Whitby, for its size, must be one of the best visually documented towns in Britain. It has attracted over the years painters, printmakers and, since the middle of the nineteenth century, many well known photographers.

This collection of 200 old photographs, many never published before, is from the archives of Whitby Museum formed by the Literary and Philosophical Society, established in 1823. The earliest photograph in the book is from 1862 and the majority are late Victorian and Edwardian. The images show the work of photographers including Frank Meadow Sutcliffe, Tom Watson, Jack Vart, George Wallis, Hugh Lambert-Smith, John Tindale and the Doran Brothers.

To get to, or leave Whitby, there are twenty miles of moors to cross, unless you leave by sea. This has given the town its own independence and bred self-sufficient people. A favourite local saying is, 'there is a right way, a wrong way and the Whitby way'.