HOUSE HISTORY PRODUCTS
Our personalized house histories are offered in four different formats to fit a range of interests and budgets.
BOOKLET
This introductory booklet spotlights your neighbourhood's early development and your house's construction date, original owners and architectural style.
The booklet is published in 8 1/2" X 11" softcover format on premium paper stock and contains eight pages of illustrated content. It's also provided in digital format to share with friends.
Makes a great one-of-a-kind housewarming gift for the new homeowner that has everything and a compelling sales tool for realtors that want to highlight a property's prestige!
Available for Toronto properties only. Does not include Research Report.
RESEARCH REPORT
The digital Research Report is a deep dive into the facts behind your property's history that allows you to write your own story.
It features genealogical profiles of the original owner and occupants, a summary of land ownership from the colonial era to present day, and copies of available historical background documents such as provincial land registry records, municipal tax assessment rolls, property maps, subdivision plans, federal censuses, newspaper clippings, building permits and historical photographs.
Supplementing the report is a printed synopsis of the early history of the house and neighbourhood styled as a replica of your home's original deed!
SCRAPBOOK
The Scrapbook is designed to capture not only your home's past but also its unwritten future. This makes it a treasured keepsake that can be handed down to subsequent owners for generations to come.
The album begins with printed versions of the most captivating features of the digital research report: a synopsis of your home's early history, profiles of the original owner and occupants and a summary of property ownership to date. Supplementing these overviews are reproductions of historical documents and photographs with helpful interpretation guides. The remainder of the book consists of blank pages for you to write the latest chapter in your home's ongoing history. Use these to add your own photos, stories and renovation plans.
Printed in an oversized 17" x 11" format with approximately twenty five printed pages handsomely enclosed in an engraved leather cover. Bound with Chicago screws so it can be easily disassembled to add more pages as needed.
Includes the digital Research Report.
CHRONICLE
This premium offering provides the most extensive level of research and weaves the results into a comprehensive and captivating narrative about the residence, its residents and the local neighbourhood.
The 10" X 10" hardcover book contains approximately thirty pages illustrated with historical documents and photographs from past and present and its cover features a an original drawing of your home by artist Jake Tobin Garrett.
The end result is a striking coffee table book designed to delight homeowners and impress visitors.
The book is also provided in digital format so you can easily share your home's engaging story with friends and family.
Includes the digital Research Report.
GROUP HISTORIES
Share the pride and share the cost! Available in Booklet or Chronicle format.
BLOCK HISTORY
APARTMENT HISTORY
Does community pride run deep on your street? We offer a block history that allows groups of neighbours to take advantage of the savings resulting from researching multiple adjacent properties at once. Each participating homeowner receives their own copy and the group can opt for an additional copy to donate to your neighbourhood library's Local History section.
Residents of heritage condominium and rental apartment buildings can pool resources to split the cost of a profile their communal home. Each contributing resident receives a digital copy with an option to purchase a printed version at a modest cost. The profile can also be incorporated into the building's website to be enjoyed by other residents or the community at large.
COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES
All of our products are also available for commercial property histories. See our blog profile of 300 Jarvis Street in Toronto for an example of a captivating profile of one such property, in this case a nearly century-old hotel for which no past business records existed. Relying solely on first-hand period sources we were able to piece together a backstory so comprehensive that more than half the uncovered information had to be omitted in order to keep the post to a manageable reading time.