The Textures of a Lost Toronto:
John Howard's Documentary Art & Drawings - 1830s - 1880s |
RECREATIONAL AND CULTURAL TORONTO
Recreational
and cultural opportunities in John Howard's Toronto were
typical of provincial societies at the time. Outdoor sports
and past-times were popular, church-based lectures and concerts
were common, and various societies provided opportunities
to explore music, literature, and art, which were enlivened
by travelling performers, lecturers, and personalities. Taverns,
gambling, and racing consumed people's disposable incomes,
while amusements of an even less refined nature attracted
interest, such as those centred at the houses of ill-repute,
which, according to one 1830s observer, were 'scattered thro' every corner of
the town.' Finally, major events in the life of the city - whether
special occasions (such as the visit of the Prince of Wales
in 1860), or tragedies (such as shipwrecks off Toronto Bay) - captured
people's imaginations and brought Torontonians together as
a community.
Howard participated in many of these recreational and cultural
opportunities. For instance, he helped found the Society of
Artists and Amateurs of Toronto in 1834 and the Toronto Society
of Arts in 1847, both of which held shows where some of the
watercolours that you see here today were exhibited.
TORONTO BAY, 1835 (JH)
City of Toronto Toronto Culture, Museums and Heritage Services,
1978.41.23.
This watercolour shows Toronto Bay between roughly Bathurst
and York streets about two decades before the waterfront south
of Front Street began to be filled at the beginning of the
railway era. The harbour froze from time to time and was a
popular venue for skating, sleighing, ice-boating, and other
winter sports.
CURLING ON THE DON RIVER, 1836 (PRESUMED TO BE BY JH)
Bibliothèque
et Archives Canada/Library and Archives Canada /C-011234.
The location of this image is uncertain, but it might be the
paper mill at Todmorden Mills. It is difficult to determine
the site in part because the landscape around Todmorden has
changed radically, but this watercolour is an interesting,
early representation of curling in late Georgian Toronto.
CURLING ON GRENADIER POND IN HIGH PARK, 1836 (PRESUMED TO
BE BY JH)
Bibliothèque
et Archives Canada/Library and Archives Canada /C-011233.
As well as a site for curling, Grenadier Pond was a popular
destination for fishing, boating, and skating. John Howard
recorded that hundreds of people skated on it some afternoons
and evenings. In his time, the water level was about a metre
lower than it is today. (This watercolour looks west, from
a point towards the southern end of Grenadier Pond.)
GRENADIER POND, 1879 (JH)
City of Toronto Toronto Culture, Museums and Heritage Services,
1978.41.32.
There is a legend that the name of Grenadier Pond commemorates
soldiers who fell through the ice while fighting in the 1813
battle of York. The story is utter nonsense. The battle took
place in late April when there was no ice, it took place further
east than High Park, and all the casualties were documented,
none of whom disappeared into the pond. In reality, the name
is a Victorian romanticism that arose because soldiers from
the Toronto garrison spent time around the pond, both on manoeuvres
and during their leisure hours, including officers who fished
there as guests of the Howards.
HIGH PARK, 1870s (JH)
City of Toronto Toronto Culture,
Museums and Heritage Services,
1970.222.19G.
Howard's desire to establish High Park as a public amenity
was part of the larger Victorian movement to create parks.
Some of the inspiration came from middle-class people who wanted
to provide wholesome leisure opportunities to the lower classes
in place of the taverns and other such opportunities available
to them. Howard insisted that no alcohol be sold in the park
and that access be free . The park opened in 1873 and Howard
received a lifetime pension in return for turning over his
land to the City.
ICE CONE
OPPOSITE THE GATE LEADING TO COLBORNE LODGE, 1864 (JH)
City of Toronto Toronto Culture, Museums and Heritage Services,
1978.41.29.
Torontonians of the 19th century enjoyed winter. It was a
season with few bugs and contagious diseases compared to the
rest of the year, and it offered advantages such as frozen
roadways that made travel easier in comparison to the muddy
morasses that passed for roads in spring and autumn or the
dust-choked trails of summer. It also was a time of reduced
labour and greater opportunity to socialize with friends and
family.
MR T. TINNING
RESCUING THE CREW OF THE PACIFIC , 1875
(JH)
City of Toronto Toronto Culture, Museums and Heritage Services,
1978.41.31.
This dramatic image shows a well-known Toronto rower, Thomas
Tinning, saving the crew of a wrecked schooner in December
1861. The view looks southeast between Sunnyside and Humber
Bay. Howard first painted this picture in 1862 for the citizens
of Toronto to present to Tinning to honour his heroism, and
then made this copy for his own enjoyment in 1875.
CEDAR SWAMP, 1840 (JH)
City of Toronto Toronto Culture, Museums and Heritage Services,
1978.41.100.
The location of this watercolour is uncertain, although it likely
was a low-lying area of today's High Park. Perhaps John Howard
meant the picture to be a self-portrait.
EXPLORE JOHN HOWARD'S DOCUMENTARY ART & DRAWINGS
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