Rjsindenbooks

05/09/2026

had comments on some yearbooks on facebook I had for sale which caused me to list some of the local high school yearbooks I had for sale and it proved to be worthwhile- this got me thinking about some of the local history books I have and I made up a list of books relating to St Thomas and Elgin County.

rjsindenbooks
[email protected]
519-520-3671

BOOKLIST ST. THOMAS & ELGIN COUNTY

1. (Alma College) Alma College, St. Thomas, Ontario 1877-1977. Phibbs Printing World. St. Thomas, Ontario. 1977. 181 pgs. $25.00

2.(Bayham) Bayham: Memories & Milestones 1850-2000 by Kristina Nezezon and Louise Weston. Municipality of Bayham. Straffordville, Ontario. 2000. 87 pgs. $20.00

3.(Cavanaugh) One Teacher’s Memories by William R. Cavanaugh. The Aylmer Express Ltd. Aylmer, Ontario. 1984. 152 pgs. Signed by author inside cover. $20.00

4.(Elgin County) Birds of Elgin County: A Century of Change. Compiled and written by Naturalists of Elgin County. Aylmer Express Ltd. Aylmer, Ontario. 2004. 306 pgs. $25.00
5.(Elgins) The Elgins: The Story of the Elgin Regiment(RCAC) and its Predecessors by Capt. Leonard A. Curchin & Lt. Brian D. Sim(91st Elgin Battalion Historian) Sutherland Press 1977. 150 pgs. $35.00

6.(Elgins)The Elgins: From Armour to Engineers: 1977-2016 by Major(retd.) L.A. Curchin. CD. Aylmer Express Ltd. Aylmer, Ontario. 2015. 163 pgs. $35.00

7. (Galbraith) “Does It Pay” John Kenneth Galbraith and Jenny Phillips. Village Crier. 2010. 688 pgs. Signed by Jenny Phillips. $35.00

8.(Hepburn) “Just Call Me Mitch” The Life of Mitchell F. Hepburn by John T. Saywell. University of Toronto Press. 1991. 637 pgs. Signed w gift inscription to previous owner by author. $25.00

9.(Kingsmill-Mapleton) Tweedsmuir History compiled by the Kingsmill-Mapleton Women’s Institute during 1946-1951 2 volumes. Volume 1 300 pgs
Volume 2 343 pgs $45.00

10.(Memories) Memories of St. Thomas and Elgin. Volume One. The Aylmer Express Ltd. Aylmer, Ontario. 1997. 186 pgs. Dedicated to George E. Thorman. $25.00

11. (Memories) Memories of St. Thomas and Elgin. Volume Two. The Aylmer Express Limited. Aylmer, Ontario. 2000. 280 pgs. Dedicated to Trena Hall. $25.00

12.(Port Burwell) Memories: A History of Port Burwell by Frank and Nancy Prothero. Nan-Sea Publications. Port Stanley, Ontario. 1986. 153 pgs. $34.50

13.(Port Stanley) A Fisherman’s Town: Port Stanley by Nancy and Frank Prothero. Nan-Sea Publications. Port Stanley, Ontario. 2012. 198 pgs. $35.00

14. (Port Stanley) Lament for a Harbour by Frank and Nancy Prothero. Nan-Sea Publications. Port Stanley, Ontario. 2015. 236 pgs. $35.00

15.(Port Stanley- Mackies) Boardwalk Memories: Mackies: One Hundred Years on the Beach in Port Stanley by Frank and Nancy Prothero. Nan-Sea Publications. Port Stanley, Ontario. 2011. 186 pgs. $35.00

16.(Port Stanley- Stork Club) How Sweet It Was: Fifty Years at the Stork Club by Frank and Nancy Prothero. Nan-Sea Publications. Port Stanley, Ontario. 1979. 90 pgs. $35.00

paperback edition $20.00

17.(Port Stanley- Stork Club) The Stork Club: Sentimental Journey by Gerry Costello. Self-published. 2016. 156 pgs. Cerlox binding. $24.50

