Washington: City and Capital

Washington DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1937. First Edition. 1140pp. Octavo [21 cm] Black cloth with the title gilt stamped on the backstrip. Near fine. Lacks the dust jacket. Illustrated throughout with black & white photographs and maps. 'Handkerchief Map' on the pastedowns and endsheets. Both folding color maps are present in the rear pocket. A monumental work, and the largest of any of the FWP publications. The FWP headquarters planned the guide to Washington to be the prototype for all the other state guides which were to follow. The book was intended to resolve major questions of format, scope, and emphasis, and whether the subsequent AGS books were to be reference works or actual guidebooks. As the D.C. guide shows, they could be both. This work is both a regular tour book of the City and a description of the various government departments. It was judges essential to include the latter since the City could not be separated from the Capital. Dykes 385. Powell 152. Scharf/Schoyer 670.