“Morgans Department Store”-Little bit of Canadian Vintage History

Recently I went and visited an antique show here in Toronto at a local mall called “Cloverdale“, there was lots and lots of items for sale but nothing mid-century for this gal until I saw a really cool hat box at one of the tables. Seen here…

The box was not in great condition but after quickly searching the name on the box “Morgans” I discovered that it was a little bit of Canadian history, so I ran back and scooped it up for a steal and a history lesson from its owners.

Apparently, Morgan’s (formally Henry Morgan & Company) was a Montreal-based Canadian department store chain. The first store was opened in Montreal in 1845 by Scottish immigrant Henry Morgan with a second store not appearing till the early 1950s in the Snowdon section of Montreal. Other stores subsequently opened on the island of Montreal, and several Ontario cities (Wikipedia).

After being open for over 100 years, in the 1960s the Hudson Bay Company purchased Morgans and quickly converted the Ontario stores to “Bay’s”. By the early 1970s the Quebec stores followed suit and that was the end of the brand Morgans….until I found my box! Now we can share in a moment of Canadian history together and bring to life the department store once more.

The Early Days:

Morgans 1890

Morgan’s department store in Montreal decorated for the 1939 Royal Tour of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. So Elegant.

I wish we could see setups like this again when royalty comes to visit.

Here are some images of other Morgans in the 1950’s

Hamilton’s Greater Shopping Centers-Morgans

Source: henleyshamilton1.wordpress.com

Interior shots of the Hamilton store being prepared for opening

A miniature milk bar for the kids. Oh my how cute!!

Source: henleyshamilton1.wordpress.com

Male Mannequins for the store. Kind of creepy I think. Actually Really Really Creepy!

Source: henleyshamilton1.wordpress.com

Group of Sales women attending a class to be able to work at Morgan’s.

What marvelous hair all these ladies have.

Source: henleyshamilton1.wordpress.com

Learning how to use the Cash Register.

Source: henleyshamilton1.wordpress.com

Morgans 1950’s ad for Schiaparelli Hats. Love this! How do I get this hat?

 

Hungry anyone? I will have the Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding (my fav!).

Gosh could you imagine if a Buffet (then called a Smorgasbord) was $1.19 today? Yikes!

Source: torontoist.com

“As new as tomorrow”….How exciting, I love things that are as new as tomorrow!

Source: torontoist.com

Logo Designs:

1950s Morgans

Source: The Department Store Museum

1970s Morgans after the Hudson Bay took it over (this would be its last logo change)

Source: The Department Store Museum

 Interesting Fact: It looks like Morgans was the first department store to move into family neighborhoods, as opposed to making a trip downtown to go shopping (as seen below). I’m sure this made many a family lives easier.

This ad makes me giggle. What is with the triangle people??

Source: torontoist.com

And that interesting fact ties in with the knowledge that where I bought the hat box was actually where a Morgans Department store once stood in the 1960s at Cloverdale Mall.  It was under my nose the whole time and I never knew! How exciting!

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There you have it friends, a little bit of Canadian History.

Do you have a department store where you live that has been around for years or maybe know of one like Morgans that has come and gone? I would love to hear about it.

Liz 🙂

 

 

Everyone Loves a Scottie Dog, Especially the Vintage Community!

Every since I found my wedding shoes from Irregular Choice with a cute adorable Scottie Dog on them (see below), I have been obsessed with collecting vintage items with this dog on it. I also realize that I’m not the only one who loves the Scottie as many ladies (and gents) in the vintage community I know enjoy collecting them as well.

My shoes and Vintage Brooch Bouquet from my 2012 wedding

Also my Recent..just got in the mail Celluloid 1940s Scottie Dog pin. Love Love Love! Can’t wait to wear them.

Source: Etsy-Bits of Bakelite

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Mini History Lesson of the Scottie Dog-1930s Popularity

During the 1930s it seemed like everyone from Movie Stars to Presidents wanted to own this dog and they did!

Owners included (but not limited to):

President Franklin Delanor Roosevelt was a famous Scottie enthusiast, and was known for taking his Scottie dog “Fala” with him almost everywhere he went.

Fala and FDR

Bettie Davis and her Scottie

Humphrey Bogart and his dog “Sluggy”

 

Even the Famous “Memphis Belle” had a Scottie Dog as a Mascot-Stuka

Source: modernscottiedog.com

Having such an illustrious owners did much for the Scotties PR and the dog’s popularity was capitalised on by contemporary designers and advertisers of the period. Scottie dog brooches were produced in bakelite, marcasite, gold, enamel and metal (Source).

Wonderful Examples:

Bakelite Scottie Dog brooch from the 1930-40s in an Ice tea/Apple Juice color-Pretty!

Source: For Sale on Etsy-Lucky Patina

Three Scotties carved out of dark red Bakelite-How cute are they?? THREE of them!

