Publisher - National Heritage

Binding - Paperback
Pages - 115
Size - 19cm x 15cm

Product weight 350g

Childhood seems a separate history for most of us, a simple time before the weight of daily life slows our efforts, a time when the moving hands of the clock had little significance for us. Photographs of childhood - especially those sepia toned ones from long ago, elicit a particular response - almost a longing for a return to more innocent times.

And indeed, the children photographed in this book seem to be from a time. In a country lane a group of children stare shyly at the camera; others paddle in a stream, trouser legs and pinafores rolled up; taily attired youngsters dance around a village maypole. It is difficult to look at these charming scenes without feeling wistful for the days when children could roam feral in the countryside, playing games now lost to us.

However, this book also shows the flipside of Victorian and Edwardian childhood. A monument to the children killed in a Yorkshire mining disaster is a reminder of the dangers everyday life held for many. Children are pictured working in factories and foundries. They are seen ploughing the fields and gathering the harvest, or shoeless outside a public house.

Complementing the photographs are oral testimonies recalling school, work, play and home-life, providing a true picture of 'the way we were'.

Contents

Introduction
Babies and Infants
Family Life
Friends
Holidays
Play
School
Traditions
Work