American Guide Series

Titles in The American Guide Series
Arranged alphabetically by title.

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Click on Image to expandCape Cod Pilot by: Jeremiah Digges, First Edition Published by: Modern Pilgrim Press in Provincetown: 1937. Very good- in yellow cloth covered boards with heavy soiling to the spine and boards and with the spine somewhat rolled. In a good+ unclipped dust jacket with 1/4" deep chips at the corners of the spine area which is also well tanned and with rubbing to the folds. One of the volumes in the American Guide Series funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This is one of the few volumes produced by the WPA which allowed an author's name to appear on the title page. In this case the author's name, Jeremiah Digges, is a pseudonym used by Josef Berger who wrote the book during his spare time while working for the WPA. 403 pages including an index, text and illustrated with black and white photographs throughout and map end papers. TB21761 $75.00

Click on Image to expandThe Connecticut Guide What To See And Where To Find It by: Edgar L. Heermance (Compiler) , Second Printing of June, 1935 Published by: Emergency Relief Commission in Hartford: 1935. Very good in heavy blue-green printed paper wraps in a perfect format binding with map front end papers. The spine area is well tanned and worn at its ends and the front and rear panels are moderately soiled. There is a prior owner's name neatly written on the second free end paper. A small octavo measuring 8 7/16" tall by 5 1/4" deep containing 320 pages including an index. Without a dust jacket as issued. As recognized in Jerre Mangione's study of the WPA's Federal Writer's Project on page 46, The Connecticut Guide What to See And Where To Find It "helped to clinch the plan of preparing a series of state guides that could employ the services of researchers and all kinds of writers." "Although The Connecticut Guide fell short of the standards that were later" to be established for "the American Guide Series, it did provide the model for WPA's series. This guide is also recognized in the American Guide Series volume for Connecticut as the "predecessor and inspiration" for the series. TB19014 $40.00

Click on Image to expandDeath Valley A Guide by: WPA, Early reprint Published by: Houghton Mifflin in Boston: 1939. Fine in light red cloth covered boards with black text on the front panel and spine. In a very good unclipped dust jacket with a long, closed tear to the front panel and light rubbing to the ends of the spine area. This volume was written and compiled by the Federal Writers' Project of the WPA of Northern California and is part of the American Guide Series. 75 pages with index and a fold-out, double-sided map at the rear end paper. TB21023 $45.00

A Guide to Alaska Last American Frontier by: Merle Colby, Reprint of April, 1943 Published by: The Macmillan Company in New York: 1939, 1943. Very good in dark blue cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping and decorations with the cloth faded on the spine and around the edges of the boards. Without its issued dust jacket. 427 pages including an index, text, maps, photographs and a fold-out map in a rear pocket which is in perfect condition. One of the few volumes in the American Guide Series to carry a specific author's name. TB21259 $30.00

Click on Image to expandHere's New England by: WPA, First Edition Published by: Houghton Mifflin in Boston: 1939. Fine in decorated bright red cloth covered boards with a gift inscription on the first free end page. Page 68 contains a few lines of underlining in red ink. In a very good unclipped dust jacket with 1/4" deep chipping across the upper edge of the spine area and with modest rubbing and wear to the lower edge of the same. 122 pages including an index and illustrated with maps and two sections of black and white photographs. TB20551 $50.00

Illinois A Descriptive and Historical Guide by: WPA, Reprint Published by: A. C. McClurg & Co. in Chicago: 1939. Poor in dark red buckram cloth covered boards with faded gilt text and decorations on the spine and front board. The cloth is well worn and soiled and the text block has parted at the first and second signatures. Missing it issued dust jacket. One of the volumes in the American Guide Series. 707 pages with index, list of Congressional Medal of Honor winners, chronology, bibliography, tours, 8 sections of photographs and the colored map laid-in at the rear end pocket. TB16228 $24.50

