Albert Street   

Named for Victoria's husband

Prince Albert

Albert Street appears on the 1848 Map of Stratford. It is named for Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1819-1861), the prince consort of Queen Victoria of Great Britain. She was born in Germany. Albert was the second son of Ernest, Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by Princess Louise of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

Victoria and Albert married on Feb. 10, 1840, and Albert Street in Stratford was probably named in honour of the new prince consort.Prince Albert served effectively as Queen Victoria's private secretary and confidential adviser. He was an informal but potent member of all cabinets. He gained effective control of and completely reorganized the household. He made the Queen intensely happy and made her work almost as hard as he worked. 

He was the prime mover in the great exhibition of 1851. His perseverance was rewarded by success, and the surplus funds were used to endow the Victoria and Albert Museum. He died in 1861 of typhoid fever, at Windsor Castle. By: Stanford Dingman

 55 Albert Street: Rhéo Thompson  Candies

55 Albert St.

Rhéo Thompson


Rhéo Thompson Candies is a Stratford success story. In 1959, Rhéo took an after-school job at Olin Brown Candies (see Wellington Street). He liked it so much that when he finished at the Stratford Collegiate Institute (SCI), he decided making candy would be his career. He worked at Olin Brown Candies until 1969. "To better myself, I decided I would not stay with the new owners," he says. Rather, he and his wife, Sally, thought they should at least try starting their own business.

 

They began making candy in the basement of their home at 32 Glastonbury Dr. Directly behind their house was the city's farmers’ market. They took a small stall there in 1969, and business was good. They were then befriended by John Sinclair, who had a drugstore on Wellington Street in downtown Stratford. He had recently lost his building to fire and was about to move into his newly built store. He told the Thompsons he had 1,000 square feet of excess space if they were interested in moving in. He made them an offer they couldn't refuse.

 

They opened their store on March 2, 1970, and after five months, both businesses were running out of room. So, the Thompsons moved into “old Odbert building” at 26 Brunswick St., where they remained until October 1996.  Then they bought a third of the "old Woolco building” on Albert Street. There, they renovated the front facade to make it look like a free-standing building, which enabled them to have a much bigger retail store and more room for manufacturing. The front of the store was designed to blend with the other Victorian-style buildings on the street. The interior of the store was finished in cherry wood. Their store became one of the busiest candy shops on either side of the Atlantic Ocean selling “just candy.”  In December 2002, they sold their business, but it continues to operate as Rheo Thompson Candies, and their signature "mint smoothies" are still on the shelves.  Rhéo Thompson Candies

Mint smoothies are the iconic chocolate that built the Rhéo Thompson reputation and became the unofficial "official" chocolate of Stratford. Mint smoothies are a traditional confection made in most candy shops. They have been called various names, such as Bavarian Mints, Frango Mints and Mint Meltaways. Rhéo's elder daughter, Marni Thompson, has a chocolate store in Toronto. She calls hers Mint Melodies M Thompson Chocolates Thanks to Rhéo for his help with this entry.

"mmm they were good"

I asked where Bill's mural might be. They suggested Allen's Alley on Wellington Street where there are lot  murals of famous people like the Revols.

205 Albert

George Forbes Maitland, photographer

  

George Maitland was born on March 24, 1835, in the village of Belhelvie which is about eight miles north of the City of Aberdeen, Scotland. At age 20, George decided to leave Scotland and seek his fortune in Canada.


He initially settled in Hamilton, where he worked as a photographer. It was there that he met Mary Ann Davidson (see below) and they were married in 1861. George and Mary Ann had six children, one of which, George Henry, became the editor of the Stratford Herald in the early 1900s.


In the late 1860s, George and Mary Ann moved their young family from Hamilton to St. Catharines, where he established a photography studio. In about 1876, they moved to Stratford, where they rented a newly built house at 205 Albert Street. They remained in that house for two years before moving to North Street and then to John Street, before settling in a house at 151 Norman Street.


George developed a reputation for producing fine photographs and experimenting with photographic techniques to advance the art. He established his photographic business on Market Square and at a number of locations through the years, lastly on Ontario Street. He was an important photographer in Stratford for more than 30 years. His studio was in the Myers block on Downie Street and also on Ontario Street. After his retirement, George and Mary Ann moved to St. Marys.  He died on Jan. 16, 1928, and is buried in Avondale Cemetery. Source: Historic Plaque Properties

Mary Ann Maitland, poet

Mary Ann Maitland was a Scottish-born Canadian author of poems, hymns, and short stories. The "Ann" character in Maitland's short story, "Charity Ann: Founded on Facts" (Godey's Lady's Book, January 1892), provided the background for Anne Shirley's history and adoption in Anne of Green Gables.

 In a short time, Mary Ann's contributions found their way into the S.S. Times, New York Observer, Christian at Work, Godey's Lady's Book, Gems of Poetry, Woman's Magazine, and other standard American periodicals. A writer in Daughters of America, who was familiar with Maitland and her writings, said of her that she is "one of the sweetest singers of the day," and the Idea said in a sketch of her: "Mrs. Maitland is by nature a poet — one in whom the most natural form of expression is in rhyme and rhythm." Mary Ann Maitland died in February 1919. Source: Wikipedia

Selected Works:

*   Click here to read the following poems Inter Archive

The old firehall 

Fire Department Created with By-Law...1880.

*         See Feature Article  by Mike Beitz Stratford Flashback Friday

1897. The Old Firehall with three doors is seen at the northwest corner of Albert and Waterloo Streets looking south from Knox Church Steeple in 1897. Note the house in the centre foreground on the north side of Albert Street at the front of the photo that was moved in 1905 to allow The Armouries (see Waterloo Street) to be built.  (see story below). The church on the left is Congregational Church on Waterloo Street. Photo: Courtesy Vince Gratton from a post on If you grew up in Stratford... FB 

Original firehall, built 1897. There were three large equipment doors before the building was enlarged to the west in about 1915. Stratford-Perth Archives

With a 1926 Dodge coupe second from left in this lineup, Vince Gratton dated the photo to 1928. By then the firehall had been enlarged and had six large doors opening onto Albert Street. Photo: Vince Gratton

The fire hall in 1930. Full View showing all 6 doors. Photo: Vince Gratton

Photos: Stratford Perth Museum

The "old (as in "original") firehall" was built in 1897 on the southwest corner of Albert and Waterloo streets. The photo to the left is looking west on Albert toward City Hall

The Stratford Fire Department was organized in the late 1840s when the Stratford Inn (see Sargint Street) was destroyed by fire. Prior, citizens would bring buckets to help a neighbour extinguish a blaze.

