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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. Seller Inventory # 30703
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