8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting collection of photographs., June 3, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: A Photo Album of Ohio's Canal Era: 1825-1913 (Hardcover)
Highly recommended for those interested in the history of canals, particularly in Ohio. Book is organized very nicely and contains unusual photographs. Those living in canal areas will like to compare scenes of then with now. This book gets its point across that at one time (early 19th century) canals were the best thing going for shipping goods and for transportation.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A terrific gift for armchair historians, August 2, 2008
This review is from: A Photo Album of Ohio's Canal Era: 1825-1913 (Hardcover)
This is a profusely illustrated "coffee table book".
A Photo Album of Ohio's Canal Era, 1825-1913 (Ohio) is a discussion and photo-history of the numerous feeder lakes and transportation canals (for both supplies and passengers) which were spread like stitch-work across the Buckeye State in the 19th and early 20th centuries, before the railroads nullified their utility and viable existence.
The remnants of many of these intriguing canals can still be viewed at various locations, including a number of the brilliantly conceived sandstone-constructed locks and aqueducts. A few have even been restored to their original magnificence. Most of the original canal feeder lakes (e.g., Buckeye Lake) have since been designated as state parks, all of which allow boating, fishing, and camping in addition to other outdoor recreational pursuits.
The original photographs in this book are exceptional. Of course they are rendered in black-and-white. The documentation of each canal has been well-researched and many folks will be surprised to learn that the hamlets in which they live are actually named for a particular lock such as [Lock] Seventeen, Ohio on U.S. Route 36.
For well over 50 years, I've lived within a mile of the Ohio-Erie Canal which generally parallels U.S. Route 23 and State Route 104 between Columbus (the state's contemporary Capital) and Portsmouth, the latter community marking the southern terminus of the canal which ultimately dumped into the Ohio River, (about 1/2 mile west of the Scioto River's current confluence with the Ohio).
The renowned English novelist, Charles Dickens (1812-1870), actually traveled to Portsmouth on one of the old canal boats during an historic trip that he once made to Appalachia's western foothills! In commemoration of that singular event, the city of Portsmouth still sponsors an annual "Dickens of a Christmas" festival. While more and more of this particular canal disappears every year in the face of the ongoing construction of homes and highways, visitors to the region can still see a good bit of it including the original "towpath" (now mostly clogged with old trees of every regional species) where the mules, driven by men on foot, endlessly pulled the canal boats and their cargo along these lengthy sojourns.
Many of the construction workers died during the advent of the monumental project of canal building and it's fairly easy to find cemeteries here and there, often within a few yards of the old canal beds. I used to trap muskrats out of sections of the old State Route 104 canal during my youth (1960s) and in those days I located a significant number of these mostly unmarked gravesites.
Getting back to the book, the quality of the paper (pages), the binding, and the dust jacket is quite excellent.
A Photo Album of Ohio's Canal Era, 1825-1913 (Ohio) would make a fine gift for amateur historians who live east of the Mississippi and north of Kentucky (similar canals also existed in other states such as New York); or, for anyone who lives within ten miles or so of one of these amazing monuments of Ohio's rich history.
My highest recommendation.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Canals Photo Book, February 12, 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: A Photo Album of Ohio's Canal Era: 1825-1913 (Hardcover)
I borrowed this book from a friend a few weeks ago. For those just beginning an interest in Ohio's canals, this is a grand book you'll find difficult to put down. If you are already versed in the Ohio canals' history, this is a very good book to have for a reference. The introductory chapter on the history of photography was, in itself, an education. Why? Because it examined that technology as it progressed through time. And since the book is made up of hundreds of canal photos through time, it is important to put the status of photographers into the overall understanding (and appreciation) of this era.
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