Adelaide Leitch, in Floodtides of Fortune, points out that fire was a serious issue in a community surrounded by a flammable forest. 

Stratford's first firefighters were organized in 1852 when R. H. Laing put together a group of volunteers. By 1854, the village had ordered a hand-drawn fire engine from Montreal. It was an awkward-looking apparatus that was nicknamed Victoria. It had to be pulled by the volunteers. In 1856, volunteers fashioned a hook and ladder wagon called the "arena company" to complement the fire engine. In 1858, the Victoria Fire Department No. 1 was created and housed in the market building (city hall). Each volunteer was given a $3 grant to buy apparel. 

A number of reservoirs were constructed in town: one near the town pumps on Downie Street, others near the city hall, as well as at the junction of Erie and Ontario streets, at the corner of West Gore and Downie streets, and on Huron Street near St. Vincent Street. Still, the firefighters used water from the Avon River and the town wells. If a burning building was far from a water supply, a bucket brigade formed. 

That system of water, wells and pumps was the forerunner to a network of water mains and fire hydrants that became available with the formation of the Stratford Water Supply Company in 1883, and its successor, the Water Works Commission.  

In 1866, during the Fenian Raids, soldiers stationed in Stratford, and brigades from the Grand Trunk Railway, would fight fires with as many as 100 volunteers pulling equipment to the blaze. Horses would come from a nearby stable to pull the non-motorized apparatuses. As an incentive, the city council paid $2 to the owner of the first team of horses to arrive at the fire station. 

In 1875, a fire in the Waverly Block at 87 Ontario St. caused $90,000 in damage and destroyed 20 businesses. A steam engine was brought from London to help with the fire. In that same year, Stratford bought a steam engine from Silsby Manufacturing Co. in Seneca, N.Y. The engine was named Avon so the Stratford fire department changed its name from the Victoria Company to the Avon Company. 

In 1879, the firefighters bought their own team of horses, but were forced to sell the animals when the town fathers disapproved of their purchase. 

In the year after the first firehall was built, Robert H. Myers was named Stratford's first full-time fire chief. In the same year, a bell system was installed in the hall's belfry. There was also a battery-operated alarm system with 12 call boxes placed throughout the city. The system featured unique numbers of rings, which identified the location of a fire.

By 1923, the department was fully "motorized," but horses were retained as a backup until 1928.

In 1913, tragedy struck the fire department when the Knox Presbyterian Church fire (see Ontario Street) killed Fire Chief Hugh Durkin, Police Chief John McCarthy Jr. see (McCarthy Road) and police constable, Matthew Hamilton. Eight years later, fireman Carl Schultz died from injuries he sustained while fighting a fire at the Classic City Bakery on Ontario Street. Source: Stratford History


The following information, which provides a glimpse into Stratford life in the early 1900s, is taken from Mary Jane Lennon's book, A Stratford Album. 

The two-story brick firehall with its bell tower, in the top postcard, was built in 1897. Vince Gratton pointed out that the original firehall in the top photo had just three doors facing Albert Street. Beyond the firehall in that photo is Dr. James Robertson's house and office. After the hall was enlarged, it had six large doors facing Albert Street, and its new west wall was not far from the Robertson house, at 55 Albert Street.

In the tall bell tower atop the original firehall, the fire hoses were hung to dry after each use.  The hall also featured an office for the chief and sleeping accommodations and various other facilities, including a pool table and a bathtub, for the men. And there was a loft for storing hay. 

When an alarm rang to signal a fire, everyone in town knew the location of the fire because of the ring-code.

They also knew that each morning, at 8:45, when the alarm bells would sound, the kids had 15 minutes to get to school. At the same time, the firehall doors would fly open and the horses, harnessed to the hose wagon, would come trotting out for their morning exercise, up Waterloo Street to Ontario Street, around the block and back to the firehall.

In the evening, there was harness practice. When the alarm sounded, at precisely 9 p.m., the horses would race from their stalls to be harnessed and hitched to their wagon, and the firemen would assume their positions on the engine. After a minute, the men would get down from the engine and unhitch the horses. These "exercises" often drew onlookers. The bell that kicked it all off also signalled the 9 o'clock curfew for all city children under the age of 14.

In 1967, the F. W. Woolworth Co. purchased the firehall and the adjacent market buildings. The fire department moved to new quarters at 388 Erie St., the market to the fairgrounds, and the firehall was demolished. Sources: Adelaide Leitch, Floodtides of Fortune: Wendy Lynn Dietz, If You Grew Up in Stratford . . . FB 

*    For more detailed history see Flashback  Old Stratford Fire Department History: Brian Wendy Reis, Taken from Tom Dolan 8 Part Series

Making the way for the Armoury

The Anchor Wire & Fence Company 

The Anchor Wire  & Fence Company of Canada,manufactured farm and ornamental fences and gates It was established in Stratford in 1897 and quickly became very successful with customers across the country. The business was operated by James Esplen and Robert Frame,


This building originally sat near the north corner of Albert and Waterloo Streets where the Armoury was eventually built. The building was moved across the street behind the Queens Hotel stables as seen in the picture below.  Source Nancy Musselman   The Anchor building was for a time a part of the Silvrewoods stables next to the Queen's Hotel . Source: Vince Gratton FB

202 Albert Street, Photos:  Nancy Musselman  FB

Seen in the picture is the building being moved deside the Queen's Hotel stables Circa 1900   Photo: Vince Gratton

Brick House Moving Day. July 17, 1905. Photo: by Clara C. S. Mitchell, provided by Vince gratton

This private residence (shown of the right) originally sat on the northwest corner of the Albert and Waterloo streets intersection. From there, it was moved farther east on Albert Street, because the federal government wanted 80 Waterloo St. S., on which to build an armouries. (Waterloo Street). In this photo, the eastbound move has just cleared the Waterloo Street intersection. The owner of this building was  Robert H. Myers. In the year after the first firehall was built, he was named Stratford's first full-time fire chief.  This house was convienent because it faced the fire station right across on Albert Street. Myers then moved to 52 Daly St.  Source: Paul Wilker. The home was made into an apartment building that was sold off for parking when Loblaws/Zehrs expanded to its new location. Source:Vince Gratton FB

This photo card was produced by Mrs. Edward (Clara C. S.) Mitchell, an early local amateur photographer. Her full-time job was in the office of the Grand Trunk Railway locomotive repair shops. Her husband also worked in the shops, as a fitter.

