This digital collection presents a selection of items from the Lew Powell Memorabilia Collection in the North Carolina Collection Gallery.
Lew Powell is a former journalist who reported and edited for the Charlotte Observer for thirty-four years until 2009. He has written books about North Carolina, including the Ultimate North Carolina Quiz Book (1999), On This Day in North Carolina (1996), and Lew Powell’s Carolina Follies: A Nose-Tweaking Look at Life in Our Two Great and Goofy States (1990). Powell also contributes regularly to the North Carolina Collection’s North Carolina Miscellany blog, where he publishes posts with an astute eye toward what makes North Carolina unusual.
In addition to reading and writing about the state, Powell prolifically collects memorabilia related to North Carolina. He has donated thousands of objects to the North Carolina Collection. His collecting interests, which are represented in this digital collection, include political campaign materials, regional travel souvenirs, protest movements, musical ephemera such as concert posters and tickets, pinback buttons, stickers and decals, advertisements for North Carolina products, college and professional athletic teams, and more.
Powell’s collection provides a unique window into North Carolina’s cultural, social, and political history through the lens of material culture.
Lew Powell Collection 
