Mary Lloyd Frank Collection

M79.11.1

Keyword :
Mary Lloyd Frank ; Forster A. Sondley ; George Vanderbilt ; George Meyers Stephens ; Lewis Mumford ; Hugh Lefler ; Howard Odum ; Sondley Reference Library ; Pack Memorial Library ; Virginia Terrell Lathrop

This collection contains two publications, Leaves from the Sondley and The Southern Packet, both published by the Stephens Press.  For further information, see the "Description of Collection" in the following table.

http://toto.lib.unca.edu/findingaids/mss/frank_mary_lloyd/default_frank_mary_lloyd.htm

This collection contains runs of two publications, both published by the Stephens Press.

Leaves from the Sondley was first published on the tenth anniversary of the opening of the Sondley Reference Library to the public [1945-47].  The Sondley Library was collected by Forster A. Sondley, a native of Asheville who distinguished himself as a practicing lawyer and as a legal scholar.  Sondley was instrumental in George Vanderbilt's acquisition of the Biltmore Estate property; through that project and through other legal work during a long career, he had the financial means to acquire what was to become a collection of over 33,000 books. At the time of his death, he bequeathed the library to the City of Asheville, and the collection was first housed in the Asheville City Hall.  It was later moved to Pack Memorial Library, and was integrated into their reference collection.  With the exception of most of the North Carolinian materials, the collection was sold by Pack Library in the late 1980s to a Chapel Hill, NC, book dealer. 

The Leaves from the Sondley publications were employed to make the resources of the collection known to scholars, since the means were not available to publish the entire catalogue of this large collection.  The sponsors of the publication were Pack Library's Friends of the Library organization, the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, and the Stephens Press.  Volume I, number 1, includes a statement of purpose for the Leaves from the Sondley.  Generally, each issue covered one or two particular subject areas, for which the most notable items from the collection were listed. 

The Southern Packet 1945-1949: As described in volume 1, number 1, the purpose of the periodical is to review and list books on the "southern region," "from the growing southern university presses, publishing houses and private printers," and books on similar subjects by the largest publishers that are "of such importance that they must not be overlooked."  Many issues also contain an essay, or general review on a particular subject, by the editor or other writers.  Guest writers include Lewis Mumford, Hugh Lefler, and Howard Odum. 

A number of the essays and reviews evaluate, in a clear, non-moralistic way, the need of the south to implement racial equality.  Supplemental cumulative bibliographies, without reviews or annotations, containing titles which have been previously reviewed and listed, are included.  Virginia Terrell Lathrop, the editor from 1945 to 1946, provides reflective essays in the issues for those years.  George Myers Stephens was editor of the remaining issues beginning in 1947.