Books of the Day: 45 Local Histories, Memoirs, Bios and More

Local history is one of Henry Bemis Books' specialties. In the summer catalogue we have some 45 works covering churches, water power, mill towns, merchants, and a politico or two. Make us an offer on a few of these:

Baker, Ira Lee and Scarborough, Franklin S., From Chinaberry Trees to China Grove (Salisbury Printing Co, 1st ed. 1989). Centennial history of the Rowan County, North Carolina town. Hardcover, no dust jacket, blue board with black illustrated cover. Very good condition. Octavo, 246 pp. Autographed by both authors. HBB price: $75.

Blythe, LeGette, William Henry Belk: Merchant of the South (University of North Carolina Press, 1950; enlarged edition 1958). LOC 58-14574. A life of the founder of the department store chain. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, very good condition. Octavo, 271 pp. HBB price: $75.

Blythe, LeGette, Meet Julius Abernethy: Trader and Philanthropist (William Loftin, 1st ed., 1970). Fascinating contribution to the business history of western North Carolina and the once-mighty textile industry. Julius Abernethy (1894-1978) made a fortune from a four room office in Newton, NC. Legette Blythe (1900-1993) was the author of numerous novels and biographies. This is an interesting association copy, annotated throughout by Abernethy’s friend and business partner, William H. Barnhardt (1903-1985), one of the Southeast’s leading textile executives. Autographed on the papers by both Blythe and Abernethy. Hardcover, octavo, 242 pp., unclipped dust jacket showing some wear and tear. Overall, good condition. Rare. HBB price: $50.

Bostian, Frank, et al, Bethel Bear Creek Church- Part I: Dutch Buffalo Creek Meeting House 1745-1806; Part II: Bethel Bear Creek United Church of Christ 1806-1974 (Rowan Business Forms, 1st ed. 1974). A study of two families’ genealogical histories led to this fascinating study of a rural North Carolina congregation. Hardcover, no dust jacket, blue boards, faded titling. Otherwise very good condition. Octavo, 138 pp., many illustrations.

Brown, Marvin, Our Enduring Past: A Survey of 235 Years of Life and Architecture in Lincoln County, North Carolina, also including An Economic and Social History of Lincoln County, by Maurice C. York (Lincoln County Historic Properties Commission, stated 1st ed., 1986). Handsome, well-illustrated survey of the historical structures of the county. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket showing ear and year along the bottom front and back, quarto, 289 pp. Very good condition. Rare. HBB price: $125.

Brownlee, Fambrough L.,  Winston-Salem: A Pictorial History (Donning Co., 1977). ISBN 0-915442-26-4. Extensive collection of captioned photos documenting the development of the central North Carolina metropolitan area. Hardcover, no dustjacket, some staining along the fore edge and first 40 pp. Good condition. Valuable pictorial record of an important city’s development. Folio, 208 pp. HBB price: $75.

Bulla, Ben F., Textiles & Politics: The Life of B. Everett Jordan- From Saxapahaw to the United States Senate (Carolina Academic Press, 1992). ISBN 0-89089-486-8.  A much-needed biography of the publicity-shy North Carolina senator, whose primary defeat in 1972 paved the way for the election of Jesse Helms to the U.S. Senate. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, fine condition. Octavo, 395 pp. HBB price: $50.

Cashman, Diane Cobb, Cape Fear Adventure: An Illustrated History of Wilmington (Windsor Publications, 1st ed., 1982). ISBN 0-89781-057-0. Meticulously researched history of the coastal Carolina city, whose most recent reincarnation has been as a center of television and film production. Hardcover, price clipped dust jacket, very good condition. Quarto, 144 pp, many illustrations. HBB price: $75.

Charlotte Regional Realtor Association, Selling Charlotte: 85 Years of Realtor Excellence (CRRA, 1st ed., 2006). Corporate-style commemorative history, but valuable in the context of a development-drive area like Charlotte. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, some slight wear along edges and one 1 ¾” tear at top front. Good condition. Folio, 122 pp. HBB price: $50.

Covington, Howard E. Jr., Belk Inc.: The Company and the Family That Built It (Belk Inc, 2002). LOC 2002104825. An new, half-century-later version of LeGette Blyth’s history of the family, their stores, and their philanthropies. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, fine condition. Octavo, 282 pp. HBB price: $50.

