Meet Me at the Fair! — Signed Copy

 A Pictorial History of the Tennessee Valley Agricultural & Industrial Fair

This signed 142‑page pictorial history celebrates the Tennessee Valley Agricultural & Industrial Fair, offering a richly illustrated look at one of Knoxville’s most enduring cultural traditions. Written by acclaimed historian Stephen V. Ash, this volume captures the spirit, spectacle, and community pride that defined the fair at Chilhowee Park for generations.

Inside, readers will find archival black‑and‑white photographs documenting the fair’s evolution from its 1916 origins as the East Tennessee Division Fair through decades of agricultural exhibits, home‑craft competitions, traveling sideshows, acrobatic troupes, and classic midway attractions. Ash highlights memorable features such as “Carlo the High‑Diving Dog”, early entertainment acts, and the changing face of rural and regional fairs in the American South.

Ash—Professor Emeritus of American History at the University of Tennessee and a respected author of Civil War and Southern history—grounds the book in deep research. The visual material is drawn from an extraordinary archive: eleven full boxes of original photographs, negatives, slides, and proofs used to create this volume are permanently preserved in the Calvin M. McClung Historical Collection at the Knox County Public Library.

Published directly by the Tennessee Valley Agricultural & Industrial Fair organization, this signed copy stands as a definitive visual record of Knoxville’s iconic annual celebration—capturing its people, its traditions, and its place in Tennessee’s cultural history.

Condition: Light creases on front cover and small marks on back cover (see photos). Interior pages clean and intact. Signed by author Stephen V. Ash.