Clara also did freelance photography work for the local newspaper. In 1904 she started to produce and sell her work, on photo postcards, to local merchants. The image on the left is a sample of those cards. This early Edwardian postcard is part of a series of cards collected by Vince Gratton. 

The collection with historical commentary can be viewed here.  Mrs. Edward (Clara C. S.) Mitchell - Stratford History  Stratford Ontario Historical Photo Postcard 057.

Edward Brett, historical property 


The house at 377 Albert St. was built in 1903 by George McLagan,(see McLagan Drive) furniture manufacturer. As his furniture business expanded and more workers were hired, McLagan built homes in the area to house his employees and their families. In 1904 Edward Brett, his wife and son were the first residents of 377 Albert St.


Edward Trownson Brett was born in Portsmouth, England. He was the son of Charles Brett, a shipwright in the Royal Dockyard, and Susan Jane Trownson.  In 1866, when Edward was a year old, his family which included another three sons, emigrated from England and settled in Galt, Ont. There, Charles found work first as a fireman and then as a blacksmith.



377 Albert St.  Photo: Fred Gonder

According to the 1881 census, when Edward was 15, he was working in Galt as a cabinetmaker. In 1890, Edward married Janette Marshall. The couple moved to Woodstock where their son, Edward Marshall Brett, was born in 1894. (E. M. Brett became a Stratford Boys Band leader (see Brett Street). Edward worked in Woodstock as a cabinetmaker for the James Hay Co. and later for Anderson Furniture Co. Ltd. By 1901, Edward had returned to Galt, where he was employed as a toolmaker.


In 1904, Edward Brett moved his family to Stratford where he returned to cabinetmaking. The city's growing furniture business was centred on King, Albert and Trinity streets, the area in which George McLagan had built the first factory in what became known as Stratford's furniture district. By 1913, the district included seven large factories. Albert Street was home to the Brett family for many years. Though Edward and Janette moved to another house, they never left their first Stratford neighborhood. Marshall married Kathleen Minard in 1915 and was employed as a city fireman.


The 1921 census shows Edward and Janette living at 356 Albert St., at which time he was still a cabinetmaker, working for Globe-Wernicke at 163 King St. Marshall Brett and his young family lived down the street at 372 Albert St. Source : Historical Plaque Properties

   23 Albert Street :CJCS  1240 radio

Bill Inkol and John Grigg testing equipment for the Indian's 1952 playoff run.  Stratford - Perth Archives

The Otto Henderson Orchestra played live on CJCS. Photo loaned to the Beacon-Herald by Herbie Fink

Lloyd Robertson in Winnipeg, 1956.


Initially, the CJCS studios were in the Windsor Hotel at 23 Albert Street.

The station traces back its roots to 1924. 

In 1928, an amateur station in Stratford, 10 AK, began broadcasting at 250 metres on the dial. By 1933, 10AK had changed to 1200 kHz with 15 watts of power. In 1934, Roy H. Thomson bought the station, and in 1935, the call letters changed to CJCS. A year later, CJCS was at 1210 kHz on the dial, with 50 watts of power. By then it was also owned by Michigan-born Milton Irving (Milt) Higgins, and was operating out of quarters at 151 Ontario St. In 1941, CJCS moved to its best-known spot on the AM dial, 1240, where it remained until going to FM in 2017.

In the 1930s, many local bands played in the station's new studios on the second floor at the east end of the Windsor Hotel at 17-23 Albert St. Source: Brian and Wendy Reis FB

In 1945, CJCS became a CBC Dominion Supplementary Stations. Jack Kent Cooke was an employee at CJCS in the early 1940s. In 1951, the station adopted the slogan "CJCS Sells in Stratford."

In 1952, Lloyd Robertson (see Wellington Street), a young Stratford native, began his broadcasting career at CJCS. He was in Grade 12 when he started working after school on Saturdays as an operator, spinning 78 rpm records. He also read the news at midnight before he signed off. In 1953, Robertson went to radio station CJOY in Guelph, then to his first job in television, in Windsor in 1954. From 1956 to 1960, he worked in Winnipeg. (See picture).

Robertson's future would include positions as news anchor at both CBC and CTV. He outlasted Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather, Tom Brokaw, and the late Peter Jennings to become the longest-serving network news anchor in television history. He is also one of the longest-serving news anchors on English-language North American television (network or local).

Other familiar names at CJCS included Bill Inkol (see Morenz Drive), who covered sports and signed off his daily broadcasts with the adage, “If you can't play a sport, be one.” Other CJCS newscasters included Alex Smith (see William Street), who in 1953 moved to the Stratford Festival as a charter member of the festival's acting company.

By 1957, Frank Squires and his family had acquired ownership of CJCS Ltd. Frank M. Squires was president of the company, Stan E. Tapley manager and commercial manager of CJCS, and Bill Inkol program and sports director. Bruce Schulthies was the news director.

In 1959, when CJCS moved to 125 Ontario St., its transmitter remained on the southeast corner of Lot 2, Concession 4, Downie Township, Perth County. Two years later, CJCS increased its power to 500 watts during the day and 250 watts at night (full time, non-directional) using the same single 132-foot tower at the same site.

In 1962, the Trans-Canada and Dominion networks were merged to become the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). CJCS remained a CBC affiliate until 1979. In 1999, CJCS celebrated its 75th anniversary, and in the following April began broadcasting to the world via the internet.

In 2017, CJCS-AM 1240 left the air having been replaced by Juice FM (CJCS), which launched on Aug. 3. The station was branded as 107.1 Juice FM– Stratford’s Greatest Hits. Source: Gord Conroy

* For an interesting story about radio and Stratford, see Flashback article Radio is a Sound Salvation , Stratford-Perth Archives

CJCS Reunion at The Festival Theatre October 16, 1999. Photo: Dean Robinson

CJCS Reunion, 1999

The CJCS Reunion of former staff took place at the Stratford Festival Theatre on Saturday October 16, 1999.  Steve and Carolyn Rae, CJCS Radio owners, hosted this receipt of their station’s former employees.

