“Now! All Together”: Songs From Long Ago

August 13, 2017 By Brett in History, Music, Ontario, Society Tags: Advertising, Antiques, Canada, Canadiana, Dominion Life, Ephemera, Good Fellows, Songs, Vintage 28 Comments

Songbooks fascinate me, particularly when they highlight song variations from earlier times. So while browsing through a dusty stack of materials in a used bookstore a few months ago I was drawn in by this 8-page vintage booklet of songs, which was printed as a promotion around 1930 by the Dominion Life Assurance Company of Waterloo, Ontario.

This bit of ephemera is spare of graphics and contains a wide variety of songs, including songs specific to Canada (such as “O Canada!” and “Alouette”), American standards (“Home on the Range” and “She’ll Be Coming’ Round the Mountain”), and songs indicating the then closer historical connection to Great Britain (“God Save the King” and “Loch Lomond”). A few of these have lyrics that would not be considered racially sensitive but presumably reflected the time back then. It’s an interesting mix of tunes, many that I’ve not heard in ages and others for which I only knew a line or two of the lyrics.

(Click image to enlarge)

Halloween Haunts: Joe’s Scarecrow Village

October 30, 2013 By Brett in Art, Humor, Nova Scotia Tags: Art, Cabot Trail, Canada, Canadiana, Cap LeMoine, Cape Breton, Joe's Scarecrow Village, Nova Scotia, Photography, Scarecrows, Vintage 10 Comments

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Several years ago, while winding through the gorgeous scenery that graces Cape Breton, Nova Scotia’s Cabot Trail we came across a head-turning collection of freaky scarecrows begging to be photographed. This was Joe’s Scarecrow Village, a homegrown roadside attraction in Cap LeMoine with great character that was originally created by local Joe Delaney to ward animals away from his planting field. Halloween seems a fitting time to share these colorful oddities. Sadly, this piece of rustic Canadiana has since been closed.

More info on Joe’s Scarecrow Village can be found here.

Vintage Canadian Apple Crate Labels

October 17, 2013 By Brett in Art, British Columbia, Food / Drinks, Nova Scotia Tags: Advertising, Annapolis Valley, Apples, Art, British Columbia, Canada, Canadiana, Fall, Graphic Design, Nova Scotia, Okanagan Valley, Old Crates, Retro, Vintage, Vintage Ads 31 Comments

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In the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia and many places in between, Fall is harvest time from coast to coast for Canada’s rich variety of apples. That variety is also reflected in the colorful artistry of numerous vintage apple crate labels — such as the incredible OgoPogo one above — which recently caught my eye and which I thought would be worth collecting here to share. (You can click through the slides below.)

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Canada Dry’s Cross-Cultural Appeal

September 18, 2013 By Brett in Art, Food / Drinks, Ontario, Society Tags: Americana, Art, Canada, Canada Dry, Canadiana, Cocoa Cola, Food, John J. McLaughlin, John Pemberton, Retro Ads, Vintage Ads 17 Comments

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I remember as a child that we would drink Canada Dry Ginger Ale about as often as we drank Coca Cola. Originated in Canada and adopted by America, the Canada Dry brand serves as a cultural bridge between our two countries. Canada Dry Ginger Ale was created in 1890 by John J. McLaughlin, an Ontario pharmacist, and for a few decades thereafter this effervescent beverage was mainly a Canadian regional drink. (Coincidentally, Coca Cola was also concocted a few years before in 1886 by a pharmacist, John Pemberton.) Once its popularity spread to the U.S. around the 1920s, it eventually became a major American brand as attested by this assortment of vintage advertisements.