18.(Scott-Sifton) The Scott Sifton Collection: Elgin’s History Through a Photographer’s Lens. Volume 1. Edited by Ken Verrell and the Members of the Elgin Photographic Heritage Society. Elgin County Library/Alymer Express Limited. St. Thomas. 2001. 200 pgs. $35.00

19. (Scott-Sifton) Harvest Memories: Elgin’s History Through a Photographer’s Lens. Volume 2. Edited by Ken Verrell and Mike Baker. Elgin County Library/Alymer Express Limited. St. Thomas. 2010. 246 pgs. $35.00

20.(Selborne) The Mill from Selborne by John Christopher Smith. The Aylmer Express. Aylmer, Ontario. 1995. 147 pgs. $25.00

21.(Sims) Sim’s History of Elgin County in three volumes by Hugh Joffre Sims. The Aylmer Express Ltd. Alymer, Ontario. Vol 1. 1984. 271 pgs. Has some waterstains. Vol. 2. 1986. 211 pgs. Vol 3. 1988. 232 pgs. Each volume $35 each.

22.(St. Thomas) St Thomas and Its Men of Affairs. Originally printed by the Journal Printing Company Limited. Reprinted by Richard Cochrill Limited/Phibbs Printing World w intro by Donald L. Cosens. 1996. 110 pgs. $20.00

23. (St. Thomas) St. Thomas is Proud of ... Centennial Biographical Sketches by Mary Sanders. 113 pgs. 1967. $20.00

24. (St. Thomas) St. Thomas: 100 Years a City 1881-1981 by Wayne Paddon, George Thorman, Don Cosens & Brian Sim. The St. Thomas Centennial Committee/Phibbs Incorporated. 1981. 153 pgs. $27.50

same without dustjacket $20.00

25.(Talbot Settlement) The Story of the Talbot Settlement 1803-1840: A Frontier History of Southwestern Ontario by Wayne Paddon. 1975. 158 pgs. $20.00

26.(Vienna) Vienna: Historical Highlights From 1853-2003 by Ross Andrews and Carol A. Judd. Municipality of Bayham/Aylmer Express Ltd. Aylmer, Ontario. 2003. 120 pgs. $20.00

27.(Women’s Institute) In Honour of the 120th Year of the Women’s Institute- Elgin County District Women’s Institute/Aylmer Express Ltd. Aylmer, Ontario. 2018. 194 pgs. $25.00

02/24/2026

I have a sporadic run of local high school yearbooks Arthur Voaden, Central, Parkside and St. Joe's which I will put up on marketplace. I must admit I haven't seen too many in the last couple of years(if any) but I have been back in St Thomas for more than 10 years now so I have accumulated a few. I don't think many people tend to look on ebay or biblio where I have listed them- I still have a stack of orphans I need to list from outside of Elgin. In addition I have lots(a very nice run of East Elgin and still a few from Huron Park in Woodstock anyway I will put them up this morning

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02/17/2026

Was within the last month sent quite an extensive survey on shipping books to the USA(Etsy) w all the various tariffs imposed. Simple fact is I will not ship to the USA while I have to collect tariffs on behalf of the US government. Etsy obviously was not willing to intercede on behalf of the seller- but they are very aware of the loss in revenue that they are experiencing from their share of sales to the USA. Not only from sales but their 10% they charge on shipping.

Another thing that hasn't been too evidently disclosed- ebay Canada set up a drop shipment system in Canada where if the buyer sends books to an address in Mississauga they will collect all the additional money for tariffs and shipping from the buyer to not only US addresses but to foreign addresses as well. I have not sold internationally for many years due to cost and the shipping time required. This was a very positive step by ebay.

As I filled out my etsy questionnaire I mentioned all these steps that ebay had taken. Somehow I suspect etsy will not heed the advice. Its hard to give advice to 20 year old's sitting in cubicles.

