State and especially local history gives students a chance to understand the people, places and things around them with which they're already familiar. Originally compiled and produced by publishers and subscriptions agents for area residents and patrons, the histories are difficult-to-find materials. Included in this collection on Pennsylvania are 15 cities and regions covered in 283 titles. These titles comprise tables and lists of vital statistics, military service records, municipal and county officers, chronologies, portraits of individuals and views of urban and rural life not found anywhere else. The atlases provide additional information on land use and settlement patterns and scarce early town and city plans.