Baldwin Room Broadsides and Printed Ephemera

Toronto's Grand Summer Carnival, 1890

Printed ephemera are documents created for a specific purpose and usually discarded once that initial purpose has been accomplished. The Baldwin Room's large and remarkably varied collection contains over 28,000 items. The range includes:

• Broadsides
• Posters
• Handbills
• Restaurant menus
• Message buttons
• Train tickets

The images and slogans on these pieces are particularly valuable because they provide snapshots of the events, ideas and attitudes of their era.

Specialized finding aids have been created by staff to help you access the materials in this collection.

A Bushel of Flies, 1892

Strengths of the Collection

• The Rebellion of 1837-38 in Upper Canada
• Royal tours
• Early 20th century labour history
• Canadian posters from both world wars
• Provincial and federal elections, early 1800s to the present

War Posters

The federal government and private business issued these typically large and colourful illustrated posters to encourage participation in the war effort. The Baldwin Room has approximately 120 posters from World War I, and 250 from World War II.

Provincial and Federal Elections

The library keeps a collection of campaign literature from the metropolitan Toronto area for elections dating from the 1960s to the present.

For Your Research

You can purchase the book A Century of Ontario Broadsides, 1793-1893, at the Special Collections, Genealogy and Maps Centre.

Photographic and Digital Reproduction Services are available. Some restrictions may apply.

Laborers, 1853

1891. Election Cartoons #6

1812. Detroit