Search Results: Western Americana from Aardvark Rare Books

Palo Alto, California: Lewis Osborne, 1968. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine in Near Fine Dustjacket. Quarto. Blue, cloth-covered boards (10 in. x 8 in.) with gilt lettering to spine. 56 pp. including Bibliography. Limited to 1400 copies.Small indentation to bottom of front board. Small smudge to first page of Mr. Stewart's Foreword. Housed in plain, grey, dustjacket. Folding map laid in. Written down forty-four years from when as a 12-year old survivor of the Donner Party, Virginia Elizabeth Backenstoe Reed (later) Murphy recounted her tale mostly from memory, but consulted for details - sometimes inaccurately -- the text of McGlashan's 1879 account.

San Francisco, CA: SUNSET MAGAZINE HOMESEEKERS BUREAU, 1911. Softcover. Good Plus. Stapled booklet. 9.5 in x 6.5 in., pp. 64. Illustrated with color painting on verso of front and rear cover pages; profusely illustrated with black and white photographs of Nevada farming, and map of Nevada. Pictorial farming scenes to front and back covers with title in red on gold panel. Rubbing and small creases to booklet edges. Two in closed tear on spine seam. Closed tears to top margin of pp. 31-34.

London, England: Frontier Press, 1967. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Octavo, 6.25 x 9.25 in., pp. 399. Illustrated with 32 pages of plates, 45 drawings, and 19 maps (drawn by W.H. Bromage). Green boards with black panel and silver title to spine. Endpaper maps of "Territorial Growth on USA, 1776 - 1853." Spine and hinges are tight. Front top corner is bumped. Price clipped. Small chips to upper spine and light rubbing to top edge and corners of dust jacket. Dust jacket in archival plastic.

Boston, Mass: Little, Brown & Co, 1939. Early (though unstated) Edition. Hardcover. Very Good Minus in Good Dustjacket. Tom Lea. Octavo. Brown cloth-covered boards with black vignette of a Native American, bordered by gold leaf. Gilt lettering to spine. General light rubbing to extremities, and a nudged corner. Jacket drawing and black and white illustrations by Tom Lea,with several color illustrations as well. Dustjacket shows edgewear with a bit of chipping to top of (dustjacket) spine. Original $3.50 price to front flap. Top edge trimmed and foredge and tail untrimmed.

London, England: George Routledge & Co, 1850. Leather-bound. Good. 12mo, 6.6 in. x 4.5 in., pp. 291, [1] (advertising). Half calf with decorative ruling in blind over marbled boards. Gilt title on burgudy panel to spine; four raised bands with black fleurons to spine panels. Marbled edges. Rubbing to extremities. Chips to top/bottom of spine; 1.5 inch chip to lower portion of spine. Corners showing. Spine and hinges tight. Unmarked interior.

Washington DC: Department of the Interior / United States Geological Survey (Printed by Julius Bien), 1882. Hardcover. Good. Folio. 20 1/4 in x 17 3/4 in. Dark brown cloth-covered boards with recent rebacking -- red-gilt-lettering to front board with crossed geologist's hammers design and ruled in gilt, Black morocco spine, lettered in gilt. Shelfwear and rubbing to extremes, with professional reconstitution to worn corners. Library bookplate of Brooklyn Public Library, with 140-year-old accession, class and book numbers. Some paper repair to preliminary page. Title page lithographed by Julius Bien & Co., New York. With 15 double-page color tinted lithographed views of the Grand Canyon, including one after Thomas Moran, and 9 after William H. Holmes. 11 double-page color lithographed maps, and 2 uncolored maps. NOTE: The accompanying Atlas is a former-library copy. Most pages/images have a 2 1/4 inch x 3/4 inch perforating stamp of the Brooklyn Public Library near the outer edge. Chipping to some… Read More

Portland, OR: Binfords & Mort, Publishers, 1959. Third edition. Hardcover. Good Plus / Good Plus. Octavo, 8.75 in. x 5.75 in., pp. 205. Signed by the author on the front free endpaper. Illustrated with many black and white photographs. Yellow-green cloth boards with brown title and buckiing bronco to front, and brown title to spine. Light rubbing to extremities. Three nudged corners. Endpaper maps. Previous owner's name to top of front free endpaper. Verso of dustjacket is decoratedRubbing to dustjacket edges, with chips to top of spine and several small closed tears along top of dustjacket. Sunning to dustjacket spine. Price clipped. Protected in mylar. A fascinating and very human account of a great westerner (1835-1906) who realized his dream of a cattle empire through honest dealing and fair treatment. His operations, centered in Yakima Valley, Washington, and The Dalles, Oregon.

