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326. BECHDOLT, Frederick R. Tales of the Old-Timers.
New York & London: Century, [1924]. [10] 367 pp., frontispiece by Remington.
12mo, original tan pictorial cloth. Fine in the rare d.j. (a few old tape
repairs, some tears and splits, and two voids on d.j. spine).
First edition. Adams, Burs I:25. Campbell, p. 245.
Dobie, pp. 55, 96: “Vivid, economical stories of ‘The Warriors of the Pecos’
(Billy the Kid and the troubles on John Chisum’s ranch-empire), of Butch Cassidy
and his Wild Bunch in their Wyoming hide-outs, of the way frontier Texans
fought Mexicans and Comanches over the open ranges.” Dobie & Dykes, 44
& 44 #30. Dykes, Fifty Great Western Illustrators (Remington
395); Kid 94. Guns 179. Herd 230. Chapters include “Adobe
Walls,” “The First Cowboy,” and “The Last of the Open Ranges.” Saunders 2729.
$125.00
327. BECHDOLT, Fredrick R. Tales of the Old-Timers. New York & London: Century, [1924]. Another copy. 8vo, original tan pictorial cloth. Slightly worn, d.j. not present. $50.00
328. BECHDOLT, Frederick R. When the West Was Young.
New York: Century, 1922. [10] 309 pp., frontispiece by Remington showing John
Slaughter gathering a great herd. 12mo, original red cloth decorated and lettered
in black. Endsheets moderately browned and fore-edges foxed, interior fine.
In the rare illustrated d.j., which is lightly chipped, torn, and with a few
voids.
First edition. Adams, Burs I:26. Cowan, p. 41. Dykes,
Fifty Great Western Illustrators (Remington 394); Kid 866. Guns
180. Herd 231. Smith 691. Wallace, Arizona History X:5. Includes
chapters on Joaquín Murieta and John Slaughter. $165.00
329. BECHDOLT, Frederick R. When the West Was Young. New York: Century, 1922. Another copy. Some light discoloration to binding, d.j. not present. Bookplate of William MacLeod Raine, the noted English writer on Western subjects (see Thrapp III, pp. 1188-89). $65.00
330. BECHDOLT, Fredrick R. When the West Was Young. New York: Century, 1922. Another copy. Very fine, bright, and tight. $60.00
331. BECHDOLT, Frederick R. When the West Was Young.
New York: Century, [1922]. [10] 309 pp., frontispiece by Remington. 12mo,
original red cloth decorated and lettered in black. Fine. Bookplate of Lewis
H. and Helen McKinnie and ownership signature.
Reprint, without date on title. $25.00
332. BECK, Warren A. & Ynez D. Haase. Historical
Atlas of New Mexico. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, [1969]. [140]
pp., maps. Large 4to, original yellow cloth. Very fine in d.j.
First edition. This work consists almost entirely of maps
with explanatory text on facing pages, including no. 39, “Cattle Trails, 1866-1880”
and no. 11, “Agriculture.” $40.00
California Diseños
333. BECKER, Robert H. Designs on the Land: Diseños of
California Ranchos and Their Makers. San Francisco: [Grabhorn-Hoyem for]
The Book Club of California, 1969. [143] pp., 65 sepia-tone and full-color
maps of ranchos. Oblong folio, original half tan suede over brown cloth. Very
fine.
First edition, limited edition (500 copies). Grabhorn-Hoyem
(1966-1973) 29. Reese, Six Score 9: “This book depicts contemporary
maps of ranchos in California from the Mexican period. A beautiful book, designed
by the Grabhorns and printed in an edition of 500.” $440.00
334. BECKER, Robert H. Diseños of California Ranchos:
Maps of Thirty-Seven Land Grants (1822-1846) from the Records of the United
States District Court, San Francisco. San Francisco: [Grabhorn Press for]
The Book Club of California, 1964. xxii [100] pp., 37 maps of ranchos (24
folding, 27 in color). Folio, original patterned boards, tan linen backstrip,
lettered in orange on spine. Very fine in original plain white d.j.
First edition, limited edition (400 copies). Heller &
Magee, Grabhorn 648. Howell 50, California 1293: “A fascinating
and beautiful volume on the ranchos of Mexican California, with facsimile
reproductions of 37 of the diseños (sketch-maps) prepared for use in
determining grants of land. A remarkable and historically important study
of a unique aspect of California’s pastoral heritage—before the momentous
changes brought by the American occupation, the Gold Rush, and the railroad.”
Reese, Six Score 9n. $605.00
335. BECKETT, V. B. Baca’s Battle...Elfego Baca’s Epic
Gunfight at ’Frisco Plaza, N.M., 1884, As Reported at the Time. Together with
Baca’s Own Final Account of the Battle. Houston: Stagecoach Press, [1962].
30 [2] pp., illustrated title by José Cisneros. 16mo, original illustrated
wrappers. Very fine. Presentation copy to Carl Hertzog, signed by designer
and publisher Jack Rittenhouse.
