This series includes financial records such as receipts and invoices, legal documents such as deeds and court cases, correspondence, land records, genealogy materials, ephemera, and typescript histories. Box 1 includes three subgroups: the Barnet Cushwa Papers, West Virginia Documents, and Non-West Virginia Documents. Boxes 2a-3 contain material of mixed origin. Additional historical documents can be found in Series 17, Oversize, and in subseries Oversize--Manuscripts.

Lucy Prichard taught Latin and Classical Studies at Marshall College from 1914 to 1941. This series includes correspondence, photographs, and printed material. Correspondence includes Karl Prichard's letters (1918) and Lucy Prichard's letters (1925-1927, undated). Lucy's letters are addressed to her mother, Mrs. R.H. Prichard, in Huntington, WV. Many of Lucy's letters relate to her travels and studies in the Peloponnesus peninsula of Greece, the British Isles, Western Europe, and Italy in 1925 and 1927. For more information on Lucy Prichard, see the Historical Note.

This series includes newspaper clippings and typescripts of Wirt County resident and Atlantic Monthly writer Louis Eckert Reed. The newspaper clippings show images of Reed family photos (1960). The typescripts are short stories written by Louis, many likely unpublished. Also included are notes and a draft of Burning Springs, Virginia: The Civil War's Unsolved Mystery , initially a paper that Reed prepared for the West Virginia Historical Society (see Burning Springs, West Virginia: the Civil War's Unsolved Mystery , by Louis Reed, self-published in Elizabeth, WV, 1960). This material may have been developed for his later fictional novel, Burning Springs (published in Huntington, WV by University Editions/Aegina Press, 1985). For more information on Reed, see the Historical Note. A letter from Louis Reed to Jim Comstock regarding Reed's book Warning in Appalachia (1967) can be found in Series 6, Comstock Correspondence, box 62, folder 27. Other letters from Reed may be found elsewhere in Series 6, Correspondence.

This series includes 27 account books, many of which relate to north-central West Virginia businesses. These ledgers document general stores, a Jewish-owned clothing store in Richwood, the activities of an itinerant Methodist minister in the mining villages of north-central West Virginia, grocery stores and meat markets, a glass manufacturer, and other businesses. See Separated Materials note for information on volumes separated to other collections.

This series includes ephemera, sheet music, booklets, pamphlets, and correspondence. Additional miscellaneous printed material can be found in Series 17, Oversize.

Box 18 includes calendars, sheet music, notecards, and printed material related to West Virginia history. The notecards include screen printed notecards from Wolf Creek Printery in Alderson, WV (1976). The history printed material includes a booklet entitled Wheeling Bicentennial, 1769-1969 (1969?).

Box 19 includes West Virginia serial publications and magazines, as well as printed material about West Virginia schools and locations. Highlights include three issues of The Searchlight , a serial about education (two published in Summersville, WV [1895-1896], and one published in Fayetteville, WV [1899]); an issue of The Mikrophone: Devoted to Religion, Morality, and Temperance (published in Highland, WV, by D.H. Davis, 1906); Scottish Rite pamphlets (published in Wheeling, 1910-1917); the Richwood High School Class of 1940 reunion program (1960); Craigsville Grade School's first yearbook (1973); and Mountaineer Spirit , a WVU student magazine featuring an article about Jim Comstock (1968).

Box 20 includes non-West Virginia serial publications and magazines. Highlights include an issue of The Religious Magazine, or Spirit of the Foreign Theological Journals and Reviews (Philadelphia: E. Littell, 1829); and E.D. Cope's On Vertebrata from the Tertiary and Cretaceous Rocks of the North West Territory (Montreal: W.F. Brown & Co., 1891); Naval Training School -- Indoctrination, Hollywood Florida: Quarterdeck, Class of 3-44, 20 June 1944 (Hollywood, FL: Naval Training School, 1944); and issue no. 18 of Papers from the Society for the Diffusion of Political Knowledge (undated).

Box 21 includes various writings, such as student literary magazines, works of fiction, poetry booklets, and George T. Swain's The Incomparable Don Chafin (Charleston, WV: Ace Enterprises, 1962).

Box 22 includes George T. Swain's Facts About the Two Armed Marches on Logan (Charleston, WV: Ace Enterprises, 1962), as well as printed materials for a variety of West Virginia and non-West Virginia businesses and organizations. These include advertisements and booklets regarding the West Virginia glass industry, including Fenton Glass (1966-1976, undated), a Woman's Club of Gassaway booklet (1970), a reprint of the Berkeley Springs Hotel Brochure of 1885 (1988), and the constitution of the First Baptist Church of Richwood, WV (undated). For additional business-related printed material, see also Series 1, Historical Documents, box 2b, folders 11-12.

