Through Others' Eyes

Through Others' Eyes is a collection of twenty-seven published accounts of Montgomery, Alabama, covering the thirty-six years between April 1825 and May 1861. With two exceptions, the stays in Montgomery were quite short. Each account is preceded by biographical information about the author. The accounts were written by both famous and obscure travelers—American and European political and military personages, ministers, gentlemen scientists, authors and periodical correspondents, lecturers, entertainers, and even by what were professional travelers. In general, they wrote for commercial reasons; travel books were popular in the nineteenth century. Besides the inevitable comments on the horrible state of accommodations and food, and the trials of travel by stagecoach, steamboat, and railway, they commented on slavery, of course, but also on natural history, agriculture, gambling and drinking, Montgomery's hinterland, and Alabamians. The comments on the latter were both complimentary and not. Europeans and Americans tended to have differing opinions. Although the travelers' assessments were made hurriedly and tended to focus on differences rather than similarities—probably to promote sales—they do provide a captivating insight into antebellum Montgomery. Through Others' Eyes is a companion volume to The Very Worst Road: Travellers' Accounts of Crossing Alabama's Old Creek Indian Territory, 1820-1848.