Click on Image to expandIowa A Guide to the Hawkeye State by: WPA, First Edition Published by: The Viking Press in New York: 1938. Very near fine in green buckram covered boards with gilt text stampings on the spine. The end papers show considerable foxing (probably a result of the paper's reaction with the glue used in binding), the edges of the text block are foxed and there is a note from a prior owner on the first free end page. In a good price clipped dust jacket with 1/3" deep chipping across the ends of the spine area and with rubbing to the folds. 583 pages including an index, bibliography, chronology, text and with maps and black and white photographs throughout and with the fold-out, multi-color map at the rear of the book in a pocket which is in excellent condtion. An uncommon early title in the WPA's American Guide series. TB19620 $100.00

Click on Image to expandMinnesota A State Guide by: WPA, First Edition Published by: The Viking Press in New York: 1938. Very good- in dark blue cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine and on the front board with light rubbing and wear to the head and heel of the spine and foxing to the edges of the text block. In a poor dust jacket which is missing most of the spine area and is well worn and rubbed at the edges of the panels. The 14th volume in the American Guide Series in its probable first state binding. (Schoyer, 293) The rear end paper of the book has a laid-in pocket within which is the multi-colored map of the state which is in very good condition. 523 pages including an index, bibliography, chronology, text and 53 pages of black and white photographs and with 12 maps within the body of the text. TB20266 $60.00

Monterey Peninsula by: WPA, First Edition Published by: Sponsored by California State Dept. of Education in Stanford: 1941. Very good+ in light green cloth covered boards with brown text on the spine and with a brown illustration on the front board. The spine is very slightly faded and lightly soiled. There is a prior owner's name in pencil on the front end paper. Without its issued dust jacket. 207 pages consisting of an index, bibliography, Glossary of Spanish names and words, a chronology of the Monterey Peninsula, text and illustrated with maps and numerous black and white photographs. TB17039 $45.50

Click on Image to expandNevada A Guide To The Silver State by: WPA, Third Printing of 1957 Published by: Binfords & Mort in Portland: 1940. Very good in bright red cloth covered boards with black text on the spine and on the front board. Silverfish have nibbled away at the seizing in the cloth at the folds to the spine and in several areas on the boards. There is a prior owner's name neatly written at the upper edge of the first free end paper. In a very good dust jacket with the price intact despite the fact that the corner of the jacket flap has been clipped and with mild rubbing and wear across the upper and lower edges of the spine area and the front panel with some flecking of the colors. 315 pages including an index, text with photographs. TB19143 $75.00

Click on Image to expandNew Hampshire A Guide to the Granite State by: WPA, First Edition Published by: Houghton Mifflin Co. in Boston: 1938. Very good+ in pebbled, dark blue cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine and on the front board. The top edge of the text block is slightly dust stained and the front and rear hinge areas show mild foxing. In a good price clipped dust jacket with a two inch chip from the center of the spine area and with 1/4" deep chips at the upper corners of the spine area and heavy rubbing at the folds. 559 pages with index, text, black and illustrated with eight sections of black and white photographs and a pocket on the rear end paper with the multi-color, fold-out map of the state. TB21553 $60.00

Click on Image to expandNew Orleans City Guide by: WPA, Revised First Edition Published by: Houghton Mifflin Co. in Boston: 1952. Near fine in light green cloth covered boards with dark blue text stamping on the front board and on the spine with map front end papers. There is a prior owner's name on the first free end page. In a very good- price clipped dust jacket with shallow chipping and closed tears at the corners of the upper edge of the spine area and a small 1/8" chip from the upper fore corner of the front panel. 416 pages including an index, bibliography, text and illustrated with eight sections of black and white photographs. A revised edition of the original WPA edition by Robert Tallant. TB21735 $45.00

New York Learns A Guide to The Educational Facilities of the Metropolis by: WPA, First Edition Published by: M. Barrows & Co. in New York: 1939. Very good+ in tan cloth covered boards with blue text stamping on the spine and on the front board. There is what appears to be a small (1/2") narrow blood (?) stain at the upper edge of the front board and fly specking at the upper edge of the text block and the end papers a very mildly tanned. The binding is tight and all pages are present with no ownership marks or notations. One of the more unusual and uncommon volumes in the WPA's American Guide Series. A small 8vo measuring 7 1/2" high by 5 1/4" deep containing 302 pages including an index and text. Missing its issued dust jacket. TB17841 $87.50