The noteworthy and celebratory event signalled the end of an era that had begun for 1240 AM radio in 1924. The program for the event is printed below. It includes the formal welcome, the list of speakers, the alumni and guests, and the staff of the radio station in 1999. Source Dean Robinson.  

Stratford CJCS 1240 Radio Good Times  Great Oldies.  Source: Program Gala and Photo provided by Dean Robinson. 

The photo on the left shows three former CJCS employees from left to right: Lloyd Robertson, Charles (Charlie) Trethewey, Dean Robinson.

Eddie Matthews at the Vista radio studio in 2019. Photo: Casey Kenney

Eddie Matthews ...moves from Vista radio 

In 2019, Eddie Matthews took a position at the Stratford and District Chamber of Commerce after almost 40 years handling both management and on-air radio duties.  From 1998, after moving from FM London where he had worked since 1983, Matthews was both morning host and program director for Vista Radio in Stratford. 

Matthews' position with the Chamber of Commerce will be an extension of his longtime community involvement. He completed a five year tenure with them in June 2024.

In  2014 Matthews was the Personal Business Excellence award winner, and in 2015,  Matthews was co-chair for the Stratford Perth Humane Society’s capital campaign, helping raise more than $1 million. Interviews by Eddie Matthews are available on LinkedIn. Sources:   Beacon Herald  

   Albert Street:     Bell Canada

Stratford's first brush with the telephone came in 1877, four years after Alexander Graham Bell was credited with its invention. A demonstration of the new device was set up between Guelph and Stratford. A Mr. Frew entertained the Guelphites on the other end of the phone with his rendition of Scots Wa Hae. There was protest in Stratford when those in Guelph sang Hold the Forks, the Knives Are Coming, a somewhat irreligious take on the revival hymn Hold the Fort.

 

The early telephones were much different than those we know today, in that the bell-shaped instrument was both transmitter and receiver. In other words, one would speak into the phone, then hold it beside one's ear to hear a response from the other party. Then the roles would reverse, and continue to reverse for as long  as the call continued.

 

The Bell Telephone Company of Canada was incorporated in 1880, andt operated telephone services in 40 cities, and had agencies in 40 more centres. The company had 2,000 subscribers in Ontario and Quebec. The Bell company authorized an exchange for Stratford in December 1882, and it opened in 1883 with a full capacity of 25 subscribers. There were no telephone lines outside the city at that time, so only local service was available. It was not until 1884 that a line was strung westward from Stratford through Mitchell, Seaforth and Clinton, and into Goderich. That allowed for "long distance" service.


The building that housed Stratford's first phone exchange was owned by a James Redford, (see Redford Crescent) at the corner of Downie and Albert streets. When he sold it to the Trow brothers, they ran their insurance and mortgage business on the second floor, and the telephone exchange remained on the main floor. The exchange's first manager in Stratford was a George A. Jackson from Chicago, who was assisted by Andrew Moderwell (see Moderwell Street). Their responsibilities included the operation of a switchboard that featured 46 lines.


Switchboard operators, 1920

Bell linemen, early  1900s

By the beginning of 1885, Bell had 30 phones on the board, which handled calls from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays, and from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m. on holidays. There were no assigned telephone numbers. Rather, the operators were familiar with the locals subscribers and easily connected their local calls. Connections on long-distance calls, however, were routinely troublesome. Operators would have to set up a relay system for such a call. They would forward messages to operators in Guelph, who would repeat those messages to operators in Toronto, and so on.


An inspection tour in 1897 revealed the Bell office in Stratford to be sub par. So, it was relocated to 47 Downie St. But that was a failed move because the new location had been a retail fish store. Its floors had been soaked with fish oil, which gave the office an off-putting stench.


By 1904, the exchange had 340 lines, operated by two operators. The Bell office was still on Albert Street in the 1930s and '40s, before it was moved to 145 Ontario St., former home of the Classic Theatre. In time, the office was returned to Albert Street (105 Albert), in the block east of Waterloo Street. 


The photo below, from 1934, depicts a unique moment in Stratford history. It was a trans-Atlantic phone call that linked Stratford, Ontario, with Stratford-on-Avon in England. The call was made from the Mayor's office.  Source: Brian Wendy Reis FB 

Seated from left: city clerk Walter Dorland, R. Thomas Orr (R. Thos. Orr), Mayor Oliver J. Kerr, Beacon-Herald reporter Milt Dunnell, and Mrs. A. E. McKennitt. Standing, from left: Bell manager Norman L. Kilpatrick, Bell wire chief Joshua Young, Bell district manager J. M. McIntosh, Board of Trade president Chas. D. Dingman, Beacon-Herald editor A. R. Kennedy, PUC chairman Norman Siegel, education chairman Alfred T. Capper, and unionist Reg Ranton    Stratford-Perth Archives

Ronald Thom, artist


Ron Thom at Westmount Gallery Stratford-Perth Archives

Ron Thom was owner of the Jani Exhibition, an art gallery in Stratford. He and three partners established it in 1967, at 56 Albert St. After six years, he closed the gallery for about the next decade he decorated theme bars and restaurants, among them the Ali Baba restaurant and the Queen's Hotel. Thom also turned his attention to sculpting, and 1997 his sculpted faces were carried by the Westmount Gallery in Toronto. He also fashioned characters from Shakespearean plays. Source: Stratford-Perth Archives.

55 Albert: Drs. Robertson, The Elms

The Elms was a beautiful example of Victorian architecture, with stained glass windows in the drawing room and hall. The cast iron Robertson dogs, seen in the picture at the top of the steps, were saved at the time of demolition. Since 1961, they have guarded the stone entrance gates to Upper Queens Park created by John Piehl, stone mason, from Tavistock. They have been painted black and the words cave canem (beware of the dog) are engraved on each dog's pedestal. (see Parkview Drive). Stratford-Perth Archives


Dr. James A. Robertson's home at 55 Albert St., just west of the city's first firehall, was known as The Elms because of the tall, stately trees surrounding the property. It was the home of both Dr. James Robertson (1845-1924) who built it in 1899, and his son Dr. Lorne Forbes Robertson (1876-1952), until the junior Dr. Robertson's death at age 76. The house was then purchased by the city in 1953, and used as an annex and art gallery, beginning in the first year of the Stratford Festival. In the early years, it housed the Stratford Chamber of Commerce and the Industrial Commission. In 1958 the house was demolished and the land became a parking lot. Rheo Thompson Candies and other businesses now occupy the property.