New York: The Knickerbocker Press -- G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1899. First Edition : Limited, SIGNED, Numbered Edition (197/1000). Leather-bound. Near Fine. Frederic Remington and others. Quarto. (11 1/4 in. x 8 1/2 in.) Massive, three-quarter reddish-brown morocco (goatskin), over stunning marbled boards of aquamarine, sage and gold, with endpapers to match) Boards ruled in gilt. Gilt lettering to spine. Five raised bands (six compartments). Top edge gilt. Fore-edge and tail untrimmed. Light scuffing to board marbling, and rubbing to extremities, with corner bumping. Signature in pencil of original owner (A.M. Gleason ?) and March [?] date, 1899, to front free endpaper. NOTE: Recently refurbished by our professional conservator. It was rebacked in sympathetic morocco (goatskin), with spine from original book, laid down.Several hinges, while none too pretty, have been considerably reinforced and strengthened, after the book's original 124 year old binding gave way at some point. With fifty-five,… Read More

Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers, Ltd, 2009. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good Plus. Quarto, 11.25 in. x 8.25 in., pp. xv, 450. Illustrsted with over 500 historic Western photographs. Light olive boards with dark brown pictorial of Bill Kitt and copper title to front and spine, and pictorial and copper design on back. Very light rubbing to extremities. Bill Kitt is a biography of William Kittredge (1876-1958) and his mercurial rise from every day cowboy to one of the largest ranchers in the West. It also includes a history of the areas in Oregon, Nevada, and California where he operated; and the old methods, equipment, and jargon used in raising livestock.

New York: G.P. Putnams Sons, 1930. Stated First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good Plus / Good Only. Octavo, 7.9 in. x 5.9 in., pp. xii, 210. Illustrated with black and white photographs. Boysenberry boards with black title to front and spine. Very light rubbing to extremities. Decorative endpapers. Unmarked interior. Sunning to dustjacket spine. Two chips to top/bottom of dustjacket spine, 1 in. x 1 in. and 1 in. x 1/4 in. Price clipped.

Newtown, PA: T.S. Kenderdine, 1888. Hardcover. Good. T.S. Kenderdine. Octavo, 8.7 in. x 6,3 in., pp. 415, {1}. Illustrated with tissue-guarded engraved frontis and thirty-eight additional engravings. Dark brown pebblecloth with elaborate frame stamped in blind and gilt title and "tramp" scene in gilt to front. Gilt title to spine. Rubbing to extremities; surface scuffs to boards. Fraying to head- and tailcap of spine. Corners nudged. Front and rear hinges started, but holding. Light age-toning to unmarked interior.(Howes K-78). Thaddeus S. Kenderdine (1836-1922) made his way from Philadelphia to Michigan in 1858, staying only a month before he determined to head to California. He remained for only a year, returning to New York in 1859. A California tramp (1888) describes Kenderdine's adventures in 1858-1859: his trip west as a driver on a California wagon train, visits to San Francisco and life as tramp and ranch hand in Sonoma County. His memoir closes with his return via Panama in 1859. The last… Read More

San Francisco: The Book Club of California, 1997. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine in a Fine Dust Jacket. xxvii, 771 pages. Color frontis, 31 plates. Blue cloth wih gilt design of gold pan, pick and shovel on cover, spine titles in gilt on black background with gilt border. Large thick octavo. Nice bright cover with very light edgewear. In the original plain white paper dust jacket which is in a mylar protector. Indespensible bibliographic sourcebook for the period.

San Francisco, CA: John Henry Nash, 1937. Reprint. Hardcover. Very Good / None. Tall Quarto , covered in elaborately marbled boards of brown, orange, red and silver, with fine-printed spine label. No jacket. First published in London in 1839, by Smith, Elder and Co., Master printer John Henry Nash undertook a project to reset and reprint this important California classic. Introduction by Herbert Ingram Priestley. Letter from Dr. John Forbes (the author's brother) to the printer, preceding Alexander's dedication. Facsimile of Alexander Forbes' signature, preceding Introduction. Ten illustrations, including frontis. Large folding map of California at end of work. Howes in Usiana writes: "First book in the English language devoted exclusively to California and of permanent value on its Indians and early missions" (F-242). Very slight rubbing to corners, Spine (and label) somewhat darkened. [xxxi], 229. Large folding map at rear.

