Those of us who love books about Western North Carolina - either fiction or non-fiction - often consider the ways in which we might enhance our collection by adding titles of personal interest or recognized merit. What to do? Well, when we want to shape up physically, we consult a doctor or exercise specialist; accordingly, it makes sense that a would-be book collector could profit from a chat with an expert on this region’s books.

Bill Lee, who has operated the Time Capsule in the Riverwood Shops complex in Dillsboro for the past 10 years, is just the man.

Raised in Greensboro, Lee graduated in 1970 from UNC-G with a degree in journalism. By that time, he had already been working for he Greensboro Daily News for four years. After 10 years as a reporter and editor with that newspaper, Lee hit the road as a writer, editor and managing editor for major newspapers in Raleigh, Asheboro, Durham, and Tampa. Then, after a six-year stint with the Wichita (Kansas) Eagle, Lee bid the newspaper trade farewell and launched a career in WNC as an antiquarian bookseller; that is, a dealer of used, out-of-print, and rare books.

Even though he changed trades, Lee sees a connection between journalism and bookselling in that both are “print oriented.” And by that time he had already been collecting books for his personal library.

Lee initially operated the Time Capsule out of a two-story, converted house in the Riverwood complex that contained a collection of perhaps 10,000 used, out-or-print, and rare titles. In April of 1999, he moved about 100 yards to a smaller location near The Well House restaurant. In addition, he maintains a booth in Atlanta featuring about 500 volumes that he services once a month.

The new setup in Dillsboro is bright, tidy and orderly, as benefits a well-run establishment. When you walk in, the store has the feel of being operated by someone who knows the used and rare book trade. You know what I mean. It is open to the public only on Saturdays or by appointment.

In the big house up the hill, Lee struggled to maintain enough volumes to fill the place, and some of his stock wasn’t in pristine condition. The move down the hill allowed him to trim excess titles and offer the public a judicious selection of titles in good to mint condition. Book condition is the name of the game in the used and rare book trade.

Despite the weeding of excess baggage, Lee still maintains a stock of 4,000 or so books. If you’re a book junkie, there are lots of book spines to look at. And the prices are right. You won’t get any $1.50 bargains (all of us want those from time to time), but you won’t get gouged either.

Many antiquarian book dealers cultivate a gruff, aloof persona. Lee, however, is both affable and knowledgeable. He likes to talk books of all sorts and the tactics of collecting them.

Lee doesn’t deny that there’s a profit to be made by the judicious private collector. He does, however, feel that in the long run the best and most satisfactory reason for assembling a quality collection of books is the simple love of books.

“Investing in books isn’t anything like investing in stocks and bonds,” he said. “Getting top dollar for a book is difficult. The seller has to find someone with a special interest in a particular book. And agreeing on what a book is worth is really tricky.”

Lee emphasizes collecting first editions in the very best condition possible. The keen pleasures to be had in searching out first editions by a particular author or those pertaining to a particular subject are enhanced by looking for the very finest items available. An original dust jacket in pristine condition could be worth more than the book itself. Signed editions are desirable for the obvious reason that they are more rare than unsigned editions and personalize the book for the collector. Signed editions with inscriptions by the author are even more prized. Signed typescripts and manuscripts are the ultimate.

Once you obtain a book or related item, Lee notes that it should be stored or shelved in a dry place. In our area, high humidity is the biggest danger that books face.

The intricacy of determining first editions is just one area in which a book dealer can be of real assistance to the novice or even the advanced collector. Surprisingly enough, Lee no longer conducts book searches for a fee.

“Over the years, searching for books people wanted cost me money,” he said. “By the time I added my fee to the cost of a book I had located, it was often too high.”

He does, however, appraise the value of individual volumes or libraries. And if asked to bid on personal collections he will do so.

“The Internet is a two-edged sword. It markets books world wide, of course, and you can sell on the Internet, but the system has made good books extremely hard to find for the bookseller,” Lee said.

Since arriving in WNC a decade ago, Lee has developed a personal interest in titles associated with the region.

“My specialty areas are Appalachia, Cherokees, southern mountains in general, and here in Dillsboro you have to feature trains, too, because of the excursion train,” Lee said. “Published in 1791 in Philadelphia, William Bartram’s Travels is one of the early narratives that touch on this region.

“Several of the pre-1900 books that come to mind — that is, ones that I look for — would be Henry E. Colton’s Mountain Scenery published in 1859, and Zeigler and Grosscup’s In the Heart of the Alleghanies published in 1883.

“In the early 20th century, Horace Kephart’s Our Southern Highlanders, first published in 1913 with an expanded second edition in 1921, and John C. Campbell’s The Southern Highlander and His Homeland, which appeared in 1921, are favorites. A signed first edition of Kephart’s book would bring $200. The second edition signed, even though it has more chapters, would bring less, maybe $125. The first edition of the Campbell book published by the Russell Sage Foundation is difficult to find.

“The book-length U.S. government report on Appalachian forests and logging printed early in the 20th century is also a significant volume, as is a Southern Railway book on the flood of 1916. Also of considerable interest to regional historians and residents alike is George H. Smathers’ The History of Land Titles in Western North Carolina, published in 1938.

“Regional histories by W.C. Allen, Clarke Medford, and John Preston Arthur are also sought after, as are histories of specific counties. Indeed, anything Appala-chian will generate interest: letters signed on WNC letterheads, stereoscopic views, post cards, you name it.

“The books by John Parris, who lived in Dillsboro, remain a popular item. A signed copy of Roaming the Mountains would bring, say, $55. But there’s a market for all of his titles.

“In regard to fiction, there’s Thomas Wolfe, of course. John Ehle and Wilma Dykeman also come to mind. Among the younger writers there’s Fred Chappell and Robert Morgan.”

Books ... books .... books ... and still more books ... are clearly Lee’s lifeblood. But upon reflection, he’s “found out that the most pleasurable part of this business has been association with the people I’ve met and gotten to know. You might not see someone for a month or a year, but we keep in touch and catch up from time to time. And you get caught up in researching books and papers, too. Before you know it, time slips away.”

I didn’t ask, but maybe that’s why he calls it the Time Capsule.

Remember that the store is open only on Saturdays from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. or by appointment. Contact Lee at 828.586.1026 or 828.586.3382 or timecaps1@earthlink.net.

(George Ellison is a writer who lives in Bryson City. He wrote the biographical introductions for the reissues of two Appalachian classics: Horace Kephart’s Our Southern Highlanders and James Mooney’s History, Myths, and Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees. Readers can contact him at P.O. Box 1262, Bryson City, N.C., 287713, or at ellisongeorge@cs.com

 

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