THE VICTORIAN CONSUMER REVOLUTION

In 1834, the ‘Town of York’ became the ‘City of Toronto.’ In the first municipal election, William Lyon Mackenzie became mayor. Mackenzie used his position as mayor and as a newspaper publisher to condemn the British colonial system of government in Canada. Three years later, Mackenzie attempted to overthrow the government and declare independence from Great Britain through the short-lived and ill-conceived Rebellion of 1837. His uprising failed miserably in the face of the widespread loyalty of the population, and Mackenzie fled to the United States to avoid being tried for treason. With a £1,000 price on his head, Mackenzie (whose family later joined him) remained in the US for over a decade before the Crown granted him an amnesty and allowed him to return to Canada.

ISABEL BAXTER MACKENZIE AND
WILLIAM LYON MACKENZIE, 1834
City of Toronto Culture, 1960.1555.19A and 1960.1556.19A.

In the same year as the Rebellion broke out, the 18-year-old Queen Victoria succeeded to the throne. She began a 64-year reign that, among other developments, revolutionized standards in taste and behaviour within the British Empire and the world beyond. These Victorian ideals centred on such values as a sense of proper decorum and honourable family relationships, as well as social reform, improved sanitation, and advancements in the fields of industrial technology and production. These all had an impact on domestic space and life. To cite just a single example from one of these changes – industrial production – roller printing and new chemical dyes introduced in the 1850s replaced the old method of hand stencilling wallpapers. This made wallpapering both cheaper and more varied in design, and hence more attractive to the owners of homes like Mackenzie House, who tried to represent many of the Victorian period’s ideals through their furnishings and decor.

KING STREET, EAST OF YONGE, TORONTO’S
MAIN SHOPPING AREA, 1856
City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1498, Item 1

The Great Exhibition of 1851, a World’s Fair held at the newly-constructed Crystal Palace in London, England, displayed many remarkable innovations that affected domestic taste and comfort. Items ranged from ceramic sanitation wares produced by Doulton and Company, to elaborately carved furniture pieces by the great architect and designer A.W.N Pugin. Improvements in both manufacturing and design also were seen in exhibits at the fair. They included such innovations as the introduction of springs in furniture to facilitate more plush and heavily-upholstered seating, and in the development of special mechanized saws for cutting ever thinner strips of wood veneer with greater economy than was possible before. These veneers of expensive woods then could be applied to furniture otherwise constructed with cheaper materials (although veneers also had a place in the production of high-end furniture, such as allowing for contrasting inlays of different coloured woods). Another innovation was the use of papier mâché in the construction of furniture, which allowed for the production of a wide variety of affordable items that imitated the exotic and expensive look of Japanese laquerware.

In all of these ways, goods that had been costly became affordable due to the reduced time, labour, and materials needed for their creation. These items were mass produced in British factories and exported throughout the world, while local companies also set up operations in colonies such as Canada, primarily to serve regional markets. This increase in the variety, availability, and affordability of products in industrialized urban centres, whether in cosmopolitan London or provincial Toronto, helped to fuel a consumer revolution.

A SCENE FROM THE GREAT EXHIBITION
The Art Journal, Illustrated Catalogue of the
Industry of All Nations, 1851
Toronto Public Library (TRL)

A good example of this Victorian ingenuity was the experience of the Doulton ceramic company. Founded by John Doulton in Lambeth, England in 1815, it initially produced utilitarian salt-glazed stoneware. Doulton’s son Henry joined the business in 1830 and expanded the scope of the firm to encompass the growing social interest in sanitation wares that would improve domestic comfort and health in the 19th century. The company became renowned for ceramic sewer pipes, drain pipes, conduits, and water filtration devices, some of which remain in use today.

Doulton added decorative wares only as an afterthought to the Great Exhibition of 1851, and it was not until the Paris Exhibition of 1867 that its first attempt at studio-designed pottery appeared on display. Some of these pieces were regarded highly by Queen Victoria and were incorporated into the royal collection, which increased demand for them because of this prestigious affiliation. In 1887, she knighted Henry Doulton, thus making him the first English potter to receive the honour. In 1901, her son and successor, King Edward VII, awarded Doulton and Company a royal warrant, which authorized the firm to change its name to Royal Doulton. It was also in that year that the company introduced the first examples of its famous figurines and series ware that are so popular today, and, in so doing, had an enormous impact on the concept of collecting in decorative arts.

DOULTON TERRA-COTTA VASES EXHIBITED AT
THE GREAT EXHIBITION
The Art Journal, Illustrated Catalogue of the
Industry of All Nations, 1851
Toronto Public Library (TRL)

Although we do not know if the Mackenzie family possessed Doulton wares, these items were available on the Toronto retail market in the 1860s, where they could be purchased from retailers such as the T. Eaton Company (which opened its doors in 1869). These items became even more available to Canadian consumers beginning in 1884 when select lines of Doulton wares were produced exclusively for the Eaton’s mail-order catalogue.

