Picturing Rhode Island: Images of Everyday Life, 1850-2006

Nearly 250 period photographs of Rhode Island, some pre-Civil War, are printed in rich duotones in this sumptuous volume. Photo historian Maureen Taylor has chosen from thousands of images to show us how the state has evolved over the past century and a half. The images are organized in eight thematic sections: 1. The March of Progress 2. Our Architectural Heritage 3. Getting Around 4. On the Bay 5. Out on the Town 6. Industrial and Commercial Genius 7. Earning a Living 8. Building Rhode Island Landscapes run the gamut from crowded Providence streets to hardscrabble farms on Block Island. The presence of everyday people in most of these images-many of them gazing directly into the camera lens-provokes the imagination: Who were they? How did they live? Were their lives so very different from our own? Through insightful analysis, Taylor illuminates the images, reading a sign in a corner, showing how a city square evolved over decades, pointing out a sole child in a line-up of war veterans and speculating on why he was there. This is a book to dwell on and dream over. It brings historic Rhode Island back to us as few books do or could.Taylor, Maureen is the author of 'Picturing Rhode Island: Images of Everyday Life, 1850-2006', published 2007 under ISBN 9781933212395 and ISBN 193321239X.