Love in the Archives: a #loveheritage Valentine's Day twitter wrap-up

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Yesterday, the archives participated in a Twitter event hosted by @AskArchivists.  Using Valentine's Day as a lens in which to interpret our holdings, archives across the globe tweeted about their holdings.

For more information about the #loveheritage event, see Ask Archivists' blog here.

For our primary post for Valentine's Day, see our feature on love songs from the 1910s here.

Below is a summary of the Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections' tweets over the day. In some cases, I've added additional contextual information and links.

Elvis standing with group of female fans; some of the fans are wearing badges, Elvis has tilted his head to get a kiss on the cheek from one of the fans. Image no. ASC00846.

Kisses for Elvis.

This tweet was followed up with a number of images of fans who attended Elvis Presley's concerts in Buffalo, NY and Toronto, Ontario in 1957.For more images see here.

Trainer kisses his horse at the Woodbine Racetrack's Queen's Plate in 1961. Image no. ASC03903.  Image of woman kissing horse's nose by stables at New Woodbine Racetrack, 1959. Image no. ASC03645.

A kiss for luck: at the Woodbine Racetrack
Employees Woodbine Racetrack have a special place in their heart for their equine charges.
Mrs. Robert Marshal gives a horse a kiss, 1960. Image no. ASC03720.
Mrs. Robert Marshal wishes her horse good luck at the 1960 Queen’s Plate at the Woodbine Racetrack.
 

Woman kissing a ticket at the Woodbine Racetrack, 1960. Image no. ASC03814.

There’s a Bukowski poem lurking somewhere in this image of a woman at the racetrack in 1960.

And a perennial favourite: going to the racetrack to get hitched!

Woman in wedding dress and veil standing at "$10 win" window at Old Woodbine Racetrack, 1960. Image no. ASC03688.

More images from the Woodbine Racetrack available here.

Arrivals and departures: love at the train station and the airport

Union Station and the Malton Airport (now Pearson International Airport) were regular haunts for Toronto Telegram photographers taking pictures of post-war immigrants to Canada. Here are a selection of photographs of various arrivals and departures from the Toronto Telegram Photograph collection.  More photographs can be found in YorkSpace here.  Telegram staff divided such photographs into ethnic groups to facilitate retrieval and reuse.

Families of Scottish miners arrive by air, 1951. Image no. ASC02530.
Scottish miners reunite with their loved ones in 1951.

Greek family reunites at Malton Airport, 1955. Image no. ASC02581.
Greek family reunites in 1955.

Big Italian family arrives at Malton airport, 1964. Image no. ASC02601.
This original caption says it all “Big Italian Family Arrives At Malton” in 1964.

Immigrants arriving at Union Station, 1956. Image no. ASC02587.

New immigrants at Union Station in 1956.

Dutch immigrants to Toronto in 1954. Image no. ASC02579.

Dutch Immigrants in 1954.

Summer of love at the Mariposa Folk Festival

Summer festivals are also a great source for photographs of happy couples and free spirits.

Couple running along the beach at the 1965 Mariposa Folk Festival in Calendon. Image no. ASC02124.    Couple in the crowd at the 1970 Mariposa Folk Festival on Toronto Island. Image no. ASC06192.

For more images of the Mariposa Folk Festival see here.

Along the same vein, psychedelic sweeties at a  fashion shoot from 1970.

A couple from a men's fashion shoot, 1970. Image no. ASC01642.

Letters home to loved ones

For the #loveheritage event, we also featured letters written to and by Canadian servicemen serving overseas during WWII.

Here is the last letter written by Mrs. Fannie Lennox to her son John Watt Lennox serving overseas in the RCAF in 1943.

Letter from Fannie Lennox to her son John Watt Lennox, May 3, 1943

More correspondence from the Lennox family can be found here.

Here is the end of a letter written by Ted Aplin to his son David in 1943.

Letter written by Ted Aplin to his son David on 8 June 1945.

More correspondence between the Aplin family can be found here.

Lost and found: Sassy reunited with her loving family, 1964.

Sassy the lost collie, is reunited with her family in 1964. Image no. ASC10646.


The Toronto Telegram ran the odd lost pet advertisement during its long run as one of Toronto's leading newspapers.  This is a series of photographs taken by staff photographer Pete Geddes in 1964 of a collie Sassy who was returned to a grateful and loving family.

For more photographs of Sassy's reunion see here, here, here and  here.

Moar kisses plese

Woman embracing her cat at the 1967 Thorncliffe Cat Show. Image no. ASC010071.
Kisses for kitty at the Thorncliffe Cat Show in 1967.

For more photographs of cats from the Toronto Telegram, see here.

Sources:

Aplin family fonds F0151. Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections, York University Libraries.  Finding aid available at: http://archivesfa.library.yorku.ca/fonds/ON00370-f0000151.htm. Digitized content available at: http://archives.library.yorku.ca/exhibits/show/lettershome/aplin.
 

Lennox family fonds, F0549. Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections, York University Libraries. Finding aid available at: http://archivesfa.library.yorku.ca/fonds/ON00370-f0000549.htm. Digitized content available at: http://archives.library.yorku.ca/exhibits/show/lettershome/lennox.

Mariposa Folk Foundation fonds, F0511. Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections, York University Libraries. Digitized content available at: http://pi.library.yorku.ca/dspace/browse?value=Mariposa+Folk+Foundation%2C+F0511&type=relation

Toronto Telegram fonds, F0433. Clara Thomas Archives & Special Collections, York University Libraries. Finding aid available at: http://archivesfa.library.yorku.ca/fonds/ON00370-f0000433.htm. Digitized images available at: http://pi.library.yorku.ca/dspace/browse?value=Toronto+Telegram+fonds%2C+F0433&type=relation

 

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