Indianola Imprint—1860
551. BRANDT, Louis. An Infallible Guide to Discover the Age of Horses....
Indianola, Texas, 1860. 47 pp., 46 wood engravings by G. Kaehrle. 12mo,
original embossed, gilt-lettered brown flexible cloth. Binding faded, light
edge wear, front hinge cracked, lower hinge starting, text browned, but overall
a very good copy of an exceedingly rare Texas imprint.
First edition. Winkler 1305 (locating copies at the Library
of Congress and the State Library of Pennsylvania). From the author’s preface:
“Horse-dealers are frequently accused of deceiving purchasers in the age of
horses; how every horse-dealer must be desirous of retaining and increasing
his good reputation, and would therefore not deceive others in this respect
unless he were himself deceived. The purpose of this book is, entirely to set
aside this deception and to enable all, both sellers and buyers (even those
who never before knew anything about the age of a horse) by a careful perusal
of its contents, to discover for themselves with unerring accuracy the age of
any horse.” Indianola imprints are rare. Indianola was tragically destroyed
in two devastating hurricanes (1875 and 1886) and never rebuilt. Author Brandt
and engraver Kaehrle are not in the Handbook of Texas Online. Kaehrle
is not listed in Hamilton or Fielding. $1,650.00
552. BRASHER, Lillian. Hockley County, 1921-1971: The First Fifty Years.
Epilogue, 1971-1976. Canyon, Texas: Staked Plains Press, 1976. [20] 401
pp., numerous photographic illustrations, maps. 4to, original red cloth. Fine,
signed by author. Scarce, privately printed local history.
First edition. Ranching on the Llano Estacado, with background
on buffalo hunting, establishment of early ranches (including the XIT and the
JA), brands, cowboys, detailed local histories, and two chapters devoted to
women. $110.00
553. BRATT, John. Trails of Yesterday. Lincoln, Chicago & Dallas:
The University Publishing Company, 1921. xi [1] 302 pp., frontispiece portrait,
photographic plates, illustrations. 8vo, original blue gilt-pictorial cloth,
t.e.g. Very fine and bright in original glassine d.j. It would be difficult
to find a better copy.
First edition. Campbell, My Favorite 101 Books about the
Cattle Industry 9. Dobie, p. 97. Dykes, Collecting Range Life Literature,
p. 12; Fifty Great Western Illustrators (de Yong 6); Western High
Spots, p. 27 (“My Ten Most Outstanding Books on the West”). Herd
310: “Bratt was a well-known cattleman in the early days.” Howes B725. Merrill,
Aristocrats of the Cow Country, p. 16. One Hundred Head Cut Out of the
Jeff Dykes Herd 84: “Throughout Bratt’s narrative are insights into the
ways of camp cooks, levee gangs and other hired hands.” Mattes, Platte River
Road Narratives 2049. Reese, Six Score 13: “The author was one of
the first ranchers in Nebraska. An Englishman, Bratt came to America in 1874
at the age of 17. In the late 1860s he worked as a bullwhacker supplying Ft.
Kearny and other army posts. He started his cattle business in 1870, and most
of his narrative is devoted to the development of the ranching industry on the
central plains.” $495.00
554. BRATT, John. Trails of Yesterday. Lincoln, Chicago & Dallas: The University Publishing Company, 1921. Another copy, without the glassine wrapper. 8vo, original blue gilt-pictorial cloth, t.e.g. Light shelf wear and a few minor spots to binding, otherwise fine. $385.00
555. BRATTON, Sam G. New Mexico Mythology, Tradition, History: A Brief
Historical Outline Extending Back to the Spanish Conquest...to the Present Date....
Washington, D.C.: GPO, SD147, 1930. [4] 32 pp. 8vo, original grey printed
wrappers, stapled. A few small faint stains to upper wrap, else very fine.
First edition. Saunders 3900. Biographies of important early
New Mexicans include James Hinkle, owner of Penasco Cattle Co. and manager of
South Spring Cattle Co.; William C. McDonald, manager and eventually owner of
the Carrizozo ranch and manger of the “Block” ranch owned by the El Capitan
Land & Cattle Co. (one of the largest in Lincoln County); and Representative
John Morrow, lawyer and stockraiser. $55.00
Presentation Copy with Extra Map
556. BRAYER, Garnet M. & Herbert O. Brayer. American Cattle Trails,
1540-1900. Bayside, New York: Western Range Cattle Industry Study, 1952.
