Ellis Wiley

Ellis Wiley
Ellis Wiley
Born	1918
Died	2001 (aged 82–83)
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	accountant
Known for	Taking iconic photographs of Toronto, which his widow donated

Ellis Wiley was a Canadian accountant and prolific amateur photographer. Wiley died in 2002, and his widow donated his just over 2,500 35mm slide film to the City of Toronto Archives.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] The Wiley collection spans the years 1945 to 1998.^[7]

Commentators note how often writers make use of Wiley's photos to illustrate books and articles about Toronto.^[2]^[8] They noted that not only was Wiley a good photographer, but that there were very few other freely re-usable images from the period when he was active. They noted that Wiley's collection includes many photos of iconic landmarks shortly before, or even during, demolition.

Derek Flack, writing for BlogTO, noted that Wiley's photos did contain imperfections, which marked him as a skilled amateur.^[2] He felt these imperfections added to their charm, and gave them a tone of immediacy.

References

^ Eric Veillettes (2014-06-06). "A drink with BlogTO editor Derek Flack". The Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2015-10-31. Retrieved 2018-10-15. They were, but then you get to the amateur photographers like Ellis Wiley, whose work is all housed at the archives, there's activity. Wiley had an especially keen eye for demolition. You can chart out the waves of demolition throughout the 1970s. Tepperman. That name is everywhere.
^ ^a ^b ^c Derek Flack (2011-02-25). "Ellis Wiley's Toronto photographs". BlogTO. Archived from the original on 2018-10-29. Retrieved 2018-10-15. Chances are you've seen an Ellis Wiley photograph before. In numerous historical posts about Toronto in the second half of the 20th century on this and other sites, scanned versions of Wiley's Kodachrome and Ektachrome slides make prominent appearances.
^ Chris Bateman (2014-10-09). "What the Financial District was like in the 1970s & '80s". BlogTO. Archived from the original on 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2018-10-15. Amateur street photographer Ellis Wiley, who extensively documented Toronto buildings and streets from the 1950s to 1990s, recorded the years leading up to construction of both projects, capturing one last time buildings buildings that were doomed to face the wrecking ball. Here's what downtown Toronto looked like through Wiley's lens in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
^ Derek Flack (2017-06-26). "A flashback to the gritty Toronto of the 1980s". BlogTO. Archived from the original on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2018-10-15. For those of us interested in mining the visual archive of the 1980s, the Ellis Wiley Fonds at the Toronto Archives are indispensable, but for all the crucial documentation of the decade, the photos are mostly snapshots.
^ Derek Flack (2011-03-25). "The Kodachrome Toronto archive". BlogTO. Archived from the original on 2017-04-17. Retrieved 2018-10-15. Kodachrome film stopped being made in 2009, but over the course of its 75 years of existence its popularity means that there are almost certainly scores of slides out there that could used for Idlewild's project. The challenge is locating them. The City of Toronto Archives — and the Ellis Wiley fonds in particular — is one such source, but the point of Kodachrome Toronto is to go beyond the established archive and seek out those images that have yet to be discovered.
^ Chris Bateman (2017-09-23). "What Kensington Market was like in the 1970s". BlogTO. Archived from the original on 2019-03-28. Retrieved 2018-10-15. This is captured amazingly in Ellis Wiley's photographs. His some 1,500 street photographs are a vital part of the City of Toronto Archives collection, but might just show off their best vernacular qualities in Kensignton market.
^ "Ellis Wiley Fonds". City of Toronto Archives. Archived from the original on 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2018-10-15. Taken between 1945 and 1993, Wiley's images tell the story of an evolving city. He photographed the construction of iconic Toronto landmarks like the TD Bank Tower, new City Hall and the CN Tower.
^ Astrid Idlewild (2011-01-06). "F. Ellis Wiley, 1918–2002: An overview". Accozzaglia. A great way to formally introduce Wiley is to look at one of the most recognized intersections of the city: Yonge Street at Dundas Street. As with a few other places, Wiley returned here to periodically chronicle its paced changes.

External links

[TorStar2014-06-06-1] Eric Veillettes (2014-06-06). "A drink with BlogTO editor Derek Flack". The Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2015-10-31. Retrieved 2018-10-15. They were, but then you get to the amateur photographers like Ellis Wiley, whose work is all housed at the archives, there's activity. Wiley had an especially keen eye for demolition. You can chart out the waves of demolition throughout the 1970s. Tepperman. That name is everywhere.

[Blogto2011-02-25-2] Derek Flack (2011-02-25). "Ellis Wiley's Toronto photographs". BlogTO. Archived from the original on 2018-10-29. Retrieved 2018-10-15. Chances are you've seen an Ellis Wiley photograph before. In numerous historical posts about Toronto in the second half of the 20th century on this and other sites, scanned versions of Wiley's Kodachrome and Ektachrome slides make prominent appearances.

[Blogto2014-10-09-3] Chris Bateman (2014-10-09). "What the Financial District was like in the 1970s & '80s". BlogTO. Archived from the original on 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2018-10-15. Amateur street photographer Ellis Wiley, who extensively documented Toronto buildings and streets from the 1950s to 1990s, recorded the years leading up to construction of both projects, capturing one last time buildings buildings that were doomed to face the wrecking ball. Here's what downtown Toronto looked like through Wiley's lens in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

[Blogto2017-06-26-4] Derek Flack (2017-06-26). "A flashback to the gritty Toronto of the 1980s". BlogTO. Archived from the original on 2018-10-04. Retrieved 2018-10-15. For those of us interested in mining the visual archive of the 1980s, the Ellis Wiley Fonds at the Toronto Archives are indispensable, but for all the crucial documentation of the decade, the photos are mostly snapshots.

[Blogto2011-03-25-5] Derek Flack (2011-03-25). "The Kodachrome Toronto archive". BlogTO. Archived from the original on 2017-04-17. Retrieved 2018-10-15. Kodachrome film stopped being made in 2009, but over the course of its 75 years of existence its popularity means that there are almost certainly scores of slides out there that could used for Idlewild's project. The challenge is locating them. The City of Toronto Archives — and the Ellis Wiley fonds in particular — is one such source, but the point of Kodachrome Toronto is to go beyond the established archive and seek out those images that have yet to be discovered.

[Blogto2017-09-23-6] Chris Bateman (2017-09-23). "What Kensington Market was like in the 1970s". BlogTO. Archived from the original on 2019-03-28. Retrieved 2018-10-15. This is captured amazingly in Ellis Wiley's photographs. His some 1,500 street photographs are a vital part of the City of Toronto Archives collection, but might just show off their best vernacular qualities in Kensignton market.

[Cota-7] "Ellis Wiley Fonds". City of Toronto Archives. Archived from the original on 2018-07-27. Retrieved 2018-10-15. Taken between 1945 and 1993, Wiley's images tell the story of an evolving city. He photographed the construction of iconic Toronto landmarks like the TD Bank Tower, new City Hall and the CN Tower.

[accozzaglia2011-01-06-8] Astrid Idlewild (2011-01-06). "F. Ellis Wiley, 1918–2002: An overview". Accozzaglia. A great way to formally introduce Wiley is to look at one of the most recognized intersections of the city: Yonge Street at Dundas Street. As with a few other places, Wiley returned here to periodically chronicle its paced changes.

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