Box 23 includes miscellaneous booklets, programs, book plates, articles, clippings, and other material. Highlights include Rules of Practice in the United States Patent Office (Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 1892), Elbert Hubbard's Little Journeys to the Homes of Great Teachers: Erasmus (East Aurora, Erie County, NY: The Roycrofters, 1908), the Richwood Spud and Splinter Festival Program (1940), and Eugene L. Huddleston's The World's Greatest Mallets: C & O H-8 Versus N & W Class A (Alderson, WV: Chesapeake & Ohio Historical Society, 1986).

Boxes 24 and 25 contain books, including Comstock's autobiography.

This series includes Jim Comstock's personal and professional correspondence. This series contains materials that are diverse in format, including letters, scripts for radio and other media, clippings, postcards, typescripts, articles, financial materials (e.g. bank books and checks), printed material, ephemera, and photographs. Most of the photographic material in this series has been moved to Series 7, Photographs. Some materials were moved to Series 17, Oversize -- see the Series 17 description for details.

Comstock marked much of his correspondence to be filed by the first letter of the correspondent's last name. Some of this organizational scheme has survived; folders containing specific letter and year files are dispersed throughout the series. Other notations that Comstock used include "LR" for letters received, "Sp" for speech-related correspondence, "NL" for News Leader -related correspondence, and "HB" for West Virginia Hillbilly -related correspondence.

Topics and items of interest include:

letters written to Comstock by regional author Jesse Stuart, and by political figures such as Hubert H. Humphrey, Robert C. Byrd, Jennings Randolph, and Barry Goldwater (box 26 and others);

rejection letters from newspapers and magazines to which Comstock submitted material (box 26);

biographical material about Jim Comstock and his family, including a thesis about Comstock by Mary Abel (boxes 26 and 47);

Larry Maynor, journalist for the Charleston Daily Mail (box 29);

the sale and ultimate demise of the West Virginia Hillbilly (boxes 31 and 72);

the University of Hard Knocks, including a mock-up diploma, resumes, and portrait photograph headshots of potential graduates (boxes 31 and 60);

[Delf] Norona Collection payments (boxes 33 and 46);

Pearl S. Buck (box 33 and others);

Billy Edd Wheeler, West Virginia writer and musician (box 36);

Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) reunion in 1979 (box 36);

Otto Whittaker, who worked with Comstock on The Best of the Hillbilly (boxes 37 and 65);

the West Virginia Heritage Encyclopedia (box 40);

Comstock's appearance on John Nebel's WOR radio show in 1960, including postcards and letters regarding the appearance and requests for Comstock's Richwood Kinsey Report as well as News Leader or West Virginia Hillbilly subscriptions (boxes 41-42);

Comstock's appearance on the Today Show in 1966 (box 42);

Comstock's appearance on Patricia/Patsy McCann's WOR radio show in New York in August 1977, including letters and postcards regarding the appearance and requests to receive the free six-week subscription to the West Virginia Hillbilly which Comstock offered on the show (boxes 42-43);

writers, with an emphasis on West Virginia authors, whose work Comstock was interested in collecting (boxes 40, 44, 45, and 62);

writings by Comstock, including short stories, articles, drafts, etc. (boxes 47-49);

Comstock's nomination and campaign for a U.S. House of Representatives seat on the Republican ticket in 1964 (boxes 51 and 56);

the West Virginia Hillbilly and News Leader , including morgue files, old articles, submissions, letters, and other items (boxes 54, 55, 57, 61, 63, and others; for oversize items, see Series 17, Oversize, box 116);

Eck Bozeman (box 57);

Comstock's pocket diaries (box 57);

Comstock's naval service during World War II (box 60);

H.C. Comstock, Jim's father (box 68); and

historical research material, possibly for the Encyclopedia (box 72).

Please note that the above list is not exhaustive.

