The National Road: A Photographic Journey

By Clarence Carvell

Book Overview

Award-winning photographer Clarence Carvell captures the historic sights along Route 40 in this beautifully crafted coffee-table book. Filled with poignant black and white images, Carvell records the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1561679526
• ISBN13: 9781561679522
• Release Date: April 2007
• Publisher: Amer Literary Pr
• Length: 104 Pages
• Weight: 2.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 12.0" x 0.5" x 12.3"

Customer Reviews

Memories and more...

"The National Road" brings back so many memories of travel between Washington, DC and the West when Rt. 40 was THE ROAD. Beyond the beautiful pictures, Carvell's history of The National Road deepens our appreciation of its importance to those using it and to those who lived near it. For those of us who well remember the long line of headlights and red tail lights on a Sunday evening as we headed home, this is a must read. Thanks, Clarence, for your dedication to the project. It's a job well done.

The National Road by Clarence Carvell

I think this book will appeal to history buffs and lovers of photography alike. The National Road is a highway of great historical significance. Even before it became America's first federally funded highway in 1818, it was a major factor in the nation's great westward movement, contributing significantly to economical development, as agricultural products moved eastward while people and manufactured goods moved westward. Beginning with the picture on the dust jacket right through to the final image of the suspension bridge in Wheeling, Clarence Carvell's photographic essay, The National Road, draws you in and takes you on a journey through time and history. It is a testimony both to the fleeting nature of our physical history, for many of the structures pictured are gone now, and to the enduring nature of some structures which are still in use more than 150 years after their construction. Like all memorable journeys, it is filled with beauty. For some of us the images will feel nostalgic, for others they will provide fascinating glimpses into a different world. Throughout, the author's love of history and passion for preserving it are evident. The images are beautifully reproduced - each photograph is a work of art that can stand alone. Taken together, they provide a real sense of how one part of America became the countryside we live in today. The National Road: A Photographic Journey

A photographic and historical delight

The National Road: A Photographic Journey Clarence Cravall has captured the essence of a national treasure. The National Road began merely as some photographs along The Road and quickly became a passion of the author. A passion to document the history through photographs before all was lost to time. Several of the photographs illustrate structures that already no longer exist. From Cumberland Maryland to Wheeling West Virginia you are treated to some truely exceptional photography coupled with a historical prespective of the push westward.

A project that every Historical Society shoud emulate

Clarece Carvell's beutiful work finds a worthy subject in the National Road project. Spending over ten years documenting the path laid out by early settlers,was what became the first federally funded highay. Following a path from Baltimore to Cumberland and to the trails west. Carvell has brought together the history and some of remnants of this road for us to wonder about how it would predicte so much of what our nation would become. Looking at Wilson's School and the handfull of fascinating architecture of the Toll Houses give prospect of time that underlles what we are.

A visual celebration

"The National Road.. a photographic journey" is a compilation of photographs with captions by master printmaker, academician and lecturer Clarence Carvell. "The National Road" offers a visual celebration of what is to be found along U.S. Route 40 by the traveler. The black-and-white photography showcases the sights and sites of towns and villages revealing very special perspectives of American history and an American yesteryear that is all but forgotten by the advancing decades. This 104-page hardcover photographic study is especially recommended for academic and community library American Photography and American History reference collections and would well serve as a template for similar historic studies of other regional American road systems.