T. EATON AND COMPANY ON YONGE STREET, 1884
Archives of Ontario, T Eaton Company Fonds, F229-1-0-1

We do know, however, that Mackenzie House benefited from another of the great consumer innovations of the 19th century: gas lighting, which was made of gas derived from coal, unlike today’s natural gas. This technology came to Toronto in 1842 after Albert Furniss of Montreal established the City of Toronto Gas Light and Water Company. In 1848, the Consumers Gas Company emerged as a competitor, and subsequently bought out its rival to become the dominant supplier in Toronto, and it was this company that laid gas lines for Mackenzie House during its 1858 construction. Records indicate that Consumers charged the family for the use of five fixtures, located in the front and back parlours, the main staircase, and in two second-storey bedrooms.

Long covered up after electricity replaced gas in Toronto homes at the turn of the 20th century, the locations of the original fixtures and lines were rediscovered by curators during the 1962 restoration of the home. At that time, Consumers replaced the gas lines and converted the fixtures back to gas from electricity. The Victorian word for a gas light fixture was ‘gasolier,’ and the most elaborate one in Mackenzie House graced the front parlour where it helped to convey a positive impression of the family’s level of material success. Like many mid-Victorian urban households, the Mackenzie family not only utilized gas, but also employed candles, lamps that burned a variety of fuels, and, most importantly and economically – natural light from the windows.

EIGHT-BURNER GASOLIER IN THE FRONT PARLOUR, C.1858-60
City of Toronto Culture

A good example of a local Toronto manufacturer that participated in the new commercial opportunities of the Victorian era was the Jacques and Hay Furniture Company. John Jacques and Robert Hay founded their business in the city in 1835 in a factory at the intersection of King and Bay streets. Superior design and quality craftsmanship brought them considerable renown. By the time of the Crystal Palace Exhibition of 1851, they were the largest manufacturers of fine quality furniture in the city. Two years later, the firm moved to a new five-storey brick building on the lakeshore, but that factory fell victim to fires, first in 1854 and again in 1856. It was not until 1858 that the company recovered from these losses, but when it did, it was more successful than ever. Jacques and Hay received the royal commission to make the furniture for the Canadian portion of the 1860 North American tour of Queen Victoria’s son, the Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), and throughout that decade the company also furnished various famous buildings, such as the Queen’s Hotel on Front Street where the Royal York now stands. When Jacques retired in 1870, his partner bought him out.

Hay retired in 1885, transferring the company to a long-term employee. Under the name Charles Rogers and Sons, the firm remained in business until 1922. Records indicate that the Mackenzies made two purchases of Jacques and Hay furniture just prior to moving to their new house on Bond Street, but, alas, they never paid the bills for them. Among the many other clients of the firm, were James and Susan Austin, whose stately home, Spadina, also is a restored historic house museum operated by the City of Toronto. The Austins purchased several pieces of Jacques and Hay furniture when they renovated Spadina in 1866.

JACQUES AND HAY SETTEE AT SPADINA, 1860S
City of Toronto Culture, 1982.7.250

Along with new consumer goods (and their accompanying advertising) guidebooks emerged in the 19th century that attempted to define the standards for taste in home décor. One such work was The Architecture of Country Houses by A.J. Downing, published in 1850. Downing’s recommendations for a properly furnished parlour included ‘a sofa, a piano, some comfortably upholstered chairs … and a large circular table around which the family could gather.’ Other sources of advice included the American critic, Gervase Wheeler, who wrote that the Victorian parlour should serve as a kind of domestic museum, a ‘magnetic gathering place of a thousand tasteful trifles.’ The monthly publication of Godey’s Lady’s Book (1830-98) also offered suggestions regarding home furnishings, which women such as Isabel Mackenzie could consider for the decoration of their own parlours. As the most public and socially constructed space within people’s homes, parlours provided opportunities to display various symbols of luxury and wealth, and women were encouraged through advice literature, advertising, and social pressures to develop a discerning taste regarding their acquisitions, and to be ever conscious of the images that their possessions conveyed to their guests.

COVER FOR GODEY’S LADY’S BOOK, 1857
Toronto Public Library (TRL)

SLIPPER CHAIR MADE BY JANET MACKENZIE, C. 1840-60
City of Toronto Culture, 1960.1552.10B

Many of these guidebooks encouraged women to use their craft skills to make things for their homes to add warmth, comfort, and refinement to their domestic interiors as well as to demonstrate some of their creative talents to their guests. These activities were a source of praise within the Victorian world, which limited middle-class women’s ability to participate in the working world and which expected them to devote much of their energy towards creating homes that served as comfortable and morally-elevating havens for their families from the tensions and meanness of the world beyond their front doors. One such object at Mackenzie House is a gilded slipper chair that one of Isabel and William’s daughters, Janet, embroidered around 1870.

Continue on to next section:
A Greek Revival Row House

Constructing Gentility - Contents

1. Introduction
2. A Victorian Consumer Revolution
3. A Greek Revival Row House
4. Gentility vs Reality

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