The map library at Western was giving away random old maps and lithographs, and I came across a few great old Canadian gems. The one which piqued my interest is a reproduction of a 1734 map by Matthäus Seutter of France’s New World colonies.
If your nerd quotient is as high as mine, you can go take a look at other maps of the period, or try to figure out when exactly Lake Ontario was called Lac Frontenac. Staring at this map until my eyes blurred, I noted that there is little Western “civilization” in my geographical area beside Detroit (founded in 1701), since Toronto/Fort York wasn’t even a twinkle in the French fur traders’ eyes. And while you could fill a Great Lake (or five) with all of the things I don’t know, I’d had NO idea that Detroit is taken from the French détroit.
And for those who are curious, fiveonenine.ca should be launching within a few days! Just working out the last kinks now.
EXIF Data
ISO: 800
F-stop: f/1.8
Focal length: 50mm
Exposure program: aperture priority
In hindsight, I should have bumped up ISO a notch and stopped down the aperture to get a slightly greater depth of field, but the goal at that moment was focusing in on my little corner of Southwestern Ontario.
