THE AMERICAN COWBOY

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1942., 1942. First edition. First edition. Signed and dated on the front pastedown sheet by the author in the year of his death. Bookplate of Harry C. James on the front free fly leaf, else a fine, bright, square copy in a price-clipped, lightly rubbed, bright dust jacket with minor wear to the spine ends, corners and extremities. The former owner of this copy Harry Clebourne James (25 Apr 1896- 28 May 1978) was born in Ottawa, Canada and immigrated to California in 1913. He began working in the film industry as a cameraman, writer, and director. He joined the Canadian military efforts in WWI in 1918 and soon after returned to California. His interest in Native American culture was sparked early on and James founded a number of organizations to highlight the aboriginal inhabitants of the Hollywood Hills; the Cuhuenga Council, the Western Rangers, and the Trailblazers were scouting clubs, and were influential in the establishment of the San Gorgonio Wilderness. This passion later spurred James to form a private boys’ school with similar subject matter, such as Native American culture and conservation. Lolomi Lodge was established in Altadena in1926. Book contains fourteen short stories. Frazier says: "Quite a lot of the material in this string of stories has been reworked from previous things Will had written, particularly in Lone Cowboy and Smoky. But the book holds together well and, in my view, it does what his preface promises." An exceptional copy housed in a cloth clamshell case with titles stamped in black on the spine.