Lawn Bowling. The Robertson house was near the firehall on the southwest corner of Albert and Waterloo streets. In the space between the Dr. Lorne Robertson laid out “the greens” for the Stratford Lawn Bowling Club in 1899. Dr. Lorne was an avid bowler. 

The lawn bowlers bought land on Ontario Street in 1901 that was subsequently sold for development. The Stratford Lawn Bowling Club then negotiated with the city  parks board and moved in 1915 to a location bordered by Lakeside Drive and Water and Waterloo streets (see Water Street), where it remained for more than 100 years. When the Stratford Festival opted to build a new  Tom Patterson Theatre (see Lakeside Drive), the bowlers lost their riverside greens and in 2019 resettled at the municipal golf course on Norfolk Street. 

Lawn bowling was a favourite sport among members of the fire city department. They played on and maintained the Robertson greens beside the first firehall until the hall required expansion and the greens were lost.

Lorne Robertson was born in 1876 in a red-brick cottage on the corner of Nile and Brunswick streets (see Nile Street). He became a medical partner with his father, James. A., in 1903. Lawn bowling was one of Lorne's hobbies, and he often played on the greens when they were beside his home.

Dr. Lorne was known as a genial person, beloved by patients. He was also an avid sports promoter and supporter, with his own money, particularly city hockey teams.

Dr. Lorne Robertson had a second home, at 342 William St., away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Stratford. When he and his father were going on vacation together, they hired young replacements, one of whom was Dr. Norman Bethune (see William Street). 

After the First World War, Lorne Robertson served as part-time coach of a senior hockey team in Stratford, and as the team's president beginning in 1917. Among the club's players in those years was a young star from Mitchell, Howie Morenz. (see Morenz Drive). Lorne Robertson was also president of the long-defunct Northern Ontario Hockey League. As well, he was a key figure in the building of the Classic City Arena in 1924. The rink has since been renamed the William Allman Arena (see Morenz Drive).

Dr. Lorne's father, James Robertson, determined his son would have an excellent education and he did.  The younger Robertson earned a bachelor of arts degree (BA) at the University of Toronto, and his medical degree at McGill University in Montreal. Then he went to Britain and the United States for postgraduate work. He became a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians of London (England); a member of  the  Royal College of Surgeons of England; a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, Scotland; and a Fellow of American College of Surgeons in the United States; and a specialist in surgery in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. During his lengthy practice, from which he retired in 1947, he also served as physician to the Canadian National Railways operation in the city. Sources: Stratford-Perth Archives; Find a Grave Stratford Ontario.  

* See Flashback Article Dr. Robertson and his Dogs by Leslie Belland, Stratford-Perth Archives

Dr. James A. Robertson, his wife Jennie Elizabeth Forbes Robertson, (1853-1943), and son Dr. Lorne Forbes Robertson. Photo: Stratford-Perth Archives. 

The Elms, the Robertson family home, and the Old Firehall were demolished in 1958 in preparation for future development that included Rheo Thompson Candies. Photo: Stratford-Perth Archives.

Albert Street  Windsor Hotel Block

The Windsor Hotel 2022 and as it looked in 1910. Note the barber pole bottom-centre and the fire alarm box on the top to summon the fire department.  The Quirk Building, now demolished, on Downie Street can still be seen to the right of the photo. 


The elegant Windsor Hotel was an important structure when built in 1881. From the corner of Downie Street, it stretched easterly nearly a half a block down Albert Street. At the time of its opening, there were 30 hotels and drinking establishments within the village boundaries. Numerous retail outlets occupied the hotel's ground floor section that faced Downie Street. In 1883, the Windsor was the first city hotel to include telephone service in its guest amenities.  

It became one of the few hotels of its day that would operate into the 20th century. However, in 1935, the owners, because of the building's age and a decline in business, were forced to reduce their hotel to half its original size. They sold their abandoned half to the F. W. Woolworth Co., which built a new five-and-dime store on the southeast corner of Downie and Albert streets. (See Downie Street). Now the TD bank occupies the space that was formerly Woolworth's fronting on Downie Street.  The Windsor entrance is still from Albert Street as seen in the top picture on the left. 

The reduced but well-known Windsor Hotel survived for many more years. Today (2022), it and its updated facilities continue to serve under the name of the Albert Street Inn. Source:  Vince Gratton

1896 postcard, advertising Large and well-lighted sample rooms. All modern conveniences.  Vince Gratton


In 1903, an addition to the Windsor Hotel was designed by Edward James Lennox, a famous Canadian architect. Photo to the left. He also designed the Old City Hall and Casa Loma in Toronto. See The Immortality of E. J. Lennox – from Casa Loma to Old City Hall.

1881 Construction: The Windsor Hotel Block and The Merchants Bank (see article below). 

The Windsor Hotel being built in 1881 beside the Quirk Building seen on the right of the photo.. The Quirk Building which is no longer there was the only iron-faced building in Stratford. The building many knew as The British Mortgage and Trust building on Albert Street is being constructed just to the left of the spire of Knox Church visible from its location on Ontario Street.   The spire collapsed in the Knox fire of 1913. (see Ontario Street). The Merchants Bank  was the first institution to use the building.  It was levelled about 1960 for parking. The building on the extreme left of the photo is the Trow Building. The view is looking east from Market Square. Knox Church remains on Ontario Street at the corner of Waterloo as seen in the centre background.  Photo courtesy of Pat Petit from Stratford and District Historical Society FB. ..  

This is I think a really unique early photo and contains a lot of interesting elements going on. The photo is definitely one half of the "lense" on a stereoscopic view card. These cards are not common to find and after years of collecting I only have about a dozen such stereo cards in my Stratford collection. The cardboard type mounting were prone to warping and mould problems. I took the time to sharpen the image, remove most of the mould spots and then did a light colourization.  by Vince Gratton:

Windsor Hotel Ad from 1882

This ad noting the newly built Windsor Hotel under the proprietorship of J. E.  Shipman was placed in the Stratford Civic Directory for 1882.  What follows is the message of the ad: "This first class hotel - the largest, handsomest and best hotel west of Toronto-is open for the reception of guests. Sample rooms for commercial travelers and every accommodation for the travelling public. Terms $1.50 per day."   Note the stagecoach outside the entrance on Albert Street.  Source: Stratford and District Historical Society FB 

Waddell’s Livery Stable Albert Street. Stratford-Perth Archives.

