First edition / 1st Printing. Book is in very good shape with light wear to cover and DJ. No markings to text. Some foxing on top edge. DJ is price clipped. Ships in a box.
AN EVANSVILLE ALBUM Perspectives on a River City, 1812-1988
By Darrel E. Bigham
Evansville was settled, grew, and prospered because of the Ohio River. In a lavishly illustrated photographic essay, Darrel Bigham chronicles the development of this river city. He focuses on the social forces that have led to the Evansville of today. In over 200 fascinating and often rare photos, Bigham traces the evolution of the physical character of "the pocket city." This unique photo selection is woven together by the delightful historical commentary of Bigham, a University of Southern Indiana historian. He does not dwell on the economic elites or the famous social and political leaders; instead he examines where and how people made a living, and how and why Evansvillians lived as they did.
An Evansville Album treats the four stages in the life cycle of this urban center. Part 1 provides some very early photographs and illustrations from the infancy of the city, 1812-70. Part 2 charts the industrial growth from 1870 to 1915, capturing the changing face of the city. The period 1915-50 saw tremendous ur- ban change and the photos in Part 3 reveal the influence of the Great Depression and the world wars. Part 4, 1950-88, reveals an Evans- ville changed by a changed national economy. These photos, however, show a city ready for the challenges of the post industrial era. Bigham has assembled a truly impressive collection of illustrations that depict a social drama-Evansvillians in school, at church, in clubs, at play, at work, involved in political activities-played against a changing cityscape.
Jacket photo. The Henry Broeker family of Evansville in the 1920s. (Feed Neseman)