Chicago, IL: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1930. Hardcover. Very Good Plus. Matching set of four volumes: Quarto, 10.25 in. x 6.8 in. Illustrated with black and white photographs and other engravings. Faux leather covers with stamped trees and capital building in blind to covers. Title and volume number embossed in blind to spine. Gilt top-edge. Light shelf-wear to top/bottom of spines. Marbled endpapers. No interior marks. Volume I: pp. xlvi, 569. Volume II: pp. x, 590. Volume III: pp. 581. Volume IV: pp. 579. Rockwell Dennis Hunt (1868-1966) was an eminent California historian, a professor at the University of Southern California and the University of the Pacific, and prolific author. He was named Mr. California by Governor Goodwin Knight in 1954. Hunt was born in Sacramento, California. He received his bachelor's degree from Napa College in 1890 and his doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in 1895. He taught economics at the University of Southern California starting in 1908, and served as… Read More

Tacoma, WA: John H. Wiliams, 1913. Hardcover. Very Good. Octavo, 9.6 in. x 6.5 in., pp. xxvi, 332. Illuatrated with sixteen color plates with captioned tissue-guards and more than 100 other illiustrations. Quarter vellum over burgundy cloth boards with gilt emblem to front. Gilt tile with arrow and canoe design to spine. Gilt topstain. Untrimmed fore- and bottom-edges. Light shelfwear to extremities. Title page in red and black ink. Previous owner's name in ink to front free endpaper and rear pastedown. Light age-toning to pages. Major Theodore Woolsey Winthrop (1828 - June, 1861) was a writer, lawyer, and world traveller. He was one of the first Union officers killed in the American Civil War. Winthrop's novels, for which he had failed to find a publisher during his lifetime, appeared posthumously. They include John Brent, Edwin Brothertoft, a story of the American Revolution. Cecil Dreeme, a semi-autobiographical novel dealing with social mores and gender roles, and The Canoe and the Saddle (first… Read More

Portland, OR: Binfords & Mort, 1965. Second edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Octavo. Brown cloth-covered boards. 167 pp. 48 pp. of black and white photographs. Slightly cocked, most likely from having been stored with weight atop. Clean copy. Colorful story of Peter French and his contemporaries who developed the great stock ranches in Southeastern Oregon in the late 19th century and set the pattern for modern cow ranches. Hardworking and ambitious, French in just a few years won control of 200,000 acres of range land and thousands of head of cattle.

Portland, OR: Binfords & Mort, 1965. STATED FIRST EDITION. Hardcover. Very Good Plus in Very Good Dustjacket. Octavo. Brown cloth-covered boards. 167 pp. 48 pp. of black and white photographs. Ever so slight rubbing to extremities of book. Dustjacket price-clipped. INCLUDES LARGE FOLDING MAP, laid in. Sharp copy. Colorful story of Peter French and his contemporaries who developed the great stock ranches in Southeastern Oregon in the late 19th century and set the pattern for modern cow ranches. Hardworking and ambitious, French in just a few years won control of 200,000 acres of range land and thousands of head of cattle.

Algonac, Michigan: Reference Publications, Inc, 1978. First Edition. Hardcover. Very God / Very Good. Octavo, 9.25 in. x 6 in., pp. 297. Illustrated with black and white photographs. Orange-brown cloth boards with gilt title to spine. Very light rubbing to top/bottom of spine. Endpaper maps. Two inch tape scar to front free endpaper. Light rubbing to coated dustjacket; price stickers to back of dustjacket and front flap of dustjacket. Thomas Bailey Marquis (1869 - 1935) was an American self-taught historian and ethnographer who wrote about the Plains Indians and other subjects of the American frontier. He had a special interest in the destruction of George Armstrong Custer's battalion at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, which became his lifelong obsession. Marquis' body of work is valued by historians for his recording of the life stories of several Plains Indians and his writing on their way of life, particularly those involved in the Custer fight.... Marquis developed his own theories regarding… Read More

Caldwell, ID: The Caxton Printers, 1981. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good plus. Quarto, 8.75 x 11.25 in., pp. xiv + [2] + 316. Illustrated with black and white photographs. Brick red boards with spear design and brown title on front and spine. Maps of "Nez Perce Country" in green on endpapers. Light rubbing to extremities. Dust jacket has light edgewear and small quarter-inch closed tears and small chips at top and bottom of spine. Dust jacket spine is slightly faded.

Kansas City. MO: Peck and Clarke, 1896. Hardcover. Very Good Minus. Octavo, 7.75 in. x 5.3 in., pp. 273, 1-58. Illustrated with black and white photographs and ink drawings. Dark blue textured cloth boards with gilt wreath with cactus design and title to front. Gilt title to spine. Sunning to spine; corners nudged. Interior unmarked and bright. Two parts bound in one: Part I: History of Mexican Politics Part II: History of Texas and Mexican War.