Vivienne Pollock

This fascinating selection of photographs illustrates the extraordinary transformation that has taken place in Belfast during the 20th century. The book offers an insight into the daily lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader glimpses and details of familiar places during this century of unprecedented change. Many aspects of Belfast's recent and often turbulent history are covered, famous occasions (even infamous) and notable individuals are remembered and the impact of national and international events is witnessed. The book provides a striking account of the changes that have so altered Belfast's appearance and records the process of transformation. Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and illustrated with a wealth of black-and-white photographs, all chosen from the impressive collections of the National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland, this book recalls what Belfast has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and ways of life. It also acknowledges the regeneration that has taken place and celebrates the character and energy of local people as they move through the first years of this new century.

In 1900 Belfast had the world's biggest linen factories and its largest ropeworks. Its shipbuilding industry produced more tonnage than any other city's (Titanic and Olympic were both built here). But Belfast was also home to cycle-makers, printers, artists, tea magnates, clog-makers, clothiers, photographers, engineers, tobacco manufacturers. They all feature in Made in Belfast. Drawing on the unique collections of the Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland, this is a fine photographic record of the city at work, compiled by two of Northern Ireland's most knowledgeable historians.

The images in Belfast in Old Photographs, many of them previously unpublished, habe been drawn from the collections of the Ulster Museum, which holds one of the largest and most important photographic archives in Ireland. Focusing on several central themes, they illustrate with remarkable clarity the changing face and fortunes of this great city during the century of so after the Great Irish Famine (1845-50). These were decades of political and social upheaval, commercial growth and cultural innovation, national occasion and the local events, all of which were documented as they happened through the medium of photography. But the ordinary was also captured as the camera recorded the everyday experiences of those who called Belfast their home. It is these images, over 200 of which are recorded here, which convey to us the reality of city life in all its aspects and rich variety. This book will be invaluable to the many local historians in Northern Ireland, and will provide a feast of nostalgia got all those who know and love this beguiling city.