A Lady's Experiences in the Wild West in 1883

London: George Tucker, 1888. First edition. 8vo, 20x14cm, [v], vi-vii, [1], 80pp. Original decorated, olive cloth, spine stamped in gilt. Bookplate of James Pender to front pastedown. A bit shaken, lacking title page (bound without wrappers), some bumping and wear to boards else very good.

Highly interesting association of this travel narrative of an English woman in the Western United States, owned by the author's husband, who accompanied her on the trip, Sir James Pender.

Lady Rose Pender (1844-1932) and her husband, James set out on a tour of the West including Texas, California, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming in 1883.  The final destination was the Platte River Roundup, the couple having invested in a cattle ranch which they would inspect.  The narrative provides an important, rare, and somewhat humorous look at ranch life from the perspective an upper class English woman.  The Lady "authoress's" wit, disdain, and superiority shine through the text, despite her overall enjoyment of the trip.  In one example, Pender discusses the inefficient horsemanship and unimpressive horses of the cowboys, and elaborates:

"I did not like the cowboys; they impressed me as brutal and cowardly, besides being utterly devoid of manners or good feeling."

In his U.S. Iana, Howes summarizes her sentiment:

"Unflattering picture of an un-heroic West."

The book was originally issued in wrappers with copies, such as this, being bound up with and without them.  The first edition is quite uncommon in commerce.  We identify a single copy sold at auction, and another sold by Dorothy Sloan in the last 35+ years.   

Herd 1783.  Howes P 196.