BERKSHIRE HILLS IN THE WPA ERA

WPA - Federal Writers Project; American Guide Series

The Berkshire Hills [Massachusetts]

New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1939. Photography by Edmund F. Hawes. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover with Dust Jacket.

 A NEW DEAL PORTRAIT OF A CULTURAL LANDSCAPE.
Rather than presenting Massachusetts as a whole, this volume focuses on one of New England's most distinctive regions, combining local history, community descriptions, travel routes, architecture, recreation, and documentary photography. The guide reflects the region's growing reputation as a destination for cultural tourism, summer residents, outdoor recreation, and historic exploration.

A DISTINCTIVE REGIONAL AMERICAN GUIDE.
Unlike many state guides organized primarily around highways and statewide geography, The Berkshire Hills is arranged by community, incorporating local histories and tours within each section. Separate chapters address Berkshire recreation, including summer and winter sports, making it both a historical record and a period travel guide.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
+++ Green cloth binding with gilt-stamped lettering to spine; octavo; 8.25 inches tall; xiv, 368 pages, including index.
+++ Illustrated with 31 photographic plates and illustrations throughout the text by Edmund F. Hawes. Includes 27 maps within the text and a small folding map tipped inside the rear endpapers.
+++ The volume is arranged by Berkshire community, with each section incorporating local history, descriptive material, and suggested tours. Separate chapters address Berkshire recreation, including summer and winter sports.

CONDITION: VERY GOOD WITH DUST JACKET.
+++ The binding is tight and square. Text clean with light, even age-toning. Moderate shelf handling wear, including minor fading to the spine, modest darkening around the perimeter of the endpapers, and a gift inscription on the front free endpaper.
+++ The original dust jacket is present and protected in Mylar. The jacket retains the original $2.50 price, with minor loss at the extremities and small abraded areas on the spine.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE: THE BERKSHIRE HILLS AS CULTURAL LANDSCAPE.
Published at the end of the 1930s, the volume preserves a view of the Berkshires during a period when the region was already recognized for its historic character, seasonal communities, recreation, and scenic landscape.

DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY & REGIONAL HISTORY.
The inclusion of photography by Edmund F. Hawes strengthens the volume as a visual record of Berkshire communities and landscapes during the WPA period. The combination of local history, maps, tours, and photographs makes the guide valuable not simply as a travel book, but as a documentary record of the region.

Ref: Scharf & Schoyer, #261;  Hunter, 20

Item #19177

Price: $185.00