Then Again, the 14th book by wife Sylvia and me, owes its existence to our friend, amateur photographer and history enthusiast Pete Smith, who has for some years wanted to work with us on a book that would include some of his "picture in picture" and "then and now" style photo projects. This is that book.
Among Pete's contributions is an interesting photo tour of some parts of Newcastle's former electric tramways, following in the footsteps of the late Norm Boxall, a Sydney tram enthusiast who visited Newcastle in the late 1940s to document the dying days of the city's trams.
The contrast between Norm Boxall's "then" images and Pete's photos taken earlier this year is striking.
Many people will probably remark that the city and suburban streets looked more interesting and aesthetically pleasing in the 1940s, but one factor seldom acknowledged by those nostalgic for the old-time trams is the maze of overhead wires that powered those vehicles.
Also included in the new book are some digital photomontages, combining historical and modern images, created by local history enthusiast Ken Shilling.
Then Again has been an opportunity to showcase some remarkable photographs that have come our way in the two years since our previous title, Postcards from the Past.
The photographs include some treasures from family albums, long hidden away. Gems, for example, like the extremely rare view of the long-lost Shelley Beach Park on the Hunter River at Mayfield, which came from an album created by Newcastle East youngster Doris Schuck during the latter years of World War 1.
Another major highlight is a wonderful collection of negatives by Wilfred Hayler, who photographed many harbour scenes in the 1920s.
Wilfred was in his teens and probably used a Brownie box camera to produce his hundreds of negatives which record an extremely interesting period of transition in the early interwar years on Newcastle Harbour.
Previously unseen images from the massive Ken Magor collection are also included - some of them from a portion of the collection that was transferred to BusNSW (formerly the NSW Bus and Coach Association) a number of years ago. BusNSW kindly gave us access to scan some of the negatives and photos in this sub-collection.
Some delightful images produced by former Newcastle press photographers Milton Merrilees and Roy Cotterill are also featured.
Much has changed since Sylvia and I first began publishing books in 2010 - the year we produced Newcastle, the Missing Years.
The COVID pandemic, for example, had a marked impact on costs. Also the big network of newsagencies and bookstores we once relied on as retail outlets has shrunk - a process that seems to be continuing.
For those and other reasons the print run of Then and Now is our smallest yet.
Then Again is available from participating newsagents and bookstores and from our website at phototimetunnel.com
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