Buffalo-Niagara Connections: A New Regional History of the Niagara Link
By John W. Percy
Western New York Heritage Press, Inc., is proud to announce the publication of the first comprehensive history of the Niagara Frontier to appear in over a half century. Details here!
$32.95
The Rainbow City Celebrating the Light, Color, and Architecture of the Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo 1901 by Dr. Kerry S. Grant
This award-winning book (Printing and Imaging Association of NYS, Best in Show, 2002) reproduces the restored Exposition paintings of John Ross Key which were on display only during the centennial in 2001. Architectural renderings in color and promotional pieces never before published are included, accompanied by text that illuminates the setting and buildings of what the author, Kerry Grant, called "a very important cultural landmark" in Buffalo's history. The coffee-table style publication is one that everyone who wants to know more about Buffalo's history should own!
There are limited copies available of this oversize volume because it is out of print.
$24.00
Joseph Bennett of Evans and the Growing of
New York's Niagara Frontier by Kevin H. Siepel
Kevin H. Siepel's story of the settlement and growth
of Western New York from the War of 1812 to the
1890s using the never-before-published journal of an
early settler as its central thread.
$16.95
Hidden Treasure The Chautauqua Commission of Buffalo's E.B. Green by Ed Evans
Set by a lake in rural Western New York, Chautauqua Institution is an internationally known enclave of education and culture steeped in American history.
But hidden in her history is a significant relationship to the men who shaped the look of Buffalo, New York as it grew in stature as one of America's first electrified industrial centers: For at least a dozen years Chautauqua Institution's buildings were designed by the legendary Buffalo, N.Y. architectural firm of Green and Wicks.
39 pages on heavy paper with photos, reprinted architectural sketches and plans.
$12.95
Excerpt from Chapter 1:
"The first time I saw the ghost was on a Saturday, the
day after my tenth birthday. Dad made me go with him to the old house
again because he had to mow the overgrown grass. He worked there a lot
because he's Director of the Landmark Society, a group that likes old
places and tries to save them from being torn down. Hull House is Dad's
favorite because it's the oldest stone homestead in the county. It was
built by a Revolutionary War soldier who is buried in the back yard."
The Ghost and Me, Joey by Iris Drzewiecki
The editors of Western New York Heritage Pres are pleased
to announce the publication of The Ghost and Me, Joey. This intriguing
story written by Iris Drzewiecki opens the door on a wealth of local history.
The
Warren Hull House stands like a silent grey sentinel guarding its own
history. For almost two hundred years, it has survived on its own without
any special outside protection. It almost seems as though it weathered
the years under the protection of some special providence, some kind spirit
watching over it.
Iris Drzewiecki's work has appeared in Instructor, School
Library Journal, Library Talk, Cobblestone, The Buffalo News and The Roycroft
Review.
$12.95
The author says in his introduction, "Her outstanding
trait was a total lack of fear regardless of any physical danger she encountered.
She gloried in her strength to achieve goals and permitted nothing to
deter her from resolving them. Though her family considered their dissentient
relative as snobbish, boastful and crass, they failed to realize her tremendous
energy and drive to succeed against overwhelming odds. The Edsons traced
their lineage back to the Mayflower Pilgrim colony, yet Annie Taylor was
the only one who ever achieved immortal fame by performing one nearly
impossible stunt."
Queen of the Mist The Story of Annie Edson Taylor by Dr. Charles Carlin Parish
Dr. Charles Carlin Parish tells the story of 63-year old
Michigan schoolteacher Annie Edson Taylor, who came to Niagara Falls in
1901 for the express purpose of achieving fame and fortune by going over
Niagara Falls. Unlike all others who tried this, she survived.
The 148-page biography relies heavily on first-hand source
material, often using Taylor's own words to illustrate her motives.
Taylor's own self-published story, "Over the Falls,"
is included, as well as a number of period photos.
$9.95
Buffalo's Backyard Wilderness An Ecological Study of the Dr. Victor Reinstein
Woods State Nature Preserve by Bruce Kershner
This is late author Bruce Kershner's years-long detailed study
of the 280-acre preserve donated to the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation by Dr. Victor Reinstein and his wife, Julia Boyer Reinstein.
She said in 1993, "The Reinstein Woods is a natural
and scenic treasure. Bruce's book documents the unique and irreplacable
forest that Victor and I love so much and have made such effort to protect
since the 1930's. The study describes everything that grows in the Preserve,
and predicts how it will change in the future."
The oversize paperback is 165 pages of maps, photos, charts
and narration that also describes the natural history of a piece of land
that became an island of unspoiled beauty as the surrounding area developed
into suburbs.
This publication would be of great interest to historians
as well as naturalists. Bruce Kershner's text is enjoyably readable for
the lay person.
The
Warren Hull House stands like a silent grey sentinel guarding its own
history. For almost two hundred years, it has survived on its own without
any special outside protection. It almost seems as though it weathered
the years under the protection of some special providence, some kind spirit
watching over it. 
