American Dream in the Depression Era

DEAN STIFF [pseud. of Nels ANDERSON].

The Milk and Honey Route: A Handbook for Hobos. New York, The Vanguard Press, 1930.

8vo, pp. xiii, [3], 13–219, [1, blank]; with 16 full-page engravings by Ernie Bushmiller; very mild uniform toning, a very good copy in the original cloth-backed yellow illustrated boards, printed paper label on spine; corners of the upper board worn with small loss to cover, a little dusted, without dust jacket; author’s gift inscription ‘To Charlotte Brenner, who won’t understand it anyway, Nels Anderson’ to front pastedown, dated 14 March 1931.

£400

Approximately:
US $540 €459

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First edition, with authorial gift inscription, of a landmark of sociological studies: a classic which blurs genre distinctions blending raw travel storytelling, sharp social insight, and practical know-how, unveiling the hidden network of America’s transient labourers.

Anderson’s study of transient labourers had begun with his first publication, The Hobo (1923), which used participant observation as a research method and was the first field research monograph of the Chicago School of Sociology. The Milk and Honey Route captures with honesty, humour, and perception the lives of a portion of society eager to pursue the American Dream in the Depression era, the text enhanced in its irony and ballad-like lightness by Ernie Bushmiller’s illustrations.

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American Dream in the Depression Era

DEAN STIFF [pseud. of Nels ANDERSON].

The Milk and Honey Route: A Handbook for Hobos. New York, The Vanguard Press, 1930.