Booklegger Used Books in Huntsville

For many years whenever my brother Richard and I are in Huntsville together visiting mom, we always try to make it by Booklegger Used Books. Our dad used to visit before his death in 2003; he probably introduced us to it. I've taken my son Amos at least once. 

I have no idea about the history of the place, and have been unable to find any online. Booklegger may be one of the last bookstores in America with no email address, no web site, no Facebook page, no presence on Instagram or Twitter. They do have a telephone, however; you can call them at 256-895-0082. The store also has an address and zip code: 4001C Holmes Avenue in Huntsville, 35816. 

Booklegger also has a vast collection of hardback and paperback books housed in three large rooms. Richard and I usually start at the new arrivals section and branch out from there. There are sizeable sections for Civil War and military history, which Richard spends some time in. I check out the Alabama books and then graze through the biographies, fiction, poetry and even the health section because sometimes an interesting medical history tome will turn up there. 

More comments are below some of the photos. I highly recommend Booklegger where you can spend some quality time with many, many books you might want to purchase. I only wish I could get by there more often. 

I've written several other posts about Alabama bookstores: one in Cullman formerly known as Deb's Bookstore, Books  Etc in Pelham which closed a few years ago, some long gone bookstores in Auburn and an adult bookstore that operated in Birmingham in the 1970's. 

One day soon I'm going to get serious and do a batch of posts from materials I've collected over the years about Alabama bookstores. 

The Booklegger is located in a small retail strip at the corner of Holmes Avenue and Jordan Lane. Interestingly, the building that houses Infinity College Bookstore is right next door. 

And here we are in some kind of nirvana. The photos below are all of different rows of books, or the same row from the other end. Yes, a veritable maze....

Ah, the familiar yellow and black covers of a few CliffsNotes! 

I like to read a western or two each year, and being out I hoped to pick up a couple at Booklegger this time. Unfortunately, I couldn't make up my mind...there is a good selection of paperbacks in the genre. The former Deb's Bookstore in Cullman linked above and now known as Camelot Books & Comics also has quite a few. 

Notice a few Ralph Compton books on these shelves? Let's investigate.

Compton was born on April 11, 1934 in St. Clair County, Alabama; he died September 16, 1998, at the age of 64. Before his death he authored numerous popular western novels. As sometimes happens, his publisher Signet Books has continued issuing titles under his name by other authors. You can see the extensive lists of titles and other authors here and here. 

Ralph Compton [1934-1998]

The store has a large selection of titles related to films and tv shows--either novels or non-fiction adapted or tie-ins based on particular films and shows. 

Movies with Alabama Connections: Stark Love (1927)

Well, I knew that Fob James, Jr., acted like a monkey while governor, but I didn't realize until recently that his father had actually appeared as the male lead in a silent movie in 1927. Let's investigate.

That film was Stark Love, set in the Great Smokey Mountains where it was filmed near Robbinsville, North Carolina. Directed by Karl Brown and written by him and Walter Woods. the movie was financed by a major Hollywood studio--what is now Paramount Pictures--and intended as a realistic portrait of people in Appalachia. 

To that end the two lead characters Rob Warwick and Barbara Allen are played by non-professional actors, Forrest Hood James, Sr., and Helen Mundy. Director Brown wanted to tell a story about mountain people that would be realistic in a way unseen before in Hollywood films. "Hillbilly" movies had been popular but full of stereotypes. The article about Mundy linked previously has some interesting background about casting and filming Stark Love. Numerous comments about the film can be found here. 

Brown located his two leads in Knoxville, Tennessee. Mundy was a 16 year-old high school student. Filming was done so far in the backwoods a new road had to be constructed. In the story Rob is the son of a harsh father who mistreats his mother. Rob learns to read and wants a better life for himself and the neighbor's daughter he's attracted to, Barbara [Mundy]. After various hardships and the death of his mother, Rob and Barbara escape their isolated community for a better life. Director Brown portrayed stereotypes of his own in his film; he had no direct knowledge of or experience with Appalachian mountain people. 

According to one source, [Ralph Draughon, Jr., Delos Hughes & Ann Pearson, Lost Auburn: A Village Remembered in Period Photographs. New South Books, 2012, p. 143] the premier of Stark Love took place at the first commercial movie theater in Auburn, the original Tiger Theater, which operated from 1926 until 1928. Owned by Foreman Rogers, the business was located on North College Street in an old storefront. The date was September 21-22, 1927; admission was 35 cents for adults and 15 cents.  In contrast, the IMDB says the film was released on February 28, 1927, and in those days films took time to make their way around the country due to limited numbers of prints, slower transportation, etc. I'm just not sure about the "premier" discrepancy. 