This series includes print photographs, negatives, cartes de visite, cabinet cards, mounted photos, tintypes, photo postcards, slides, clippings, printed material, correspondence, photo plates, and eight canisters of large format aerial diapositives (photo transparencies). Subjects include furniture; first ladies of West Virginia; historic homes of West Virginia; identified and unidentified individual and group portraits; cities and towns of West Virginia; buildings; scenery; Museum of the Hills in Richwood, WV; glass and glassmaking; and the Greenbrier. Some of the material in this series was transferred from Series 6, Comstock Correspondence -- in cases where the photographic item was attached to correspondence, the correspondence was transferred as well. Please note that some negatives are nitrate; keep these away from heat and handle with care. Additional photographic material can be found in Series 6, Correspondence, boxes 35, 54, 55, and 72. For photos of Fenton Glass products, see Series 5, Printed Material, box 22. Some oversize photos have been separated to the Photographs Collection; most of these have been added to West Virginia History OnView. Additional oversize photos can be found in Series 17, Oversize.

Contents of the eight canisters of large format aerial diapositives (photo transparencies):

Box 80; Canister label: "Huntington 1-6000 April 1947"
Box 80; Canister label: "Chas. [Charleston?] 1957, Nitro, 1957; St. Albans, 1957, Old Chas., 1948, Airport, Big Scale (?)"
Box 80; Canister labels: "Elk River Coal & Lumber Co., Aerial Map Flown April 1953." and "City of Huntington Scale 1-6000 Apr 28 1947"
Box 80; Canister label: "Harmony Near Ripley, [?] ft to 1" old; Colin Creek Coal Stripping, large scale, 1948; Lake Chaweva, 1948; Armour Park, 1948; C&O Ry [Railway?] Coal River 1948; Bellings Airport, 1947; Kanawha Airport, large and small scale, 12-9-1947; Strip to City Blvd 12-9-1947; City Strip & Kenna Home; C&CCC Research 1947; Cedar Grove to Montgomery."
Box 81; Unlabeled canister.
Box 81; Canister label: "1949"
Box 81; Canister label: "Coal City - Park Beckley, 1947 [?]" (not usable)
Box 81; Canister label: "4/20/53 Dick Stata Film, St. Albans - Charleston" (not usable)

This series contains two rolls of 35 mm black and white motion picture film, and three rolls of 16 mm color motion picture film of a train. Also included is one of the canisters which contained the film. The box which formerly contained the film was labeled "F.M.C. Movie Scraps." Please note that some reels are nitrate; handle with care.

This series contains two reels of microfilm, which were likely the property of Delf Norona before they were acquired by Comstock. The first reel contains West Virginia-related Civil War records; the second contains payroll and public service claims from the West Virginia region in the 1770s.

Reel 1 Contents Notes:
Records of the War Department, Office of the Adjutant General, General Orders, Mountain Department, Army in the Field, May 9 - June 28, 1862.
National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration, Washington: 1956. 101 total pgs.
March 18 - June 18, 1862 86 total pgs.

Reel 2 Contents Notes:
Payroll for Pittsburgh, 122 leaves; Payroll for Romney, 43 leaves; Public Service Claims Romney and Winchester 1775, 37 leaves; Public Service Claims West Augusta 1775, 49 leaves; Records of Soldiers and Public Service in Dunmore's War, 279 leaves; index, 25 leaves.

This series includes two cassette tapes which were found in an envelope marked "Larry Maynor Personal." The tapes include recordings of children reading stories and an oral history interview with an unidentified subject.

This series contains 75 wood framed glass lantern slides. Most slides are labeled with the subject, and some are dated. Subjects include views of scenery and buildings in Wheeling and various other locations in Ohio County, WV, as well as Brooke County and Marshall County, WV, and Belmont County, Ohio. These images were likely created by Thomas M. Darrah of Belmont County, Ohio. For the two wooden boxes in which the slides were previously stored, please see Series 16, Artifacts, boxes 105 and 106.

This series includes scrapbooks which contain newspaper clippings and ephemera. Subjects include the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) and U.S. military history with a focus on Civil War history. These scrapbooks may have belonged to Colonel Albert Kern of Dayton, Ohio.

This series includes originals and copies of broadsides and posters. Included are a John Dillinger wanted poster (1934); a Garrett Snuff advertisement (undated); copies of various political notices (originals ca. 1827-1886); Russian broadsides with Cyrillic text, depicting events of the Russian Civil War, USSR propaganda, and other things (ca. 1920-1930); posters for the Marshall County Fair (ca. 1960) and the Moundsville, Powhatan and Clarington Seventh Grand Annual Picnic (1873); advertisements for the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus at the Moundsville Fairgrounds (undated); Showboat Rhododendron advertisements (undated); and other material.

