This unique portrait of New England's yesterdays recounts the history of photography in the New Bedford area between 1845 and 1920. It describes photographic processes and the cameras used, while painting an intimate portrait of a bygone era. A Window Back portrays the working waterfront, factory interiors, farms, cityscapes, and people at leisure. Photographers sail aboard wooden ships persuing whales and exploring the seas. They banquet with Hawaiians and live among Eskimos; sail the regattas on Buzzards Bay; visit the blacksmiths and coopers on the waterfront; and explore the architectural, and pastoral grandeur of the Old Dartmouth region. Each photograph captures a moment of time, an angle of light, an expression or gesture. Together, these glimpses represent and illuminate our past, giving us a window back on time...