Armstrong, Beere and Hime panorama

A fictionalized history of the photographs and their story plays a central role in Michael Redhill's Consolation.

They were created by the firm Armstrong, Beere and Hime under contract from the city of Toronto.

The panoramic images were taken from the roof of the Rossin House Hotel, at the southeast corner of King and York streets.

They were rediscovered on October 9, 1979, when archivist Joan Schwartz located them when looking through records at the Colonial Office Library (original negatives were transferred to the Library of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Records, which are now on permanent loan at King’s College London).

A set of modern duplicates, reproduced from copy negatives, was presented to the City of Toronto as a Sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) gift from the British government in 1984.