Click on Image to expandThe Ocean Highway New Brunswick, New Jersey to Jacksonville, Florida by: WPA, First Edition Published by: Modern Age Books, Inc. Sponsored by Charles L. Terry, Jr. in New York: 1938. Very good+ in decorated light brown cloth covered boards with blue and brown text and decorations on the spine and front board with a mild roll to the spine, foxing to the end papers and a prior owner's name stamped on the front end paper behind the dust jacket flap. In a very good- dust jacket with light rubbing to the spine area and several closed tears around the edges of the panels. This title departs from the WPA's other title of similar content, U.S. One Maine to Florida, by picking up where Routes 17 and 13 leave Route One in northern New Jersey and hug the eastern coast all the way to Jacksonville, Florida. One of the more scarce titles in the American Guide Series. 344 pages with an index, a list of annual events along the Ocean Highway, text, and with eleven sections of black and white photographs with the colored, three-paneled, fold-out map tipped-in at the rear end paper. through-out. Part of the American Guide Series and considered quite scarce especially in dust jacket. TB18325 $50.00

Click on Image to expandOklahoma A Guide To The Sooner State by: WPA, First Edition Published by: University of Oklahoma Press in Norman: 1941. Very good+ in dark blue cloth covered boards with faded gilt text on the spine and bright gilt text on the front board with illustrated end sheets. The cloth at the corners of the head and heel of the spine is worn and rubbed and in one case worn through. Minor foxing at the hinge areas of the end sheets due to a reaction with the glue employed in binding and with minor soiling and staining at the fly title page. Missing its issued dust jacket. This was the last state guide issued in the American Guide Series. 442 pages including an index, appedices, maps and illustrated with eight sections of black and white photographs and with a map in the rear pocket which is in fine condition. (Brewer, 748; Dykes 259; Schoyer, 504) TB22259 $65.00

Click on Image to expandOregon End of The Trail by: WPA, Third Printing Published by: Binfords & Mort in Portland: 1940. Very good+ in simulated leather, blue paper covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine and on the front board and with map front end papers with a prior owner's address label on the first free end page. In a good unclipped dust jacket with a 3/4" 1/2" deep chip at the upper edge of the front panel and tanning to the spine area. In first edition, this is one of the more uncommon volumes in the American Guide Series. 549 pages including an index, a reading list, chronology, text and illustrated with four sections of black and white photographs. The double sided, multi-color, fold-out map is tucked into the rear pocket at the last end papar. It is in near fine condition. (Dykes 263) TB20925 $75.00

Remembering America A Sampler of the WPA American Guide by: Archie Hobson, First Edition Published by: Columbia University Press in New York: 1985. Fine in brown cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine with a inked out prior owner's address label at the upper corner of the first free end paper. In a very near fine unclipped dust jacket with a tiny 1/8" closed tear at the upper edge of the rear panel at the fold to the spine area. An introduction by Bill Stott. A collection of just over 500 passages from the American Guide Series which were written by various authors for the WPA's project. 301 pages including an index TB17901 $24.50

Click on Image to expandSan Francisco The Bay and Its Cities by: WPA, Reprint of 1947 Published by: Hastings House in New York: 1940. An ex-library copy in very good+ condition in bright red cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine and the ghost of a library call label at the heel of the spine and missing its first free end page. On the copyright page there is a rubber stamped date and a "BRANCH" stamp. Otherwise there are no additional library notations, markings or pockets. Without its issued dust jacket. This volume was written and compiled by the Federal Writers' Project of the WPA in Northern California and is one of the volumes in the American Guide Series. 531 pages with index, text and photographs through-out. TB20922 $45.00

