CHARLESTON THEN AND NOW Contemporary photographs by Robert Pinckney Rhett and   James Moore Rhett, III Text by John Carson                 Hay Steele, Sr. A photographic record of the changes brought about over the last one hundred years in and near the city of Charleston. These archival images photographed in the 1890s were photographed again in the 1970s and published as the first edition of CHARLESTON THEN AND NOW. This updated edition includes new photos from the 1990s. The pictures, old and new, are arranged side-by-side, proceeding northward from the Battery in a tour sequence. The photos are black and white to remain consistent with those of 1890 and to yield a better comparison of then and now. Included are scenes from the South Battery to the Citadel, and from roof tops and sailing ships in the harbor viewed from St. Michael's steeple. Beyond the Ashley River are scenes of St. Andrew's Church, Drayton Hall, Magnolia and Middleton Gardens, Ft. Dorchester, the Tea farm, and Pine Forest Inn, while across the Cooper are views of Ft. Moultrie. This volume reveals the remarkable preservation of one of America's oldest cities. From the book: Charleston Then (1890s).....The photographer who arrived in Charleston one winter day during the 1890s had a specific mission__to locate and photograph places of interest in and near Charleston.  Traveling by horse and buggy he toured the city, photographing houses and hotels, railyards and rooftops, mills and monuments, from Ashley to Cooper, from Battery to Wragg Mall.  And beyond, from Fort Moultrie to Drayton Hall, and north to Summerville's Tea Farm.... Charleston Now (1990s)....Certainly a comparison of old and new photographs herein confirms its ability to make time a friend.  Even so great a misfortune as the 1989 hurricane that devastated the Charleston area proved only a temporary challenge.  The city swept away the debris, repaired the damage, and has become more beautiful than ever.  The current photographs by Bob Rhett show a city lovingly cared for and complement his father's pictures taken for the first edition two decades ago.   130 pages. Black and white photographs. (1974). 1996. ISBN 10: 0-87844-129-8/ ISBN 13: 978-0-87844-129-7 Hardcover $34.95

About the authors:

John Carson Hay ("Jack") Steele, a native of Charleston, received a BS in civil engineering from The Citadel. A retired E. I. DuPont engineer, Mr. Steele and his wife Jane divide their time between their homes in Charleston and North Augusta. They have two sons, John C. Hay Steele, Jr. and Peter Wallace Hay Steele. Mr. Steele is author of two previous volumes: Charleston Then and Now, the first edition published in 1974 and The Family of Hay, Book Two, published in 1986. His interests include history and sailing.



Robert Pinckney ("Bob") Rhett is a native of Columbia, South Carolina. He studied music at USC and was at one time a professional musician. He presently works as an engineer with Bayer Corporation and resides in Moncks Corner with his wife Kim and their daughter Taylor. His interests include music and photography. Bob's father, James Moore Rhett, III, created the 1970s photographs that appear in both the first and second editions of Charleston Then and Now.


The 1890 photographs were taken by a photographer from Chicago who had been touring the Southeast at the time.