New York Classics – serie

A classic guide to the history and architecture of the historic manors and homes of the Hudson River ValleyHarold Donaldson Eberlein's The Manors and Historic Homes of the Hudson Valley has been considered an essential and elegant resource ever since its first publication by J.B. Lippincott in 1924. Profusely illustrated with drawings, classic prints, and photographs (many of the latter taken by the author himself), the book not only discusses the architecture and beauty of more than thirty-five historically relevant estates and homesteads, but also contextualizes their varied histories amid key social and political disruptions, ranging from the rise of the Dutch through to the American Revolution and the heyday of the patroonships overseen by such families as the Livingstons, the Van Rensselaers, and the Van Cortlandts. Eberlein saw the old manors and historic homes of the Hudson Valley as vital signposts to that history of the region- a history "inseparably bound up with the old houses that stand upon both banks of the river, and [a history which] without them … would lose its dramatic force and become a dull, dead abstraction." This new edition features an introduction by historian Ed Renehan who sets the work in the context of its time, and many new photographs. This book is an indispensable resources for those interested in New York state history and the stories behind some of its best-loved homes.

This work spans 30 years and reaches from Niagara Falls to Montauk Point. It consists of folklore, character sketches, ghost stories and pieces of regional history. Special attention is given to the fate of Native Americans and the erosion of the State's natural beauty.

This memoir celebrates the Sicilian life in America, while providing a sociological portrait of the immigrant experience in the US. The author reminisces about his experience as a fledgeling writer trying to escape from the restrictive Italian American culture in which he grew up.

In simple, darkly faceted stories, Philander Deming demonstrates a sense of the Adirondacks' possibility for human tragedy. The mountains, seemingly a neutral backdrop against which individuals confront a collective morality, are the source of his inspiration, creating a haunting vision.

This narrative poem, a combination of science fiction and psychological fantasy, is aimed at people of all ages, and was dramatized on radio and television in the 1960s. After a power cut in the middle of the night, the village of Saugersville finds itself alone in the world.

Blake McKelvey has updated this new edition on Rochester at 150 years old, adding fresh material about its changing economy, rejuvenated downtown, and current housing and educational programs. He also includes informed and thought-provoking projections about the city's future.

Classic works by naturalist John Burroughs on his beloved Catskill region.Henry James called John Burroughs (1837–1921) "a more humorous, more available, and more sociable Thoreau." Walt Whitman in turn extolled Burroughs as "a child of the woods, fields, hills-native to them in a rare sense (in a sense almost a miracle)." Throughout his many books and essays, Burroughs was never more eloquent on nature themes than when writing about his native countryside: the woods, streams, and mountains of the Catskills in New York. In the Catskills collects the very best of Burroughs's writings about his birthplace in a book that is sure to be treasured by all lovers of the region as well as lovers of the literature of nature. This new edition includes an introduction by Burroughs biographer Edward Renehan and an additional work not included in previous editions, entitled My Boyhood.

Classic works by naturalist John Burroughs on his beloved Catskill region.Henry James called John Burroughs (1837–1921) "a more humorous, more available, and more sociable Thoreau." Walt Whitman in turn extolled Burroughs as "a child of the woods, fields, hills-native to them in a rare sense (in a sense almost a miracle)." Throughout his many books and essays, Burroughs was never more eloquent on nature themes than when writing about his native countryside: the woods, streams, and mountains of the Catskills in New York. In the Catskills collects the very best of Burroughs's writings about his birthplace in a book that is sure to be treasured by all lovers of the region as well as lovers of the literature of nature. This new edition includes an introduction by Burroughs biographer Edward Renehan and an additional work not included in previous editions, entitled My Boyhood.

