The majority of these postcards are of Carnegie buildings. Dates from Wikipedia.
In contrast to the US libraries these are in alphabetic order by the city name rather than the province name.
1911 building superceded by the Old Town Hall in 1979, ostensibly due to size constraints.
Part of the Elgin County library system.
Photo postcard may date to the 1930s.
Aka Memorial Park Library.
Self-framed card published in Saxony by the Pacific Novelty Company of San Francisco. Mailed in 1913.
1912 Carnegie building, still in use as a library.
Heliotype brand card mailed in 1936 to Wisconsin.
1910 grant: opened 1915. In 1967, the library moved from the Carnegie building into an older, Romanesque building, formerly used as a Customs Office, among other govermental functions.
The Carnegie building is now in use as a restaurant, of all the unusual things.
Heliotype brand card: never mailed.
The first building burnt and the library was reopened in a reading room in 1899.
1902 grant: opened 1905.
Closed 1958. Current fate unknown.
More current history is on
another page.
The 1958 building was renovated in 1978.
Currently 33 branches and 2 bookmobiles comprise the capital city's public library system.
Tinted card bearing an Edward VII stamp on the photo side was mailed to the United States in 1911.
1901 grant.
Demolished.
Logo of PE CO in a maple leaf. 1950s 4 cent QE II stamp, but never mailed. However, the card looks much older, probably from the 1920s.
1904 building, replaced in 1983, now houses the Saint John Arts Centre.
Both cards also feature the city hall.
St. Thomas is not on Wikipedia's list of Canadian Carnegie buildings, but the
Library itself
states that it first petitioned for Carnegie funding in 1903, received its grant in 1904, and opened the resultant
building in 1906.
The Carnegie library was replaced in 1973. Fate unknown.
(L) Valentine and Sons card of British manufacture.
(R) Canadian publication.
Built 1902-3: demolished 1960.
Evidently the Canadians also imported German postcards. This is from the Edwardian era. It features a bandstand, a gazebo, and a cannon.
Which one of these objects does not belong with the others?
Still in use.
Modern chrome multiview card featuring the Shelburne Community Centre and the Dufferin County Museum, in addition to the library.
1911 grant.
Late 1901 grant: built 1903. Still in use.
According to the Dexter Colour Canada card, mailed in 1990, it opened September 19, 1903 and is believed to be the oldest Carnegie building still in use as a library.
(L) Public Reference Library, Toronto, Ont. Quality postcard for Ballantine Bros. of Toronto.
(R) Linen finish card by Colourpicture, of Boston, Massachusetts.
1903 grant. Closed 1977.
Valentine and Sons Souvenir Post Card printed in Great Britain and mailed in the States.
1905 Romanesque building stands vacant.
Warwick Bros. and Rutter card, printed in Toronto. Isn't the reverse of this card fantastic?
1906 grant. Current function unknown.
Canada's first Carnegie library.
Warwick Bros. and Rutter card, printed in Toronto. Mailed in 1910.
1901 grant. Demolished.
(L) Photogelatine Engraving card mailed in 1955.
(R) Smug, victorious evergreen on a Valentine-Black card, mailed 1948.
In a weird twist, Reverend Dr. James Ross, a
library board member, was killed
while on a trip to the US, in pursuit of a Carnegie grant which was never made.
This appears to be the Elsie Perrin Williams Memorial Building, opened in 1940. It replaced the
Princess Rink and Winter Gardens.
(L) Photogelatine Engraving Co., Ltd. card, mailed in 1951.
(R) No publishing information or plate number on the tinted, white border card.
The building is still in use, with the library currently part of the Palliser Regional Library.
The Curt Teich postcard empire extended into Canade: Hamilton, Ontario to be exact. This card was published in 1958.
Per Teich:
This modern building, erected in 1956 and set amidst beautiful lawns and gardens, presents an opportunity for
enjoyment and higher learning to the people of this busy town.
Looking for Library Postcards: Civic Pride in a Lost America?
© 2009 - 2011 Judy Aulik
Uploaded 15 July 2009.
Updated 17 September 2011.