Since the beginning of the leather industry in America, Peabody and leather have always been considered synonymous. The Civil War and Reconstruction Era brought great prosperity to the industry, and by the late 19th century, the leather industrys success was firmly established in Peabody. After the great Boston fire of 1872, many leather shops in Boston were completely destroyed, leaving Peabodys tanneries unrivaled. In 1894, Arthur C. Lawrence and his A. C. Lawrence Leather Company arrived in Peabody, employed thousands of workers, and secured the citys place in history as the largest manufacturer of calf and sheep skins in the world, earning Peabody the title of Leather Capital of the World.

In this, the first-ever photographic history of Peabody, authors Stephen J. Schier and Kenneth C. Turino document vividly the long and illustrious history of the nineteenth-century's "Leather City." Once the largest producer of leather in the world, Peabody is a proud city with a rich photographic legacy. Over two hundred vintage images of Peabody's past appear in this volume, representing the period from the 1870s through the 1960s. The people, places, and institutions of Peabody are illustrated in photographs gathered from both public and private sources, including the vast and outstanding holdings of the Peabody Historical Society.