UMass Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press

A Portrait of the Conserved Landscapes of Massachusetts

Photography by Richard Cheek
Foreword by John Updike
Introduction by Robert E. Cook

Captivating color photographs of the protected landscapes of Massachusetts

When The Trustees of Reservations was founded in 1891 as Americas first private, statewide conservancy, belief in the restorative powers of nature was a relatively new idea in America. Gradually, the colonial impulse to subjugate the wild was transformed into a humanistic reverence for the spiritual power of nature, and land was set aside for preservation. Thanks to the efforts of The Trustees of Reservations and many others, Massachusetts now has 1.1 million acres of land permanently protected from development more than one-fifth of the state.

The custodians and promoters of this remarkable legacy of conservation include town and city governments, state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, private institutions, and generous landowners, all of whom have been influenced by the work of The Trustees of Reservations.

Land of the Commonwealth is the first photographic book devoted exclusively to the conserved landscapes of a single state. It is both a visual introduction to the diverse natural and cultural sites that have been protected and a tribute to the accomplishments of all those who have worked to safeguard Massachusetts's rich landscape heritage.

Organized geographically into five regional sections, the book uses spectacular color photographs by Richard Cheek to capture the scenic, historic, and ecological dimensions of the conserved landscapes of Massachusetts. Each chapter begins with a description of the regions defining characteristics, followed by images of exemplary natural, designed, working, historical, and literary landscapes. Some are popular and beloved, others little-known and waiting to be discovered.

"If Massachusetts, one of the longest-settled and most populous of the states, remains one of the most livable, one reason is the formation, over a century ago, of a group of citizens whose public spirit dedicated itself to the acquisition of bits of scenery as country parks for the growing and crowded masses of greater Boston."

John Updike, from the foreword

Richard Cheek has devoted his career to recording the visual history of American architecture and landscape design through photography. He is the author of fourteen photographic books.

Photography / New England Studies / Massachusetts / Nature
160 pp., 190 color illus., 9" x 11 1/2" format
$60.00t cloth, ISBN 1-55849-265-8
2000

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