4 replies to this topic

[Birdland in Handley]

Library fans might have already noticed that the new books at our glorious Main have some neat little paperback picture books of state and local history. A couple of months ago we checked out the book on Big Bend and now the coverage is getting much closer. Currently have checked out the books on Arlington Heights and Fairmount. Great old pix, but huge gaps in info, like the street addresses of the structures in the pix. Way better than nothing.
Publisher is Arcadia, out of Charleston SC; Chicago, IL; Portsmouth, NH and, San Fran.

[John S.]

Library fans might have already noticed that the new books at our glorious Main have some neat little paperback picture books of state and local history. A couple of months ago we checked out the book on Big Bend and now the coverage is getting much closer. Currently have checked out the books on Arlington Heights and Fairmount. Great old pix, but huge gaps in info, like the street addresses of the structures in the pix. Way better than nothing.
Publisher is Arcadia, out of Charleston SC; Chicago, IL; Portsmouth, NH and, San Fran.

Arcadia has created a niche market nationally for local history books. A common characteristic is lots of old photos but just a little narrative text. I have one for Weatherford, TX from several years ago. (I also have two or three for cities outside Texas) The material they use is by local authors and memorabilia collectors. Good to hear they have one on the Fairmount and another for Arlington Heights.

[Dismuke]

The Arlington Heights one is excellent. And I have had the pleasure of meeting the author, Juliet George, on a couple of occasions and she is an extremely nice lady with a great deal of enthusiasm and passion for the subject. I definitely recommend the book. She also has an article about the book in the most recent Arlington Heights Neighborhood Association Newsletter. In it she mentioned the space and editorial limitations regarding the allowed quantity of text and says she has plenty of material for a second volume. It would be neat if a second volume is possible.

I can certainly understand why Arcadia has such a policy: since the subject matter of their books is already pretty nichey to begin with in terms of the geographical areas they cover, for them to be commercially viable it is necessary for the books to appeal to an audience wider than just local history geeks. One does not have to be a hard core history enthusiast to find vintage photos of the neighborhood one lives in to be fascinating. Plus picture books are great for gift giving - if someone in one of the areas covered is on your gift list the Arcadia books are ideal. And, at the same time, because much of what is in the Arlington Heights book is being published for the very first time, even the most hard core local historian will find it informative and interesting and will not be disappointed.

My guess is that there are, by now, quite a number of people who have an interest in local history that was, in part, inspired by stumbling across one of Arcadia's local history books. And that, of course, helps expand the potential market for the more geekier local history books - i.e., the kind that are mostly text and have few, if any, photos. So I am a huge fan of what they do.

The Arlington Heights book is available in local bookstores - and, no matter what neighborhood you live in, if you find Fort Worth history and/or vintage photos in general to be interesting, you will enjoy the book.

[Birdland in Handley]

The Arcadia books are charming, but NOTHING beats the mid 80's Historic Fort Worth surveys, with their fancy die cut blue covers. We bought only one when they were available; wish we could have afforded them all.

[Ghost Writer in Disguise]

Recently added were "Benbrook" and "Fort Worth's Rock and Roll Roots". I am sorry to report a couple of misidentified pix in the former.