Current Press Release

SURF CITY – Evocative images from Down The Shore Publishing’s award-winning Local Color: Long Beach Island’s Photographic History Revisited remain on display through the end of July at the Ocean County Library Long Beach Island Branch. Meet publisher Ray Fisk, curator of the images, during a special reception, 2 PM Thursday, July 20.

Local Color, available at the Ocean County Library, recalls Long Beach Island’s rich history with nearly 150 historic photos from the 1870s to the 1980s. Restored, hand-colored prints depict Island life, from the Life-Saving Service, fishing, boating, and other pursuits, to storms, floods, shipwrecks, and architecture including hotels and lighthouses.

The exhibit contains about four dozen prints, reproduced from glass and film negative originals by illustrator Leslee Ganss. Ray Fisk, who collected the original images, penned the descriptions that include historical notes, brief excerpts, and personal recollections.

The book, published in 2021 after four years of preparation, earned top awards for design in the prestigious national 2022 Benjamin Franklin Book Awards.

Judges called it their “top choice for many reasons,” and noted, “This book will be taken up by photographers and artists, not only those with a personal interest in the area.”

New Jersey Monthly said “The results are striking and memorable.... Some photos take on the artistic quality of a still life or a Norman Rockwell painting.” The SandPaper said it “…brings to life the colorful history of a barrier island, its people and environs... Appealing to the Island’s curious newcomers and generations-long loyalists...Enchanting.

The Local Color exhibit is free and open to the public during normal Branch operating hours. No registration is required. To attend the reception, please register at www.theoceancountylibrary.org/events. For more information, visit the OCL Long Beach Island Branch, 217 South Central Avenue, Surf City, or call (609) 494-2480.

Keep up with Library programs and events at www.theoceancountylibrary.org, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Spotify, and Pinterest.

07-07-fisk.pdf