Arcadia Publishing
Columbia University and Morningside Heights.
Along with a bountiful number of portraits of men sporting truly amazing mustaches, this collection of period effluvia includes significant commentary in visual form on the growth of a premier urban university and its influence upon the surrounding area. Photos show how the campus, designed by leading urban planners, worked with the sites of neighbors such as the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, St. Luke's Hospital, Barnard College, Teachers College and Union Theological Seminary. The period photos capture the eclectic collection of architecture that developed around the university, the practices of its students, and the achievements of its faculty. Some of the most interesting shots show how Morningside Heights developed from a pastoral playground to a busting neighborhood in the shadow of its large and famous university. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Coos County.
Some 200 photos (and a little text) trace the highly variable fortunes of a remote port on the western edge of Oregon from the middle of the 19th c. This largest deep-water port between Seattle and San Francisco has never realized its transportation potential. Instead the area has supplied resources: dairy, coal, lumber, fish. Arcadia's failure to include maps in their pictorial histories rmains a sore annoyance. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Portland.
It's not the first, but Arcadia Publishing is the most vigorous of the growing list of houses doing popular illustrated histories of various localities in the U.S. It is a sure formula for success if good marketing is arranged. Portland is a fair model of the genre covering general views, rivers, public & private sites, hotels, parks and events. Some 150 to 200 photos are of fair to, mostly, good quality. No index. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
San Diego's North Island, 1911-1941.
A survey of aviation in San Diego's North Island, this volume offers a collection of photos drawn from the San Diego Air and Space Museum. Pescador, an archivist at the San Diego Air and Space Museum, and Aldrich, a historian, provide descriptions for b&w photos from 1911, when one of the country's first aviation schools was opened there, to 1941, when the navy prepared for the war and new aircrafts and tactics were used. Chapters also cover the naval airfield and civilian visitors to the island, such as Charles Lindbergh. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Silent-era filmmaking in Santa Barbara.
Birchard presents a pictorial account of the American Film Manufacturing Company's 11-year life and stills from its films, drawing b&w photos from his personal collection. He traces the Flying A's origins in Chicago in 1910 to its move to Santa Barbara and decline in 1921. Other photos, of actors and behind the scenes at the studio, are integrated. Birchard is a film and video editor and a guest curator for an exhibit on the studio at the Santa Barbara Historical Society Museum. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Tall ships on Puget Sound.
Recent tall ship events in cities along the Pacific coast reflect a resurgence of interest in these majestic wind-powered ships. In association with the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society, Fowler traces their evolution and stories of their sailors from explorers' first contact with the Sound's Salish peoples, through their decline, to their modern ceremonial/educational roles. Among the many historic photographs are ones showing indigenous peoples' version of sail-powered canoes. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
Towns of Mount Lassen.
Shelton assembles photographs of the California volcano, including during its 1915 eruption, and the surrounding homesteads and towns in the logging territory that now comprises the Lassen Volcanic National Park. Many of the photographs are of and by his own family there. He does not provide an index or bibliography. (Annotation ©2008 Book News Inc. Portland, OR)
