Delaware: A Guide to the First State

American Guide Series

by Work Projects Administration

During the Great Depression of the 1930s thousands of writers were hired by the Works Project Administration to create hundreds of guidebooks on all of the states in the U.S. These volumes that were produced became known as the American Guide Series . This series has been described as the biggest, fastest and most original research job in the history of the world. No library collection in Delaware would be complete without a copy of A Guide To The First State.

574 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1938

Reviews

[Catherine Mustread · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these state WPA books not for their readability (which in this case is dense and mostly boring), but for the historical value of life in the 1930s and especially the tours section which describes the highlights along every major state and federal highway throughout the state, and extra info about the (then) top cities and towns: Arden, Dover, Lewes, Milford, Newark, New Castle, Rehoboth, and Wilmington. Eight pages in the literature chapter includes early lit of the state and books from 1920-30s. Authors mentioned include: Howard Pyle, John P. Marquand, Katharine Virden, Gertrude Crownfield, Anne Parrish, Charles Wertenbaker and Emily Bissell. Also an eight page bibliography divided by subject but does not include fiction or poetry.