Crawford, Charlotte, et al, editors, Bessemer City Centennial 1893-1993 (Walsworth Publishing/Herb Eaton Historical Publications, 1st ed., 1993). LOC 93-77221. Local history at its best: a Piedmont North Carolina community looks at its first 100 years. Many photos, memorial pages and local ads. Hardcover, quarto, red boards with gilt titling. 202 pp. No dust jacket. Very slight, almost indiscernible, damping along bottom edge. HBB price: $39.95.

Crothers, Tim, The Man Watching: A Biography of Anson Dorrance, the Unlikely Architect of the Greatest College Sports Dynasty Ever (Sports Media Group, 1st. ed, later printing, 2006). ISBN 978-1-58726-434-4. Eighteen national championships and a 94% win rate seem to back up the claim at the University of North Carolina’s women’s soccer team is about as good as they get. Hardcover, dust jacket price clipped, very good condition, autographed by Crothers and Dorrance.

Draper, Lyman C., Kings Mountain and Its Heroes: History of the Battle of Kings Mountain, October 7, 1780, And The Events Which Led To It (1881; reprint by The Overmountain Press, 1st printing, 1996). ISBN 1-57072-060-6. Hardcover, no dust jacket. Octavo, 612 pp. with index. Facsimile of the original. Green boards with gilt titling and reproduction of cover art Very good condition. HBB price: $60.

Draper, Lyman C., Kings Mountain and Its Heroes: History of the Battle of Kings Mountain, October 7, 1780, And The Events Which Led To It (1881; reprint by Genealogical Publishing Co., 1971). ISBN 0-8063-0097-3. Hardcover, no dust jacket. Octavo, 612 pp. with index. Facsimile of the original. Foxing along the text block edges. HBB price: $35.

Edgar, Walter, Partisans & Redcoats: The Southern Conflict That Turned The Tide of The American Revolution (William Morrow, 1st ed, 1st printing, 2001). ISBN 0-380-97760-5. The prominent South Carolina historian’s account of the British invasion of the Carolinas, and how it led to their defeat. Edgar is a fine writer. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, mylar cover, octavo, 198 pp. very good condition. HBB price: $30.

Hall, B.M. and M.R., Second Report on the Water Powers of Georgia (Geological Survey of Georgia, Bulletin No. 16) (Atlanta: The Franklin-Turner Co., 1st ed., 1908). “A systematic study of the water powers of the State requires a knowledge of the drainage system, which are somewhat intricate...Some idea of the diversity or drainage may be had from the statement that there are three springs in northeast Georgia within a stone’s throw of each other that send out their waters to Savannah, Georgia, to Apalachicola, Florida, and to New Orleans, Louisiana.” Hardcover, brown cloth boards, quarto, 418 pp. with index and fourteen photographs. A map of the drainage systems of the state, at p. 17, is missing. HBB price: $20.

Hanchett, Thomas W., Sorting Out the New South City: Race, Class, and Urban Development in Charlotte, 1875-1975 (UNC Press, 1st ed., 1st printing, 1998). ISBN 0-8078-4677-5. Fascinating account of how Charlotte did not begin as a deliberately segregated city, but became one over time, through the rise of large manufacturing companies, new travel technologies, and- finally- urban renewal finding, which allowed civic leaders to resort the city’s residents on opposite sides of the city. Trade paperback, 9.25” x 6”, 380 pp. Very good condition. Autographed on the title page.

Hood, Davyd Foard, The Architecture of Rowan County: A Catalogue And History of the Surviving 18th, 19th and Early 20th Century Structures (Historic Salisbury Foundation, 1983; updated and reprinted 2000). An encyclopedic survey of the structures of this western North Carolina County. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, very good condition. Folio size, 434 pp. HBB price: $75.

Hughs, Rev. G. Carswell, First Church Sermons 1972-1982 (First Presbyterian Church, Charlotte, 1st ed., May 1982). Privately printed under a bequest by Beulah Wallace Grier, a member from 1899 to 1978. Thirty sermons from the first ten years ministry of a popular pastor. Hardcover, no dust jacket, privately printed, autographed. HBB price: $35.

Kane, Harnett T., The Gallant Mrs. Stonewall (Doubleday & Co., 1st ed. 1957). LOC 57-11426. A biography of the wife and widow of Civil War General Stonewall Jackson, whose long and eventful life ended in Charlotte, NC in 1915. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, mylar cover, very good condition. Inscribed by the author to Charlotte NC arts maven Gladys Lavitan, May 14, 1957.  HBB price: $50.