128 pp., maps, text illustrations (some by Borein and Stoops). Laid in is an
excellent and detailed large folding map (America’s Cattle Trails...Compiled
from Contemporary Sources by Garnet M. Brayer and Herbert O. Brayer, Hugh T.
Glen, Cartographer, C. O. Froid, Illustrator Sponsored Jointly by The Western
Range Cattle Industry Study and The American Pioneer Trails Association....
Denver, 1949; 56 x 86.4 cm; outline coloring in red, blue, and sepia, vignettes,
portraits, and brands around sides). 12mo, original brown cloth gilt. Very fine
in d.j. Authors’ signed presentation copy inscribed to legendary bookseller
Fred Rosenstock: “To Fred, Frances & Marilyn from Garnet & Herb, 17
June 1952.”
First edition. Dykes, Fifty Great Western Illustrators
(Borein 40), (Stoops 12); Western High Spots, p. 28 (“My Ten Most
Outstanding Book on the West”): “On trails, trail herds, and trail drivers....
[A] little gem.” Herd 314. $300.00
557. BRAYER, Garnet M. & Herbert O. Brayer. American Cattle Trails, 1540-1900. Bayside, New York: Western Range Cattle Industry Study, 1952. Another copy, very fine in d.j. and inscribed “To my fellow Westerner & friend, Phil Whitely. Herbert O. Brayer, 23 April 1953.” $75.00
558. BRAYER, Garnet M. & Herbert O. Brayer. American Cattle Trails, 1540-1900. Bayside, New York: Western Range Cattle Industry Study, 1952. Another copy, very fine in d.j., and inscribed “For the James Rose Harveys—With appreciation of their historical heritage and of their devoted service in bringing the story of the West to American youth. Affectionately Howard & Margaret Driggs. August 23, 1952” (Howard Driggs was President of the American Pioneer Trails Association). $85.00
559. BRAYER, Garnet M. & Herbert O. Brayer. American Cattle Trails, 1540-1900. Bayside, New York: Western Range Cattle Industry Study, 1952. Another copy. Very fine in d.j. $75.00
560. BRAYER, Garnet M. & Herbert O. Brayer. American Cattle Trails, 1540-1900. Bayside, New York: Western Range Cattle Industry Study, 1952. Another copy, wrappers issue. 12mo, original white pictorial wrappers, stapled. Uniform marginal browning to text due to quality of paper, otherwise very fine. $40.00
561. BRAYER, Herbert O. Boom-Town Banker—Central City Colorado, 1880.
Boston: Business Historical Society, 1945. Pp. 67-95. 8vo, original flexible
leather printed wrappers. Very fine.
First separate printing. Offprint from Bulletin of Business
Historical Society 19:3 (June 1945; Whole no. 114). Wynar 5730. Brief biography
of Joseph Addison Thatcher, who gained wealth and influence through investments
in mines, ranches, railroads, and utilities, with interests in the Columbia
Land and Cattle Company and the Denver Union Stock Yards. Mostly consists of
excerpts from Thatcher’s banking manual of 1880, with notes on “Standing of
Customers” including Jos. Dostal (sheep rancher and one of the original promoters
of the Colorado Cattle Growers Association) and ranchers D. Sullivan, J. A.
& P. G. Shanstrom (“using money for sheep & cattle at Leadville.—Have
a good herd on Arkansas R.”), as well as several blacksmiths and feed and grain
dealers. $50.00
562. BRAYER, Herbert O. Boom-Town Banker—Central City Colorado, 1880. Boston: Business Historical Society, 1945. Another copy, variant binding. 8vo, original white printed wrappers, stapled. One corner lightly creased, otherwise very fine. $20.00
563. BRAYER, Herbert O. Land Grants of Laguna. N.p., n.d. (ca. 1936).
Pp. 5-22, map. 8vo, original white printed wrappers, stapled. Wrappers lightly
age-toned, otherwise very fine.
