The landmark New York volume of the WPA's celebrated American Guide Series, an encyclopedic portrait of the city on the eve of World War II, documenting its neighborhoods, architecture, transportation, commerce, and civic life, written by an extraordinary collective of historians, journalists, architects, and editors under the New Deal. Hailed by the New York Times as one of the ten best books written about the city. Scarce first edition, first printing with the 1939 World’s Fair Supplement and Index. Published in 1939 by Random House. Thick 8vo (5.5” x 8.25”), blue cloth stamped in gilt, 708 pages, illustrated throughout. Rear map pocket present but lacking the original folding map. No dust jacket.
From the working library of distinguished architectural historian Carol Herselle Krinsky, with her New York Public Library bookplate on the front pastedown, her ownership signature on the front free endpaper, and scattered manuscript annotations in pencil and ink. Krinsky’s notes extend the text historically, recording later alterations to major buildings and urban sites—including the New York Telephone Building, Jefferson Market, Madison Square, and the 1939 World's Fair—and situating them within broader narratives of preservation, demolition, and urban renewal. Her research on Rockefeller Center, New York's architectural development, and the city's historic fabric makes this a particularly appropriate association copy, preserving a foundational documentary source from the library of one of its leading interpreters.
Binding somewhat shaken. Minor bumping and rubbing to extremities. Glue burn to rear pastedown. 1” closed tear to bottom edge of title page.
The landmark New York volume of the WPA's celebrated American Guide Series, an encyclopedic portrait of the city on the eve of World War II, documenting its neighborhoods, architecture, transportation, commerce, and civic life, written by an extraordinary collective of historians, journalists, architects, and editors under the New Deal. Hailed by the New York Times as one of the ten best books written about the city. Scarce first edition, first printing with the 1939 World’s Fair Supplement and Index. Published in 1939 by Random House. Thick 8vo (5.5” x 8.25”), blue cloth stamped in gilt, 708 pages, illustrated throughout. Rear map pocket present but lacking the original folding map. No dust jacket.
From the working library of distinguished architectural historian Carol Herselle Krinsky, with her New York Public Library bookplate on the front pastedown, her ownership signature on the front free endpaper, and scattered manuscript annotations in pencil and ink. Krinsky’s notes extend the text historically, recording later alterations to major buildings and urban sites—including the New York Telephone Building, Jefferson Market, Madison Square, and the 1939 World's Fair—and situating them within broader narratives of preservation, demolition, and urban renewal. Her research on Rockefeller Center, New York's architectural development, and the city's historic fabric makes this a particularly appropriate association copy, preserving a foundational documentary source from the library of one of its leading interpreters.
Binding somewhat shaken. Minor bumping and rubbing to extremities. Glue burn to rear pastedown. 1” closed tear to bottom edge of title page.
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