A treasury of American folklore : stories, ballads, and traditions of the people

Botkin, Benjamin Albert, 1901-1975 (editor.). Sandburg, Carl, 1878-1967 (writer of foreword.).

Summary: Named by the Library of Congress in a 2012 exhibit as among the top "100 Books that Shaped America," this two-volume set contains 500 stories and 100 songs collected from the author's time as national folklore editor for the Federal Writer's Project (1938-39) as well as his work as archivist of folksongs at the Library of Congress. As Carl Sandburg writes in his foreword, "So here we have nothing less than an encyclopedia of the folklore of America. An encyclopedia is where you get up into box car numbers ... besides giving you the company of nice, darnfool yarn spinners, it will give you something of the feel of American history, of the gloom chasers that moved many a good man who fought fire and flood, varmints and vermin, as region after region filled with settlers and homesteaders.

Record details

ISBN: 149302535X
ISBN: 9781493025350
Physical Description: print
xxvii, 932 pages : music ; 24 cm
Publisher: Guilford, Connecticut : Globe Pequot, [2016]
Distributor: National Book Network

Content descriptions

General Note:	Originally published: 1944.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Backwoods boasters -- Pseudo bad men -- Killers -- Free lances -- Miracles men -- Patron saints -- Tall talk -- The sky's the limit -- Local cracks and slams -- Pranks and tricks -- Humorous anecdotes and jests -- Yarns and tall tales -- From the liars' bench -- Animal tales -- Nursery tales -- Witch tales -- Ghost tales -- Devil tales -- Queer tales -- Play rhymes and catch colloquies -- Singing and play-party games -- Ballads and songs.