Personal Recollections of Birmingham and Birmingham Men

A twelve-hour coach ride from London brings Eliezer Edwards to Birmingham in the autumn of 1837. His first impressions move from crowded streets and shopfronts to the factory chimneys appearing through a gloomy cloud. In these recollections, small details carry the story of a changing town: black hatbands mark national mourning, railway construction threatens the coaching trade, and familiar businesses occupy premises later altered or replaced.

Published in 1877 after appearing as newspaper sketches, the collection combines personal memories with portraits of local figures and accounts of civic events. Chapters cover the Bull Ring disturbances, banks, manufacturers and public men, including G. F. Muntz and Joseph Gillott. Edwards also considers conflicting explanations for the tower called Parrott's Folly. His preface acknowledges help with facts and dates in later sketches, making the book useful for readers interested in Birmingham's streets, commercial life and the personal judgments behind nineteenth-century local history.