THE WAY WE WERE: Penny postcards now worth much more

Published Feb 16, 2019 • Last updated Feb 16, 2019 • 1 minute read

For many years after the SS Alexandria was wrecked on Aug. 3, 1915, portions of her superstructure were visible above the waters of Lake Ontario. Depending on annual summer lake levels, remnants continue to be evident. The whole SS Alexandria story, as well as details about other Great Lakes ships, can be found by accessing The Scanner at the Toronto Marine Historical Society's website: tmhs.ca

Last week’s The Way We Were column featured a colour view of the Yonge and Dundas intersection before it was modified to expedite the flow of vehicle and streetcar traffic.

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The image appeared on a hand-colored souvenir penny postcard produced by Valentine and Sons, a company that entered the postcard manufacturing business in Dundee, Scotland in 1851.

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The company opened a Toronto office in a building at 69 Adelaide St. E. sometime between 1903 and 1906 operating as Valentine & Sons Publishing Co., Ltd. turning out thousands and thousands of penny souvenir postcards complete with images on one side and a recipient’s address along with a short message from the sender on the other.

This colour postcard of the SS Alexandria was dated 1913, two years before the storied vessel came to a sad end off the Scarborough Bluffs. The wooden vessel was built in a Montreal shipyard in 1866 and originally named Alexandra to honour the princess who would become Queen Alexandra (Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre), wife of King Edward V (Toronto’s King Edward Hotel). It operated on the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers for many years before being enlarged and “modernized” in 1883 and put into passenger and packaged freight service between Rochester, Picton, Montreal and Quebec City. Coincident with the project the ship’s name was slightly modified to pay tribute to Alexandria Bay, a port at the east end of Lake Ontario. Acquired by the newly formed Canada Steamship Lines, which was established in 1913, SS Alexandria embarked on a new career carrying freight between Toronto and Montreal. It was while approaching Toronto’s East Gap the “ancient” craft was hit by a violent storm. Under powered and out of control the ship broke apart. Fortunately, the entire crew made it to shore where dozens of Scarborough Township citizens had gathered to offer comfort and aid. Over time, portions of Alexandria continued to float ashore and it’s recorded that many citizens acquired souvenirs of the event. As for this postcard, it came into my collection when I outbid others in a recent members’ only auction sponsored by the Toronto Postcard Club. You can learn more about this fascinating hobby, and perhaps start your own collection, at the Club’s annual Postcard Show being held next Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. Details can be found at the Club’s website: torontopostcardclub.com

Sun reader Jeff Clarke obtained this photo of the remnants of the SS Alexandria as they appeared in the summer of 2015.

With the internet still many years in the future these postcards were the “emails” of years past.

As a collector of things related to “old Toronto” I soon found these cards invaluable in researching the history of my city and soon became an avid collector and a member of the Toronto Postcard Club.

mfiley@postmedia.com

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