Yeoman's in the Fork Blog

It stands to reason that my collecting mind would wander to the Confederacy just after returning from the largest Civil War collectibles show in the country. Lucky for me, I did not have to travel far as the show hosted by Mike Kent and Co. is actually held about fifteen minutes from our shop in Leiper’s Fork. The show, as with all of the ones put on Kent was top-notch and filled with the usual mix of young and old exhibiting and purveying the items picked up along the back roads of the south. In the weeks to come, you will see a few of the treasures we picked up at this year’s show including the ONLY signed First Edition copy of ‘Company Aytch’ by Sam Watkins that we have ever seen! This book is one of the greats in Confederate literature and every Civil War scholar (and/or writer) from Margaret Mitchell to Ken Burns has commented on its power and its place as one of the great first-hand accounts of battle to come out of the war. Watkins description of the battlefield at Franklin is the most powerful that I have ever read and makes me knees weak now, one hundred and fifty years later.

“Perhaps Mr. Watkins did not contribute enormously to our store of information about military strategy and campaigns, but he certainly left a record to show what the dryly humorous foot soldier thought about it all. When I came to his simple but heart-rending description of how the field at Franklin looked after the battle, I found it difficult not to weep.” Margaret Mitchell

As those who follow our blog know, ‘Company Aytch’ is a staple for us and we have had the pleasure of locating and selling four or five of the 1882 First Edition copies of this book since we opened our doors in 2009. The signed copy that we will have coming to market soon is the pinnacle of the collecting world as it pertains to this book. I am so very thankful that the former owner decided to sell it to Yeoman’s. It is a great source of pride to us that so very many prominent collectors and personalities have built a relationship with us over the course of the past two years. We pledge to continue to honor the pieces that matter to you by both offering a fair price for them as well as honoring them ourselves while in our possession. The signed First Edition copy of ‘Company Aytch’ now in our possession is a tremendous example of the true unique pieces that we continue to seek out.