[Nelson Algren] Compiled and Written by Federal Writers Project; Works Progress Administration

Author: WPA – Federal Writers Project [American Guide]

Publisher: AMA Press

Illustrator: Illustrated by Robert Delson

Edition: First Edition, First Printing

Condition: Very Good
Jacket Condition: No Dust Jacket As Issued

Sponsored by the City of Galena Glued pictorial wraps; Very good with no flaws but age-toning on the wraps and a minor fade on the spine with a hint of hand-soil. Name written neatly in cursive on the front cover. 8vo; 9 inches tall; 79 pages, Illustrations, photographs, color folded map. Bibliography and list of personal interviews. Illustrated by Robert Delson with linoleum cuts and photographs. First Edition, First Printing. Subjects: Art Deco; Sculptor, Lorado Taft; Architect Samuel Charles Mazzuchelli; suffragette Janet Ayer Fairbanks; Screenwriter, Mackinlay Kantor; Poet, James Gates Percival Ref: REF: Hunter, 13; wiki; M.A.P. Schoyer, #181. Published in 1937, Galena Guide was one of the most famous “self-portrait of America” guides in the series produced during that period. [M.A.P.]  Although Galena Guide was written anonymously, as were all the other guides, the Historic Galena was actually written by Nelson Algren, one of America’s most controversial and famous writers during the 1940s through the 1980s. The prominent Chicago writer Nelson Algren (1909 – 1981) came to Galena, Illinois to write Galena Guide under the Federal Writer’s Project (Illinois), the U.S. Government’s program that employed out-of-work artists and writers during the Great Depression. Nelson Algren is best known for The Man with the Golden Arm, a 1949 novel that won the National Book Award and was adapted as the 1955 film of the same name. In 1935-1936, American artist Robert Delson, who had served as an art commissioner for the Century of Progress World’s Fair of 1933 illustrated Galena Guide with amazing Art Deco wood-cut designs of rural farmland scenes, streets of the city, Native Americans, and the ordinary town folk of Galena. Background Information: The American Guide Series books were compiled by the FWP, but printed by individual states, and contained detailed histories of each of the then 48 states of the Union with descriptions of every major city and town. In total, the project employed over 6,000 writers. The format was uniform, comprising essays on the state’s history and culture, descriptions of its major cities, automobile tours of important attractions, and a portfolio of photographs. ; REF: Hunter, 13; wiki; M.A.P.