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Canadian Society for Creative Leathercraft
1950–2026
CSCL·People·People of the Society·Reta Larmour
The Society’s Records

Reta Larmour

← People of the Society · on record 1950–1974

Everything the Society’s own records say of Reta Larmour — the offices held, the standings conferred, and the awards won — gathered on one page. Where the records are silent, so is this one.

Also recorded as Reta Lamour, Rita Larmour

Branch

Toronto · recorded in the papers in 1952

Certification

  • Fellow of the CSCL 1953
  • Honorary Fellow of the CSCL 1965
    Printed as an Honorary Life Fellow Membership. The c. 1985 roll marks her “HL”.

An early Charter Member of the Society who started its lending library and helped draft its constitution; the Society's library of leathercraft books bore her name. One piece of hers was chosen for “Ontario Crafts – Leather Today”, the Society’s Centennial travelling exhibition: a carved framed purse. The Canadian Guild of Crafts (Ontario) selected the articles; the exhibition opened at the Guild Shop on 2 October 1967 and was to travel across Canada during 1968. The Society's “Who's Who in Canadian Leathercraft” column introduced her in the summer of 1952, when she had been its Secretary for two years and was Chairman of its Travelling Exhibition Committee. Formerly of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, she came to leathercraft through the Leathercraft Group of the Kingsway Women's Club of Toronto, and studied under Edith Roscoe, Jack McDougall, Robert Muma and Tiva Limberg of Toronto and Nila Joel of California. In the four years to 1952 she competed in major exhibitions in Toronto, Vancouver, London and Ottawa, winning the Pacific National Exhibition's Bedford Trophy for 1951 and having work accepted for the 1951 Canadian Crafts Exhibition at the Art Gallery of Toronto.

From Fall 1967, page 9; The History of the Canadian Society for Creative Leathercraft — its own short account, page 1; 40th Annual Meeting 1990 — programme, Elmhurst Inn, Ingersoll, page 8; Annual Meeting 1975 — programme, Geneva Park, Lake Couchiching, page 9; Annual Meeting 1976 — programme, West Plains United Church, Burlington, page 12; and Summer 1952, page 7.

Served the Society as

  • Secretary (assisting Robert Muma) / Advisory Council, Toronto 1950
  • Chairman Exhibitions Committee c. early 1950s; 1951–1954
  • Secretary 1951
  • Chairman Travelling Exhibition 1952
  • Chairman, Travelling Exhibition Committee 1952
  • Chairman, Exhibitions Committee 1954
  • 2nd Assembly Demonstrator 1955
  • Publicity 1955
  • Canadian Handicrafts Guild Liaison 1956–1960
  • Canadian Handicrafts Liaison 1957–1958
  • Council 1961
  • Executive Council 1965
  • Honorary President 1973–1974

Honours

  • Honorary Life Fellow Membership 1965
    Presented by Jean Newton at the Fifteenth Annual Meeting, held at WoodGreen Centre, Toronto, with 104 members registered. The newsletter records that Jean Newton "stressed the work that was put into the founding of our Society, and the tireless efforts, well beyond the call of duty, by Reta Larmour", and closes the notice "Congratulations Reta!" She was the Society's first Secretary, and was named its Honorary President in 1971. The scan reads Reta, not the Rita that one later newsletter prints.
  • Honorary President 1971
    Made an Honorary President at the 21st Annual Meeting, Old St. Paul's Church, Woodstock, 17 April 1971, by Mrs. Anne Hook, “for her contribution to C.S.C.L.”; accepted for her by Fred Brown because of her illness. The page prints her given name Rita; the archive spells her Reta, on her husband's 1970 obituary.

Awards

  • 1st Canadian International Hobby Show Popular Vote 1953
  • Canadian Handicrafts Guild Competition Second Prize 1958
  • Canadian Handicrafts Guild Golden Anniversary Exhibition Second Prize 1956
  • International Assembly Salon Exhibit Honor Award 1957
  • International Assembly Salon Ribbon 1962
  • M'Lady Fair Popular Vote 1952
  • Pacific National Exhibition 1st Prize, Carved Leather Class 1951
  • Pacific National Exhibition Bedford Cup Trophy 1951–1964
  • Second CNE Hobby and Homecraft Show Public Preference Poll, Large Articles, 4th place 1954

Demonstrations given

  • Assembling framed handbags 1956
    Peterboro group meeting, 1956

    From Autumn 1956, page 11.

  • Purse framing (with Sadie Roebuck) 1956
    CSCL Exhibition, Ryerson Institute of Technology, Toronto, October 1956

    From Autumn 1956, page 12.

Where this comes from

This name in the index of people →