My husband, a patient of Dr. James Herz for many years, saw Dr. Herz's old Reno photos displayed throughout Reno Orthopaedic Clinic. He has always wished he could get copies of them, but he never dreamed he ever would.

What a thrill it was, then, for me to open my review copy of Historic Photos of Reno and look at the acknowledgments page! Compiler/author Donnelyn Curtis thanks "Dr. James Herz, the avid collector and generous donor of the majority of the photos in this book." I knew I would love it before I turned another page.

It's a wonderful book for anyone interested in the history of Reno and surrounding areas such as the Sierra and Virginia City. The 180 or so pictures are grouped into four eras: 1868-1909, 1910-1929 (twice as many photos as the preceding and following sections), 1930-1949 and 1950-1979 (fewest photos). All are black and white.

A one-page introduction gives context to each section, and captions provide what information has been gleaned for each photo. Curtis pleads, "On behalf of future historians, the author urges readers to label their treasured photographs! The people, locations, times, and events portrayed in your photo album might be familiar to you, but fifty years after your demise, those facts may be lost forever." I echo that plea as as lifelong family historian. In spite of her apparent frustration, Curtis and her researchers were able to provide a little information about each photo.

I have never seen most of the photos in the book. The first one in the first section is really interesting—a train of freight wagons traveling down a snowy hill  on Donner Pass about 1896. One of the earliest views of Reno shows Myron Lake's hotel and the first (steel) bridge across the Truckee about 1883. The foreground is vacant land. Some of the others that caught my eye were bridges under construction and aerial photos. A photo that surprised me was one of a shantytown on the Truckee River in 1944. Another thing that surprised me was how city-like downtown Reno looked in the 1940s—"biggest little city" might have been the perfect slogan. And I always love to look at old photos of the university because it has preserved most of its buildings; it's easy to compare its past with its present.

Speaking of comparing past with present, I found myself wishing the captions were a little more specific in that regard. For example, page 108 has a photo of a Golden Rule window display "on Sierra Street" and mentions it became a J. C. Penney store (shown again on page 127 and, I think, on page 165). How about giving a cross street and saying what's there now? As fast as Reno changes, the caption would quickly become outdated, but I still wish the author had made more of an effort to orient the viewer.

My  minor complaint doesn't lessen the value of the book to anyone has ever tried to visualize what this place was like in the past 140 years. And I'm still thrilled that Mr. Ann finally has his own set of Dr. Herz's old photos.

DETAILS: Historic Photos of Reno is published by Turner Publishing Co. and has a list price of $39.95. The author, Donnelyn Curtis, will have a book signing from 2 to 4 p.m. June 14 at Barnes & Noble.

NOTE: If you're as obsessive as I am about comparing past and present, I bet you'll enjoy another book I like a lot: The Central Pacific Railroad across Nevada, 1868 & 1997. The author, Lawrence K. Hersh, became fascinated with 54 photos taken during construction of the Central Pacific Railroad construction across Nevada in the 1860s and spent several years in the 1990s locating the vantage point for each and taking one of his own. The old and new photo for each location are presented side by side. You might have to go to his site to buy the book. Happy comparing!

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