BACK HOME; Being a Narrative of Judge Priest and His People

NY, NY: George H. Doran Co., 1912. xiii, 348 pp., green cloth w/ gold lettering & decoration; Book shows cock to spine; a number of small nicks, rubs & discoloration to covers; moderate wear to ends of spine & corners & edges of boards; edges of page block browned w/ a few spots of foxing w/ interior pages slightly browned w/ the occasional spot of foxing; prev. owner's bookplate to front pastedown w/ handwritten date "7 (or 9?)/25/13" to bottom edge of front free endpaper; binding is cracking some between frontispiece & title page, but still seems solid; small bends to top corners of a few leaves w/ a few towards front missing a tiny portion of top corners / The "GHD" symbol is present on the copyright page, indicating a first edition. This is Cobb's first collection of stories about a shrewd and kindly Kentucky judge, Judge Priest. According to the bookplate, this copy belonged to Ethel Frances Hilton, likely the second wife (beginning in 1928) of Cone Johnson, Texas lawyer and politician. In 1912, as a delegate to the Democratic convention in Baltimore, Johnson gained national notice as the leader of the so-called "Immortal Forty," Texas delegates who provided crucial swing votes for Woodrow Wilson's presidential nomination. In 1914, Wilson appointed Johnson solicitor in the Department of State. Johnson acted as an advisor to Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan and handled American citizens' claims for losses in World War I.qv Many credited him with having a stabilizing influence on American foreign policy during this turbulent time. He resigned his position in 1917 and returned to Texas, where he worked in the Liberty Loan program and the Red Cross during the war. In 1920 Johnson supported William G. McAdoo for president and served as head of the Texas delegation to the national democratic convention in San Francisco. In 1922 he campaigned for Pat M. Neff in his gubernatorial race against Joe Bailey. Johnson's final public service to Texas was as commissioner of the Texas State Highway Department. He was appointed to the post in 1927 by Governor Dan Moody and served until his death. / . First Edition. Hard Cover. Good +/No Jacket. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.