Jonnes, Jill

Conquering Gotham, A Gilded Age Epic: The Construction of Penn Station and its tunnels

ISBN: 9780670031580
New York, NY: Viking/ Penguin, 2007. First Edition. Hardcover. "As the nineteenth century ends, Pennsylvania Railroad president Alexander Cassatt seeks some way- other than huge fleets of ferries from New Jersey- to bring the PRR's tens of millions of passengers into water-locked Gotham. By 1901, the brilliant Cassatt has embarked on a course so ambitious, so visionary that it is denounced as corporate folly. Under his direction, the PRR will build a monumental system of electrified tunnels under the Hudson River, Manhattan, and the East River to Long Island, capping them all with the crown jewel of Pennsylvania Station. And so begins a high-stakes Gilded Age drama pitting the nation's greatest corporation against the unruly forces of Tammany New York, America's richest city and most important port." (from front flap) The epic story of Pennsylvania Station & its system of tunnels, an architectural & engineering marvel. With tragic short-sightedness, the great, classically-inspired Penn Station would be demolished only a half-century after its completion- but its martyrdom to "progress" would help ignite the movement toward historic preservation which has since saved & restored many great urban structures. The acclaimed Swiss-born American journalist & author Jill Jonnes (b. 1952) brings to life the decade-long saga of Penn Station from its inception to completion, involving many of the most famous Gilded Age politicians, magnates & others as they helped- or hindered- the indeed brilliant visionary Alexander Cassatt (1839-1906), who did not live to see the fulfillment of his vision, & his successors who saw it through. With captioned historical photographs throughout. Hardcover in unclipped first-issue dust jacket (with $27.95 price & "0407" printed at front flap), first edition, first printing as indicated by number sequence on copyright page. From the collection of Russell Taylor Weil (b. 1927), a prominent retired attorney & collector from Washington, DC. A fascinating & page-turning Jonnes collectible in its rarest contemporary form, with distinguished provenance. Book in very fine condition with only a hint of wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of front, back covers & spine; a small irregular circle of faint creasing across upper spine (likely a minor flaw as issued, not effecting bright & intact gilt lettering thereon); a touch of browning, rubbing at edges of text block esp. upper edge. Interior very fine with only slight browning to page leaves, mostly at blank margins/edges. Dust jacket relatively fine-to-very-fine with only very slight rubbing, faint scratching to front, back covers & spine; a bit of wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same & flaps; small area of laminate loss at mid-upper front cover; one small but somewhat pronounced crease where once folded from upper left edge of rear flap to left edge. Very Fine / Fine- Very Fine. [Item #6393]

Price: $40.00