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Interviews with and reviews of the fiction of Julia Davis, a member of a prominent Harrison County family whose most distinguished member was her father, John W. Davis, the 1924 Democratic Presidential candidate. In the interviews she tells of the influence upon her career of Melville Davisson Post and of the historic activities of her family, particularly before and during the Civil War. Her maternal grandparents, who resided in Jefferson County, observed the trial and execution of John Brown. Based upon their memoirs and those of their neighbors she wrote a successful play for the West Virginia centennial, "The Anvil" about the Brown raid and trial. There are also two reviews of the body of her literature emphasizing its historical nature and its sympathetic but realistic exploration of the dialectical tensions between minorities and the dominant group in America.

Correspondence between H. E. Matheny and Boyd B. Stutler who were antiquarian collectors of West Virginia and authors on the local history of the state. The correspondence is primarily about West Virginia imprints and historical literature. There is much discussion of the following topics as they pertain to West Virginia: colloquial language, frontier and pioneers, post offices and postal service, crimes and criminals, the Civil War, early oil industry, and printers, printing and newspapers. Historical figures often mentioned are: Harman Blennerhassett, Alexander Campbell, T. M. Harris, John Hardy, and John Brown and family. There is much mention of other colleague collectors including: Guy Tetrick, Mr. and Mrs. Roy Bird Cook, Delf Norona, and Otis Zirkle. There is some discussion of family matters and the contemporary political situation, particularly regarding John F. Kennedy, his assassination, and the turmoil of the 1960s.