"Historic Photos of Cleveland"

A prefect gift idea for Mother's and Father's Day is this beautiful coffee table book, filled with historic, black and white photos of Cleveland from 1857 to the mid-1970s.

Historic Photos of Cleveland, compiled by and with captions by Cleveland Public Library photograph collection librarian Margaret Baughman and fellow librarian Ronald L. Burdick, contains over 200 photos, most of which (understandably) are from the CPL collection. Included are several pictures of Public Square, long before there was a BP Building or a Key Tower; the institutions of University Circle under construction; Euclid Beach Park; and Clevelanders marching off to the Civil War, World War I, and World War II.

These photos are not the same old pictures that appear in every tome. I have read most of the books published about the city in the last ten years and I've only seen a couple of these photos before. In addition, the captions are well-written and informative, even if you are well-versed in the region's history.

Historic Photos of Cleveland is stylishly presented and a great addition to any Cleveland library or coffee table.

• For a look at the photos in this book, visit the Historic Photos of Cleveland picture gallery.
• To shop for your own copy of "Historic Photos of Cleveland," click here.

^{(photo of Public Square in 1888: Cleveland Public Library Collection/courtesy of Turner Publishing)}