Description:
First edition. Thick quarto. Calf, stamped in gilt and blind, [1], 743 pp., colored frontispiece, illustrated, plates, portraits, index to historical section, index to biographies, index to illustrations. Colored frontispiece by Gean Smith. BTB 34 says it best "This compendium on Texas cattle and cattlemen is also one of the rarest Texas books. J. Frank Dobie once said: 'In 1928 I traded a pair of store-bought boots to my Uncle Neville Dobie for his copy of this book. A man would have to throw in a young Santa Gertrudis bull now to get a copy.' Conceived as a mug book to be sold primarily to the people whose biographies appeared in it, the final published book contained so much of value on the cattle industry that it has become a classic in its field. Nearly 400 pages are devoted to biographies of some 449 Texas cattlemen, and these sketches are a goldmine for research into the cowboy and cattle industry. Jeff Dykes has called it 'an unequalled source of information and pictures of pioneer cattlemen.' The other half of the volume, written by Cox, provides one of the two or three best contemporary accounts of the history of the Texas cattle trade. Thirteen chapters are devoted to the subject, and include sections on barbed wire, mavericks, cattle drives, economics of the industry, improving the longhorn breed, and Indian depredations on the cattle range. One of the best sections is entitled 'THE COWBOY, AS HE WAS, AND IS, AND IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN.' Dobie found the chapter more valuable than the works of Emerson Hough and Philip Ashton Rollins. The Cox volume, being sent primarily to biographees, never entered the mainstream of the bookstore market, although it is said the work sold at $25.00 per copy. In addition, the spine of the book was unequal to the task of holding together 743 folio pages and many copies literally fell apart. Furthermore, the publisher's remaining stock was destroyed, either by accidental fire or by simply being dumped on the trash heap.
 
Thus are rarities created in the world of books." Six Score 24 says "One of the 'big four' cattle books, and after Freeman's PROSE AND POETRY, the most important. The book contains a wealth of information, and is a cornerstone in any range library. It is a vital and useful book." Minor wear to the covers and a light bit of cosmetic restoration to spine and corners, else a very good, tight copy housed in a cloth slip case with leather label on the spine and the titles stamped in gold. An exceptional copy with the rare color frontispiece, the original endpapers and the original binding in nice, unblemished condition. HERD 593. HOWES C820. GRAFF 891. DOBIE p.100. DYKES KID 29. BTB 34. VANDALE 44. SIX SCORE 24. RADER 1891. SAUNDERS 2846. MERRILL ARISTOCRAT p.17.
 

Genre: ONE OF THE "BIG FOUR" CATTLE BOOKS, CATTLE, CATTLEMEN, WESTERN AMERICANA
 

Price $13,750.00

Description:
First edition. 8vo. This is the rare, true first edition, and not to be confused with "Cowboy Life In Texas or 27 Years A Mavrick" which is the 2nd edition. Original navy blue cloth with titles and bull head on front cover and spine stamped in gold gilt, title and bull head stamped in blind on the rear cover, decorated front and rear endpapers, 213 pp., frontispiece [picture of the author], introduction, illustrated. Agatha p. 60 says "In 1893 a popular book in a cheap condition was published in Chicago by W. S. James. This story... was good proof that good people were interested in the romance of the plains whether true or manufactured with an eye for quick sales to a gullible public." Basic Texas Books 104 says "Written by a cowboy turned preacher, this is a valuable account of the life of a Texas cowhand. James was born on his father's ranch in Tarrant County near Fort Worth....He worked as a cowhand from childhood until 1885 when he was converted, after which, he says 'I went out among the cattlemen and worked as a missionary....' Straightforward descriptions of the cowboy and of ranch life. [R. H. Porter] reports: 'No edition examined had a page 7 or 8." The author tried hard to avoid the sensational and tried to give straightforward accounts. Page edges uniformly tanned, small nicks to a few page edges, two small rubbed spots to the rear cover and light wear to the spine ends and corners else a very good copy of a rare book. Housed in a cloth clamshell case with a leather label on the spine and titles stamped in gold gilt. HERD 1159. HOWES J50. RADER 2067. (LATER EDITION). GRAFF 2194. BTB 104. AGATHA p. 60. MERRILL p. 20. DOBIE p. 108-109. RAINES p. 125.
 

Genre: TEXAS, COWBOY, WESTERN AMERICANA
 

Price $7,500.00