John Hannavy is a well-known photographer, and a writer and broadcaster on the history of photography. He was formerly Professor in Art and Design at Bolton University. He has written a number of titles for Shire, including 'The Victorians and Edwardians at Play' and 'The English Seaside'.

The word 'tourist', and the modern tourism industry itself, was a product of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Thomas Cook, the founding father of the industry, was instrumental in opening up the world to sightseers, inventing and popularising the package tour along the way; and as transport became easier and prices fell the activity became available for more and more people. Photographers were quick to capitalise on the phenomenon, making available a rich assortment of visual mementoes at every stop along the way, and as photography developed they were largely displaced by the amateur photographer and picture postcard. Through a rich collection of Victorian and Edwardian images, this book explores the growth of tourism from the 1840s until the outbreak of the First World War.