First separate printing. Offprint from Research (December,
1936). Saunders 1473n. History and titles of various large tracts, including
Pueblo Laguna claims for their land and mention of several ranchos; of particular
interest is the Baca “grant,” applied for in 1768 by Baltazar Baca, who planned
to use the land for stockraising; the validity of the grant was questioned as
he apparently was issued only a permit for grazing in 1769. $20.00
564. BRAYER, Herbert O. Ranchero. N.p., n.d. (ca. 1943). Pp. 181-95.
8vo, original white printed wrappers. Very fine, with Brayer’s business card
laid in.
First separate printing. Offprint from Pacific Historical
Review 12:2 (June 1943). Brief biography of José María Verdugo, transferred
from San Diego to Mission San Gabriel in about 1777 to guard mission lands and
livestock. He established Rancho San Rafael on Arroyo Seco in 1784. Discussion
of his disputes with Mission San Fernando in regard to land title and unfenced
cattle. $30.00
565. BRAYER, Herbert O. Ranchero. N.p., n.d. (ca. 1943). Another copy, without Brayer’s business card laid in. Slight split at head of spine, otherwise very fine. $25.00
566. BRAYER, Herbert O. Range Murder: How the Red Sash Gang Dry-Gulched
Deputy United States Marshal George Wellman. A Vignette of the Johnson County
War in Wyoming [wrapper title]. Evanston: The Branding Iron Press, 1955.
20 pp. Narrow 12mo, original tan printed wrappers, stapled. Very fine, with
note from editors laid in.
Limited edition (#185 of an unstated number of copies). Guns
261. Johnson County War incident involving George Wellman, “a quiet, retiring
cowboy who had worked on Henry A. Blair’s Hoe Ranch on Powder River.” While
serving as foreman of the newly consolidated Hoe and O.K. Ranches in 1892, Wellman
was drafted to assemble evidence that the holdings of absentee stockmen were
being looted. He was murdered while on this “secret” mission. $50.00
567. BRAYER, Herbert O. To Form a More Perfect Union: The Lives of Charles
Francis and Mary Clarke from Their Letters, 1847-71. Albuquerque: [University
of New Mexico Press], 1941. ix [3] 233 pp., frontispiece portrait, 6 plates.
8vo, original tan pictorial cloth. Mild discoloration to binding, but generally
fine in somewhat darkened d.j. (price-clipped, with loss of 5 x 7.5 cm area).
Publisher’s copy, with small ink stamp of The University of New Mexico Press
on front flyleaf.
First edition, limited edition (#219 of 350 copies). Saunders
2767. In several letters home the Clarkes write of the profitability of stockraising
in Missouri and Kansas, and while stationed in Fort Riley, Kansas, Clarke was
in charge of all provisions, including a herd of cattle. In a particularly interesting
letter to her mother in July 1871 Mary Clarke reports: “stock raising is the
only thing that has paid here [Junction City, Kansas] for the last eight or
nine years.... people go from here to texas and buys cows there for ten or fifteen
dollars a head that you would pay fifty or sixty here for. there is several
parties here engaged in shiping them from there here and from here to the eastern
markets.” $95.00
568. BRAYER, Herbert O. William Blackmore: I. The Spanish-Mexican Land
Grants of New Mexico and Colorado, 1863-1878 [and] II. Early Financing
of the Denver & Rio Grande Railway and Ancillary Land Companies, 1871-1878:
A Case Study in the Economic Development of the West. Denver: Bradford-Robinson,
1949. vi, 381 + vi, 333 pp., frontispiece portraits, maps, photographic plates,
endpaper maps. 2 vols., original navy blue cloth. Very fine set.
First edition, limited edition (#39 of 500 copies). Sloan,
Auction 9 (quoting Pingenot): “A very scarce case study on land grants
and railroad finance in Colorado and New Mexico. English entrepreneur William
Blackmore (1827-78) is an overlooked figure in Western history. He was a friend
of Catlin, Richard Dodge, Ferdinand Hayden, and Henry Carrington. In addition
to being a land speculator and promoter, he also collected over 2,000 photographs
of the West for his museum in Salisbury, England. His plate book Colorado,
Its Resources, Parks and Prospects.... (London, 1869) is a great western
rarity. When Blackmore’s business venture finally collapsed, he committed suicide.”
