If you have a collection of local postcards from the turn of the 20th century, chances are high more than a few of them were printed at Jury and Gregory’s drug store.
According to the 1906 Collingwood Industrial and Commercial Directory, the firm was established on the east side of Hurontario Street, between Huron and Simcoe Streets, in 1903 and always kept a stock of postcards featuring views of Collingwood.
Branches of the drug store were also located in Bowmanville, Oshawa, Peterborough, Lindsay, and Toronto.
This week’s featured postcard showcases the lower portion of Jury and Gregory’s storefront and the snow banks that had accumulated along the sidewalks on Feb. 5, 1915. Appropriately, the postcard was printed by Jury and Gregory’s.
Hand-painted signs are visible at street level on both sides of the store’s entrance. These read: Jury & Gregory Druggists and Opticians. A similar hand-painted sign is currently on display in the Collingwood Museum (see second photograph). You will notice that the drug store’s affiliation with Rexall and Kodak are featured in this more recent version.
In addition to having photographs developed at the store, local residents could rent cameras for a daily rate. Duntroon-native, and noted local archaeologist, Jay Blair, took advantage of this service, having discovered that renting a camera and developing photographs in the comfort of his home was more economical. The Kodak Film Tank used by Mr. Blair for the developing process was purchased at Jury & Gregory and was donated to the Collingwood Museum by Charles Garrad in 2013.
Remember This is a weekly series of historic photographs submitted by the Collingwood Museum to CollingwoodToday.ca. These photographs were originally collected and documented by the Huron Institute in an historical catalogue entitled Huron Institute Paper and Records: Volume III. Much of Collingwood’s early history has been preserved due to the dedication and foresight of the early museum’s founders, namely its secretary-curator David Williams, upon its establishment in 1904.