Kratt, Mary Norton, and Hanchett, Thomas W., Legacy: The Myers Park Story (Myers Park Foundation, 1986). LOC 86-63043. Well-researched and

illustrated history of the historic “streetcar subway” in Charlotte, North Carolina. Hardcover, green leather with gilt titling, no dust jacket. Fine condition. Octavo, 200 pp. Rare. HBB price: $150.

Leighton, Clare, Southern Harvest (Macmillan, 1st ed., 1st printing, 1943). One of the most famous mid-20th century Anglo-American woodcut artists, Clare Leighton spent the war years in North Carolina. This collection of memories of her travels in the rural Carolinas of that day are brilliantly illustrated by the most singular woodcuts. Truly a lost art! Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket showing some wear and chipping. Very good condition overall. Quarto, 157 pp. Rare. HBB price: $50.

McGee, Dr. Jerry Edward, Roberdell: A Village of Grace (Deacon Press, 1st ed., 1995). ISBN 978-1-61623-402-7. A fascinating account of a Richmond County, North Carolina mill town that flourished between 1882 and the 1950s. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, fine condition. Octavo, 107 pp. HBB price: $25.

McKissick, John (with Billy G. Baker), Called To Coach II (United Graphics, 2004, 1st ed, #1688 of 3100 copies, 2004). ISBN 09759948-0-8. A book of “life lessons” from the winningest high school football coach in America. McKissick became head coach at Summerville, SC High School in 1952 and has remained there ever since. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, very good condition, autographed. HBB price: $75.

Miller, Billy Robert, McAdenville: Spun From The Wilderness (E.P. Press, 2nd ed, 1982). Excellent local history of the Piedmont North Carolina mill town, chronicling a now largely lost way of life. Quarto, 189 pp., hardcover, no dust jacket, blue boards with gilt titling. Very good condition. 2 copies. HBB price: $24.95.

Morton, Hugh, Hugh Morton: North Carolina Photographer (UNC Press, 1st ed., 1st printing, 2006). ISBN 0-8078-3073-9. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket. The last collection of work by North Carolina’s “photographer laureate”, Hugh Morton (1921-2006), who seemed to have been everywhere and known everyone, and took the pictures to prove it. From dazzling landscapes to color shots of the Kennedy-Sanford campaign tour of 1960, Morton saw it all. Forward by former UNC President William Friday. Very good condition. HBB price: $40.

Moseley, J. Rufus, Manifest Victory: A Quest and A Testimony (Harper & Bros., 1947). Born in Elkin, NC, educated at Peabody, Mercer, Harvard and Heidelberg, Rufus Moseley (1870-1954) was a leading mid-20th century American Christian mystic. From 1910 he gave up his professorship at Mercer and spent the rest of his life living off the proceeds of his pecan grove near Macon, GA, and contributed an occasional column to The Macon Telegraph. He wrote two highly successful books; Manifest Victory is a sort of Augustinian confession. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, good condition, autographed. Rare. Inscribed to “Brother R.A. Taylor” in February 1950. HBB price: $150.

Ostwalt, Conrad, Love Valley: An American Utopia (Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1998). ISBN 0-87972-760-8. In 1954, a man called Andy Barker found the perfect spot, in Iredell County, North Carolina, to combine his two life callings: to create a Christian community, and to be a cowboy. The faux-western town of Love Valley was the result, setting off a forty-year roller coaster of social outreach, philanthropy, and the infamous Love Valley Rock Festival.  Ostwalt applies an even hand to this attempt to build an American utopia in the Brushy Mountains; the result is a fascinating story of a town that still exists, population 117, in a mellow, matured state. Trade paperback, good condition, some marginal notes by a previous owner. 202 pp. HBB price: $20.

Ovens, David, If This Be Treason: A Look At His Town and Times (Heritage House, 1st ed., 1957). Canadian-born, Ovens (1872-1957) came to Charlotte, North Carolina in 1903 and stayed 54 years. Ovens, a partner in the Ivey’s department store chain, also became one of the city’s leading boosters, heading efforts and organizations for virtually every charitable, education and cultural institution in the city. An enthusiastic hater of modern architecture, he lived to see A.G. O’Dell’s thoroughly Modernist civic auditorium named for him. A fascinating memoir of life in a city on the move. Affectionately inscribed on the end pages to Irving H. Johnson, a longtime friend. Hardcover, octavo, 217 pp. Unclipped dust jacket, some wear and tear and fading generally. Red cloth boards. Overall, very good condition. HBB price: $29.95.