Source: For Sale on Etsy-OldObscenities

Art deco era Scottie brooch of sterling and marcasite

Source: For sale Etsy-SararaVintage

 

After a slight dip in popularity, the late 1950s saw the Scottie Dog become in vogue again! and could be seen on many different items from jewelry to shot glasses.

Like this adorable Paper Towel from the 1950’s.

Source: For Sale Etsy-grandmothersattic

Need some vintage 1950s coasters for your bar? I kind of think I might need to buy this for my husband as he is Scottish and has been known to drink a scotch & soda a time or two.

Source: For sale Etsy-BogieBacallVintage

How about a lovely 1950s shot glass to go on those coasters?

Source: For Sale Etsy-My Retro Charm

Looking for a 1950s vintage planter for your home? This guy will do I think 🙂

Source: For sale Etsy-candyzown

If you are a knitter (not me..oh that is so not me) you can purchase this adorable 1950s sweater and cap pattern for a little boy or girl in your life. I want it for me!

Source: For Sale Etsy-Knittingknitch

 

Now on a last fun note..did you know that in the game of monopoly the Scottie Dog game piece (introduced in the 1950s) is the most popular piece of all time? See everyone loves a Scottie Dog!

 

Do you collect these adorable dogs for your vintage collection? If so what do you own?

Liz 🙂

Frankie 100 Vintage Fashion Show (1920s to 1940s)

I’m BACK from Frankie 100 in NYC! It was one of the best Lindy Hop weekends I have ever experienced and I think I will be basking in the glow of the weekend for quite a long time 🙂

While at Frankie 100 I had the honour of being able to help Stage-Manage AND be in the Vintage Fashion Show.

It was a really well done show with fashions from the 1920s-1940s and also included were some wonderful reproduction designer outfits. Please enjoy and I’m near the end in the “Savoy” section wearing my 1940s fuchsia vintage gown (see below-Photo Courtesy of Colibri).

I just LOVE that I look like Ginger Rogers here!

 

Please click link below to be taken directly to the Fashion Show

 http://new.livestream.com/yehoodi/frankie100/videos/52093256

 

A Lindy Hopping I will go-My Favorite Vintage Lindy Hop Videos

I’m off on my next big adventure to NYC tomorrow for the big Swing Dancing (Lindy Hop) event Frankie 100-Celebrating the life and legacy of Frankie Manning. I’m all packed, printed off my schedule and danced a few solo Charleston steps in the kitchen..I’m ready to dance my feet off!

 

While I’m off dancing I thought I would share some vintage Lindy Hop clips to get you in the spirit as well. Please enjoy and if you are interested in seeing the event live,check out the dance website “Yehoodi” from Friday-Monday.

Now in the words of Frankie Manning “One, two, you know what to do”

Hellzapoppin’-1941

Many people consider Hellzapoppin’ the greatest single Lindy Hop performance of all time. Frankie was in charge of putting the routine together, and mentioned in his autobiography that the dancers worked extra hard for this performance, practicing even longer hours than usual to perfect it. His autobiography also has a long section of anecdotes regarding the process and filming. First couple: William Downes and Francis “Mickey” Jones; 2nd, Norma Miller and Billy Ricker; 3rd, Al Minns and Willamae Ricker; 4th, Frankie Manning and Ann Johnson. Dean Collins also does a dance in this film to the song “Watch the Birdie.” (The sequences, however, were shot on different days, and arguably the two most significant figures in Lindy Hop Leading — Frankie Manning and Dean Collins — never met.) (Source)

 

 Frankie Manning Dancing at the Savoy Ballroom-1930s

It’s very rare for us to have social dancing footage of the original dancers in the original swing era. We are lucky to have a few brief seconds of Frankie Manning dancing with a partner in a crowded Savoy ballroom from what is probably the late 1930s. Whether or not its social dancing is hard to say, as he very well might have realized there was a camera filming him, and changed his dancing because of it. Still, though, it’s great to see a young Frankie Manning in a suit, in his element. It’s only a few tiny seconds, but at least we have that much (Source).

 

TheOutline of Jitterbug History-1942

This short was filmed in 1940 (though not released till 1942) and near the end you can see the Whitey’s. It’s also the same group of dancers who did Hellzapoppin’. Note that this clip has extremely slow dancing compared to the other Whitey’s Lindy Hop performance footage. William Downes and Mickey Jones first, Norma Miller and Billy Ricker second, Willamae Ricker and Al Minns third, and Frankie Manning and Ann Johnson forth (Source).

 

Buck Privates with Dean Collins and Jewel McGowan-1941

 

Swing Fever-1944

Jean Veloz (Jeanne Phelps) is featured here dancing with Don Gallager & Lenny Smith in this delightful number “One Girl and Two Boys,” sung by Marilyn Maxwell with Kay Kyser’s band.

