About our Company
Images from the Past publishes history in ways that help people see it for themselves.
We are a small independent Vermont publisher focused on books that bring to life the stories of people, places, and events both within their historical context and from the perspective of today.
Images from the Past is based in Bennington, Vermont, but authors in search of a publisher contacted us from California, Virginia, the Upper Hudson Valley, Washington, DC, and Martha’s Vineyard, as well as Vermont. Some were steered our way; others found us on their own. Once we were confident we’d be a good fit for each other, we got to work.
Each of our books is the creation of a team: the author, editor, and designer, with Publisher Tordis Ilg Isselhardt as facilitator. We asked ourselves: What story do we want the book to tell? Who will the audience(s) be? What can we add to what the readers already know or believe? What resources will help get the story across?
Our books are richly illustrated with visuals that show what the author chooses to say in their text – either to reaffirm or expand on it – with carefully worded captions that link the two. Most have extensive indexes and bibliographies. They present thoroughly researched history that you can both trust and enjoy.
This style of publishing history draws on Tordis’s experience in communication, teaching, and interpretation.
About our Founder
Before founding Images from the Past in 1992, Tordis studied Spanish and Spanish Literature at Bennington College and Middlebury College, living and studying in Madrid, Paris and Munich in the early 1960s. Once back in the United States, she taught at many levels, from Nursery School and Middle to High School. Tordis also worked as a “computer programmer” for A.T. & T in their Data Processing Department, years before personal computers.
In 1966, she made her way back to Bennington, Vermont, which has been her home base ever since. She has served on numerous local, state, and regional boards and commissions focused on Historic Preservation, Cultural Tourism, and Publishing, including 21 years on the Bennington Historic Preservation Commission. Tordis was a founder in 1998 and longtime officer of the Independent Publishers of New England.
Tordis honed her skills as a historical interpreter during her nine years as the first director of the Park-McCullough House, an 1865 35 room Victorian mansion. She then went on to use these skills to plan and conduct cultural tours in Southern Vermont as an independent tour guide.
Images from the Past was born from Tordis’s desire to be able to share the stories of people, places, and events with larger audiences and the results of our efforts have stood the test of time.
The people are long gone; perhaps not even the terrain remains quite the same; yet we are surrounded by what happened. And may, with a little help, if we allow ourselves, be able to imagine other times.