“The natural rhythm moving the pioneer life of America forward was the rhythm of flowing water. It is as the story of American rivers that the folk sagas will be told.” – Constance Lindsay Skinner creator of the Rivers of America series
Conceived and planned by Skinner in the mid-1930s during the depth of the Great Depression, the series planned to trace the history and folkways of the United States through its great rivers.
It began with the publication in June 1937 of a book on the Kennebec River in Maine and finally ended in 1974 with the publication of The American: River of El Dorado in California.
Originally scheduled as a salute to twenty-four rivers by the time it was all over sixty-five books had been published in the series; about a third of which are still in print!
The series remains on of the most collectible pursuits in the field of Americana.
Carol Fitzgerald, the leading collector and scholar in the field and author of the definitive bibliography on the series, has written a guest post on Fine Books & Collections blog in honor of the 75th anniversary. Fitzgerald shares her thoughts on the series and some of her “favorite and most memorable books in the series.”
Carol Fitzgerald
Interview with Carol Fitzgerald
Recap of the 60 year anniversary celebration held at the Library of Congress