Brycgstowe, `the place at the bridge`, as the Saxon founders of Bristol once called it, is a city of destiny. Once the second port in the country & one of the wealthiest cities in Britain, it has enjoyed centuries of prosperity based on manufacturing, seafaring & trade. Geographically split between the counties of Gloucestershire & Somerset & approached by sea through the dramatic Avon Gorge, the city received a Royal Charter in 1155. It was an industrial city described in the Georgian period as `by mud cemented & by smoke obscured`. The Bristol of the past is illustrated here in drawings, paintings & photographs, many previously unpublished, from the superb collection held in the Bristol Central Reference Library`s Local Collection. They are contrasted with modern colour images documenting the myriad changes the last century has seen in this pleasant city.