Canadian Illustrated News, 1869–1883
Canadian Illustrated News was a weekly magazine published in Montréal, Quebec, by George Desbarats. It was one of the first magazines to successfully publish photographs. This collection contains almost 4,000 images of people, places and events from across Canada and around the world.
On this page
Search tips
Use the search boxes at the top of the page to enter keywords such as:
- a person
- a place
- a thing (for example, buildings such as Parliament or the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts)
- an event (for example, a fire or assassination)
Optional filters
Artist
- Try searching by last name only, as some entries include only initials for given names.
- Many entries are credited as “unknown.”
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Use the wildcard symbol “*” to broaden your search.
- Example, Fran* will return results for Frank, Francis, François, Franz, František, and Francisco.
- The wildcard can be placed at the beginning, middle or end of a name.
Subject
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- Subjects may include places (such as Montréal or Kingston), types of transportation (such as steamships or railroads), and more.
- Searching by subject usually returns fewer results than a keyword search.
Date
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Volume and issue
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About the publication
Canadian Illustrated News was published in 28 volumes between October 30, 1869, and December 29, 1883. It came out weekly, except for one or two months that were bi-weekly.
Generally, each volume had 25 to 27 issues and was published over a six-month period:
| Volume | Dates | Number of issues |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 30, 1869–June 25, 1870 | 34 |
| 2 | July 2–December 24, 1870 | 26 |
| 3 | January 7–June 24, 1871 | 25 |
| 4 | July 1–December 30, 1871 | 27 |
| 5 | January 6–June 29, 1872 | 26 |
| 6 | July 6–December 28, 1872 | 26 |
| 7 | January 4–June 28, 1873 | 26 |
| 8 | July 5–December 27, 1873 | 26 |
| 9 | January 3–June 27, 1874 | 26 |
| 10 | July 4–December 26, 1874 | 26 |
| 11 | January 2–June 26, 1874 | 26 |
| 12 | July 3–December 25, 1875 | 26 |
| 13 | January 1–June 24, 1876 | 26 |
| 14 | July 1–December 30, 1876 | 25 |
| 15 | January 6–June 30, 1877 | 26 |
| 16 | July 7–December 29, 1877 | 26 |
| 17 | January 5–June 29, 1878 | 26 |
| 18 | July 6–December 28, 1878 | 26 |
| 19 | January 4–June 28, 1879 | 26 |
| 20 | July 6–December 27, 1879 | 26 |
| 21 | January 3–June 26, 1880 | 26 |
| 22 | July 3–December 25, 1880 | 26 |
| 23 | January 1–June 25, 1881 | 26 |
| 24 | July 2–December 31, 1881 | 27 |
| 25 | January 7–June 24, 1882 | 25 |
| 26 | July 1–December 30, 1882 | 27 |
| 27 | January 6–June 30, 1883 | 26 |
| 28 | July 7–December 29, 1883 | 26 |
Other places to look
If you want to see the articles that accompanied the images, the full magazine is available online in two places:
- Canadiana: Canadian Illustrated News
- Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec: Canadian Illustrated News (French only)
Print versions can be requested through Aurora, our library catalogue:
If you would like to do further research in this publication, the following indexes will be very helpful:
- Retfalvi, Andrea. 1977. Canadian Illustrated News (Montreal): Index to Illustrations. Toronto: Dept. of Fine Art, University of Toronto.
- Retfalvi, Andrea, and Ann Hilty. 1989. Canadian Illustrated News, Montreal, 1869-1883: An Index. Toronto: Dept. of Fine Art, University of Toronto.
- Retfalvi, Andrea, Ann Hilty, and University of Toronto Dept of Fine Art. 1989. Canadian Illustrated News, Montreal, 1869-1883: An Index. Toronto: Dept. of Fine Art, University of Toronto.
There are also several special issues, including extracts on certain subjects and a prospectus to tell people what would be in the magazine once it began publishing:
- The Canadian Illustrated News Portfolio and Dominion Guide for 1873. [1873?]. Montréal: Canadian Illustrated News. (Available on Canadiana)
- The Canadian Illustrated News: Prospectus, the Imagination Is So Closely Linked to the Perceptive Faculties… [1869?]. [Place of publication not identified]: [publisher not identified]. (Available on Canadiana)
- Desbarats, Peter. 1970. Canadian Illustrated News: A Commemorative Portfolio. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.
- Dewart, William. [1875?] Eleven Letters on Free Trade Vs. Protection Which Appeared in the Canadian Illustrated News. [Place of publication not identified]: [publisher not identified]. (Available on Canadiana)
- Love, Karen, and National Gallery of Canada. 1974. Canadian Illustrated News: Articles on Art & Reproductions: Oct. 30, 1869–Dec. 29, 1883, vols. 1–28. Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada.
If you would like to know more about the artists of this period, the following book is a good starting point:
- Harper, J. Russell. 1970. Early Painters and Engravers in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. (Available on Internet Archive)
Access the illustrations
Use Collection search to access digitized images. These images are copyright-free and may be reproduced without asking for permission. For instructions on how to reference images, see Crediting and citing Library and Archives material.