First edition thus. Dykes, Fifty Great Western Illustrators
(Cisneros 18). Guns 182: “One part of this pamphlet is a reprint
by the author from The Black Range, published in...1884; the other
part is a reprint from Baca’s own pamphlet...[see Guns 104].” Baca
holed up in a shack in the New Mexico mountains in 1884 and held off 80 cowboys
for 36 hours, escaping injury from the estimated 4,000 shots fired at him.
The present work is Beckett’s contemporary account, accompanied by Baca’s
own version. $65.00
336. BECKETT, V. B. Baca’s Battle.... Houston: Stagecoach Press, [1962]. Another copy. Very fine. $50.00
337. BEDELL, G. H. Judging Sheep [wrapper title].
[Washington]: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers’ Bulletin 1199, [1933].
18 pp., photographic illustrations. 8vo, original pictorial wrappers. Light
wear and creasing, overall very good, with a few light pencil notes.
“Revised edition” (first issued in 1921). A how-to manual, with
suggested score-card, geared toward better breeding. $10.00
338. BEDFORD-JONES, Henry. The Mission and the Man: The
Story of San Juan Capistrano. Pasadena, California: San Pasqual Press,
1939. [10] 40 pp., frontispiece portrait, decorated initials by June Simonds.
8vo, original red cloth over blue pictorial cloth. Fine in d.j. Ownership
inscription of W. J. Dermody, Ogden, Utah.
First edition. Rocq 6225. Weber, The California Missions,
p. 6: “Prose-poem of tribute to Father St. John O’Sullivan and to the revitalization
of Mission San Juan Capistrano through his efforts.” References to mission
ranching and its fundamental role in mission economics. $80.00
339. BEDICHEK, Roy. Adventures with a Texas Naturalist.
Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1947. xx [2] 293 pp., frontispiece and text
illustrations by Ward Lockwood. 12mo, original grey cloth. Very fine in near
fine d.j. Signed by author.
First edition. Basic Texas Books 13. Campbell, pp.
43, 112: “Few writers in the Southwest are so observant, so independent, and
so much in love with the region.” Dobie, pp. 22, 150, 170-71: “Gives meanings
to the hackberry tree, limestone, mockingbird, Inca dove, Mexican primrose,
golden eagle, the Davis Mountains, cedar cutters, and many another natural
phenomenon.... The wisest book in the realm of natural history produced in
America since Thoreau.” Green, The Fifty Best Books on Texas, p. 37:
“Texas cannot really be known without reading Adventures of a Texas Naturalist.”
Includes two chapters on fences and two on the Davis Mountains.
$75.00
340. BEDICHEK, Roy. Adventures with a Texas Naturalist.
Garden City, New York: Doubleday, 1947. xx [2] 293 pp., frontispiece and text
illustrations by Ward Lockwood. 12mo, original grey cloth. Other than occasional
mild foxing, fine in fine d.j. (price-clipped).
First edition, early reprint. $35.00
341. BEDICHEK, Roy. Adventures with a Texas Naturalist.
Austin: University of Texas Press, [1961]. xxviii [2] 330 pp., frontispiece,
illustrations by Ward Lockwood. 8vo, original beige cloth. Very fine in d.j.
Revised edition. Foreword by H. Mewhinney. $20.00
342. BEDICHEK, Roy. Karánkaway Country. Garden City,
New York: Doubleday, 1950. xxiii [3] 290 pp., frontispiece, double-page map
of Texas, endpaper maps. 8vo, original beige cloth. Gift inscription, otherwise
fine in slightly worn d.j. Signed by author.
First edition. Campbell, p. 112: “Bedichek has a wise,
genial, and original mind, prolific of fresh points of view and filled with
first-hand observations.” Dobie, pp. 150-51: “The foremost naturalist of the
Southwest, Bedichek constantly relates nature to civilization and human values.”
Tate, Indians of Texas 554. Insightful survey of the natural history
of the Texas Gulf coast between Galveston and Padre Island, with some references
to ranching, such as nutrition in range cattle, different breeds of cattle,
etc. Of the Hereford, Bedichek remarks: “The Prize Hereford...looks like a
mechanical structure built up with geometrical blocks of steaks and roasts
mortared together mission style with sheer fat.” $80.00
343. BEECHER, George Allen. A Bishop of the Great Plains.
Philadelphia: Church Historical Society, 1950. [8] 218 [2] pp., frontispiece
portrait, plates (mostly photographic). 8vo, original grey cloth. Slight stain
(printer’s smudge) on half-title, otherwise very fine in d.j.
First edition. The author served as an Episcopal bishop
in the ranching country of Western Nebraska and gives good detail on social
history. He describes a cowboy choir, training horses, big game hunting, his
visits with Buffalo Bill Cody and Tom Horn, Frontier Days in Cheyenne, etc,
and mentions specific ranchers and ranches. $35.00
344. BEELER, Joe. Cowboys and Indians: Characters in
Oil and Bronze. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, [1967]. xiii [3]
pp., 80 leaves (descriptive text opposite illustration), xv-xvii pp., illustrations
in black and white and in color. Large 8vo, original black cloth over terracotta
cloth. Very fine in d.j.
