog in more than five years” (Source).

Fall and Winter, 1941-42. “Need a hand dad?”

Vintage Canadian Tire Catalog 1941-2 Fall & Winter
Source: Etsy

Spring/Summer, 1942. It seems that on this cover, one son is in the service and the other is currently not. Do you agree?

1942 Spring Summer Canadian Tire Catalogue
Source: Pinterest

1943. Sorry for the blurry image of this next photo but I could not find an alternative. Have both of our Mascots sons enlisted now?

1943 Canadian Tire Corporation Catalog WW2 wartime vintage
Source: Etsy

Fall & Winter Supplement, 1947-1948. I love the look inside one of the stores. So modern!

1947 Vintage Canadian Tire Catalogue Mid Century
Source: Etsy

Still Going Strong. Spring and Summer, 1953.

1953 Canadian Tire Magazine Vintage
Source: Pinterest

Quick Pick-Ups with Mor-Power Batteries. Fall and Winter, 1953-1954.

Fall Winter 1953 1954 Canadian Tire Magazine Vintage
Source: CTC Collector

Fall Savings. Fall and Winter, 1955-56 (love the saddle shoes!).

1955-1956 Fall and Winter Canadian Tire Catalogue
Source: CTC Collector

Surprising Values. Spring and Summer 1958.

Vintage Canadian Tire Catalogue, Spring and Summer 1958
Source: Pinterest

It’s A Pleasure To Serve. Spring and Summer, 1959.

1959 Canadian Tire Catalogue Vintage
Source: eBay

Good Value – And No “Misteak“. Spring and Summer 1961.

1960s Vintage Canadian Tire Catalogue Cover
Source: Pinterest

Tickling Values. Fall and Winter Catalogue, 1960-1961.

1960s Vintage Canadian Tire Catalogue
Source: CDR

Pleasurable Leisure. Spring and Summer 1963.

Spring and summer 1963 Vintage Canadian Tire Catalogue
Source: CTC Collector

A Family Affair. Spring and Summer 1966.

Vintage Canadian Tire Catalogue, Spring and Summer 1966
Source: Pinterest

Question Time: Did you have a favourite Cover from this collection? Do any of my readers who their own vintage Canadian Tire Catalogue? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Want your own piece of Canadian History? Some of the items on eBay, Etsy and the CTC Collector were for sale at the time of this blog post, so you might be able to snag your own catalogue.

Further Reading: Vintage Magazines & Catalogs 1920s-1960s (Archived Blog Posts)

Liz