Waddell's Livery Stable

In 1892, J. F. Waddell built a livery stable on Albert Street in Stratford, across the road from the Windsor Hotel, which had been built in 1881. According to a Beacon-Herald story in 1950, when the livery was demolished, for years, Waddell patrons had been able rent one of 30 horses, all of them ready to be hitched to a buggy or a cutter.

The property is now a parking lot on the north side of Albert Street, across from the Albert Street Inn (formerly the Windsor Hotel) and the downtown branch of TD Canada Trust.

The article about the history of the building, its owners and entertaining stories of the horses appeared in the Stratford Beacon-Herald in 1950. This is an excerpt from that article: “A smart horse could always find its way home to a stable where it knew kind treatment was part of the service. In the days that the late Andrew Waddell and his son, the late James T. Waddell, ran a livery stable on Albert Street in Stratford, the horses always came home, even if the drivers were too tired or otherwise incapable after a day's celebration, to direct them.

"The Waddell father-and-son business partners owned about 30 horses, the same number of buggies and cutters, and three or four ultra-modern cabs which cost between $800 and $900. The cabs were reserved for weddings and funerals."

The building was situated just east of The British Mortgage and Trust company on the north side of Albert Street for 60 years before British Mortgage moved to One Ontario Street in 1962. (see Ontario Street).

    Albert Street: First TheMerchants Bank then British Mortgage and Trust  

The Merchants Bank of Canada was listed at 10 Albert Street but early on was listed at 20 Albert. The numbering changed; there was only one building.  Built 1881.  The sign in the window photo says 'The Merchants Bank of Canada.' 

In 1926, for the first time, British Mortgage and Trust is listed there.  Photo: Vince Gratton. 

The Merchants Bank was built 1881 across from Windsor Hotel. In 1926, the building became home to British Mortgage and Trust

In 1881, The Merchants Bank of Canada building on Albert Street was constructed at the same time as The Windsor Hotel. (see construction photo 1881 Windsor Hotel above). The Merchants Bank was situated on the north side of Albert Street just east of Downie Street and would later become the offices of The British Mortgage and Loan. (see Corcoran Drive for early history).  Eventually that company would become The British Mortgage and Trust at One Ontario Street. (see One Ontario Street).

The Merchants Bank was a Canadian chartered bank which started in Quebec. Its first venture outside of the province was in 1867, when it took over the 17 branches of the Kingston-based Commercial Bank of Canada, renaming itself the Merchants Bank of Canada. As of 1919, the chain is known to have 329 branches from coast to coast. The Merchants Bank received its charter in 1861. Public operations began in 1864. The Merchants Bank was purchased by the Bank of Montreal (b of M) in 1922. Source: Merchants bank  of Canada

After the purchase, Bank of Montreal kept a branch at 10 Albert for a year while maintaining their main offices at 73-77 Downie Street on the southeast corner at Brunswick.  Robert L. Whitman who had been the manager or Merchants Bank became the manager of Bank of Montreal.  Whitman lived at 186 Church not far from John A. Davidson, the former manager of  B of M who lived at 208 Church. 

The Albert Street building was vacant for 1923 and 1924. In 1925, Stratford Gas moved in, but only for a year. in 1926, British Mortgage and Trust moved into 10 Albert. Walter H. Gregory (1886-1969) who had been manager of British Mortgage and Loan now was president of the new company. His brother, William Herbert Gregory (1872-1950) became managing director. In 1957, Walter's son, Wilfred P. Gregory, ( 1912-2010) was general manager and later became president. Wilfred P.  Gregory would hold the position of president until 1965 when he returned to the practice of law. ( see Stratford's Dark Day ). In 1962, British Mortgage moved to a new building at One Ontario Street. (see Ontario Street). The modern award-winning building was designed by Bob Fairfield (see Fairfield Drive)  who also designed the Festival Theatre. (see Queen Street). Walter H. Gregory was mayor of Stratford in 1921-1922; his son Wilfred P. Gregory, in 1955-1956.  Sources: Stratford City Directories; Find a Grave Stratford;  Wilfrid P Gregory | Obituary | Stratford Beacon Herald (remembering.ca) 

In about 1960, the beautiful building built for the Merchants Bank of Canada in 1881 at 10 Albert Street became a parking lot. The Old Post Office built in 1882 was demolished in 1961. (see Ontario Street). 

Further Early History of The Merchants Bank in Stratford. William Johnston in his History of Perth County 1825-1902, published in 1903, mentioned the Merchants Bank in this way: The bank has "contributed to developing trade, by supplying capital to business men, enabling them to carry on those enterprises so essential to progress."

In the Stratford City Directory for 1876, The Merchants Bank is listed on Albert near Market Street (Downie). Charles H. Ransom was the agent. In 1880-1881, Edward F. Hebden was the manager.  By 1896, W. Pringle was manager and that was still his position in 1900.   

Addendum:  An article in Canada's History provided more background to the purchase of The Merchants Bank of Canada by the Bank of Montreal in 1921. 

Canadian banking was going through an important transformation that had started just before WW1 and that the war had accelerated. Canada’s banking industry was consolidating. Unenterprising institutions were, with government approval, being merged with stronger competitors, making the country’s banking system more stable in the process. One merger, the 1921 deal that joined two of the country’s largest banks — Merchants Bank of Canada and the Bank of Montreal — ensured stability, but at the same time it chipped away at the faith Canadians had in their banks. 

The merger was not one of equals. The 400-branch Merchants Bank of Canada was badly mismanaged and faced $8 million in losses, equal to nearly $80 million today. The Merchants’ shareholders saw a large portion of their capital wiped out. The Bank Act, 1871, fiddled with over the years but still largely intact, had proven inadequate to the task of protecting bank investors and customers. The only good news was that Merchants Bank was not too far gone for the Bank of Montreal to save. Source: Canada,s History  For a history of Merchant Banks, see  Merchant Banking: Origin, Meaning and Evolution   

   Albert Street: Memories of Waddell's Stables

In this photo, Waddell’s Livery Stable is on the left (north) side of Albert Street. It has advertising on its west wall. Stratford-Perth Archives.