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02/05/2026

Earlier last year when the de maritus exemption was removed from purchases bought by American buyers I found myself removing the US as a destination for my books and collectibles on both my ebay and etsy platforms. Since then ebay introduced a drop-shipment where Canadian sellers can ship to Mississauga and ebay looks after any additional tariff collection or shipment. I haven't sold to international destinations for quite awhile due to unreal expectations for shipping times and costs. Since this program has been instigated by Ebay I have not only sold a number of items to the USA but have also sold to Europe as well.

I just filled out a survey from etsy and am not reassured that they are going to instigate a similiar program to ebay. I do know I will never be involved in anything that requires me to pay tariffs.

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08/28/2025

Very sad week- at beginning of week in response to Trump's imposed tariffs I had to limit shipment of books to Canada destinations only- this was on my etsy and ebay id's. Maybe the demirus will be restored where American buyers can import up to $600.00 duty free but I suspect not while the current regime is in power. I have never not offered shipping to the states- I hope everyone realizes it is not me but Trump that single handedly closed this trade. From the article I read it sounds like pretty much every country in the world stopped delivering parcels into the USA.

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05/24/2025

Always one of my favorite Marion Nicoll clay prints and one I owned at one point that I bought out of the back end of Kensington Art Gallery- I also bought another print "Beautiful Day Broken by a Clock" who could resist the title. Had a lot of admiration for Marion's work at some point especially early days Kensington had shows for a number of art teachers from Calgary and Alberta. Think I still have some exhibition cards from probably H.G. Glyde's first exhibition in Alberta. Art galleries always have some dodgy debris(inventory) especially older ones and there was some at Kensington I liked- Marion Nicoll, Margaret Shelton etc. I remember looking at Margaret Shelton block prints at lunch hour while working at Pancan. I wanted to buy a number of them prices were really inexpensive but I remember Doug Levis advising me they would never get that expensive- ha ha.
Saw this print and an original Marion Nicoll oil in a sale at Hodgin's at moment featuring a number of pieces from the estate of Carolyn Tavender. Its interesting when I was closing out my bookstore in Inglewood she and a couple of minions came in looking for books for decorating a cabin of one of the executives of Canada Pacific(in Northern Ontario). I had never sold books by the inch in particular colours. pretty bizarre but money came in handy.
Carolyn Tavender was a prominent interior designer in Calgary involved in a number of high profile projects.

The artist Marion Nicoll was having issues w arthritis in her hands working w clay allowed her to still produce some quite remarkable work. She did them in really low numbers- not sure how many of this print "January" were produced I was able to buy it really cheaply because the paper around the signature was torn but I was able to matt tightly around the image and it wasn't noticeable. I think what happened is that Marion ripped it signing it and the paper was very fragile. I loved this image was sad to have had to sell it.

03/11/2025

I never know what is in the pile I am trying to list(bad short term memory apparently) love the graphic on this

02/26/2025

Sometimes context is sexier than selling just one isolated item. What I mean is having the opportunity to buy a collection of things rather than single items. Seeing things through another person's eyes. Over the last 4 weeks at the local thrift store I have been buying what was quite a collection of winter toques, scarves and a few baseball caps related to sports. So baseball, basketball, lacrosse, hockey, and quite a lot related to Canadian Olympics. Also some British soccer- the scarf initially caught my eye and I bought a few and then noticed the toques and a baseball cap or two. You will never see a catalogued sale relating to these items but someone had a lot of enjoyment out of assembling them over quite a number of years. Obviously the widow or family members had less interest. I am not sure how many pieces I picked up(honestly I think I would be scared counting them all) but it might be as many as thirty of them. One of the joys of something like this is they are imminently practical when you actually have a winter like we seem to be having this year.

12/18/2024

I have been up to my neck dealing w the mailing catching up w the books and collectibles I have to get out between etsy and ebay(after end of postal strike). I have been monitoring being able to use the Canada Post interface w etsy and ebay. Ebay has restored the function(I am going to test that anyway) and couldn't understand why the same hasn't happened w etsy which has the bulk of packages I have to send out. We get some decent discounts using this service which can make a difference. Usually the cost of postage is deducted from the balance in your seller account but both in etsy and ebay's case they didn't stop paying out the account and in some cases the purchases were made over 20 days ago and the seller account is dry. Etsy has suspended mail function for sellers because they don't have the money to pay the shipping even though they will turn around and charge the buyers. Pretty telling I thought.

