Street guides and directories such as this one are a good indication of urban growth. By 1819, Montreal was already big enough for one to be produced, in which the enterprising Thomas Doige listed where householders, craftsmen, and businesses could be found and described the streets and main buildings for the visitor. Soon Quebec and York had similar guide books and directories which by the mid-century were coming out quite frequently. They are a mine of information on the occupations, the distribution, and sometimes the social activities of the urban inhabitants. But more than that, as time went on, these books became mirrors of civic pride or town boosting as their authors described the prosperity progress, and even greater prospects of their particular urban community.
