Good-for-something government

Every so often, in old book stores and at yard sales, I stumble across one of the many books published in the 1930s and ‘40s as a result of the Federal Writers’ Project, and nearly every time, I am amazed at how interesting the books are, if only as a kind of time capsule. Most of the FWP books you’re apt to find these days are from the ‘American Guide Series’, which contains well over 50 volumes, part middlebrow historical primer and part automobile tour guide. In addition to having a guidebook dedicated to each state (plus the District of Columbia), books covering cities, regions, and in at least one case, a highway, were also commissioned.

The last example I know because I recently picked up The Ocean Highway, a mile-by-mile catalog of what one would find in 1940 if one were to drive from New Brunswick, New Jersey, to Jacksonville, Florida. As is often the case with old books, a handwritten inscription on the blank first page reveals the particulars of when and where the book was purchased—“Bought on the Princess Anne Ferry over Chesapeake bay Thursday Jan 30th 1941 6:30.”

The book is spare and utilitarian, directing its audience to sights of interest, with a little history thrown in for flavor. Its black-and-white photographs are not particularly interesting, but for anyone who has lived along the route, the book is a goldmine of information, inviting today’s reader to imagine the farms, plantations, and curiosities supplanted by subdivisions and strip malls.

For those interested, there is a digital copy of the book available online courtesy of the Joyner Library at East Carolina University.

Happy motoring.