It was the upscale department store in Richmond for years -- and so much more. It was the place parents took their youngsters to see Santa Claus, where the ladies who lunch met at the Tea Room, where downtown workers popped in on their breaks for a bit of quick shopping.
It was Miller & Rhoads, and its story is told by Earle Dunford and George Bryson in Under the Clock: The Story of Miller & Rhoads (126 pages, The History Press, $19.99).
Dunford, a retired city editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and Bryson, a 39-year employee of the store, tell Miller & Rhoads' story from its beginning as a small dry-goods establishment in 1885 to its rise to downtown Richmond institution to its still-lamented closing in 1990. Along the way, it expanded into the suburbs and had stores in other Virginia cities. But it was the flagship site at Fifth and Grace streets that made it beloved among shoppers.
Packed with Miller & Rhoads lore, including a treasure of photos and two Tea Room recipes (for the Chocolate Silk Pie and the Missouri Club Sandwich), "Under the Clock" will turn back the clock for longtime Richmonders.
. . .
A life without color would be, well, a life without seasons, without spices, without soul.
Richmond-area artist Dan Bartges examines the concept of painting effectively with color in Color Is Everything: Master the Use of Color in Oils, Acrylics or Watercolors (96 pages, Oaklea Press, $14.99).
"The book is intended not only for painters but for anyone who enjoys art," writes Bartges, who earned his bachelor's degree from Hampden-Sydney College and his master's degree from the University of Richmond. He has also studied at UR's Modlin School of Art and the Studio School at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
. . .
Unlike flatter Southern cities, Richmond has been blessed with hills -- exasperating if you're caught in traffic, exhilarating if you take the time to appreciate their benefits.
Brooks Smith and Wayne Dementi have done so in Facts and Legends of the Hills of Richmond (112 pages, Dementi Milestone Publishing, $14.95). Smith's essays, which originally aired on WCVE Public Radio's "Rediscovering Richmond" series, are accompanied by new and vintage photos collected or taken by the Dementi family of photographers.
The book further dispels the myths of Richmond's seven hills -- there are far more, the authors say, and they offer persuasive evidence. And as the reader meanders through these colorful and quirky essays and the evocative photos, he or she -- even if a longtime Richmonder -- will look at the city with fresh vision.
Proceeds from the book are being donated to WCVE Public Radio.
-- Jay Strafford
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