William W Williamson


William Williamson, Port Hope's Veteran Bookseller, and his store at 49 Walton Street.
cursor over, or tap, his image  (click here to enlarge the store image)

from The Port Hope Times  December 11, 1870
W. WILLIAMSON has completed arrangements for supplying English Newspapers, Magazines and Books. Parties ordering these through him may rely on getting what they order with the least possible delay, and at the lowest rates.
Mr. H. B. Rowland, agent for the Encyclopedia Britannica, published by A. & C. Black, Edinburgh, is in town taking orders for this valuable work, which should occupy a prominent place in every library. Orders for Mr. Rowland can be left at Mr. George Lambert's hotel.

Mr. W. Williamson, book-seller, is getting up some very fine Christmas cards, comprising photographic views of Port Hope. We have two very pretty ones before us, one taken from Protestant Hill, looking west, and the other from Mount Piscah (Monkey Mountain), looking south, and giving an excellent view of Trinity College School and the Park.

from The Bookseller and Stationer  June 1918
One of Canada's Veteran Booksellers
William Williamson Has Been in Business in Port Hope Since 1875
He Makes Good Practical Use of His Hobby, Photography

This month Bookseller and Stationer is privileged to show a likeness of one of Canada's veteran booksellers, William Williamson, of Port Hope, Ont., who has been in the book and stationery business in that town continuously for the past forty-three years. In 1875 he bought out the book store which had been for years conducted there by R. L. Middlemis. Mr. Williamson to-day is the dean of the retail merchants of that goodly town.

The Williamson bookstore has long been known as one of the best conducted retail book and stationery concerns in this country. In earlier years an extensive printing and bookbinding business was conducted in connection with the book and stationery trade but these branches have been dropped, efforts being concentrated upon the latter, together with wall paper which forms an important branch of this business, being in charge of Mr. Williamson, Jr., who has been in partnership with his father for the past ten years, returning from Scranton, Pennsylvania, upon the death of an elder brother who had remained in the business with the father. In Scranton, Mr. Williamson Jr., was in charge of the practical branch of book bindery, the department devoted to bookbinding in the International Correspondence Schools. He had before going there achieved a wide reputation as an expert in that industry.

Mr Williamson, Sr., is an enthusiastic photographer and himself does the developing and printing for the amateur photographers among the customers at this store. He has a well-equipped dark room and in view of the experience he has gained and the interest photography holds for him, the camera devotees of Port Hope and district rightly consider themselves fortunate in having the advantage of the expert service they receive at the hands of Mr. Williamson.

Port Hope is one of the several towns of Ontario which have remained almost the same size for the past forty or fifty years. It is a good substantial town of somewhat over 5,000 population and in its earlier history was settled largely by people from England, some of them well-to-do, who built fine homes with large grounds suggestive of the estates in the old land. This auspicious start accounts for the substantial character which has ever since characterised Port Hope as a community. Latterly there has been quite a movement of wealthy American families to properties in and near Port Hope, some of the fine old English homes being purchased for use as summer homes. This, it will be appreciated, has tended to benefit Port Hope commercially.

It is a genuine pleasure to visit a bookstore like that which has for so many years been conducted by W. Williamson and it may truly be said that it would benefit many of the younger booksellers and stationers to pattern their business careers upon that of this veteran among Canadian booksellers. Long may he be spared to continue to guide the affairs of 'The Port Hope Bookstore.'


A window of Williamson's store at 52 Walton Street, which became Randall's Book Store


Randall's store c1906
cursor over, or tap, a face to see the name  (click here to see the full image)

Click this picture to view W W Williamson's 1878 drawing of Port Hope.


Click this picture to view W W Williamson's photo of Brown Street and Barrett's Terrace.


Click this picture to view W W Williamson's photo of Port Hope from King Street c1882.


Click this picture to read W W Williamson's 1895 book on Joseph Scriven.

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