Stark Love was presumed to be one of the many lost silent films until a copy was discovered in a Czech archive in 1968 by film historian Kevin Brownlow. Although still little seen today, it was added to the Library of Congress' National Film Registry in 2009. A blurry copy is available on YouTube. 

Neither lead ever appeared in another film. Mundy married, moved to Michigan and died in 1987. 

His Word War II draft card [found via Ancestry.com] tells us a bit about Forrest James, Sr. He was born in Waverly, Alabama, on August 10, 1905, and married to Rebecca Ellington James. He was 5'9" tall, weighed 160 and had brown hair and blue eyes. Karl Brown offered to take James to Hollywood, but he followed his mother's wishes and returned to finish college at what is now Auburn University. James and his twin brother William both lettered in three sports at Auburn. James then taught high school and coached baseball before pursuing a business career. He died July 2, 1973, in Birmingham and is buried in Garden Hills Cemetery in Opelika.

By the way, I can highly recommended Brownlow's massive 1968 book The Parade's Gone By as a wonderful history of silent filmmaking. 

FURTHER READING

Articles by John White:

"Hollywood Comes to Knox County," Kentucky Humanities, Spring 2010: 29-34. Published by the Kentucky Humanities Council.

"Forrest James, Hollywood's Reluctant Star." Alabama Heritage. Number 93, Summer 2009: 44-53. Published by the University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the Alabama Department of Archives and History.

"Myth and Movie Making: Karl Brown and the Making of Stark Love." Film History, an International Film Journal. Volume 19, 1 (2007): 49-57. Published by Indiana University.

This book has a long chapter on the film:

Williamson, Jeremy Wayne. Hillbillyland: What the Movies Did to the Mountains and what the Mountains Did to the Movies. North Carolina: UNC Press Books, 1995.

Source: Spokane [Wash.] Woman 19 July 1928

Alabama History & Culture News: August 29 edition

 

Here's the latest batch of links to just-published Alabama history and culture articles. Most of these items are from newspapers, with others from magazines and TV and radio station websites. Some articles may be behind paywalls. Enjoy!

DON NOBLE: Novel explores the Civil War through a young doctor's eyes - Tuscaloosa News Tuscaloosa News The dust jacket copy of "Forgiveness" says that Phillip Kendrick of Mobile's Eastern Shore has published scientific articles on nurse anesthesia and patient ...

Descendants of Alabama's Africatown persist despite industrial pollution struggles - Reckon South Reckon South The daily reminders of Africatown's complex history can be seen several times a day, as trains slowly roll past the dilapidated homes, empty, overgrown lots ...

'The Wishbone Boys' book available at Amazon as movie premiers - al.com al.com The book shows the details of the wishbone offense and why it was so important to Alabama football history. In that span, Bryant won three national ...

Alabama Names Ashley M. Jones As Its New Poet Laureate - WBHM

WBHM

She has a new book coming out in September. And her latest accolade: Jones is now Alabama's poet laureate, a goal she has long wanted to achieve.

Smith, Vickery to host book signings in Gulf Shores, Fairhope | GulfCoastNewsToday.com Gulf Coast News Today He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. After retiring from coaching, Smith and legendary Alabama basketball coach Wimp Sanderson, teamed

Alabama's only historical octagon house was setting for mystery tale - al.com al.com One of Alabama's most unusual homes has been preserved in downtown Clayton. The Petty-Roberts-Beatty House is known for its unique architecture, ...

Reggie Jackson: My journey to visit Selma, Alabama and the history some want us all to ... Milwaukee Independent What makes Selma stand out physically is the now infamous Edmund Pettus Bridge. The bridge across the Alabama River is a National Historic Landmark due to the ...

“An Amazing Alabama” book shines spotlight on state trivia, history - WSFA

WSFA

The book is called “An Amazing Alabama,” written by Karl Stegall, a retired minister at First Methodist Church in Montgomery. He calls this part trivia book, ...

Recent book releases from the TAB Media family - The Alabama Baptist Alabama Baptist TAB Media staff spouse Bryan Gill. “The Devils in Alabama”. The plot of Bryan Gill's first crime thriller/suspense novel involves a tangled web of illegal ...