Paget, Russie H. The Clemson House Cookbook (Jacobs Brothers, 1st ed. 1955). Built in 1950 as a hotel and conference center, Clemson House’s cuisine inspired this 474 pp cookbook. Part I is of Heirloom Recipes from the South Carolina Upstate region; Part II is made up of Contemporary Recipes- Native and Foreign. Illustrations include a hungry tiger at the dinner table, leaning over his plate, knife and fork in paws; at the end, he’s leaning back, tum bulging, looking quite sated. A delightful regional work. Hardcover, no dustjacket, some staining and wear but overall in good condition. Rare. HBB price: $69.95.

Parramore, Thomas C., First to Fly: North Carolina and the Beginnings of Aviation (University of North Carolina Press, 1st ed., 1st printing, 2002). ISBN 0-8078-2676-6. A noted North Carolina historian presents the state’s role in flight, from Jules Verne’s Robur building a death zeppelin in an extinct Rutherford County volcano (Master of the World, 1904), to the major travel center Charlotte-Douglas International Airport has become. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, very good condition. Octavo, 372 pp. HBB price: $25.

Paysour, Buck, Bass Fishing in North Carolina (Haw River Press, 1977). Longtime business page editor for The Greensboro Daily News, Paysour was also one dedicated bass fisherman. This book was the first devoted to the sport’s North Carolina waters in over 75 years. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, very good condition. We have two copies. 8.5” x 5.25”, 242 pp. HBB price: $65.

Phillips, Robert B., One of God’s Children (Celo Press, 1st ed. 1982). A longtime school principal and leading apple grower, Phillips wrote this memoir of his life in the North Carolina mountains in sight of his 80th birthday; he lived to 96, dying in 1999. An engaging tale of his life and times. Hardcover, duodecimo, 163 pp. Inscribed to Charlotte Observer editors Wilton and Eudora Garrison, friends to many regional authors. HBB price: $25.

Powell, William S., editor, Encyclopedia of North Carolina (University of North Carolina Press, 1st ed., 1st printing, 2006). Eminent state historian William Powell spent fifteen years corralling the contributions of over 550 writers in over 2,000 entries. A must for any North Carolina collector or researcher. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, fine condition. Folio, 1314 pp. HBB price: $40.

Ragan, Robert Allison, The Ragans of Gastonia, 1790-1995: Builders of the New South and Pioneers in Southern Textiles (Heritage Printers, 1st ed., 1995). ISBN 95-92604. A scion of the prominent Gaston County family gives them and their role in the state’s history a thoroughly-researched airing. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, very good condition. Octavo, 568 pp. Many illustrations. Inscribed by the author to friends. HBB price: $50.

Rieke, Robert, An Azure Sunset (Charlotte, NC: Providence Press, limited ed., #109 0f 200- printed and signed in pencil by Rieke on the colophon- 1994. A four-part collection of Rieke’s poetry, collected for the first time. 24 poems plus a short biographical sketch. Printed in letterpress at Heritage Press and “published on the winter solstice of 1994.” Rieke (1923- 2013) taught European History at Emory and The Citadel before joining the faculty of UNC-Charlotte as history department chair; he also wrote a history of the college, A Retrospective Vision. Quarto, 7.25” x 10”. Brilliant blue boards; no dust jacket. As-new condition. 35 pp. inscribed to Charlotte NC arts maven Gladys Lavitan. HBB price: $25.

Roberts, Kenneth, The Battle of Cowpens: The Great Morale-Builder (Doubleday, stated 1st ed., 1958). This essay was the last work of the noted New England journalist, novelist and Revolutionary War-era historian (1885-1957). Awarded a special Pulitzer Prize in history for his contributions to the discipline, Roberts was a longtime correspondent for The Saturday Evening Post who was the first American to cover Hitler’s abortive 1923 coup attempt in Germany. In this book Roberts considers how the one-hour battle, just three months after Kings Mountain, turned the corner in the American Revolution and made inevitable Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown. His publisher, Herbert Faulkner West, wrote in the preface, “I am proud to be the publisher of a small limited edition of his last piece of historical writing, characterized as usual by a slight air of belligerency hovering over it.” Octavo, 111 pp, with a nine-page appendix of Roberts’ collected works. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, very good condition. Rare. HBB price: $85.