Chronicles the creation of a picturesque home and landscape on the Hudson River by one of the nineteenth century's leading authors.During the 1850s and '60s, by far the most prominent author in all of New York State was the writer, editor, and publisher Nathaniel Parker Willis (1806–1867). Nearly as prominent as Willis himself was his Hudson Valley estate, Idlewild, where literary elites gathered and about which Willis himself wrote and published extensively. In 1846, Willis founded the Home Journal, which would go on to become Town and Country. In Out-Doors at Idlewild, first published in 1855, Willis chronicled the creation of his estate at Cornwall-on-Hudson (near West Point), as well as life amid its countryside. The land afforded brilliant views of the river and the mountains to the East. Calvert Vaux, the famed architect of both landscapes and houses, designed the elaborate and ornate Gothic Revival home, which Willis named Idlewood (whereas he called the estate Idlewild), and into which the Willis family moved in July of 1853. Here, Willis wrote a series of papers for the Home Journal documenting life at the seventy-acre estate. These papers were gathered together in Out-Doors at Idlewild, a celebration of Willis's home and estate.

A county history book that includes town histories, biographical sketches, and lithographs of pioneers and homesteads, as well as their Civil War military service.Originally published by F.W. Beers & Company in 1880, History of Wyoming County, N.Y. is still one of the most referenced histories of the county. Exploring Wyoming County pre-formation, the book also delves into the history of sixteen towns and their prominent residents and records residents' Civil War service.Officially named a county in 1841, this southwestern farming county of New York State is the home of several New York landmarks, including Letchworth State Park, Middlebury Academy (listed on the National Register of Historic Places), and Attica Prison. Notable Wyoming County residents have included Josiah Andrews (an abolitionist newspaper owner), Mary Jemison (the "White Woman of the Genesee" who lived among the Seneca), Barber Conable (former President of the World Bank Group and US Congressman from New York), Chester A. Arthur (the twenty-first President of the United States), Ella Hawley Crossett (former President of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association), Lemuel M. Wiles (American landscape painter), and Charlotte Smallwood-Cook (the first woman elected district attorney in New York State). Newly released by SUNY Press with an introduction by Cindy Amrhein, Wyoming County Historian, History of Wyoming County, N.Y. offers a fascinating and comprehensive reference work that is useful to family and local historians, genealogists, and those interested in the development and history of New York State.

A gripping tale of conspiracy and a love triangle set against the background of 19th century New York City.The Toltec Cup was published in 1890 by A. C. Wheeler under the pseudonym of "Nym Crinkle." A tale of conspiracy and love triangles, the novel centers on a mysterious silver cup covered in hieroglyphs that goes missing just days after its owner's death. New York Police Inspector John Wilder grows suspicious when someone offers a huge reward for the cup's return. Wilder traces the reward to Colin Carteret, an artist engaged to the murdered man's daughter, who swears he did not know of the cup before the reward appeared in the newspaper. Together, the two men follow a trail of clues that lead them to New York City slums, a beautiful young woman named Manuella Castleton, and a syndicate that believes that the cup will lead to an extraordinary buried treasure. Contemporary readers will enjoy the novel's remarkable depictions of mid-nineteenth-century New York City. Roaming the Gas House District, the Bowery, Union Square, Harlem, and the Meatpacking District, The Toltec Cup explores a dynamic landscape and diverse peoples. This new edition revives a forgotten world for a new generation of readers.

A gripping tale of conspiracy and a love triangle set against the background of 19th century New York City.The Toltec Cup was published in 1890 by A. C. Wheeler under the pseudonym of "Nym Crinkle." A tale of conspiracy and love triangles, the novel centers on a mysterious silver cup covered in hieroglyphs that goes missing just days after its owner's death. New York Police Inspector John Wilder grows suspicious when someone offers a huge reward for the cup's return. Wilder traces the reward to Colin Carteret, an artist engaged to the murdered man's daughter, who swears he did not know of the cup before the reward appeared in the newspaper. Together, the two men follow a trail of clues that lead them to New York City slums, a beautiful young woman named Manuella Castleton, and a syndicate that believes that the cup will lead to an extraordinary buried treasure. Contemporary readers will enjoy the novel's remarkable depictions of mid-nineteenth-century New York City. Roaming the Gas House District, the Bowery, Union Square, Harlem, and the Meatpacking District, The Toltec Cup explores a dynamic landscape and diverse peoples. This new edition revives a forgotten world for a new generation of readers.