State's Black Heritage Council to hold virtual forum | News | thewetumpkaherald.com Wetumpka Herald In 1984, the Alabama Historical Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, created the Black Heritage Council (BHC) to advocate for and advise the ...

Auburn's 'Bloody Sunday' history project named recipient of NEH humanities grant Office of Communications and Marketing An Auburn University multidisciplinary project focused on the infamous “Bloody Sunday” civil rights event that occurred in Selma, Alabama, on March 7, 1965, ...

New documentary puts Alabama community in the spotlight Alabama Public Radio “Afrikan By Way of American” explores the historic community of Africatown. The town was founded by former slaves who were trafficked aboard the Clotilda, the ...

Brock's Gap debate: History buffs raise concerns over city's plan for new parkway in western Hoover Hoover Sun Since 1854, the South and North Alabama Railroad had been working to link Alabama's capital city of Montgomery with the Tennessee River in north Alabama with ...

Miles College awarded a half-million-dollar grant to preserve, restore Williams Hall ... Alabama NewsCenter “HBCUs like Miles College and Alabama State University have played a pivotal role in shaping American history, especially as it pertains to the struggle ...

Montgomery pastor leads tours, seminars about Alabama's Civil Rights history - The Alabama Baptist Alabama Baptist That's why Adams founded Montgomery Deep History, a company that offers walking tours and seminars about the history of Alabama's capital city ...

The Historical Society restores Looney House

Newsaegis

The Looney House, possibly the oldest dogtrot house in Alabama, held a restoration event this past weekend. This is the first official restoration on the ...

'The Show Goes On' — Birmingham's Carver Theatre is Back Birmingham Times The space features a new bar that gives the theater and Alabama Jazz Hall of ... The depth and breadth of Alabama's connection to the history and ...

Wade Hall's postcard collection on exhibit at Troy University

Union Springs Herald

“Military Service: A History in Postcards,” an exhibit now at the Troy ... “Historical Scenes of Alabama” and “Alabama Tourism” can be viewed from the ...

Historian Peggy Jackson Walls draws on locals' memory banks in 'Lost Towns of Central Alabama' The Alexander City Outlook Historian Peggy Jackson Walls poses in the Alabama Room at Adelia M. Russell Library in Alexander City with her latest book, "Lost Towns of Central ...

Alabama Photos of the Day: Two Auburn Bookstores in 1950

I recently ran across these first two photos in one of Auburn University Libraries' digital collections and being a retired librarian and bookstore denizen since the days of my youth, they grabbed my attention. Let's investigate. The photos show the interior of two bookstores in Auburn in 1950, Hawkins' and Burton's. The quotes about each store come from the linked source. At some point Mr. Hawkins died and a bookstore entrepreneur from Tuscaloosa named Paul Malone purchased the store and renamed it Malone's. George Johnston had been working there and took over management; he purchased the store in 1953. The Johnston family took full control in 1960 and renamed it Johnston and Malone, which became J&M in 1968. That's how the store was known when I arrived in Auburn in June 1970. You can read more about J&M here, here and here. I've found nothing yet on Mr. Hawkins' background, but that's not the case with with the founder of the other store, Robert Wilton Burton. Although born in Georgia in 1848, he grew up in Lafayette and spent most of his adult life in the Auburn area. After the Civil War he taught school in Lee County and Opelika until he and his brother opened a bookstore in that town. In 1878 faculty members at the college then known as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama asked him to open a bookstore in Auburn to serve the school and community. Burton's Book Store became a center of literary and intellectual life and operated until 1968. Before his death in 1917 Burton published numerous poems and humorous stories in newspapers and national magazines. With the income he built a one-story house for his family affectionately called the "Four-Story Cottage". Although listed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1980, the Queen Anne-style house on East Magnolia Street was demolished in 1993. In May 1957 Paul Malone was one of the incorporators of Malone's Book Store, Inc. in Tuscaloosa. The business was dissolved in 1968. I raided my parents' collection of Auburn University yearbooks from ca. 1947-1950 and other sources for book store ads and photos beyond the two I found initially. I couldn't stop myself and have included them below in order to create a mini-history of bookstores in Auburn. I wonder if my parents are in either of these photographs. They were at Auburn in 1950. If you have any information or memories about these stores, please tell us in the comments section. UPDATE 19 March 2022 One Auburn bookstore I didn't discuss was Anders, which closed recently after 56 years in business. Hawkins Bookstore in 1950 "Hawkin's Bookstore in Auburn in 1950 was called 'The Friendly Bookstore.' George and Paul Malone took over the store years later and named it Johnston and Malone's." Source: C. Harry Knowles Photographs Collection, Auburn University Libraries Burton's Bookstore in 1950 "Auburn's Burton's Bookstore in 1950 packed with students getting their books from the quarter. Robert Wilton Burton opened the first bookstore in Auburn in 1878 for then Agricultural and Mechanical College of Alabama. The slogan for Burton's, on East Magnolia and South College, was "Something New Everyday." It closed its doors in 1968 after 90 years." Source: C. Harry Knowles Photographs Collection, Auburn University Libraries Advertisement from the 1949 Glomerata, Auburn University's yearbook Advertisement from the 1948 Glomerata, Auburn University's yearbook Advertisement from the 1949 Glomerata, Auburn University's yearbook Advertisement from the 1947 Glomerata, Auburn University's yearbook Advertisement from the 1948 Glomerata, Auburn University's yearbook Advertisement from the 1949 Glomerata, Auburn University's yearbook Advertisement from the 1950 Glomerata, Auburn University's yearbook In this photograph taken around 1910, we are looking down what is now College Street in Auburn. The building on the right in front of the water tower is Burton's  Book Store. Toomer's Drug Store is the building with the awning.  Source: Auburn University Digital Library  At some point a Wright Brothers Book Store operated in Auburn. "The water tower behind reveals its location on the north side of Magnolia Avenue a few doors east of Toomer's Drug Store. Source: Ralph Draughon, Jr., Delos Hughes & Ann Pearson, Lost Auburn: A Village  Remembered in Period Photographs. New South Books, 2012, p. 129 J & M Bookstore today Source: J & M website

