Just as traditional photography is being replaced by electronic techniques, a timely new book from the state Office of Archives and History records the names of more than 2,500 North Carolina photographers who captured the state's living history between 1842 and 1941.

Compiled by Stephen E. Massengill, Photographers in North Carolina: The First Century, 1842-1941 adds a deeper dimension to the Tar Heel state's rich past by presenting image-makers whose works enhance or even change our understanding of history. A sampling of the early photographers' striking images provides a visual record of the remarkable accomplishments of these men and women who have helped us to “see” the past.

The 264-page biographical directory identifies more than 2,500 photographers, many of whose names appear only in yellowing censuses, newspaper advertisements, or town directories. In the early days, a good number of those photographers were itinerants from other states. By the twentieth century, resident image-makers had become commonplace, particularly in North Carolina's largest cities.

Photographers in North Carolina includes an introductory essay by H.G. Jones, former curator of the North Carolina Collection at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. An instructive essay by Jesse R. Lankford Jr., state archivist of North Carolina, traces the evolution of photography from the early nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. A third essay by Massengill, the book's compiler, places a selected number of early photographers in their geographic settings.

Stephen E. Massengill, a Durham native, received an A.B. degree in history from St. Andrews College in Laurinburg and an M.A. degree in history from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He is the iconographic archivist in the North Carolina State Archives, where he oversees the state's largest photographic collection, now numbering nearly a million images.

More than 400 years after the actual events took place, the Lost Colony and the mystery surrounding its disappearance continue to fascinate North Carolinians and many others around the world. A new book from the North Carolina Office of Archives and History provides fresh insights into old questions about the English colonies established on Roanoke Island in the 1580s.

Edited by E. Thomson Shields Jr. and Charles R. Ewen, Searching for the Roanoke Colonies: An Interdisciplinary Collection contains 16 essays presented at two conferences held on Roanoke Island in 1993 and 1998. The diverse essays are written from a lively mix of historical, archaeological, literary, and folkloric viewpoints. They include information on the Lost Colony, John White, Ralph Lane, Virginia Dare, and Manteo and Wanchese, two Native Americans who visited England in 1584 and 1585.

E. Thomson Shields Jr. is a member of the Department of English and director of the Roanoke Colonies Research Office at East Carolina University. He edits the Roanoke Colonies Research Newsletter. Charles R. Ewen is a historical archaeologist in the Department of Anthropology at ECU. He directs the Southern Coastal Heritage Program, a consortium of scholars from several institutions with related research interests.

The provocative, yet authoritative, essays in Searching for the Roanoke Colonies set the standard for future research by Roanoke scholars. However, the 214-page paperback book will appeal to any reader interested in the Lost Colony and other events associated with England's first attempts to settle North America. The handsome volume is indexed, contains a list of works cited, and features on its cover a photograph of the Virginia Dare statue located in the Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo.

James Iredell (1751-1799) was the first of two North Carolinians to serve on the U. S. Supreme Court. A new volume of his edited papers, which provides a comprehensive view of Iredell's life in the years immediately preceding his appointment to the high court, is now available from the Historical Publications Section of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History.

Edited by Donna Kelly and Lang Baradell, Volume 3 of The Papers of James Iredell covers the years 1784-1789. After the Revolutionary War, Iredell faced financial problems and, consequently, gave up public office to concentrate on his legal practice. He represented clients in county and superior courts and provided out-of-court services, such as drafting wills and contracts. As a result, his papers reflect the concerns and conflicts of a society moving from war and independence to peace and self-reliance.

Volume 3 includes correspondence about Iredell's law practice, his efforts on behalf of ratification of the U. S. Constitution, and the founding of the University of North Carolina. Among his correspondents were some of North Carolina's most eminent leaders, including his brother-in-law Samuel Johnston, William Hooper, William R. Davie, Richard Dobbs Spaight, and Hugh Williamson.

Donna Kelly earned a B.A. degree in history from Wake Forest University and a master's degree in public history from North Carolina State University. From 1984 to 1996 she was an archivist with the North Carolina State Archives. In 1996 she joined the staff of the Historical Publications Section of the Office of Archives and History as editor of the James Iredell Papers. Since 2001 she has been administrator of the Historical Publications Section.

Lang Baradell, current editor of the Iredell Papers, holds B.S. and M.A. degrees in history from the University of Southern Mississippi and an M.A. in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has been an editor in the Historical Publications Section since 1992.

The third volume of the Iredell Papers includes an introduction by the editors; a calendar of Iredell's papers, 1784-1789; and a name, place, and subject index. It also features a foreword by Willis P. Whichard, retired associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and current dean of the Norman Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University.

During 2003 North Carolina and the nation are celebrating the centennial of Orville and Wilbur Wright's first powered flight at Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903. The culminating event will be North Carolina's 100th anniversary festivities on the Outer Banks, scheduled for December 12-17. A new book from the North Carolina Office of Archives and History pictures and describes some of the largest and most significant commemorative celebrations of the first flight, from the 25th anniversary in 1928 to the 75th in 1978.

“By Dauntless Resolution and Unconquerable Faith”: Selected Anniversary Celebrations at the Site of the Wright Brothers' First Flight, 1928-1978, by Stephen E. Massengill, is illustrated with fourteen striking photographs taken at the major anniversary celebrations held in North Carolina during those years. One picture is of aviatrix Amelia Earhart and World War I pilot Reed G. Landis in a horse-drawn wagon at the 25th anniversary event. Tired of waiting for one of the few cars to transport visitors to the site of the festivities, Earhart and Landis commandeered a Nags Head Coast Guard wagon and two horses, picked up members of a group from Washington, D.C., and guided the team about three miles to Kill Devil Hills.

Massengill notes that although the celebrations have expanded in scope over the years, the plans have retained some traditional activities, such as the laying of memorial wreaths at the Wright Brothers Memorial, music by local high school bands, flying demonstrations, and appearances by officials from Ohio and members of the Wright family. He also writes, “All of the celebrations had to endure the possibility of adverse weather conditions on the Outer Banks in mid-December. Furthermore, event planners had to face the problems of staging a celebration in such a remote location.”

Stephen E. Massengill, a native of Durham, received an A.B. degree in history from St. Andrews College in Laurinburg and an M.A. degree in history from North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He is the iconographic archivist at the North Carolina State Archives and the author of Photographers in North Carolina: The First Century, 1842-1941, which has been published by the Office of Archives and History.