Rare Book Monthly
Articles - December - 2003 Issue
Americana, Water and the American West:<br>This Month’s New Americana Catalogues
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Those addicted to the Weather Channel’s “Storm Stories” may be interested in the collection Report on the Ohio and Mississippi River Floods, 1822-1916. This consists of twelve pamphlets and reports concerning devastating floods that no television cameras were around to record. Item 72. $125.
One of the most important water projects ever in the U.S. was the building of Boulder Dam (since renamed “Hoover Dam”) on the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona. Built during the Great Depression, it brought jobs, protection from floods, and a regular supply of water to the parched southwest. Item 428 is Arthur Davis’ Problems of Imperial Valley and Vicinity. Published in 1922, this is an exhaustive report about water issues in southern California. One of the author’s recommendations was the construction of a large dam near Boulder Canyon. $225.
Water management wasn’t the only benefit of Boulder Dam. Boulder Dam Power, A Pictorial History describes the building of the then new dam with a focus on its electrical production capabilities. Item 430. $45. And of course there was the tourist value. Item 406 is a brochure put out by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1937 which unfolds into a poster with pictures and text. Sold together with a similar brochure from 1952 for what had since been renamed Hoover Dam. $25.
The Union Pacific Railroad jumped on the bandwagon in 1940 producing their own brochure to attract tourists. Convenient, Inexpensive Side Trips to Boulder Dam and Lake Mead is its title, and it is an invitation to visit this latest wonder of the world. Item 460. $20. But, the Bureau of Reclamation did issue a warning of a downside to the project in Information concerning Permits and Leases in Boulder City. Printed in 1931, it warns potential businesses that the population of Boulder City will likely be small and tourists few once the project is completed in 1938. Actually, Boulder City is doing fine today, but it’s unlikely anyone in 1931 imagined that by the end of the century, Nevada would be the fastest growing state in the nation. Item 409. $30.
Of course Boulder/Hoover isn’t the only important dam. The Spokane Chamber of Commerce issued a 12-panel brochure in 1933 about the massive Grand Coulee Dam. It points out that the dam is even larger than the Great Pyramid. Item 471. $30.