Looking east from Downie Street, The Merchants Bank built in 1881 is seen in the foreground on the left of the photo. In 1926, it would become The British Mortgage and  Trust (see Ontario Street). It was situated just west of the livery stable. Across the street, on the right side of the photo, is the large and impressive Windsor Hotel built as well in 1881. The tower of the Old Firehall can be seen through the trees on the south side of Albert Street beyond the Windsor Hotel. Note the Barber pole in the right foreground with the Fire Alarm box on top. 

Memories of Waddell's Stables.

Andrew F. Waddell, who lived at 110 John St. North, Stratford, son of the Andrew Waddell who ran the livery business, recalls that two Stratford doctors used to keep their horses in the stable. One, the late Dr. S. T. Rutherford (1864-1930) didn't bother driving his horse to the stable. He merely stopped long enough to climb out of his buggy or cutter at his uptown office and let the horse find its own way to the place, where it knew feed and bedding were waiting.

May 24, the Victoria Day holiday celebrating Queen Victoria, was a busy day for the livery stable in Stratford. There were several of them back in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The Mitchell horse races were usually the centre of attraction on the holiday bill, and the only way people could get to Mitchell was by horse and buggy. Andrew Waddell remembers visiting the Collison House in Mitchell and paying 25 cents for his dinner, 15 cents for the horse's oats and hay, and getting a good five-cent cigar on the house The cigars were made in Stratford.

Most of the old livery stables and blacksmith shops in Stratford are now replaced by garages [by 1950] but Mr. Waddell remembers when there were almost as many “tying posts” as there are now parking meters on uptown streets; and when most hotels at least had stepping stones for their customers to descend from their high buggies to street level.

There was no burdensome traffic problem in days when oats, at 15 cents a bushel, and hay, at $8 a ton, provided the fuel to keep vehicles moving.  Horses didn't collide head-on at intersections even if the drivers were not keeping their eyes on the road, and policemen didn’t have to keep an eye on traffic movement. Even with the 17 hotels serving “strong drink” there was no drunk driving problem. The horses drank only water.

A wrecking crew, tearing down the old Albert Street building which has been in turn a livery stable and cartage company’s garage, and has housed a radio repair shop and provided storage space for furniture, discovered that the structure was well built. A cement floor, all the concrete mixed by hand, was heavier than the crew expected to find, and it was still in good condition.

Mr. Waddell doesn't recall the original building cost but he’s hazarding a guess that it’s much less than the contractor would pay his men to wreck the building in 1950.” Source: Stratford & District Historical Society FB. 

116 Albert Street:   From Stratford Dairy to Silverwood's 

The Stratford Dairy, 116 Albert St., circa mid-1920s. Photo: Brian Wendy Reis from the Beacon-Herald

Richard McNamara was one of the founders of Stratford Dairy in 1912. The company is listed in the 1913 Vernon's City of Stratford Directory for 1913 with Michael Ballantyne as president. The dairy was sold to Silverwood's Dairy in the late 1920s.

What follows is a memory from Brian Reis from If You Grew Up in Stratford . . . FB site.

“You'd think, judging by all the dairies and bakeries in Stratford, that all we did back in those days was sit around eating bread and drinking milk, not to mention our contribution to the local agriculture industry by buying all that hay and oats, and of course the tons of garden fertilizer as a by-product of it all. Surely, we quaffed the occasional beer? This photo from the mid-1920s is Stratford Dairies Ltd. at 116 Albert St. It was sold to Silverwoods in the late '20s. The photo was loaned to the Beacon-Herald by Anna McNamara, whose grandfather, Richard McNamara, was one of the company's founders in 1912.

The photo shows the "rigs" and the employees of the Stratford Dairy Co., at 116 Albert St. I worked with Anna McNamara for a few years. Her father, John McNamara, was the dairy manager. In the photo, he is sixth from the left (wearing a jacket, tie and hat). His father, Richard McNamara, founded Stratford Dairy in 1912. The dairy was sold to Silverwood's Dairy in the late 1920s. This building in the picture was beside the Albert Street end of what would be the Silverwood's barn, where they stabled their horses, and stored the rigs.

This photo seems to have been taken on a warm summer's day, but can you imagine what it would have been like on a -27 Celsius day, to be harnessing a horse to its rig in the wee hours of the morning, and then spending most of the day delivering milk around town? Many of the milkmen had a kerosene heater in their rig for warmth, but it would still have been mighty cold. This building was later turned into apartments.” Sources: Brian Wendy Reis, FB; Vernon's City of Stratford directories. 

140 Albert Street  J. D. Hamilton, tobaccanis

J. D. Hamilton was popularly known as Lord Raglan, in tribute to the high quality of cigars by that name that he manufactured. He was also one of Stratford's best-known citizens.


In his factory, on the south side of Brunswick Street just west of Waterloo Street, he also produced cigars with the brand names Isabelle, Honest Five, Nutting King, Hayseed, and others. From 1901 to 1916, his cigar business partner was George Levett. Their well-appointed retail outlet, at 3 Wellington St., included a tobacconist's shop, a shaving parlour, and a popular second-floor billiards hall.

 

J. D. Hamilton lived at 140 Albert St. He was a city alderman and a railwayman, and had the confidence and esteem of a host of friends across the wide range of country in which his cigars were sold. Source: Stratford District Historical Society

Lord Raglan Trimmed, nailed wood box (50) Factory 1 IRD 33 Series of 1897 Hamilton & Levett, Stratford, Ont. Canadian Museum of History 

Fun fact: English politicians and members of the nobility appear without any explanation on Canadian cigar boxes.

 Pictured on this cigar box is George Fitzroy Henry Somerset, 3rd Baron Raglan (1857–1921), who was the British under-secretary for war (1900-1902) and thereafter, by appointment of Edward VII, governor of the Isle of Man. Just what is signified by the trains and telegraph poles in the background of the portrait is a mystery. (Hum. Could it be that Hamilton was in a railway town?)

Albert Street paving

Albert Street paving   Stratford-Perth Museum

Duncan MacKinnon, fountain pen inventor   

MacKinnon Pen ad from The Stationer, New York.


Caption on an article in the Toronto Globe newspaper on Apr. 11, 1914.

"How a Canadian Druggist living in Stratford Ontario, was induced to try his hand at devising a fluid pencil, and how he finally succeeded in perfecting a useful commercial article." 


Duncan MacKinnon. Source: The only known photo. Globe & Mail. April 11, 1914.. 

