A matching volume to Graham Stewart's book on Christchurch (see post last week), this pictorial volume takes a similar approach although it is shorter (64 pages) and has more emphasis on street transport. It's easy to empathize with this, though, as Dunedin's cable trams were really identity symbols of the city until they were finally removed in March 1957 (see posts on here). And there were ordinary trams as well, which had all been closed by March 1956. Wouldn't it be great if as in San Francisco, the cable trams were still operational...
As well as his own photos of trams there are several old postcards and a number of nice slides by Reginald McGovern (see sample). There are also present day photos, presumably taken earlier this year, which in some cases contrast the older scenes with what is there today.
Like the Christchurch book, it is a nice collection; some photos seem to suffer from gamma or contrast problems, but these are a minority. And in contrast to Mathew Wright's effort, it's refreshing to read a book put together by someone who knows his subject.
No comments:
Post a Comment