DOVER – Local historian and photographer Thom Hindle donated complete sets of his two-book series, “Dover, New Hampshire Through Time: Volumes I and II,” to all of Dover’s public schools this week.
Students of teacher Eric Salmonsen’s advanced placement history class were on hand at the Dover High School library to receive the books on behalf of all public schools. In addition to Salmonsen and his class, Dover High School Librarian Kristin Whitworth was also on hand to accept the donation.
Salmonsen said the donation of books focusing on Dover history during the history class was fitting because students in his class are working with Dover400, the committee planning Dover’s 400th anniversary celebration in 2023. Salmonsen said the students are working on a timeline of Dover’s history for Dover400, and Hindle’s books would be “indispensable.”
“I hope the books will help students become interested in Dover’s history and want to find out more about the past after seeing the early photographs,” Hindle said. “Being able to actually see the past compliments what they may read or hear in class or from grandparents.”
The second volume of Hindle’s “Dover, New Hampshire Through Time” series was released in August. Both books feature hundreds of photographs and illustrations of Dover’s past and present, as well as recognition and information on some of Dover’s early photographers. Photos from the past are reproduced from original negatives printed in sepia tone and the present in full color. The books also include early invoices and trade cards. Many of the photographs in the books, some dating back to 1860, appear in print for the first time.
Hindle is a commercial photographer, local historian and former trustee-curator at the Woodman Museum. He has preserved over 100,000 original negatives taken by New England photographers from early 1900s to present.
Signed copies of both volumes are available for sale at the City Clerk’s Office at Dover City Hall, 288 Central Ave., and the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center, 550 Central Ave.
Original source can be found here.