 

Groovie Movie-1944 

Jimmy Dorsey playing One O’Clock Jump. Dancers – Charles “Chuck/Gossomer” Saggau, Arthur Walsh, Lenny Smith, Kay Smith, Jeanne Phelps Veloz, Irene Thomas.

 

Don’t Knock the Rock-1956 (As a fan of 1950s Rock n Roll, this clip is a real favorite of mine)

Band: Bill Haley & His Comets with a slew of Los Angeles swing dancers, including: Gil & Nikki Brady, Freda Angela Wyckoff, Lenny Smith, and Joe Lanza.

 

Have a great week and weekend! Keep on Swinging!

Liz 🙂

Toronto’s Santa Claus Parade: 1920s-1950s Holiday Fun!

This Sunday is Toronto’s 109th’s annual Santa Claus Parade.  When it originally started on December 2, 1905 by the Eaton’s chain of department stores, it had just a single float. It now has over 25 floats, 24 bands, and 1,700 participants (Wikipedia).

With that much history lets take the Vintage Inn Time Travel Bus and see what past parades looked like from the 1920s-1950s.

Note: Vintage Fashion Lovers-The crowd pictures when you look close enough have some lovely vintage fashion. Happy Hunting 🙂

1920s

Santa and his Reindeer

Source

The Cloche hats and coats are just lovely in these pictures

Source

1930s

History Fact: In 1939 when the Second World War brought on shortages, organizers were forced to make the elaborate costumes out of paper (A Century of Memories by Citynews)

Source

I love that the road is dirt in these two pictures, hard to imagine that this was even so in a city with concrete and asphalt everywhere now

Source

1940s 

1950s

History Fact: In 1952 the parade was televised for the first time, appearing on CBC (A Century of Memories by Citynews)

1956 Parade-The baton twirling ladies are fantastic looking!

Source

Love the costumes below

Source

Fun in the Snow!

Source

To end here is an excellent short historic overview of some of the most memorable moments in the parades history (some I stated above already):

“A Century of Memories-The History of Toronto’s Santa Parade”

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Will you be attending your own cities Santa Claus Parade? Or do they do other cool traditions for the holiday season?

Liz

Canadian National Exhibition is Here! The Vintage Edition

Princess Gates 1920s

I have been living in Toronto now for almost 14 years and one of the events I have grown to absolutely LOVE is the CNE-Canadian National Exhibition. The CNE is basically a giant fair that runs for 18 days near the end of the summer and it’s known for its great shows, crazy food (anyone for a bacon, donut burger??), rides and all the cools things to see..bring on the Sham Wow guy! lol

The first Canadian National Exhibition took place in 1879, largely to promote agriculture and technology in Canada. Agriculturists, engineers and scientists exhibited their discoveries and inventions at the CNE to showcase the work and talent of the nation (Wikipedia). Apparently, prior to 1879, the fair had traveled throughout the province, but eventually settled where the crowds were after local stakeholders campaigned to make it a permanent city attraction (blogto.com).

That means that this year the CNE is celebrating its 135th season this year so I thought it would be fun if we checked out some vintage photos, advertising etc. of this historical event. So grab a bag of chocolate covered parmesan popcorn and lets take a trip down CNE memory lane…

Image courtesy of the CNE Archives

To start, I’m doing a blog series on the wonderful book “Lets Dance. A celebration of dance halls and summer dance pavilions by Peter Young” and one of the sections briefly covers the “CNE TENT” that was erected in 1938 to bring in top-notch entertainers. Acts like: Benny Goodman with Peggy Lee, Artie Shaw, Guy Lombardo and even the Tommy Dorsey Band made their way to this tent. In Peters book he even mentions a story how in September 8th of 1939 the Tommy Dorsey band flew to Toronto on the American Airlines flagship craft to appear at the CNE. This was the FIRST time the entire band travelled by air so they marked the occasion by playing a few tunes right at the airport (“Lets Dance..”, pg 23, Peter Young).

The image above was from 1940 and you can see the dance tent in the background where apparently Eddy Duchin and his Orchestra were performing that very night (“take a ride back in history” by Mike Filey).

Then while scouring the internet for fun images/stories to share I stumbled upon the most AMAZING FIND! Did you know that the CNE created their own high-kicking dance troupe version of the Rockettes? The Canadettes and they made annual appearances from 1951 until 1967 at the CNE. How fun!

The Canadettes, circa 1961. CNE Archives, Alexandra Studio Collection.

Now for the random vintage pictures I promised you…

Two ADORABLE kids enjoying a coke break in 1959

Photo courtesy of “CNE facebook page“

CNE 1940’s cooking demo

Photo courtesy of “CNE facebook page”

CNE-1937. I LOVE this photo! The couple in the front that stand out in the picture are just outstanding looking.

