Western Americana

Columbus: Gilmore & Brush, 1870. Hardcover. 8vo. Black cloth, heavily blind-embossed. vi, 626pp, (6pp). Very good. Newly, expertly rebacked in black cloth with gilt lettering; original front and rear boards slightly edgeworn; lacks five leaves (70a-b, 88a-b, 247-48, 281-82, 329-30), but quality facsimiles of those leaves on appropriate vintage paper have been expertly and archivally tipped in. Tight and attractive later printing.

[1877]: Continental Stereoscopic Company. 1 Photograph print on stereo card showing adobe buildings at Ehrenburg with adobe buildings and lean to's at the Colorado River. OCLC locates that only copy at the Library of Congress. upper front corner has chip but not extending to photograph. Carl Mautz, Biographies of Western Photographers notes he worked out of Prescott and also did work in Tucson.

Halls, Mo.: G. A. Warnica. Very Good+. 1907. First Edition. Hardcover. Continued Title : (Whose Acts of fearlessness and Chivalry Kept the Frontier Trails Afire with Excitement, and whose Robberies and other Depredations in the Platte Purchase and Elsewhere, have been a Most Frequent Discussion to this day, all of which Transpired During and Just After The Civil War. ) Bound in clean red cloth, gilt title on front cover with a double ruled border. Texts Interior is tight, clean & intact. B/W photograph illustrations. Decorated endpaper. The life of Polk Wells is exceptionally full of the frontier life of the West. Written by himself while an inmate in the Fort Madison Penitentiary, Iowa. Unusual inscription to A H Greenly (the noted Michigan Historian) on front endpaper dated Oct. 28, 1942 " Presented to A. H. Greenly - as a monument to the folly of .........Wright Howes". Wright Howes (of antiquarian americana fame) had derided this book as the "feeble… Read More

Bismark, Dakota: Tribune Printers & Binders, 1888. First Edition. Original Cloth. Fine. 85pp. Bound in maroon cloth, blind-ruled borders, gilt cover lettering. Major sections of this report are: Report of the Commissioner of Immigration: Report of Territorial Statistician; Dakota Weather Service; Agricultural Products; Land Entries (settlers and homesteaders); The Railroads. 9.5" x 6.25" "It was ... understood to be the paramount duty of the commissioner to instruct those not already residents of Dakota on questions relating to the growth and development of the territory; to urge upon investors and home-seekers the opportunities here offered, and to endeavor, in every laudable way to find occupants for the 24,000,000 acres of rich agricultural and grazing lands; laborers and capitalists who shall develop our mines and industries, and merchants and tradesmen who should build up our cities and commerce ...." (McClure's report). [OCLC locates three holdings: Minot State U, Alexander Mitchell Libr,… Read More

San Francisco: The Private Press of Thomas C. Russell, 1930. First Edition. Near Fine. limited 250 copies, Unumbered, Unsigned, [10.25x7in]; [4], ii-iii [The Russell California Volumes], [facsimile of 1847 map of Simpson route], vi-vii [limitation, manuscript narrative, facsimile last page of 1821 manuscript of Simpson], xix-xxxii [illustration of author for London edition and facsimiles of London and Philadelphia editions title pages], 232 pp., [4], frontispiece illustration of Author, index; Quarter red cloth with dark blue paper covers, paper label on spine with black lettering, pale blue paper end papers, top and bottom edges trimmed; Minimal shelf wea with slight fading of spine. [Hill 1573, Howgego II S25]. George Simpson (c.1787-1860) was the Governor of the Hudson Bay Company (HBC) in North America from 1826 to 1860. He was an administrator and experienced in the Fur trade that managed the HBC affairs from Montreal. he was a strong leader and greatly influenced the development of Western… Read More

Review Publ. Co. : Greensburg, PA 1903. Illus, 8 x 5.5", cloth, 296pp, no writing inside, wear to bottom of spine, corners bumped, binding tight. Doniphan's Expedition, the cause of the war with Mexico. A description of the people and customs

Potts Point NSW: Hordern House, 2004. First Edition. Fine/Fine. [11.25x8.5in]; xi [introduction], 690 pp.,732 articles with 4000 names of persons and ships, index of persons, index of ships; Gray green cloth covers with gilt lettering on front and spine, all edges trimmed, three gold page mark ribbons, light gray illustration of explorers looking at map on a promontory overlooking land on front and back end papers; Pictorial color illustration on dust jacket of Gill painting of Australian "Desert Interior" circa 1846 [also on end papers], black lettering on front and spine; Publisher prospectus tipped in. Raymond Howgego (1946- ) is an independent researcher, scholar and traveler. He has been researching the history of travel and exploration for much of his adult life. His first book in this series, Encyclopedia of Exploration To 1800, was issued in 2003 was the distillation of that research that took some fifteen years to complete. This book is the second in the series and cites more than 10,000… Read More

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1981. Signed on the half- title page by Barry Lopez. First edition / First printing. Black cloth. About fine in close to fine dust jacket with one small tear. No fading to the spine, which is common with this title. A sharp copy. Distinguished Recognition Award, Friends of American Writers.

Chamber of Commerce. Palacios By-The-Sea. The Friendly Land that Loves a Playmate. Dallas, Texas: Melton Printing Co. [Circa 1923]. Pictorial wraps. One sheet 48 x 64 cm folded to 24 x 32 cm. Illustrated. Map. Edge wear, reinforced with tissue. Good.OCLC shows no holdings. Promoting both agriculture and tourism. Date is from one of the testimonial letters mentioning the crop of 1922.

