THIS collection of archive photographs will make an ideal Christmas gift for anyone interested in Manx social, architectural and transport history.
It has been compiled by local historian Richard Davis, founder and until recently chairman of the Jurby Transport Museum trust.
Until the 1960s, the Isle of Man and its towns saw a relatively slow pace of change and many of the pictures in ‘Those were the Days’ need no introduction.
Some of the scenes depicted here, however, are unrecognizable because of later redevelopment and it is difficult even to identify some of the locations. An example is the view of Big Well Street in Douglas, demolished in 1930 to become Lord Street.
The photographs come from a wide variety of sources - some from Richard’s own collection taken by his late uncle. At a late stage in the book’s production, the Keig collection of negatives became available and it proved a difficult task to decide what additions or substitutions to make.
Among the most dramatic pictures is a view of the Queen’s Hotel in Laxey on fire in February 1905.
Given the author’s interest in transport, it’s no surprise that images of buses and trams predominate. There’s a forlorn photo of Ramsey’s railway station before its demolition in 1978 to make way for the bakery and there are two views of the Douglas Head incline railway, taken after its closure in 1953.
But one of the finest images included here dates back much further, to 1925, with majestic Mona’s Queen paddle steamer seen reversing out of Douglas inner harbour, watched by a large gathering of admirers.
Richard will be doing book signings on Saturday (December 22) at St Paul’s Bookshop in Ramsey from 11am to noon and Bridge Street book shop in Port Erin the same day between 1.30pm and 3.30pm. On Sunday, he will doing a further book signing at the Mill Shop in St John’s between 1.30pm and 3.30pm. Those were the Days is published by Lily Publications, price £16.95.