The development of East Belfast grew from its maritime location: the cutting of the Lagan estuary which enabled the expansion of the port and harbour; the growth and advantages of transatlantic and imperial trade and shipping; the establishment of railways and - not least- the entrepreneurial flair of industrialists such as Edward Harland and Sir Samuel Davidson. The area hosted a wide range of industries and business such as glassmaking, fertilisers and chemicals, distilling, spinning and weaving but primarily textiles, engineering and shipbuilding. This important sequence of photographs has been assembled from the collections of the East Belfast Historical Society, local and former residents of the area and local institutions....