LESY, Michael. Wisconsin Death Trip, New York: Pantheon Books, 1973. Softcover, 8 ½ x 11 inches, unpaginated, halftone illustrations.
Lesy's groundbreaking mashup of vintage photographs and quotations from local Wisconsin newspapers, creating an important socio-historical interpretation of small-town America in the late nineteenth century. After the preface by Warren Susman, Lesy creates sections by year, from 1885 to 1900. The photographs, all by Charles Van Schaick from negatives at the Wisconsin State Historical Society, show people shot in his studio and elsewhere. The newspaper text emphasizes death, mental illness, and other human tragedies, making for haunting reading. Very good condition.

FINE