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Black Family History Coming Soon!

ISI’s latest project is a 280-page book titled Descendants of William Black & Nancy Allison. It is a family history of the Black family here in Alleghany County and our largest book-design project to date. The book features over 100 photographs, letters and information on William and Nancy’s family, gathered by Lorene Sturgill of Piney Creek, North Carolina.

The book is a marriage of experience and new technology. We input the entire family history, scanned and optimized the photographs, built an index of descendants, and, after the initial order, plan to print the casebound books on-demand.

Cover design by Imaging Specialists, Inc. for the Descendants of William Black and Nancy Allison
Cover design by Imaging Specialists, Inc. for Descendants of William Black and Nancy Allison

You may or may not know we’re not new to book printing. Imaging Specialists has a long history in books, from humble phone directories at R.R. Donnelley in Portland Oregon, to high-end, leather bound, Easton Books at Nicholstone in Nashville, Tennessee, we’ve shot more book pages than most shops our size.

Thousands of titles passed through our lenses during our years in Greensboro.

We’re not even new at family histories, either. For years we shot pages to imposition for Craftsman, Delmar, Edwards & Broughton, and other North Carolina printers on our projection step-and-repeat systems. Sometimes it was the only way to copy them.

It’s this experience that helps us to anticipate many problems before they arise. This is the first of several titles we will be publishing this year.

Interested in producing your own book? You don’t have to go to the Triangle or even the Triad. Give us a call to find out how easy it can be.

The Descendants of William Black & Nancy Allison will be available later this month.

Purchase your copy at The Sparta Store.

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Newsletter Award from North Carolina Society of Historians

October 23, 2010 members of the Alleghany Historical-Genealogical Society traveled to Mooresville to receive a Joe M. McLaurin Newsletter Award from the North Carolina Society of Historians at their annual awards banquet.

This marks the second consecutive year AHGS has won the award. This year NCSH received over 700 nominations and awarded 95 winners.

Third consecutive Joe M. McLaurin Newsletter Award for AHGS.
Third consecutive Joe M. McLaurin Newsletter Award for AHGS and Imaging Specialists.

Members representing Alleghany included President Roy Hunt, Board Member Pauline Jolly, and Jeff and Claire Halsey of Imaging Specialists, who produce the quarterly newsletter.

NCSH Judges’ Collective Comments of the newsletter:

“This newsletter was interesting from cover to cover. It contains eye-catching vintage and current photographs that draw the reader toward the text; has a fantastic layout and design; is nicely published; and serves its membership well. We could find no fault with this publication which is slated to receive recognition via the unanimous decision of this panel. We found it to be both professional and informative. Editor Halsey is doing a tremendous job in every avenue of the craft and should be highly commended for his work.”

For information about how Imaging Specialists can help make your award winning newsletter, call Jeff or Claire at 1-336-372-3002 or go to imagingspecialists.net/marketing

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A (surprise) new family album

Recently, we’ve been working on a (surprise) family history book for my dad, Ron Halsey, for his birthday in August.

We compiled a photographic family history of Eli Hamilton Halsey and Lillian Blanche Smith, Dad’s grandparents. It is 102 pages hardcover, 8.25″ x 10.75″ and can be ordered print-on-demand. It takes about two weeks for delivery.

We think this will be a great, affordable service we can offer writers for small runs or print-on-demand type books (like family histories!)

Using family photographs, tintypes, genealogies, stories, and some recent images, we have made a chronological photo history of the lives of our Alleghany ancestors.

We also drew a map of the northwest section Alleghany County where Eli & Lillian lived and marked important family homes, churches, and schools.

Continue reading A (surprise) new family album

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Need marketing materials for the Business Expo?

Get your marketing materials for the Memorial Day Business & Tourism Expo at Village Park in Sparta, the kickoff event for the 2010 Summer Jamboree at Imaging Specialists.

If you’re planning an exhibition at the Expo, there is still time to get your signs or banners, flyers, sales sheets, or any other handouts you need. Place your order before May 14 to ensure you get everything in time for the Expo.

Call Today- 336-372-3002 or email claire@imagingspecialists.net for pricing and availability.

Wreath photo by Stewart Royall of Studio Roxie for Reeves Ridge Tree Farm.
Wreath photo by Stewart Royall of Studio Roxie for Reeves Ridge Tree Farm.
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New Resource for Alleghany, Ashe and Grayson Counties

Aunt Emma Jean
Emma Jean

Imaging Specialists is working on a new resource for our area. Emma Jean’s Blue Ridge Almanac will feature information for Alleghany and Ashe Counties in North Carolina and Grayson County, Virginia.

The almanac will be packed with calendar info, area services, humor, advice and lots more! This new resource will also include affordable ad space for area merchants and a reasonable selling price!

For more information on ad pricing or sales, to submit recipes or questions for Emma Jean or to just contact us, go to www.emmajeansalmanac.com.