Robert B. Perreault

A strong sense of unity and tradition frames a fascinating history of Manchester, New Hampshire's Franco-American community. Author Robert B. Perreault presents this story through compelling vignettes, including the triumphant success of photographer Ulric Bourgeois, the undeniable conflict between the French and Irish immigrants and a colorful profile of book collector and author Adelard Lambert. Featuring vintage images from Perreault's private collection, this work is a stunning visual narrative of the French-Canadian contributions to local culture.

Known as New Hampshire's Queen City, Manchester could be called Change City. Throughout its history, it has reinvented itself many times. From a Native American fishing and gathering place called Amoskeag to a Yankee colonial town known as Derryfield, it became a multiethnic industrial center, the Manchester of America, home of the world-famous Amoskeag Manufacturing Company (1831–1936). When Amoskeag Manufacturing closed during the Depression, the city that would not die was reborn through more diversified industries that carried it through the post–World War II era. Several decades of urban renewal saw the demolition of many older buildings and entire neighborhoods. Lamenting the loss of Boston & Maine Railroad's Union Station and St. Mary's Bank's marble building, Manchester residents drew inspiration from the US bicentennial in 1976 to create a renaissance of interest in history and architecture, which brought about the adaptation to modern use of several remaining older structures. Yet more major losses came in 1978 and 1989 with the destruction of the State Theatre and Manchester's beloved Notre Dame Bridge.

Here, for the first time exclusively through the medium of vintage postcards, the people, streets, businesses, institutions, and recreational areas of bygone Manchester return to life. Manchester presents images of the world's largest producer of textiles, which attracted a patchwork of cultures from many lands. It tells where the first telephone conversation by a U.S. president occurred. It evokes the city that colorful individuals such as a nearly lifelong hermit, the smallest married couple in the world, a famous comic strip cartoonist, a best-selling novelist, the founders of cosmetics and fast-food empires, and a comedic superstar all called home.