William James' Toronto Views: Lantern Slides from 1906 to 1939

W.J. Keith is a retired professor of English at the University of Toronto and author A Sense of Style: Studies in the Art of Fiction in English-Speaking Canada.

William James (1866–1948) was a British immigrant who became one of
Toronto’s leading news-photographers in the first half of the 20th
century. Included within his archive of more than 10,000 photographs,
now part of the City of Toronto Archives, is a remarkable collection of
glass lantern slides (many of them delicately tinted), a selection of
which makes up this informative and attractively produced book.

Here pre–World War II Toronto comes alive. James was interested in
all aspects of the city—its people (both rich and poor), its
architecture, its rich homes, its parks, its beaches. The book is
divided into three sections: The City; People and Neighbourhoods; and
Leisure. It is prefaced by a well-researched, sensitive, pleasantly
written introduction by Christopher Hume.

There is a sense, I suppose, in which this could be called a
coffee-table book, but it is much more than that. It is indeed a
valuable contribution to the social history of the city, the province,
and the country. As we turn the pages, we receive a remarkably clear
impression of what it must have felt like to be a Torontonian the best
part of a century ago. It is a different city from the one we know now,
but the connections are evident. As Hume remarks, these photographs
“form a record of what has been lost and gained.” An admirable
production.