The True Image

“This book delves into the rich tradition of headstone-related iconography. . . . The symbology and inscriptions on these stone structures prove that they are as much works of art as they are portals back in time.” — Art & Antiques

“The culmination of decades of research, this volume not only examines the gravestone production of the family from a folk art perspective and identification of specific carvers, but also looks more deeply into what else can be gleaned from these objects. . . . Recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and researchers/faculty; general readers.” — CHOICE

“Successfully demonstrates the rich historical ethnographic potential of blending different approaches to create a world and a sense of the everyday lived experiences of its inhabitants.” — Benjamin Staple, Material Culture Review

“This extraordinary book is a landmark in historical ethnography.” — Alan Jabbour, Journal of Folklore Research

“An important addition to the understanding of funerary art in the colonies and early national period.” — Thomas G. Connors, Journal of the Early Republic

“From the initial pages of The True Image, the reader is aware of a skillful writer embarking on a serious scholarly work. . . . Patterson reveals that the true image is not of a dichotomy, but of an art that emerges only as a unity with the culture, which it both reflects and of which it is a part. Recommended for academic libraries and large public libraries, as well as libraries with a special interest in Appalachia.” — Thomas G. Burton, Tennessee Libraries

“Decades of intensive field work and digging into archives and little-used manuscripts have produced a book that not only examines the unique Bigham headstones made before and after the American Revolution, but a vanished pioneer culture.” — Charlotte News & Observer

“Fascinating. . . . A valuable addition to libraries whose focus is on the art, history, and genealogy of this region.” — ARLIS/NA

“Patterson’s loving attention to the stones and his remarkable use of primary documents to understand them create a history of life on the Carolina frontier that is, to use a pun, 'close to the ground' and true to the image.” — North Carolina Historical Review

“A signal contribution to the study of the Scotch Irish, the colonial backcountry, and the early South.” — Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography