Compelling street photography from Manchester and Salford during the slum clearances of the 60s

Manchester is one the world's most iconic cities. Not only was it the first industrial city, it can claim to be the first post-industrial city. This book uses historic maps and unpublished and original plans to chart the dramatic growth and transformation of Manchester as it grew rich on its cotton trade from the late 18th century, experienced periods of boom and bust through the Victorian period, and began its post-industrial transformation in the 20th century. The Peterloo Massacre, the Bridgewater Canal, the railway revolution, Trafford Park industrial estate, the Ship Canal, Belle Vue theme park, Wythenshawe garden city, the 1996 IRA bomb, Coronation Street, iconic football stadiums, and MediaCity are just some of the events and places that have put Manchester on the world's perceptual map and are explored through a wealth of published and unpublished maps and plans in this sumptuously illustrated cartographic history.

Throughout the sixties and early seventies Shirley Baker spent many days wandering the streets of Manchester and Salford, taking photographs of children at play, women out shopping, old men on street corners. Her pictures capture the character of a whole way of life which was just then disappearing: a street world caught in late afternoon light, at the end of an era. Her astonishing colour and black and white photographs were first shown in the highly acclaimed Images of Salford exhibition at Salford Art Gallery.