This series includes original and facsimile maps, atlases, and books about maps. Highlights include pre- and post-Civil War maps of the West Virginia area; Hardesty's Historical and Geographical Encyclopedia, Illustrated: containing ... special history of the Virginias, maps and histories of Tyler and Wetzel Counties, West Virginia ; maps of America before 1775; copies of [West] Virginia county maps by John Wood from 1820-1821; maps of various West Virginia cities, including, Morgantown, Moundsville, and Wheeling; and various Fry-Jefferson maps (original and copies). A detailed contents list of boxes 93-100b and map cabinet 1, drawer 12 is available.

Note that the date for each map reflects the date of creation of the item, though in the case of copies it may indicate the date of the creation of the original item rather than the date the copy was made. Also, the number of items may indicate different items or different pieces of the same map.

Not yet located; Item Number 113; County Map of Virginia and West Virginia; 1874

This series includes newspapers from Wheeling, as well as a special bicentennial salute issue of the West Virginia Hillbilly (1976). The majority of the newspapers in this collection have been separated to the West Virginia Collection's newspaper holdings. A list of the newspapers originally inventoried for this collection can be found in the control folder.

Most of the West Virginia newspapers have been microfilmed; see Miscellaneous Reel 113 in the Microfilm Room. For a list of the contents of this reel, please see the "W.Va. Newspapers from Comstock Collection" three-page packet in the control folder. Additional newspaper pages and clippings can be found throughout Series 6, Comstock Correspondence and Series 17, Oversize, box 117.

This series includes a variety of artifacts and ephemera belonging to or collected by Comstock.

Boxes 105 and 106 include two wooden boxes (undated) which contained glass lantern slides (see Series 11). One box is labeled "T.M. Darrah." Also included are a fountain pen used by Secretary of the Interior Oscar Chapman to sign the contract to begin building the Bureau of Mines' Appalachian Experiment Station in Morgantown, WV, with letters documenting the donation of the pen by Senator Harley M. Kilgore (1952); and a dinner plate showing a photo-like image of a priest with a group of children, from St. Albans, WV (undated).

Box 107 includes various nametags for Comstock and his wife, from a variety of conventions and meetings (1960-1963, undated); glasses and sunglasses (undated); a sewing needle pack and a mini ruler advertising Jim Comstock for Congress (ca. 1964); a press pass for President Ford's visit to Charleston, WV (1975); and tickets to the Republican National Convention (1976); among other material.

Box 108 contains two figurines and four whiskey decanters. The figurines are a coal miner (made of coal, undated) and "Morgan's Virginia Rifleman 1776" (undated). The decanters are "Old Time Coal Miner" (1976), "Coal Miner" (1975), Robert E. Lee (undated), and Stonewall Jackson on horseback (undated).

Box 109 contains six whiskey decanters: Abraham Lincoln (undated), Stonewall Jackson (undated), Hill Billy (1969), General Stonewall Jackson (1974), Randolph McCoy (1973), and Devil Anse Hatfield (1973).

This series contains oversize material that may be relevant to other series.

This series includes Jim Comstock's personal and professional correspondence, and is composed of a wide range of formats, including letters, clippings, postcards, typescripts, articles, financial documents, printed material, ephemera, and photographs. Most of the photographic material in this series has been moved to Series 21, Photographs.

Comstock marked much of his correspondence to be filed by the first letter of the correspondent's last name. Some of this organizational scheme has survived; folders containing specific letter and year files can be found in boxes 119-125. Other notations that Comstock used include "NL" for News Leader -related correspondence and "HB" for West Virginia Hillbilly -related correspondence.

Topics and items of interest include:
card from Comstock to recent graduates regarding a gift subscription to the Hillbilly (undated) (box 119);
Comstock's work with the Pearl Buck House (box 127);
the University of Hard Knocks (box 128);
photocopies of a scrapbook about ramps and Comstock's ramp-scented ink incident; and
material regarding Comstock's work on the Hillbilly , the News Leader , and the West Virginia Encyclopedia (boxes 126-127 and other material throughout) (see also Series 20, Subject Files).

Please note that the above list is not exhaustive and that material on the above topics may also exist in boxes not mentioned.

*Please note: boxes 123 and 133 could contain allergens. Masks and gloves will be provided for patrons wishing to use them.

This series includes books, magazines, newspapers, journals, promotional materials, poetry, and sheet music. Topics include Jim Comstock's work, the state of West Virginia, WVU, Storer College, industry (e.g., coal, railways), and New England baked beans, among other topics.

Please note: box 133 could contain allergens. Masks and gloves will be provided for patrons wishing to use them.

