Ex Libris

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In the late 1950's John Graves revisited a 300 mile stretch of the Brazos River before dam construction covered underwater forever his childhood stomping grounds. Goodbye To A River is a meditation on the river, nature, Texas culture and history and is today considered a work of conservation ahead of its time.

Graves more recently teamed with photographer Wyman Meinzer to document Texas landscape features in Texas Hill Country, Texas Rivers and Texas Sky.

View a map of the Brazos section Graves' traveled.

Photo W. Meinzer From Texas Hill Country

Two great regional studies, the American Rivers series and the WPA American Guides:

American Rivers Series

The sixty-five books in the series were published from 1937-1974, by Farrar and Rinehart (1937-1946) and its successors: Rine hart & Company (1946-1960); Holt, Rinehart and Winston (1960-1974). Constance Lindsay Skinner [1877-1939] was the general editor from 1937-1939. The series editors who succeeded her were Stephen Vincent Benét [1898-1943], Carl Carmer [1893-1976], and Hervey Allen [1889-1949]. During the life of the series, there were also two associate editors: Elizabeth L. Gilman and Jean Crawford; and four art editors: Ruth E. Anderson, Faith Ball, Benjamin Feder, and Philip Fiorello.
Assembled over the past eleven years and gleaned from Carol Fitzgerald's large and encyclopedic collection, the exhibition highlights 103 books, drawings, and other printed materials. In honor of the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Everglades: river of grass by Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the display showcases it, along with three other Florida rivers: Suwannee River and The St. Johns, and a later title about the Hillsborough,River of the Golden Ibis.
Constance Lindsay Skinner originated the idea for the series, and in a bid to make it special, recommended that the authors be "novelists and poets" and the illustrators be "professional artists". She and her heirs achieved their goal with great success with such titles as: The Everglades: river of grass, by Marjory Stoneman Douglas, illustrated by Robert Fink; The Brandywine, by Henry Seidel Canby, illustrated by Andrew Wyeth; and The Sangamon, by Edgar Lee Masters, illustrated by Lynd Ward. The sixty-five original titles were published by Farrar and Rinehart and its successors from 1937-1974, but the collection also contains almost all known variant, special, commemorative, foreign, and Armed Services editions.
In her quest to gather the materials of the series, Carol Fitzgerald has demonstrated an extraordinary degree of perseverance and determination. For her, it has been an exhausting yet richly satisfying venture. Her interest in collecting the titles began casually in 1986, but soon developed into a near-obsession. Quickly she discovered a small network of book dealers with a special interest in the series, cultivated contacts with publishers, and wrote numerous letters to authors, illustrators, and editors. In the end, her efforts to document for posterity the making of the 65-volume series have been herculean.
Shortly, the results of Carol Fitzergald's carefully detailed and scholarly research will be presented in the publication of a bibliography and history of the series. We will all be enriched by her endeavor.

- from James Findlay's introduction to the exhibition of Carol Fitgerald's reknowned collection at the Bienes Center for the Literary Arts in Ft. Lauderdale.

- Carol Fitzgerald's American Rivers, A Descriptive Bibliography was released in 2001.

Fitzgerald Collection: Rivers of America

The American Guide Series

The American Guide Series of books was produced by the Federal Writers Project between 1935 and 1943. The Federal Writers Project was one of the many programs under the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a Depression-era government program that assisted the millions of unemployed. The series is said to have originated from a casual cocktail party conversation between writer Katharine Kellock and WPA administrator Arthur Goldsmith. These wonderful travel guides cover the 48 states (Alaska and Hawaii were not yet states) and the District of Columbia and employed over 6,000 writers. Each volume covers a state’s history, geography, and culture, and includes photographs, maps, and drawings.

The American Guide Series is a highly collectible set of books; many people search the shelves of antiquarian book shops in an attempt to bring together the entire series. The Guide Series’ value continues to increase, with some titles now worth several hundred dollars. Two of the more desirable titles include the first edition Idaho volume, most of which were destroyed in a warehouse fire, and the Dakota volumes, which had very limited printings. The recent popularity of the series has also prompted publishing houses to reissue selected titles in attractive and affordable paperback editions.

In addition to the popular state series, the Writers Project also produced over 1,200 books and pamphlets, including guides to major cities and interstate roadways, folklore collections, oral histories, and even song recordings. The project enlisted the talents of such well-known writers as John Cheever, Saul Bellow, Richard Wright, and Ralph Ellison.

- the picture below links to the source of the preceding text and a complete list of titles covered in the series.

WPA Guide to New York

Some favorite books: the first are histories of the early exploration of North America. The second, kindred in spirit, celebrate life in the woods or the country.

