Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA)

A Complete Set of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) American Guide Series to the States.

New York / Boston et al. Hastings House / Oxford University Press / Houghton Mifflin Company et al. 1937-43. First Edition. Hardcover. Item #30703

Described as “the finest contribution made to American patriotism” by cultural critic Lewis Mumford, this set comprises fifty-three volumes. The gargantuan undertaking by the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP), a program of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), employed more than six thousand writers, including such talents as Saul Bellow, Nelson Algren, John Cheever, Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison, Zora Neale Hurston, and Frank Yerby. John Steinbeck in Travels with Charley noted that the work “was compiled during the Depression by the best writers in America, who were, if that is possible, more depressed than any other group while maintaining their inalienable instinct for eating.'' All the books came from the same collection and were purchased mostly in the early 1940s (many have a date in pen on the half-title). Several came from The Old Corner Book Store or Lauriat's Books in Boston and bear their tiny bookstore labels. Titles and details as follows: 1) Alabama: A Guide to the Deep South; 1st edition; New York, Hastings House, 1941; no map included; a near fine copy in very good dustjacket; uncommon. 2) A Guide to Alaska: Last American Frontier; 9th printing; New York, The Macmillan Company, 1944; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in near fine dustjacket. 3) Arizona: The Grand Canyon State; 2nd printing; New York, Hastings House, 1940; a fine copy in very good+ dustjacket. 4) Arkansas: A Guide to the State; 1st edition; New York, Hastings House, 1941; a fine copy in very good+ dustjacket. 5) California: A Guide to the Golden State; 2nd printing; New York, Hastings House, 1942; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in fair dustjacket with some tape mends on the inside. 6) Colorado: A Guide to the Highest State; 1st edition; New York, Hastings House, 1941; a near fine copy in very good dustjacket. 7) Connecticut: A Guide to Its Roads, Lore and People; 1st edition; Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1938; folded map in rear pocket; a near fine copy in good- dustjacket. 8) Delaware: A Guide to the First State; 1st edition; New York, The Viking Press, 1938; folded map in rear pocket; a near fine copy in very good+ dustjacket. 9) Florida: A Guide to the Southernmost State; 2nd printing; New York, Oxford University Press, 1940; folded map in rear pocket; a bright, near fine copy. 10) Georgia: A Guide to Its Towns and Countryside; 1st edition; Athens, GA, The University of Georgia Press, 1940; folded map in rear pocket; a bright, near fine copy in very good- dustjacket. 11) Idaho: A Guide in Word and Picture. The Library Edition; 2nd printing; Caldwell, ID, The Caxton Printers, Ltd., 1937; folded map in rear pocket (not present in the first edition); tiny private library label to rear pastedown; a near fine copy in very good dustjacket. 12) Illinois: A Descriptive and Historical Guide; 1st edition; Chicago, A. C. McClurg & Co., 1939; folded map in rear pocket; ex-library book with usual markings. 13) Indiana: A Guide to the Hoosier State; 1st edition; New York, Oxford University Press, 1941; folded map in rear pocket; a bright, near fine copy in near fine dustjacket. 14) Iowa: A Guide to the Hawkeye State; 2nd printing; New York, The Viking Press, 1941; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in near fine, price-clipped dustjacket. 15) Kansas: A Guide to the Sunflower State; 1st edition; New York, The Viking Press, 1939; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in very good+ dustjacket. 16) Kentucky: A Guide to the Bluegrass State; 3rd printing; New York, Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1942; folded map in rear pocket; a very good+ copy with remnants of dustjacket laid in. 17) Louisiana: A Guide to the State; 1st edition; New York, Hastings House, 1941; a fine copy in near fine dustjacket. 18) Maine: A Guide 'Down East'; Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1937; folded map in rear pocket; a very good+ copy in tattered, price-clipped dustjacket. 19) Maryland: A Guide to the Old Line State; 2nd printing; New York, Oxford University Press, 1941; folded map in rear pocket; a near fine copy in good+ dustjacket. 20) Massachusetts: A Guide to Its Places and People; 1st edition; Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1937; folded map in rear pocket; a near fine copy in fair dustjacket. 21) Massachusetts: A Guide to Its Places and People; 2nd edition, revised and enlarged; Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1971; a very good+ copy. 22) Michigan: A Guide to the Wolverine State; 2nd printing; New York, Oxford University Press, 1943; folded map in rear pocket; a near fine copy in very good dustjacket. 23) Minnesota: A State Guide; 1st edition; New York, The Viking Press, 1938; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in very good+ dustjacket. 24) Mississippi: A Guide to the Magnolia State; 2nd printing; New York, The Viking Press, 1943; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in near fine dustjacket. 25) Missouri: A Guide to the "Show Me" State; 1st edition; New York, Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1941; issued without a map; a fine copy in very good+ dustjacket. 