This post features collectibles from London's very own Attic Books. All these - and others - are available on our second floor.* Come upstairs, take a look, and say hello.
As early as about 1861, Daniel Simmons Perrin established a bakery on Hamilton Road.** By 1881, the firm of D. S. Perrin & Co. operated on the north side of Dundas between Ridout and Talbot. Later, in 1926, the company was bought by Canada Biscuit Company. Once upon a time, this tin was filled with delicious treats.
No London bottle collection would be complete without Labatt's. Arguably, the company is nearly as old as the city itself. It was in 1827 that John Balkwill built the first brewery in the new settlement, near the southwest corner of Simcoe and Richmond streets. The company went through a number of partnerships before John Kinder Labatt assumed full ownership in 1855. The rest is history.
In 1886, William Gorman, David Dyson, and Richard Eckert formed Gorman, Dyson and Co.'s Forest City Spice Mills on Talbot Street. Later, the firm became Gorman, Eckert & Co. The company became Club House Foods in 1969.
The mug below is not an ancient artifact. I can remember eating at The Garage in the 1980s when I first arrived in London as a teenager. Who can forget the car in the dining room! The restaurant was located on King between Ridout and Talbot.
Wishing Well drinks were produced by National Dry, Ltd., at 303-309 Richmond Street near Bathurst, from the 1930s to the 1970s. The water used to make beverages came from a spring near Komoka on the Thames River, hence "Wishing Well."***
Reverse side of the above, showing all W.W.'s tempting flavours:
Hmm. Not familiar with Woodlond Beverages. The name seems to be a combination of Woodstock and London. According to this, the company was located at 39 Metcalfe Street, Woodstock, in 1954.
This furrier was at 155 Central Avenue in the 1950s. I wonder why they used thermometers as promotional items? Perhaps when the outdoor temperature reached a certain point in spring, ladies knew it was time to store their furs?
Who wouldn't want a London Free Press ashtray? This souvenir dates to 1965, when the newspaper began operating from the York Street plant featured at centre. The building was demolished in 2024.
The top of a London Pure Milk Company bottle. The company, located at 561 Dundas, was known for its neon cow sign.
Miniature shoes in bone china were once all the rage. This one celebrates Dundas Centre Methodist Church, built in 1895 at Dundas and Maitland streets. In 1925, it became Dundas Centre United.
A dish from the swanky Hotel London that once stood on the southeast corner of Dundas and Wellington streets. The premier place for banquets and conferences for decades, it was demolished in 1972 to make way for the City Centre building.
An ashtray from "Z" Lunch at 244 Dundas Street. Named after the zig-zag track lighting on its ceiling. I kid you not.
Jackson The Cleaner, once located on the southeast corner of Richmond and Pall Mall, in a building now a restaurant. Even had a fleet of its own pick up and delivery vehicles; see here.
The Tecumseh House, once the largest hotel in British North America, opened on the southwest corner of York and Richmond on December 27, 1858. After accommodating everyone from travelling salesmen to the Prince of Wales, it ceased operations in 1929 when its rooms were outdated, and prohibition had shut down its bar. This proud sponsor of the London Tecumsehs baseball team was demolished in 1930, but its tableware survives.
Once, even hospitals had their own charming crockery:
The example below came from a very specialized hospital, the "San." Today's young people, fortunately for them, may not know what a sanatorium was, but once, these tuberculosis treatment centres were everywhere. The Queen Alexandra Sanatorium, named after the consort of King Edward VII, opened on the west side of Sanatorium Road in April 1910. Renamed the Beck Memorial Sanatorium in 1949, it became the Children's Psychiatric Research Institute (CPRI) in 1960 and the Child and Parent Resource Institute in 1992.
It was on September 8, 1877, that John Smallman and Lemuel Ingram opened their dry goods store on Dundas between Richmond and Market Lane. By 1908, the business was so successful that it opened a new five-storey building on the site, the largest department store in southwestern Ontario. Fun fact: The first transatlantic phone call between London, Ontario, and London, England was on the morning of April 12, 1928, when Gordon Ingram of S&I chatted with his UK rep.
The first Standard Drug store opened on the north side of Dundas between Clarence and Wellington in 1913. Later, a second location opened on the east side of Richmond between King and York. I had to look up "Aromatic Cascara." Turns out it's a laxative. Well, if you need one, there's still a bit of it in this old bottle. (Yuck.)
Attic now sells cameras, usually of the antique film variety. Many are usable, some will only make interesting conversation pieces. In the usable department (complete with photographer's reflection) is this Rollieflex 3.5 MX-EV camera, ca. 1954, with its original lens cap and case. Our camera expert, Maggie, works Wednesdays, and, yes, she also buys.
There are also old photos, although most are not of this vintage. This dapper young man from the 1860s was photographed by the ambrotype process, a cheaper version of the daguerreotype. While he and his photographer are unknown, the gutta-percha case states it was manufactured by Littlefield, Parsons, and Co. The decoration on the case's front is patriotically Civil War era American, portraying a camp scene with a tent, U.S. flag, and cannon.
* The items run from $3 to $650.
** Much of the history in this post comes from Daniel J. Brock, Fragments From The Forks: London Ontario's Legacy. London & Middlesex Historical Society, 2011.
*** https://www.facebook.com/vintagelondon/photos/a.702942309832069/2792658390860440/?id=256233541169617
