The Applewood-Shaver House is a Victorian home situated west of Toronto, it operates as a museum and community space with offices in the upstairs. We recently had the amazing opportunity to tour the home and to do a Gloomth photoshoot in it’s beautiful Victorian furnished interior!
I’m a bit of a history nerd so I wanted to write a bit about the background of this museum as it has a fascinating history! The house itself was originally built in the 1850’s and when developers purchased the land it was on concerned citizens came to the rescue and the house was actually moved to it’s current location!
The original owner was the grandfather of James Shaver Woodsworth (above) who founded the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and fronted many social reform initiatives. Which is important to note as the initiatives the CCF spearheaded led to protection of the elderly, infirm, and workers of Canada during the Depression and the effects of those policies are still a large part of Canadian culture/policy. The CCF went on to become what we now call the New Democratic Party (NDP) here.
The house itself is decorated in stunning period furniture and houses hundreds of dolls from about the late 1800s to 1970s! That was the most fascinating aspect for me personally. Seeing an entire storage room full of toys and dolls, I nearly cried (I collect vintage stuffed toys/dolls). We incorporated just a few of the dolls into the photos and they cosied right up to our Vinegar rabbit doll. He was quite at home I think. 😉
The dolls were all donated by one collector, which is even more amazing to consider! Clearly I had a soul sister out there once…
This museum will also be hosting our upcoming Tea Party in June!!!!!!!! We’ll be announcing the details later this week but we can’t wait to share an afternoon of spookiness with you. 🙂
Heaps of gratitude to the Applewood’s team for allowing us to shoot there and for collaborating with us on future events!
-Taeden
