Historic Galveston can be purchased from the Galveston Historical Foundation or ordered on Amazon.com.
Order from Galveston Historical Foundation
Excerpt from The Houston Chronicle, November 24, 1985:
"Sometimes a book makes visible what may otherwise remain unseen. Such is the triumph of Historic Galveston. Richard Payne's exquisite single and double-page images in vibrant color isolate sections of such landmarks as the Bishop's Palace, Ashton Villa and the Garden Verein Pavilion, and in doing so, make us conscious of the intricacies of design, fine craftsmanship and sheer whimsy that is often lost in the magnitude of the structure.
"The pictures alone would be sufficient to delight the viewer, but Geoffrey Leavenworth's fluid narrative of the barrier island's social, economic and architectural history enhances our understanding of what their beauty is all about."
Richard Payne and Geoffrey Leavenworth present an unprecedented examination of the barrier island that Spanish surveyors named in honor of Bernardo de Galvez half a century before Houston was founded 50 miles north on the Texas mainland.
Historic Galveston reveals the stunningly beautiful evidence of an era when Galveston's grip on Texas trade fostered extraordinary wealth; when its population included immigrants, it seems, from almost every nation; and when more privileged Galvestonians combed the world for rich materials and furnishings for their offices and their homes -- some of which might accurately be called palaces.
These Victorian homes and buildings have survived periods of immense prosperity, the island's occupation by enemy forces, fires, economic malaise, neglect and storms of devastating power, including the worst natural disaster in U.S. history.
Their presence is a testimony not only to the strength of their structures, but also to the vision and determination of this tiny islands citizenry. Moreover, they illustrate why today Galveston is viewed as a city with a wondrous history and an array of special charms.
(Available through the Galveston Historical Foundation)
10.5" x 15"
Cloth cover/ dust jacket
First printing 15,000 (1985)
ISBN 0-917001-02-8
Retail: $35 (originally $49.95)
Photographs by Richard Payne
Text by Geoffrey Leavenworth
Herring Press
