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COMING SOON!

We have ordered the high-resolution archival master from Library and Archives Canada and will release this print once the image has been prepared and approved for fine-art reproduction.

Beautifully reproduced on 310 gsm fine-art paper and presented behind shatter-resistant plexiglass in a timeless matte-black wood frame, this photograph depicts a winter morning on Sparks Street, Ottawa, captured in December 1909 by celebrated Canadian photographer William James Topley.

Photographed from high above the street, this remarkable view looks down on a bustling capital in motion: an electric streetcar makes its way along snow-lined tracks, pedestrians gather beneath storefront awnings, overhead wires criss-cross the street, and one solitary figure strides directly across the rails in front of the approaching car. 

The elevated viewpoint turns an everyday moment into an extraordinary record of urban life. Look closely and the photograph begins to reveal dozens of smaller stories — people walking to work, figures gathered on the sidewalks, shopfronts and signs, elaborate commercial architecture, and the infrastructure of a rapidly modernizing Canadian city.

Topley was one of Ottawa's most important early photographers. After beginning his career with the renowned William Notman photographic enterprise, he established a major Ottawa studio and spent decades documenting the people, buildings and streets of Canada's capital.

Archival source

The surviving original is a 12.7 × 17.7 cm black-and-white glass-plate negative held by Library and Archives Canada.

The small digital copy currently available online does not contain sufficient detail for the quality of reproduction we require at Heritage Prints. We have ordered the highest-resolution archival master available from Library and Archives Canada and are awaiting delivery before preparing this photograph for print.

William James Topley, Sparks Street, December 1909
Library and Archives Canada
PA-009592 · MIKAN 3325947
Original: black-and-white glass-plate negative, 12.7 × 17.7 cm
Copyright: Expired · Restrictions on use: Nil
Credit: William James Topley/Library and Archives Canada/PA-009592

Print details

• Designed and printed in Canada
• Materials: 100% pinewood frame, 310 gsm fine-art paper and shatter-resistant plexiglass. Hanging hardware arrives pre-installed.
• Matte-black frame with brown paper backing, pre-installed hanging hardware and rubber bumpers; frame assembled in the USA from globally sourced components

Shipping within Canada

Shipping is charged according to print size. Applicable GST/HST/QST is added at checkout.

• 40" × 28" — $69.95

Product design, presentation and original content © Heritage Prints.