By Dotty Starling, M.S.L.S.

Inventory is almost complete, with a printed catalog of the entire James Boyd Library collection soon to be available. In addition to Boyd's books, various Friends of Weymouth have generously donated books, at first to fill the empty shelves, but also to contribute books that are relevant to the history of Weymouth and Southern Pines. We have a large part of the collection of Struthers Burt; books by writers inducted in the NC Literary Hall of Fame; and Katharine Boyd's books collected in the years after her husband's untimely death.

James Boyd's library was based on the standards of literature and literary criticism in the English language. They range from Jonathan Swift's Works to The Home Book of Modern Verse. Others are general titles in American and British history, including: The American Commonwealth (c1894) and An Historical Geography of the United States (1890). There are several bound volumes of periodicals, some from rare- and used-book stores in England, and others passed down from family members: St. Nicholas Magazine (November 1877 to October 1878)--one of the best-ever magazines for children, for many years published by Mary Mapes Dodge, and The Gentlemen's Magazine (London, 1737).

James Boyd had been known to say, "I'd rather ride than write!" and some of the most notable books in his collection were about horses and foxhunting: The Classical Farrier (William Merrick, 1789); An Essay on Hunting, by a Country Squire (1817); Tackroom Tattles (John McKenney, 1934). Other topics include: newspapers and journalism (Boyd was a contributing writer and later owner and editor of The Pilot); history and literature of Scotland and Ireland (Johnny Fraser of Drums and James Fraser of Marching On were of Scottish descent; James Boyd's family was Irish). Bill Arp's Scrap Book: humor and philosophy (William Smith, 1884, reminds us of Mr. Hugh Dave McWhirr.)

Boyd was a popular and well-known author. He was friends with other notable writers, as Thomas Wolfe, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sherwood Anderson, Ernest Hemingway, and Paul Green. Many of these writers were also published by Charles Scribner's Sons and also had as their editor Maxwell Perkins. Books here that were inscribed to James or Katharine Boyd include works by Paul Green, Sherwood Anderson, and Almet Jenks.

Boyd's own novels were extremely well-researched. He took copious notes on every facet of the life and times of each period of which he wrote. Of those resource works that he owned, there now remain a few at Weymouth, some with his own pencilled notes in the margins. There are also representative copies of each of James Boyd's own books in the Library: Drums, Marching On, Long Hunt, Bitter Creek, Roll River, The Free Company Presents, Eighteen Poems, Old Pines and Other Stories, with the Special Illustrated Edition of Drums signed by James Boyd and N.C. Wyeth, and a presentation copy of Long Hunt; all others are trade editions. Copies of the novels are in the special display case in the Library, and other copies are available for reading within the house. Weymouth is also fortunate to have Boyd's model of John Paul Jones' ship, the Bonhomme Richard, as well as a framed print of the battle between the Bonhomme Richard and the British flagship the Serapis; this scene figured prominently in Drums. These displays bring to the collection a sense of James Boyd�s attention to detail in his work.

One final question---are writers always satisfied when they see their work in print? Not always Boyd's own copy of Drums is full of pencilled revisions, revisions which appear in later issues and in the edition illustrated by N.C. Wyeth. Look for the word "Outside" at the beginning of the novel for his first thoughts.