Artist Info
T. Eaton Company Limited
Timothy Eaton in Toronto founded the T. Eaton Company Limited, commonly known as Eaton’s, in 1869. It is a department store chain, original location at 178 Yonge Street. It was one of the first stores to have a no-credit, no-haggling policy. In August 1883, the store move to 190 Yonge Street. This store was the first store in Canada to have electric lights and boasted the biggest plate-glass windows in Toronto. The store received its first telephone in 1885 and have the number 370. The store's elevator, the first elevator in a retail establishment in Toronto, was installed in 1886. Eaton's continued to expand and it 1919, it had a floor space of over 60 acres, occupying several city blocks. Eaton's was later expanded to several cities, most prominently in Winnipeg and Montreal.
In 1884, the first catalogue was published. The mail-order operation was based out of warehouses in Winnipeg, Toronto and Moncton. In 1916, the first catalogue order offices were established in Oakville. The catalogue offered everything from clothing to farming equipment to even houses (assembly required), breaking several local monopolies in small rural communities.
In 1976, Eaton's published their last catalogue as the population of Canada moved into urban centers, and had access to local stores. In 1997, Eaton's file for bankruptcy protection, due to a variety of reason including poor management and failed expansions. It went bankrupt in 1999, and was acquired by Sears.