Photo courtesy of “CNE facebook page“

CNE-1961. I’m enjoying eyeballing some of the great fashion in the pic 🙂

Photo courtesy of “CNE facebook page“

Want to learn how to take care of your baby in 1918?

Image courtesy of the CNE Archives

I will now leave you with a picture from my engagement photo session that was done at the CNE

Photo Courtesy of David Tom Photography

If you live in Toronto and are attending the CNE or have attended the CNE I would love to hear your stories of your favorite things to do there.

Liz 🙂

Miss Toronto Pageant-The Early Days

There is a pub/bar/my local beer hangout called the Rhino Restaurant in Parkdale, Toronto. They have a mural on the side of their wall that for some reason I only noticed recently that I have found very intriguing and has encouraged me to write a blog post about it. Here is the mural (sorry for the side image but the patio was closed and this was a close as I could get).

It’s a mural of the “Miss Toronto Pageant” in the 1920’s…1926 to be exact, the year that the Miss Toronto Pageant started at Sunnyside Park.

WOW…I never knew Toronto had done anything like this. I moved to the city in 1999 and from my reading I discovered that the pageant closed it’s doors in 1991, so of course I would not of read or heard anything about it. Anyways as I was looking thru some very cool vintage pics of the “early days” of the pageant (lets say pre 1960’s because that is what my blog focuses on) I discovered the original image that the mural was based from. Here it is…the first Miss Toronto winner of 1926 – “Miss Jean Ford Tolmie” in her full glory (holy flower hat!) at Sunnyside Park.

Image source: Toronto Archives

Look at the hair and the bathing suits and stockings but the best part is how very unhappy the ladies who did not win are. Totally Miserable! Cheer up ladies you are all beautiful and I would not of known who to have picked if I was a judge!

History

There is not a lot of history online about the pageant but what I could find, after its initial startup in 1926 it seemed to remain dormant till about 1937. In 1937 the “Toronto Police Amateur Athletic Association” who wanted to add something “extra special” to their annual Police Games decided to take over the Pageant and run it again. It was not without controversy though, no sooner had the pageant been announced than it came under fire from the Local Council of Women of Toronto in a letter to the Board of Control and the chief of police. The council’s issue was not that the pageant objectified women—as feminists would assert in the future—but rather that the pageant was “not in good taste.” Their letter read in part:

“We look to the heads of the police department not only to see that existing laws pertaining to standards of decency and good taste are enforced, but also to be most punctilious in seeing that nothing they sponsor may tend to have a lowering effect on the standards of the people in general.” (Torontoist.com)

But this did not stop the pageant from moving forward with 350 pretty 16+, British Subjects entering. 66 were then chosen to compete in the finale at the CNE Grandstand (Canadian National Exhibition) on July 17th, 1937. The website “Torontoist.com” has a super post on what went down that day that eventually had the very pretty 17-year-old Billie Hallam become “Miss Toronto, 1937“.

Please Read: http://torontoist.com/2012/07/historicist-softball-pitcher-and-beauty-queen/

6 of the ladies –Look at their cute shoes and the hair..fantastic!

Toronto Archives

Your 1937 Miss Toronto Winner-Billie Hallam”isn’t she just a doll?

Toronto Archives

With her win, the lovely Miss Hallem won $200 cash (a lot of money in 1937), Free trips to the police games in several other cities, invite to the Miss American pageant, jewellery, and sponsorship deals with companies like “Ponds Produce” & “Star Taxi” to name a few. She even had a potential chance to screen test with R.K.O. Studios…amazing!! (Torontoist.com). This was a huge deal for a 17-year-old in Toronto.

The pageant continued on until 1991 where backlash from Feminists and declining sponsorship eventually saw it shut it doors but thanks to the internet we can relive some of those wonderful pageant moments thru the pictures that still exist today. Lets take a look…

Some of the other contestants from the 1937 pageant. OMG the parasols!!!

Now for something slightly different…”Miss War Worker 1942“. This contest was created to encourage women to enter the workforce during the war (not sure how a pageant would do this, but ok).

Miss Toronto 1946 – Her surfing bathing suit is totally adorable and something I would love to have today. Check out the ladies in the background, the one to the left looks a bit like Ava Gardner.

Miss Toronto 1947 – Look at the handsome Police officer hoisting her in the air. Lucky her! Once again her shoes are divine!

Miss Toronto 1948-The bathing suits are super amazing. These ladies all look like they stepped out of a movie set.

Miss Toronto 1950 contestants Beautiful!!

Miss Toronto 1956 – Ummm Hello! Where can I get THAT DRESS???? yooza!

Miss Toronto 1957 – The runner-up should have won because her shoes were the cutest 🙂

So there you have a brief early history/pictures of the “Miss Toronto” Pageant, hope you enjoyed learning a bit about the Glory Day of the Pageant.

Liz