Georgetown, CA: The Talisman Press, 1967. First Edition. Slipcased. Near Fine. SIGNED #74 of 250 copies, Special edition, [9.25x6.75in]; [12], 13-558 pp., [1] colophon, frontispiece color portrait of Marshall in 1849, illustration of Marshall in later years pointing to the spot gold was discovered on title page, second frontispiece color portrait of John Sutter, 26 illustrations and images, facsimiles of letters, documents and hand drawn map relating to Marshall in rear pocket; Black, brown and tan marbled paper on boards with black simulated morocco back strip and yellow ink lettering on spine, mustard end papers, all edges trimmed, straw text paper; Double slipcased with maroon inner case and mustard outer case with tan spine label and black lettering, color illustration of Marshall monument in Coloma; Negligible shelf wear to book, prior owner ink signature on front end paper; Outer slipcase has minor soiling and age toning with several wear spots along spine edges, inner case has slightly darken… Read More

[Vancouver, WA: Mid-Columbia Chamber of Commerce, 1932]. Tall 8vo. 4 x 8.8 in. 15, [1] pp., printed in green & black throughout, with photo illustrations, centerfold pictorial map by Burnham showing routes along Evergreen & Columbia River Highways. Self-printed colour-illustrated softcovers, splendid wraparound Art Deco cover art of the Columbia River Gorge by Burnham (slight shelfwear), NF. First edition of this exceedingly scarce photo-illustrated travel guide to the Columbia River Gorge, by driving the Evergreen Highway on the Washington side past Beacon Rock and along the Columbia River Highway as far as Celilo Falls and The Dalles. The charming pictorial map by Burnham shows mountaineers on Mt. St. Helens, skiers on Mt. Hood, fishermen in Washougal and on Merwin Lake, sailing on the Columbia River, and more. Burnham (1900-1985) was at the time the Chairmen of the Vancouver City Planning Commission, and a fervent advocate of tourism improvements, pushed for reconstructing the Fort Vancouver… Read More

[Texas] [Houston] Jerome H Farbar. Houston. "Where Seventeen Railroads Meet the Sea."
A descriptive view book in colors. Denver, Col.: H.H. Tammen Company. 1913. Light brown pictorial wraps. 15 x 21 cm. Illustrated. Map [28] pp. One small abrasion to spine of front cover, back cover corner bend else very good.
OCLC shows 17 holdings (Columbia Univ.; Yale; Autry Mus.; LOC; Duke; Univ. Okla.; Dallas Pub. Lib.; TAMU; TAMU-CC; Univ. of Houston; UT-Austin; UT-Arlington; & Texas Tech. Univ.) Photomechanical reproductions of color photographs of Houston, Texas, accompanied by a brief descriptive text by Jerome H. Farber. Many great photographs, including of the ship channel; Galveston causeway; Main Street; City Hall; Main Street from Bell Avenue; Harris County Court House; Preston Street; City Park; Rossonion Apartments; Union Station; Chronicle Building; First National Bank Building; Cotton Barge; City Auditorium; Rice Hotel; Bristol Hotel; Union National Bank; Causeway with train; Grand Central Station;… Read More

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1938. First Edition, 1st Printing. Near Fine/Very Good. Will James. [8.5x6in]; xiv, 269 pp., [38], frontispiece color illustration of cowboy on bucking bull by James, 29 illustrations with one double page and others in text, 21 black and white images of rodeo action with commentary; Red-orange linen covers with dark blue ink lettering on front and spine between six ink bands, all edges trimmed; Cream dust jacket with cream lettering in a gray field on front and spine, red bands on spine, color illustration (same as frontispiece) on front, black and white image of bucking horse and rider with description of the book and rodeos on back; Minimal shelf wear to covers, edges or corners with light rubbing, light age toning of text; Some shelf wear to dust jacket with age toning, small chips and closed tears along top and bottom edges, significant darkening of spine and at front and back joints, not price clipped. [Frazier p. 120]. William Roderick James (1892-1942), a… Read More

San Francisco: Sunset Publishing House, 1920. First Edition. Paperback original. Very Good. [6.5x3.75in]; 98 pp., three maps - 'Aeroplane' view of Valley features, Yosemite Village and Valley roads, and fold out at rear of Yosemite Valley roads and trails to adjacent regions and contours; Brown pebbled paper wrappers of two staple/glue binding, with black ink lettering and illustration of Half Dome on front; Minor field and shelf wear to covers and maps, small tear at foot of back strip and along front joint (both repaired to limit further damage), minor soiling to covers, original glue stains along front hinge, some age toning to text, folding map in near fine condition with minor misfold edge crease. Ansel Franklin Hall (1894-1962) was a naturalist and the first Chief Naturalist and Forester of the United States National Park Service. From 1920 to 1923, Hall was the first Park Naturalist of Yosemite National Park. He established interpretive programs, founded the Yosemite Museum Association,… Read More

Signed. First Edition. Profile of Dallas' first important artist, Frank Reaugh. He surrounded himself with students, who called themselves the Frank Reaugh Art Club and they went out on sketch trips to West Texas. The book contains the rare booklet "Prose Sketches - 24 Hours with the Herd", which is printed in it's entirety starting on page 113. The book has only a slight bump on the spine tail and is Near Fine. The dust jacket has 75% paper loss on the spine and is chipped all around, but it's still in one piece: Listed as Good. I have an original copy of "Prose Sketches - 24 Hours with the Herd", listed in my online store. The book is signed by both authors on the front free end page (no personal inscription).