The Erie Canal by Spier, Peter (Retold text and detailed original artwork by) - 1970

Doubleday., 1970. Children's Choice Book Club Edition, Macmillan.. Hard cover. Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Signed by previous owner. Prior owner name markered out. Light edge wear. Slight top end spine wobble. Clean inside pages. Sticker residue over preprinted bookplate space.. 1 Book Club Edition. Illustarted paper over boards. Horizontal format: 9x7in. Audience: Children/juvenile. Winner of the Christopher Award, this work by master historic panoramic illustrator Peter Spier brings to life the folksong that begins, "I've got a mule and her name is Sal...Fifteen years on the Erie Canal". New York's water transportation route began construction in 1817 in Rome, NY, a swampy and forested wilderness. In 1825, with continuing construction east and west across upstate New York, its route was completed "from Albany to Buffalo", without the aid of "professional" engineers. Canal boats were pulled by attached rope from shoreline parallel roads by draft animals. Elevation locks had been built into place where needed. The last 2 pages offer a history for parents and teachers, and the music score with lyrics for the song. Spier's end papers depict canal scenes over each of the 4 seasons. His details honor the practical problem-solving engineering behind its success, and the economic growth of the upstate New York regions from frontier to village provision centers. The canal operated for 100 years, abolishing tolls in 1882, and having seen a major rebuilding after the first 50 years.