26) Montana: A State Guide Book; 1st edition; New York, The Viking Press, 1939; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in very good dustjacket. 27) Nebraska: A Guide to the Cornhusker State; 1st edition; New York, The Viking Press, 1939; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in very good- dustjacket with a chip to lower edge of front panel. 28) Nevada: A Guide to the Silver State; 1st edition; Portland, OR, Binfords & Mort, Publishers, 1940; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in very good dustjacket. 29) New Hampshire: A Guide to the Granite State; 1st edition; Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1938; folded map in rear pocket; a very good+ copy. 30) New Jersey: A Guide to Its Present and Past; 1st edition; New York, The Viking Press, 1939; folded map in rear pocket; a bright, fine copy in very good dustjacket. 31) New Mexico: A Guide to the Colorful State; 1st edition; New York, Hastings House, 1940; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in very good- dustjacket. 32) New York: A Guide to the Empire State; 1st edition; New York, Oxford University Press, 1940; folded map in rear pocket; a near fine copy. 33) North Carolina: A Guide to the Old North State; 1st edition; Chapel Hill, NC, The University of North Carolina Press, 1939; folded map in rear pocket; a near fine copy in very good, price-clipped dustjacket. 34) North Dakota: A Guide to the Northern Prairie State; 1st edition; Fargo, ND, Knight Printing Company, 1938; folded map on rear pastedown endpaper; a bright, fine copy in very good- dustjacket. 35) The Ohio Guide; 2nd printing; New York, Oxford University Press, 1943; folded map in rear pocket; a near fine copy in very good+ dustjacket. 36) Oklahoma: A Guide to the Sooner State; 1st edition; Norman, OK, University of Oklahoma Press, 1941; folded map in rear pocket; a bright, near fine copy in very good dustjacket. 37) Oregon: End of the Trail; 1st edition; Portland, OR, Binfords & Mort, Publishers, 1940; folded map in rear pocket; a bright, fine copy in very good+ dustjacket. 38) Pennsylvania: A Guide to the Keystone State; 1st edition; New York, Oxford University Press, 1940; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in good+ dustjacket. 39) Rhode Island: A Guide to the Smallest State; 1st edition; Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1937; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in good+ price-clipped dustjacket with a small tape mend to the front panel. 40) South Carolina: A Guide to the Palmetto State; 2nd printing; New York, Oxford University Press, 1942; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in good+ dustjacket with chips and some tape mends on the inside. 41) A South Dakota Guide; 1st edition; Pierre, SD, State Publishing Company, 1938; folded map in rear pocket; lower corner tips bruised; a near fine copy in the scarce dustjacket with a chip to the lower edge of the front panel and edge wear. 42) Tennessee: A Guide to the State; 1st edition; New York, The Viking Press, 1939; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in very good+ dustjacket. 43) Texas: A Guide to the Lone Star State; 1st edition; New York, Hastings House, 1940; the state map is here presented in pp. 690-700; tiny tear to spine head; a near fine copy in very good- dustjacket. 44) Utah: A Guide to the State; 1st edition; New York, Hastings House, 1941; the state map is here presented in pp. 555-566; a fine copy in fine dustjacket. 45) Vermont: A Guide to the Green Mountain State; 1st edition; Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1937; folded map in rear pocket; a near fine copy. 46) Virginia: A Guide to the Old Dominion; 2nd printing; New York, Oxford University Press, 1941; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in good+ dustjacket. 47) Washington: A Guide to the Evergreen State; 1st edition; Portland, OR, Binfords & Mort Publishers, 1941; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in very good- dustjacket with a chip to rear panel. 48) West Virginia: A Guide to the Mountain State; 1st edition; New York, Oxford University Press, 1941; folded map in rear pocket; a fine copy in very good dustjacket. 49) Wisconsin: A Guide to the Badger State; 1st edition; New York, Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1941; the state map is here presented in pp. 597-614; a fine copy in very good+ dustjacket. 50) Wyoming: A Guide to Its History, Highways, and People; 1st edition; New York, Oxford University Press, 1941; folded map in rear pocket; a bright, fine copy in near fine dustjacket. 51) Puerto Rico: A Guide to the Island of Boriquen; 1st edition; New York, The University Society, Inc., 1940; folded map attached to rear pastedown endpaper; front hinge a bit weak else a nice, very good+ copy in the scarce price-clipped dustjacket with some archival tape mends on the inside, a faded spine panel, and fairly consistent edge wear. 52) Washington: City and Capital; 1st edition; Washington, D. C., United States Government Printing Office, 1937; complete with folded maps in rear pocket; a very good+ copy. 53) Washington, D. C.: A Guide to the Nation's Capital; 2nd edition, revised; New York, Hastings House, 1968; name on half-title and title; a near fine copy in very good, price-clipped dustjacket. An impressive life-time collection, a really nice set that includes the scarcer and more desirable titles in the series (Puerto Rico, South Dakota, North Dakota, Idaho, Indiana). ; Octavo.

Price: $5,000.00