MODELLING THE CANADIAN HOME AT EATON'S, 1900-1950
Beechwood National Memorial Centre, Sacred Space Room, 280 Beechwood Avenue, Ottawa
Why did Toronto’s T. Eaton Company make substantial investments in building elaborate model house displays in its stores during the interwar years?
During the first half of the twentieth century major North American department stores positioned themselves as civic institutions serving not just the material, but also the cultural needs of their local communities. Eaton’s use of life sized house and period room displays to sell furniture while also teaching lessons about middle class domesticity serves as a case study of the marriage of culture and commerce during this period of Ontario’s history.
Light refreshments and a chance to mingle will follow the lecture and Q&A session.
Susan Haight has a PhD in Canadian history from Carleton University and an MA in Victorian Studies from the University of Toronto. Her interest in displays as teaching tools was first sparked by her work in exhibition development at the Royal Ontario Museum and the Canadian Centre for Architecture. Her chapter “Home economies: The T. Eaton Company’s Thrift House, 1926-1950” was published in Architectures of Display: Department Stores and Modern Retail (Routledge, 2018).