Robinson, G.O. The Character of Quality: The Story of Greenwood Mills (R.L. Bryan Co., rev. ed., 1975). An authorized history of Greenwood Mills, founded in 1889 in the eponymous South Carolina town. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, octavo, 144 pp. Very good condition. HBB price: $20.

Robinson, Luther, We Made Peace With Polio (Broadman Press, no stated edition, 1960). LOC 60-5194. A Rowan County elementary school principal’s memoir of the polio waves of the early 1950s, and how it struck his family. Part of a substantial body of books and memoirs on the last days of the crippling disease and its long-term aftermath. Hardcover, blue boards, dust jacket taped together and a bit fragile. Otherwise, good condition. Octavo, 165 pp. Rare. HBB price: $35.

Rogers, John R. and Amy T., Charlotte: Its Historic Neighborhoods (Arcadia Publishing/Images of America series, 1st ed. 1996). ISBN 0-7524-0515-2. Lavishly illustrated, well-researched account of Charlotte’s inner, “streetcar” suburbs. Softcover, very good condition, autographed by both authors. HBB price: $50.

Speizman, Morris, This Week’s Miracle (Charlotte, NC: Heritage Printers, 1968). LOC 68-29086. Morris Speizman was born in Lodz, Poland in 1905. Six months later, his family immigrated to the United States. He attended the Philadelphia School of Textiles. In 1936, he and his wife, Sylvia Valenstein, came to Charlotte and founded Speizman Industries, Inc., a textile machinery company. In addition to his business, Speizman was very active in the Jewish and civic communities. As an author, he wrote This Week's Miracle, Our World To Come (Charlotte: Graham Publishing Co., 1975), The Jews of Charlotte (Charlotte: McNally & Loftin, 1978), and Some Things I Wish I Had Said--And Some I Did! (Charlotte: Graham Publishing Co., 1983). He died in Charlotte on July 25, 1987 and was buried in the Hebrew Cemetery. A well-written series of short essays on life and business. Valuable as a portrayal of the now-vanished textile industry economy in the Southeast. Speizman was a friend and correspondent with Charlotte author and editor Harry Golden; his papers are in the UNC-Charlotte library. Paperback, 8.5” x 5.5”, very good condition, autographed. HBB price: $25.

Stowe, Robert Lee, Jr., Early History of Belmont and Gaston County, North Carolina (1st ed., 1951; reprint, Laney-Smith, Inc., 1997). ISBN 0-9624488-7.  Textile pioneer Robert Lee Stowe, Sr. penned this history of the town he largely built at the age of 85. Reprinted by his son. Hardcover, unclipped dust jacket, fine condition. Octavo, 72 pp. Rare. HBB price: $75.

Thomas, Maud, Away Down Home: A History of Robeson County, North Carolina (Historic Robeson, 1st ed., 1982). Excellent history of the Sandhills area county. Hardcover, blue boards with gilt titling. No dust jacket, as issued. Octavo, 277 pp. Rare. HBB price: $175.

Whipple, Barbara, Reflections of Northeast Georgia, 1903: A Pictorial Diary of Judge Ulysses V. Whipple, Sr. (Colson Printing Co, 1st ed., 1997).  In 1903 Judge Whipple leased a house in Clarkesville Georgia for a four-month summer holiday, if such a thing is possible to consider today. He kept a diary of the summer vacation, which his great-granddaughter pulled together,with photos and annotations, into a charming book. Paperback, octavo, 165 pp., very good condition. HBB price: $49.95.

Wingard, E.A., Echoes and Other Poems (Newberry, SC: Lutheran Publication Board, 1899). Wingard (1849-1900) was ordained in the Lutheran Church in 1875 and called to St. Paul’s in Columbia, SC in 1887. He served in that pulpit until his death; this book was published the year before he passed away. 170 pp of poetry covering a variety of subjects, ranging from war to memoria, religious poems and hymns and a miscellany that includes his Ode on Laying the Corner-Stone Y.M.C.A. Building, Columbia, S.C.  Hardcover, red boards, no dust jacket. Very good condition. HBB price: $25.