Santa Barbara A Guide to the Channel City and Its Environs by: WPA, First Edition Published by: Hastings House in New York: 1941. An exlibrary copy which is in fair to good condition in light green cloth covered boards with with dark brown text with a newer library cloth spine applied with handwritten white text. There is a library pocket and date slip on the front end papers and the text from the front flap of the dust jacket tipped in at the first page of the text. Without its issued dust jacket. 206 pages including an index, chronology, bibliography, photographs with map end papers. TB18206 $30.00

Click on Image to expandTexas A Guide To The Lone Star State by: WPA, First Edition Published by: Hastings House in New York: 1940. Very good+ in heavy blue cloth covered boards with dark blue text stamping on the spine and on the front board with decorated map end papers. The end papers are just slightly foxed at the hinges due to a reaction with the glue employed in binding and the cloth on the spine is very mildly faded. Without its issued dust jacket. 718 pages including an index, 11 pages of maps with a separate index for same, list of selected readings, chronology, glossary, tour guides, text with eight sections of photographs. This title is one of only a few in the American Guide series which does not have a map laid-in at the rear of the book. TB22237 $50.00

Click on Image to expandVermont A Guide to the Green Mountain State by: WPA, First Edition Published by: Houghton Mifflin Co. in Boston: 1937. Very good+ in dark green, simulated leather, paper covered boards with decorated map end papers with slight tanning and foxing to the end sheets. in a fair to good- dust jacket with 1/2" deep chipping to the ends of the spine area, heavy rubbing to the edges of the panels and a four inch long closed tear to the rear panel and with dampness stains to the verso side. One of the earliest volumes in the American Guide Series. 392 pages with index, text and illustrated with eight sections of black and white photographs through-out and with the multi-color, fold-out, double-sided map in the rear pocket which is in excellent condition. TB21442 $50.00

Click on Image to expandVirginia A Guide to the Old Dominion by: WPA, Fourth Printing of 1947 Published by: Oxford University Press in New York: 1940. Good in light blue cloth covered boards with dark blue text and decorations on the spine and on the front board. The cloth at the heel of the spine is faded and rubbed and it is rubbed through at the lower fore corners of the boards. Although the front hinge is tight the binding is split before the fly title page leaving the text block shaken. This printing embodies all of the changes which occured in the third printing which saw a number of corrections and included the 1940 census reports and highway number changes. 710 pages with an index, population figures for the state from the 1940 census for cities and towns in the state, appendices, chronology, text, maps and eight sections of photographs with a multi-colored, two sided map of the state and Richmond within the pocket at the rear of the book. The folded map is in very good condition without any tears or chips. TB20929 $45.00

Click on Image to expandWashington City and Capital by: WPA, First Edition Published by: U. S. Government Printing Office in Washington, DC: 1937. An exlibrary copy in very good+ condition in heavy black cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine and illustrated map end papers with a library call number on the spine and a library pocket pasted to the recto of the last free end page. Without its issued dust jacket. This was the second volume published in the American Guide Series and is quite scarce. 1,141 pages including an index, bibliography, chronology, text and illustrated with maps and black and white photographs throughout. With a double sided, multi-colored map in the rear pocket. TB21861 $125.00

Click on Image to expandWhaling Masters by: WPA, First Edition Published by: Old Dartmouth Historical Society in New Bedford: 1938. Near fine in dark green cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine and front board. With no names, dates or notations within the text block. In a very good+ dust jacket with the original $5.00 price intact on the front flap but with rubbing and wear to the ends of the spine area and a 1/4" deep chip 1/4" wide at the lower edge of the spine area at the fold to the front panel. 314 pages with 3 illustrations. One of the most difficult titles to obtain in the WPA's American Guide Series. The book provides the most complete directory of Whaling Captains, their ships and voyages from every whaling port in the US TB17875 $450.00

Key to abbreviations used:
CP = Copyright Page	F = Fine	o/w = otherwise
DJ = Dust Jacket	NF = Near Fine	w/ = with
EP = End Paper	VG = Very Good	lt = light
FEP = Free End Paper	G = Good	sm = small
TP = Title Page	FR = Fair	PC = Price Clipped

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