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Another in our 'Stories Behind The Pictures' series. Here Peter Seddon puts some perspective on a fascinating early photograph of Derby from the air.

The above photograph isn't an easy one to 'get a handle' on. Of course it is Derby from the air - the title of the postcard says as much. The River Derwent follows a familiar course, but so much else seems to have changed, and the town looks so much more built up than it is today.

The higgledy-piggledy pattern of rooftops creates a crowded feeling - demonstrating all too well how much was cleared in the sixties and seventies to make way for the infamous Inner Ring Road Scheme.

Neither the Council House nor the Bus Station seem to have been constructed. Nor have the River Gardens. That helps to date the photograph. I'd have a guess at the 1920s, but can't be exact. Can anyone be more precise?

A few familiar landmarks can be picked out. On the upper right above the river bank is the distinctive tower of the Silk Mill. To the upper left of that is the unmistakeable tower of Derby Cathedral, more strictly All Saints Church. Above and beyond the Cathedral is a large mill building - that would be off Ashbourne Road.

More or less level with the Cathedral, on the left of the photograph, one can pick out the tower of the Guildhall, with the dark area to its right, which is the Market Place. Above and beyond the Guildhall is what looks like St. Werburgh's Church.

Particularly prominent is the 'old' Cattle Market at the bottom left. Evidently it wasn't a market day - the only animals on view are a few working horses loitering with intent.

By referencing these landmarks it is possible to construct a familiar road pattern in the mind's eye, but making all the pieces fit into the Derby framework we know today is difficult. Not surprising really, for today's city is simply different. Buildings and roads have gone - others have replaced them - and today there is more open ground - what planners like to call amenity space

Most noticeable is the large number of chimneys and factory buildings - Derby then was an industrial town in the truest sense. But it looks a bright enough place to live, and with some real 'age' to it.

Of course the company which took the photograph - Aerofilms Ltd. - chose a nice clear day. The sun beats down on the road on the right bank of the Derwent. A few people are ambling along it, and what looks like a horse and cart is leaving town. But there is not a single car - perhaps that is the most significant change of all.

Can anyone put a more precise date on the picture? If so, click on 'edit' and post your observations here.

• The 'Stories Behind The Pictures'

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County:  Derbyshire