A photograph of the Thames at Abingdon was taken by Eric de Maré just after the Second World War, while hats were still de rigeur on a summer's day. It is one of 24 images collected by English Heritage for The Thames Through Time (£5.99), a book which can be dismantled and turned into postcards.
The photographs, including one of Henry Taunt's floating darkroom, date from 1860 to 1960 and conjure up a picture of a country on the brink of change, with the river moving from apparently timeless countryside to a relatively modern city. De Maré, who was particularly interested in waterways and bridges, and influenced a whole generation of architects.
They all come from the National Monuments Record, a photographic archive kept in Swindon which is open to the public.
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