Birmingham Photo of the Day (80): Paris Bookstall Protest in 1971

I came across this photo on the Alabama Archives site as linked below; that page has the following description of the event in April 1971:

"Christian demonstrators marching on the sidewalk in front of the Paris Bookstall, an adult bookstore in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. They are holding up their index fingers to mean "One Way / Jesus Way" (the slogan on a poster used by the same demonstrators at a later event)."

Well, I thought, this one should be interesting to research. And so it was...

Birmingham has had its share of adult bookstores and theaters over the years and Paris Bookstall was one. The business was operated at 2125 Fifth Avenue North beginning in 1969 by Chester McKinney, who also managed the Pussy Cat Adult Theatre at 7610 First Avenue North. More about that facility momentarily.

On February 26, 1970, in a case in Mobile, the Alabama Circuit Court declared a magazine called "New Directions" to be obscene. On March 10 a state attorney and state investigator delivered a letter to McKinney informing him of the the Mobile court decree. On March 31 the two men returned to the store and purchased a copy of the magazine. McKinney was charged and convicted of selling obscene material in a jury trial. He appealed to the state Criminal Court of Appeals, which upheld the conviction. McKinney then appealed to the Alabama Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court rulings on May 9, 1974, and denied McKinney's request for a rehearing.

He did not stop there, however; the U.S. Supreme Court took the case and heard arguments on December 15, 1975, and rendered a decision on March 23 the following year. Justice William Rehnquist delivered the court's verdict: "We reverse." McKinney had been convicted of selling material judicially declared obscene by the court in Mobile but had not been allowed at his own trial to litigate the obscenity of "New Directions". Bill Baxley was Alabama Attorney General at this time.

How much longer the Paris Bookstall operated after this decision I have been unable to discover. McKinney seems to have kept it going for some years despite the protests and court cases.

Oh, about that Pussy Cat Adult Theatre. In April, May, July and August 1971 a city police sergeant purchased tickets and viewed the adult films "Vice Hustler", "Dead Eye Dick", "Love on a Mountain", and "Fantasy of Love" as well as various short films. McKinney was charged with violations of a municipal ordinance against "knowingly exhibiting obscene color motion picture films." His trial court convictions were upheld by the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals on October 29, 1973. I've yet to find what happened after that decision; perhaps McKinney paid a fine and devoted his resources to fighting the "New Directions" case.

You can read the--uh--juicy details of the court cases here and here.

Recent efforts to fight adult bookstores and theaters in East Lake are described here and here.

The Paris Bookstall sign can be seen down the sidewalk on the right. Presumably that is the former Bankhead Hotel, now the Bankhead Towers in the background. 

Photo by Ralph Farrow, April 1971

Source: Alabama Dept of Archives and History Digital Collections