Wilcox, p. 17. Wynar 5168. Copious references to topics such as grazing rights
and fees, British livestock operations (including in Australia and Argentina),
brands, buffalo, specific cattle companies and ranches, Charles Goodnight, Peter
Dotson, beef exports, raising sheep, etc. $220.00
569. BREAKENRIDGE, William M. Helldorado: Bringing the Law to the Mesquite.
Boston, New York & Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin Company & Riverside Press,
1928. xix [1] 256 pp., frontispiece, photographic plates. 8vo, original tan
cloth. Usual mild age-toning, but generally fine in the scarce d.j. (price-clipped,
lightly worn and chipped; large portion of an additional d.j. neatly affixed
to rear endpapers). Author’s signed presentation copy: “To Charles R. Hixson:
Very truly yours William M. Breakenridge Tucson, Nov. 26th 1928.”
First edition. Adams, One-Fifty 17: “A very interesting
book about Tombstone, Arizona in its wild days, told by one of the law officers
of that period.... The book has an important place in the early history of Tombstone.”
Dykes, Kid 122: “Young Deputy Breakenridge went to Galeyville, Arizona,
in May, 1881, and had a run-in with Jim Wallace, a rustler from Lincoln County.”
Flake 803a. Graff 395. Guns 262. Herd 315. Howes B739. Rader 469.
Saunders 2768. Wallace, Arizona History X:9. Wynar 6998. $200.00
570. BREAKENRIDGE, William M. Helldorado.... Boston, New York & Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin Company & Riverside Press, 1928. Another copy, signed by author. Fore-edges soiled, usual mild age-toning, otherwise fine in worn, soiled and chipped d.j. Carl Hertzog bookplate and pencil note “Owen White Library.” Laid in are ticket stubs for “Tombstone Helldorado.” $125.00
571. BREAKENRIDGE, William M. Helldorado.... Boston, New York & Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin Company & Riverside Press, 1928. Another copy. Very fine in price-clipped d.j. (spine dark, back panel soiled, and very minor chipping). $150.00
572. BREAKENRIDGE, William M. Helldorado.... Boston, New York & Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin Company & Riverside Press, 1928. Another copy. Fine, d.j. not present. $75.00
573. BREAKENRIDGE, William M. Helldorado.... Glorieta, New Mexico:
Rio Grande Press, 1970. [8] xix [1] 256 [5] pp., frontispiece portrait, plates,
large folding map. 8vo, original tan cloth lettered in purple. Very fine.
Facsimile reprint of the first edition, with added publisher’s preface,
index, and folding map. $40.00
574. BRECK, Allen duPont. William Gray Evans, 1855-1924: Portrait of
a Western Executive. Denver: University of Denver, 1964. 290 pp., frontispiece
portrait, illustrations, foldout genealogical chart. 8vo, original red cloth.
Very fine in moderately soiled and price-clipped d.j.
First edition. University of Denver Department of History
Series, The West in American History 4. Wynar 5732. Son of Dr. John Evans, Colorado
territorial governor, Will Evans spent time as a youth on Kuhlborne, the family
ranch. As a college undergraduate he became smitten with the idea of raising
cattle, but in referring to Will’s “Kuhlborne fever,” his father correctly foresaw
that Will’s future fortune would not derive from the hard physical labor and
harsh conditions of ranch life. Kuhlborne always remained a pleasant retreat
from Evans’s life in transportation development, investment, and public works.
$30.00
575. BREEN, Dan. The Charolais Breed. San Antonio: American Breeds,
[1964]. xvi, 88 pp., photographic illustrations. 12mo, original turquoise pictorial
cloth. Very fine in publisher’s original shipping box. Scarce.
First edition. Introduced to Mexico from France, Charolais
were eventually bred and raised in the U.S. beginning in the 1930s. Chapter
5, dealing with Charolais in the U.S., includes a section on the King Ranch.
The author was a noted lecturer on Charolais breeding and headed the famous
Rancho El Canelo at San Fernando, Tamaulipas. $75.00
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