This series includes mostly morgue files of material that Comstock used in connection with his newspapers. Contents are not in alphabetical order. Formats include clippings, typescripts, photographs, print material, and other formats. The News Leader morgue materials (boxes 137-138) include items on a variety of subjects, such as covered bridges and the early history of Clay County. The News Leader morgue material also includes a folder of autographs of early West Virginia governors and other politicians, such as D.D.T. Farnsworth, John J. Jacobs, and A.B. Fleming. The Hillbilly morgue materials (box 139-140) pertain to a wide variety of subjects, most of whom are likely local individuals. The Newspaper Subjects (boxes 141-146) includes material for which the intended newspaper was not specified; topics include specific local individuals, national figures like Abraham Lincoln, steel and other industries, and towns.

This series includes cartes de visite, cabinet cards, mounted photographs, photographic prints, clippings, and other formats. Many subjects are identified. They include portraits and candid photos of individuals, families, politicians, sports figures, West Virginia towns and buildings. Other notable photographs include crime scene and/or accident photographs, including images of a non-commercial plane crash (undated), and photos of Jim Comstock at the West Virginia Senate (1966). Photographs can also be found in Series 18, Correspondence; Series 20, Subject Files; and Series 26, Oversize Material.
Please note: boxes 123, 133, and 149 could contain allergens. Masks and gloves will be provided for patrons wishing to use them.

This series includes magnetic recording tapes, a VHS tape about college financing, and a vinyl record and cassette tape of Billy Crain music.

This series includes a WVLA cloth ribbon, an empty wallet, and a West Virginia Picture Book imprint plate.

This series includes material from two scrapbooks. One set of loose scrapbook pages contains clippings chiefly regarding Comstock's "Past 80" parties (ca. 1956). The other scrapbook of newspaper clippings chronicles the history of Richwood's Sacred Heart Hospital during the years of influence of the Pallottine Sisters from 1913-1983 (ca. 1953-1984).

This series includes two account books. One contains stencil orders from various schools as well as other bills (1960s), and the other is an account book for 1954.

This series includes newspapers, magazines, clippings, posters, prints, photographs, artwork, calendars, a genealogy chart, and other material.

Newspapers and magazines in box 152 include the West Virginia Hillbilly Bicentennial special edition (1976), newspaper layouts from the Hillbilly (1950-1976, undated), and pages from Harper's Weekly (1861-1866).

Prints in boxes 153 and 154 include Civil War scenes by J. Nep Roesler, Corporal of Color 47th Regiment of Ohio Volunteers (undated).

Photographs (in boxes 153-156 and loose folders) include regular oversize and cirkut (panoramic) photographs on a wide variety of subjects. Boxes 153 and 154 include photographs of unidentified buildings and a group portrait of a Civilian Conservation Corps reunion (1982). Boxes 155 and 156 include photos of Evenwood (1915), group portrait of a conference of National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools (ca. 1932), campaign photographs (ca. 1972), an unidentified group of cars preparing for a parade (undated), and duplicates from the loose folders.

Additional cirkut photos include:
Loose folder 1: a group portrait of the West Virginia Young People's Conference, Greenbrier Military School, Lewisburg, WV (1929), and a group portrait of the Divisional Young People's Congress, Charleston, WV (1929);
Loose folder 2: a group portrait of the Western Virginia Conference Epworth League (1928-1929);
Loose folder 3: photos of an unidentified bridge and factories or plants (1916 and undated) and the Appalachian Electric Power Company Turner Substation (1929);
Loose folder 4: a birds-eye view of Richwood (undated) and a group portrait of Cabin Creek Consolidated Coal Company Safety First Teams (1933).

Box 156 also includes a genealogy chart and architectural drawings. The genealogy chart (undated) documents the Paull family, which is accompanied by a note: "Goes with Jefferson [Fry-Jefferson?] Map." The architectural drawings (1972-1976, undated) depict buildings from Richwood. Box 157 includes a book of exhibits from the Virginia vs. West Virginia Supreme Court case in 1914, and a license for John W. Love to practice Law (1925). Also includes a muster roll for Company I, 2nd Regiment, [West] Virginia Volunteer Cavalry, U.S. Army (1863 February).

This series includes maps of West Virginia locations, such as Greenbrier County and the Monongahela National Forest, as well as maps of other states and a few world maps.

Mostly financial and legal documents from Marion, Monongalia, and Harrison Counties, bulk from 1840s to 1860s.