An important and prescient early example of US environmental writing with a profound sense of consciousness and appreciation for the natural world.In her 1860 book Lichen Tufts, from the Alleghanies, Elizabeth C. Wright weaves together environmental philosophy, lyrical nature writing, and social consciousness. A graduate of Alfred University, Wright was an activist for women's rights, temperance, and the abolition of slavery. She was a teacher, a botanist, and, later in life, a Kansas homesteader. In Lichen Tufts, Wright urged her readers to cultivate an intimate knowledge of the natural world, reflecting her Transcendentalist belief that an immersive relationship with nature benefits the individual as well as society as a whole. Composed of four essays and forty poems, Lichen Tufts reveals wisdom and beauty in an early example of eco-feminism that highlights the natural world as antidote to society's restrictive gender codes, one that is still relevant today.SUNY Press brings Lichen Tufts, from the Alleghanies to life for modern audiences, with a recovery edition featuring the 1860 book in its entirety. An Introduction by Emily E. VanDette places the book and its author in the context of nineteenth-century social reform campaigns throughout the "Burned Over District" of western New York. An Afterword written by Laurie Lounsberry Meehan highlights the history of Alfred University and the cohort that influenced Wright's environmental and social reform activism.

The best of W.H.H. Murray's 19th century Adirondack stories, selected by Murray's biographer and great, great grandson, Randall S. BeachWilliam Henry Harrison Murray ("Adirondack Murray") is known as the father of the outdoor movement in America and the modern vacation. A passionate advocate for the wilderness and, specifically, the Adirondacks in New York State, Murray was the author of numerous books from the 1860s until his death in the early twentieth century. Many of his books and short stories focused on the Adirondacks and the importance of human interaction with nature. For the first time, The Best of the Adirondack Tales gathers his best and most beloved stories, drawn from many sources and selected by Murray's biographer and great-great grandson, Randall S. Beach. Among the favorites included: "The Freemasonry of Outdoor Life," "Jack Shooting in a Foggy Night," "The Story that the Keg Told Me," "Henry Herbert's Thanksgiving," and "How John Norton the Trapper Kept His Christmas."

A classic work on the history of New York City written by one of America's greatest politicians.Theodore Roosevelt's New York, published in 1891, was one of forty titles he authored during his lifetime. Roosevelt sets out, as he declares in his preface, "to trace the causes which gradually changed a little Dutch trading-hamlet into a huge American city." New York admirably accomplishes this objective. Proceeding chronologically, Roosevelt maintains control of his concise narrative throughout, recounting events clearly while continually providing well-considered and enlightening analysis. In suitable places-without disrupting the narrative-Roosevelt offers the reader his perspectives on a variety of broader topics, including his admiration for leaders who combine boldness with wisdom and moderation and his perceptive outlook on the frequent lack of connection between wealth accumulation and good character and meaningful living. While Roosevelt's own time as an exemplary top-level "man in the arena" was still years away, in this revealing and engaging book about his native city by a historian then in his early thirties, there are glimpses of the mindset and temperament of the world-historical leader who was to preside over the government of the United States from 1901 to 1909-yet another reason why Roosevelt's classic book New York remains well worth reading.

The complete history of one of New York State's—and the nation's—founding families.The Livingstons of Livingston Manor provides a rich history of one of the most important families in the early history of New York State as well as the fledgling nation. Livingston Manor-granted to Robert Livingston the Elder (1654–1728) via royal charter from King George I of Britain in 1716-embraced 160,000 acres, including nearly all of what is today Columbia County as well as much of Sullivan and Delaware Counties. The primary family estate in Germantown, NY, where the leaders of the clan lived for more than two hundred years starting in 1728, Clermont on the Hudson River, is now a New York State Historic Site. Succeeding generations included "Chancellor" Robert R. Livingston (1746–1813) who served on the famed "Committee of Five" charged with drafting the Declaration of Independence. Other members of the clan also played major roles in New York State as well as nationally. Philip Livingston (1716–1778, known in the family as "Philip the Signer") was a delegate to the Continental Congress from New York and signed the Declaration of Independence; William Livingston (1723–1798) was a Delegate to the Constitutional Convention and a signatory to the US Constitution. Descendants of the Livingstons include the Bush clan, Eleanor Roosevelt (through her mother), and former New Jersey Governor Thomas H. Kean. First privately published in 1910, this long-unavailable history illuminates several generations of the Livingston clan and their impact on the fledgling and growing United States.