Portrait of James Franceschini with crew from Dufferin Construction, 1925, Toronto

This is a black and white portrait of the young James Franceschini with one of his early construction crews from Dufferin Construction, 1925, Toronto.

James is seated second from the left in the front row. He is wearing a black suit with a tie and a white collared shirt. A pocket square peeks out from his breast pocket and he is holding a cane. The other men are all also wearing suits. The men in the front are seated on chairs and those in the back are sitting on the porch railing of a wooden building structure. 

In 1912, James founded Dufferin Construction and became well known nationally. As the company became increasingly more successful, James was able to move into the construction of highways, provincial roads, rail lines and suburbs. Within three years – at the age of 25 – James became a millionaire.

On June 10, 1940, he was arrested and interned as a threat to the Canadian state.