Everyone, Join us for the next in the Library of Virginia's series of book talks at noon, on Wednesday, 4 September 2002, in the first-floor conference rooms at the Library in Historic Downtown Richmond. As the summer season comes to a close, author Charlene M. Boyer Lewis will discuss her book, Ladies and Gentlemen on Display: Planter Society at the Virginia Springs, 1790-1860. Every summer between 1790 and 1860 large numbers of elite white southerners journeyed to the resorts at the springs of western Virginia for entertainment, health, and socializing. Lewis will show how the Virginia springs became a theater of sorts, where men and women experimented with new roles, competed for status, and shaped elite southern society. She illustrates her fascinating account of this important phenomenon with contemporary images of the Virginia springs, many of them by the German-born landscape painter Edward Beyer, whose 1858 Album of Virginia is a rare classic. The reprint edition, published by the Library of Virginia, is still available. A book signing will follow this free event. Please bring your lunch; free soft drinks will be available. For more information, please contact the Library at 804-692-3592. John John T. Kneebone [log in to unmask] Acting Director, Virginia Center for the Book Director, Publications and Educational Services Library of Virginia http://www.lva.lib.va.us To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html