Parker. Schaeffer. Waterman. Montblanc. Pelikan, Sailor. We know the names of famous fountain pen manufacturers. But do we know  the invention was made by Duncan MacKinnon, a druggist living here in Stratford in 1873.  

Early Life. Duncan MacKinnon was born in Unionville, Ont. in the family homestead in either 1838 or 1839. His early years were spent in Markham & Vaughan and the 1861 Census for Vaughan lists him at age 22 as a school teacher. A short time later he took up pharmacy and practiced in several communities in Southwestern Ontario. The 1871 Census found him in Sarnia working as a druggist and living with his brother Dr. Angus MacKinnon & family. 

Stratford Years. By 1873 he was the proprietor of MacKinnon and Company, Drugs and Medicines, a drug store in Stratford located at the corner of Albert and Market Street. In the Stratford City Directory for 1876, MacKinnon is mentioned as holding patents for the MacKinnon pen. His residence was located between Market and Waterloo Streets.  He left Stratford that same year for New York to establish his company. . 

Market Street becomes Downie Street. In case you are wondering about the name Market Street, it ran for one block only from Ontario Street to the corner of Wellington and Albert Streets. It ended at the Market Building and Town Hall...hence the Market Street name. That block was renamed Downie Street in 1907.  

MacKinnon's Invention of the "fluid pencil." About this time, MacKinnon read a paragraph in The Scientific American asking some inventive genius of the world to produce a “fluid pencil”, that is, a writing instrument much like a lead pencil, substituting ink for the lead. Stylographic pens, often referred to as "stylos", have a writing tip consisting of a metal tube with a fine wire inside to regulate ink flow.  Mr. MacKinnon was at once seized with the importance of the suggestion and was soon at work but many difficulties were encountered before the invention was put on the market. 

Patents. MacKinnon initially patented his design in Canada and Great Britain in 1875 and also applied for and received a U.S. patent in 1876. MacKinnon left Stratford in 1876 and founded D. MacKinnon & Co. in New York City that year to manufacture what he called “ink pencils” rather than stylographs. The fountain pen term came slightly later. He patented his pen in Canada on June 5, 1875, patent no. 4,809, and then in the UK later in 1875, no. 2,497, and in the US in 1876, no. 174,965, although he didn’t refer to it as a “stylograph” in his patents.  In his first ads for the pen, he referred to it as a “fluid pencil”, or “ink pencil”, since in appearance it closely resembled a sharpened wooden pencil.  D. MacKinnon & Co. later became The MacKinnon Pen Co. in 1878 under different management. 

The Pen Wars. Unfortunately, MacKinnon laid the groundwork for his company’s demise very early on, when he showed his pen to Alonzo T. Cross. MacKinnon worked with Cross in developing the spring idea, so he felt betrayed when Cross patented it without MacKinnon as co-patentee, and felt vindicated in adding the spring to his own pen. He then was promptly sued by Cross. There was a lengthy series of letters by both parties to the editor of the New York newspaper The Stationer. One letter is included below.  All can be read here. Fountain Pen History: MacKinnon v. Cross! 

Final Years. MacKinnon returned to Canada where he died in Alvinston, Ontario on March 18, 1882. His brother Angus was listed as his Physician and Informant on the death certificate. Death was due to Chronic Pneumonia from which he had been suffering for six years.

Obituary. His obituary appeared in the Watford & Alvinston Guide-News on March 24, 1882 p.5. “Mr. Duncan MacKinnon, brother of Dr. MacKinnon, who has been ill for some time, died on Saturday last, and his remains were interred on Monday of this week. Mr. MacKinnon was not very extensively known in this neighbourhood. He was a gentleman of culture and refinement.”

Addendum: Following the publishing of the article in 1914, his brother, Angus, wrote to the Globe newspaper saying “I thank you for the article on the invention of the fountain pen. It is excellent and gives a just presentiment of my brother’s claim to be the inventor. I am glad to think that, after having been forgotten so many years, his great accomplishment should be recognized and his memory honored. He was a man who in his life was liked and respected for his social qualities and business ability, and in death he is remembered for the good he did. Had Had he entered into a partnership with Cross & Son he would likely have had a greater return for his labor and expense. Several years of impaired health preceding his death were possibly not without influence on the outcome.” Sources: 

The MacKinnon Pen 1879. 

Mark Twain, Huck Finn and  The MacKinnon Pen Company.


After Duncan MacKinnon established a pen company known as The MacKinnon Pen Company in Brooklyn, New York, in 1876,and had the original patent for the Stylographic pen, it is known that Mark Twain received one as a gift, a MacKinnon Stylo. 


Twain was very impressed with its performance and enthusiastically urged friends to adopt "the best fountain pen yet invented". It is thought that he used this pen during the writing of Huckleberry Finn.

MacKinnon U. S. Patent. 1876.  See Patent Details

Ads for the MacKinnon Pen in Canada and the United States.  


THE MACKINNON PEN – One of the most convenient articles that has been brought before the notice of the public for some time is a writing pen on a new principle, the invention of Mr. D. Mackinnon, Stratford…It is just what has long been wanted by men whose business calls for much writing, and is certain to be appreciated. Mr MacKinnon has patented the pen in Canada, the United States and Great Britain, and we understand has been offered a large sum of money for an interest in his ingenious invention.  Manitoba Free Press, March 18, 1876.  


That “large sum of money” was apparently offered  by Francis Cashel Brown and Arthur Sutherland. Ultimately they bought out Mackinnon and by 1878 had established D. Mackinnon & Company and were manufacturing and selling “The MacKinnon Pen” at 21 Park Row in New York City.  One of their earliest newspaper advertisements appeared in the August 31, 1878 edition of the New York Times. Entitled “Writing Made Easy,” it reads in part:

The “MACKINNON PEN,” dispenses with the use of gold and steel pens, lead pencils and ink stands; is ready for use at all times and places and is the only perfect, self-feeding writing instrument in existence.  Every pen is pointed by a new process, with iridium, (diamond) and is warranted for three years… Sources:  The Mackinnon Pen – Bay Bottles ;  Fountain Pen History: Duncan MacKinnon. Duncan MacKinnon (1839-1882) - Find a Grave Memorial;    Stylographic Pens (vintagepens.com)Fountain Pen History: ‘Plume-Fontaine’, and the Stylograph