The photo is arresting enough on its own, even from a distance. A group of seven people, the men in suits, the women in blouses and long skirts, posed formally around a dining table on which is perched an early model Apple desktop computer.
But wait, is that Margaret Atwood in the front? And Peter Newman and Jack McClelland in the back row? Hold on, does that photo credit read “Karsh”?
Indeed, a closer look reveals all that and more. In 1985, famed photographer Yousuf Karsh took a photo of some of the McClelland & Stewart staffers and authors who had agreed to “retire” their typewriters in favour of the newfangled contraption from Apple. The photo ran as an ad in the Globe & Mail, and Q&Q detailed the ad campaign, and the technology swap, in a story in the June 1985 issue.
This photo is only one example of some of the more curious items that can be found in Q&Q’s vast archive. Also to note is a full-page ad detailing the schedule of the 1935 All Canada Stationer’s Convention – the precursor to the now defunct Canadian Bookseller (CBA) Convention that would bring most of the industry together annually for decades. This convention was a three-day affair at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto that was capped off with a golf tournament on the final day.
And how could we not point out a 1985 report from Nicholas Hoare grading publishers for their turnaround time for order deliveries, a report filed for some years by the bookseller who was never shy of providing his perspective on the trade. One wonders how a 2025 version of that report card might look in comparison.
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