First edition. Dykes, Fifty Great Western Illustrators
(Beeler 34); Western High Spots, p. 64 (“High Spots of Western
Illustrating” #172). The descriptive text accompanying each plate was written
by the artist. $55.00
345. BELDEN, George P. Belden, the White Chief; or, Twelve
Years among the Wild Indians of the Plains.... Edited by Gen. James S. Brisbin,
U.S.A. Cincinnati, New York, etc.: C. F. Vent, etc., 1871. 513 pp., frontispiece
portrait, wood-engraved illustrations (mostly by the author). 8vo, early twentieth-century
three-quarter red sheep over marbled boards, t.e.g. Upper joint split (upper
cover almost detached), lower joint cracked, paper friable. Engraved armorial
bookplate of Rt. Rev. Nathaniel S. Thomas (Bishop of Wyoming), with 1913 ink
notes by E. A. Logan indicating he purchased this book from Bishop Thomas
and two further notes, including mention of Belden’s murder by “a jealous
Indian,” etc.
Early reprint (first edition Cincinnati, 1870). Campbell, p. 86.
Eberstadt, Modern Narratives of the Plains and the Rockies 30n. Graff
235n. Hamilton, Early American Book Illustrators and Wood Engravers
1490: “Belden was born in Ohio, ran away from home and lived for some time
with the Indians in the West, acquiring two squaws and doing many extraordinary
deeds. He later joined the U.S. Army, but in 1870 found he could no longer
stand army life and returned to the trapping and hunting grounds. He left
his diaries and manuscripts with General James S. Brisbin. According to the
latter, Belden’s career was ‘more varied and remarkable than that of any paleface
west of the Missouri.’” Howes B781n. Rader 326n. The book was edited by General
James S. Brisbin, author of The Beef Bonanza: or, How to Get Rich on the
Plains (see Merrill, Aristocrats of the Cow Country, p. 16). Chapter
65 (Powder River and the Big Horns) and chapter 66 (Montana) extol the excellence
of the grazing in those regions. Much on Native Americans, horsemanship, and
buffalo. $55.00
346. BELDEN, George P. Belden, the White Chief.... Cincinnati,
New York, etc.: C. F. Vent, etc., 1872. 513 pp., frontispiece, wood-engraved
illustrations. 8vo, original plum cloth, pictorial blindstamping on covers,
spine gilt. Plum cloth faded to brown, binding worn and frayed at extremities,
a bit loose.
Another early reprint. $40.00
347. BELDEN, Josiah. Josiah Belden, 1841 California Overland
Pioneer: His Memoir and Early Letters. Edited and with an Introduction by
Doyce B. Nunis, Jr. Georgetown, California: The Talisman Press, 1962.
150 [1] pp., sepia-tone portrait, endpaper maps. 8vo, original grey cloth
with pink paper spine label. Very fine in d.j.
First edition. Mattes, Platte River Road Narratives
51. Mintz, The Trail 29. Paher, Nevada 111: “Belden was a member
of the Bidwell-Bartleson Party, the first planned overland immigration to
California in 1841. This epic trek would become the opening wedge for the
great migration to California.... Belden’s account adds dimension to Bidwell’s
better known narrative of the event.” The author mentions ranches that they
passed, or where they stayed or obtained provisions. He notes that early immigrants
thought that California was a country more suited to ranching than agriculture.
Considerable information is given on the hide and tallow trade, wild cattle,
cow horses (the Andalusian breed considered best), wild horses, etc.
$50.00
348. BELL, Horace. On the Old West Coast: Being Further
Reminiscences of a Ranger. Edited by Lanier Bartlett. New York: William
Morrow, 1930. xiv [2] 336 pp., frontispiece (photographic portrait of author),
plates, text illustrations (including brands). 8vo, original charcoal cloth,
red marbled paper labels on spine and upper cover. Fine in d.j. with light
marginal chipping.
First edition. Dobie, pp. 38, 50, 84. Edwards, Enduring
Desert, p. 25. Flake 387: “Includes a section on Mormonism and its importance
to California history.” Guns 188: “Scarce.” Rocq 2791. Smith 729. The
material in this book consists of unpublished material left by Horace Bell
upon his death in 1918 (for Bell’s original 1881 Reminiscences of a Ranger,
see below). Bell includes much good material on ranching, including a chapter
“Ruin of the Rancheros,” Joaquín Murieta, individual ranches, brands, etc.
Also a chapter on Texas (“The Law West of the Pecos”). One of the plates is
a photograph of General Andrés Pico’s saddle and bridle valued at $5,000 at
the time of publication. $80.00
349. BELL, Horace. On the Old West Coast.... New York: William Morrow, 1930. Another copy, variant binding. 8vo, original green buckram over green cloth, red marbled paper labels on spine and upper cover. Very fine in slightly worn d.j. $80.00
350. BELL, Horace. On the Old West Coast.... New York: William Morrow, 1930. Another copy. Lower hinge cracked, d.j. not present. $50.00
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