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From the Gallery: An Exhibit from 1934 when Fort Yet another image in the Gallery section of The Friends’ website <www.fortyork.ca> shows one of the exhibits in the South Soldiers’ Barracks when Fort York opened as a museum on 24 May 1934. There’s little that can’t be known about the display thanks to a note in the Canadian Historical Review for June 1934, detailed records kept by Toronto Culture, and the sharp eyes of the Supervisor of Collections, Alex Avdichuk, and Registrar Lisa Buchanan. It was curated by the Women’s Canadian Historical Society. The mannequins—the man dressed as an officer of the 15th Regiment of Foot which was at the fort in 1834-37, and a child—were made by a Toronto sculptor, Merle Foster. Several of the artifacts in the picture, including the long-case clock, bedwarmer, and copper kettle, are still found in Toronto Culture’s collections. The latter two remain on display—eighty years later!
York Opened Photograph by Charles A. Williams, Courtesy Toronto Public Library, T-34680