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11/16/2024

ha ha less posting more projects over the next month

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11/16/2024

In light of the enforced online holiday put in place by Canada Post and the Federal Government. Put this list together of books I have in duplicate on the shelves. I have a lot of other local histories in singles which I didn't list- I encourage interested parties to contact me and allow me to help fill out reference libraries.

RJSINDENBOOKS
519-520-3671
[email protected]
LIST OF LOCAL HISTORY BOOKS AVAILABLE
1. (Alma College) Alma College St. Thomas, Ontario: 1877-1977. St. Thomas, Ontario. 1977. 181 pgs.
2. (Aylmer) Aylmer Centennial History 1872-1972. Rotary Club of Aylmer. 1972. Aylmer, Ontario. 137 pgs.
3. (Aylmer) The Millennium History of Aylmer. The Rotary Club of Aylmer. 2000. 235 pgs.
4. (Cavanaugh) One Teacher’s Memories by Willam R. Cavanaugh. The Aylmer Express. 1984. 152 pgs. Account of William R. Cavanaugh teacher and ultimately principle of Arthur Voaden Secondary School.
5. (Church) A Church and Its People: First United Church, St. Thomas 1834-1984.
6. (Church) Grace United Church- St. Thomas, Ontario. 40 pgs.
7. (Church) St. Hilda’s Anglican Church History 1951-1993 by W.R, Lindsay. 1993. 332 pgs.
8. (Elgins) The Elgins by Capt.L.A. Curchin and Lieut. B.D.Sim, Regt.
Historian. Sutherland Press- self published by authors. 1977. 150 pgs.
9. (Galbraith) “Does It Pay” compiled from the writings of John Kenneth Galbraith. Compiled by Jenny Philips. Village Crier. 688 pgs.
10. (Hepburn) Just Call Me Mitch: The Life of Mitchell F. Hepburn by John T. Saywell. University Toronto Press. 1991. 637 pgs.
11. (Port Stanley) Bless ‘Em All: Port Stanley’s Veterans of World War Two by Frank Prothero. Nan-Sea Publications. 2005. 209 pgs.
12. (Port Stanley) How Sweet It Was: Fifty years at the Stork Club by Frank & Nancy Prothero. 1979. 93 pgs.
13. (St. Thomas) A Brief History of Secondary Education in St. Thomas by George Thorman. 19 pgs.
14. (St. Thomas) St. Thomas and Its Men of Affairs. Originally published in 1914 reprinted by Richard Cochrill Limited. St. Thomas, Ontario. 1976. 110 pgs.
15. (St. Thomas) St. Thomas Is Proud of... Centennial Biographical Sketches by Mary Sanders. St. Thomas Times Journal. 1967. 113 pgs.
16. (St. Thomas) St. Thomas: 100 Years a City 1881-1981 by Wayne Paddon, George Thorman, Don Cosens and Brian Sim. The City of St. Thomas. 1981. 153 pgs.
17. (St. Thomas) The Scott-Sifton Collection: Elgin’s History Through a Photographer’s Lens- Volume One. Edited by Ken Verrell. Published by the Elgin County Library. 2001. 200 pgs.
18. (Talbot Settlement) The Story of the Talbot Settlement 1803-1840 by Wayne Paddon. Self- published. 1976. 158 pgs.
19. (Talbotville Royal) The Families of Five Stakes: A History of Talbotville Royal 1811-1851 by Morley Thomas. 142 pgs.

I have many other books, booklets relating to local history. I have a selection(small) of vintage St. Thomas postcards. 3/4 of a linear shelf of St Thomas and Elgin County related genealogical books and a large selection of local natural history publications.

I also am interested in buying non-fiction books in these areas. Feel
free to contact me. I sell online but also have a number of private collectors and historically have sold to many prominent Canadian institutions

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