1. The Journals of Francis Parkman Vols. 1 & 2 (Edited by Mason Wade); Harper & Bros, First Edition

2. The Oregon Trail (Parkman); Doubleday & Co., 1946. This classic title has been published many times by various publishers. This edition is a favorite for the color plates made for the book by Thomas Hart Benton.

3. A Half-Century of Conflict (Parkman); Little, Brown & Co., 1892. From the magnum opus France and England in North America.

4. The Jesuits in North America (Parkman); Little, Brown & Co., 1886. From France and England in North America.

5. La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West (Parkman); Modern Library, 1999. From France and England in North America.

6. Montcalm and Wolfe; The French and Indian War (Parkman); Da Capo Press, 2001. From France and England in North America.

7. France and England in North America Vols. 1 & 2 (Parkman); The Library of America, 1983. Comprised of seven titles: Pioneers of France in the New World, The Jesuits in North America, La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West, The Old Regime in Canada, Count Frontenac and New France Under Lious XIV, A Half-Century of Conflict, Montcalm and Wolfe.

8. Francis Parkman (Howard Doughty); Harvard University Press, 1983.

9. The Course of Empire (Bernard DeVoto); Houghton Mifflin, 1952. Maps by Erwin Raisz.

10. Across the Wide Missouri (DeVoto); Houghton Mifflin, 1947. This early edition is notable for the Foreward by Mae Reed Porter elucidating the drawings and study paintings executed by Alfred Jacob Miller on the frontier. The inclusion of these and those of Charles Bodmer are not present in subsequent editions of this title.

11. The Year of Decision (DeVoto); Little, Brown & Co., 1943.

12. The National Survey of Historic Sites and Buildings Volume V: Explorers and Settlers; Historic Places Commemorating the Early Exploration and Settlement of the United States (Edited by Robert Ferris); Natioanal Park Service, 1968. Encyclopedic entries survey the subject. The book is valuable for its graphic material, maps and charts which illustrate so well the general subject of this overall book list. Includes an excellent Suggested Reading bibliography.

13. Into the American Woods (James H. Merrell); W.W. Norton, 1999. An uncorrected proof.

14. Daniel Boone (John Bakeless); William Morrow & Co., 1939. First edition of the definitive biography.

15. Explorers of the Mississippi (Timothy Severin); Knopf, 1968.

16. Sketches in North America and the Oregon Territory (Captain H. Warre); Imprint Society, 1970. A highly prized collection of lithographs, my copy is #83 of 1,950 printed for the Imprint Society.

17. The Voyageurs Highway Minnesota's Border Lake Land (Grace Lee Nute); The Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, 1945. ,ocuments the culture of the fur trade especially between Lake Superior and Rainy Lake. Maps, illustrations, photographs.

In our time ...

1. Cache Lake Country; Life in the North Woods (John Rowlands. Illustrated by Henry Kane) A detailed journal/ manual. W.W. Norton, 1947. Notable for its passionate advocacy of wilderness living and its many illustrations including technical drawings of methods, equipment, wildlife details, etc. This book is thought to be an imaginarium which, if true, is nonetheless informed of actual experience.

2. The Color of the Country (Barbara Webster. Decorations by Edward Shenton); Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1947. Notable for its romantic rendering of country living in the 20th C. and for it's delicate illustrations.

3. Adirondack Country (William Chapman White); Syracuse University Press, 1985. Originally published 1954. Notable as a survey of the Adirondack's and nice pen and ink illustrations.

4. Goodbye to a River (John Graves); Knopf, 1981. Originally published 1959. Notable as a preeminent work of conservation and river travel. Another example of excellent pen and ink drawings

5. Cobblestone Landmarks of New York State (Shelgren, Lattin & Frasch); Syracuse University Press, 1978. Notable as another of SU Press's books on New York. This rare book lists the street locations of the buildings a detail which allowed the photography in this website and a mapping project soon to publish here.

6. Erie Canal Legacy; Architectural Treasures of the Empire State (Photography Andy Olenick, Text Richard Reisem); The Landmark Society of Western New York in conjunction with the Mohawk Valley Heritage Corridor Commission, 2000. Notable as a photo essay of the entrie canal and its architecture and as an excellent overall reference work.

First edition dust jacket

I haven't found this anywhere else on the internet!

Other Americana

American Signs: Form & Meaning on Route 66 (Lisa Mahar); The Monacelli Press, 2002. Not a social history, this work is a fascinating analysis of motel signs on the famous route. A less than wholly positive but still insightful review found at the link below calls the text and design of the book a "model of clarity". Replete beyond compare with analytic illustrations, this exploration of the signs imbues a seemingly incidental set of artifacts to be distinctly evolved and sophisticated.

Listen to the author on Wisconsin Public Radio

Lisa Mahar's Grain Elevators

Related Grain Elevators

The Monacelli Press