Larry Becker collection

Physical Description: 58 cm of textual records; 11 photographs : col. and b&w ; 28 x 36 cm or smaller; 4 lantern slides : col. (hand painted) ; 5 x 8 cm

Admin History/Bio: Larry Becker (1939-1998) was a collector with a focus on his native Toronto. He grew up in central Toronto, near Dundas and Ossington, where his father ran a cigar store. Around 1948, the family moved north to Vaughan. Larry attended Lakeshore Teachers' College and married fellow teacher, Rose Weber, in 1961. He taught primary school in Welland, Ontario; Larry returned to Toronto in June 1965, and began collecting for profit and posterity. That year, with the active assistance of his wife Rose, opened the first of three businesses that sold collectables. Both his father and grandfather had been small-scale collectors. From 1965 to 1996, the growing Becker family lived at 25 Lesgay Crescent in North York. In December 1996, the Beckers moved to a larger place in the Kettleby countryside, where Larry had planned to retire and work on his collection; Larry Becker died on February 20th, 1998

Scope and Content: The collection consists of items collected by Larry Becker including postcards, bulletins from Ontario Jewish organizations, sermons, periodicals, books, hand painted lantern slides documenting scenes of Jews in early Toronto, and other material relating to Ontario's Jewry

Notes: Information for biographical sketch gathered and cited from "Collecting Toronto: Through the Eyes of Larry Becker" virtual exhibit from the City of Toronto website at: http://www.city.toronto.on.ca/archives/becker_collections/; The lantern slides have been rehoused and moved to the negative cabinet.; Associated material note: The City of Toronto Archives has an extensive collection in the Larry Becker fonds, Fonds 70 (see Accession file for details)

Physical Condition: The textual records are in good condition. The colour photographs are suffering from severe dark fading and have taken on a distinct red cast.