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Welcome to Back of Beyond Books' recent acquisitions list. While we specialize in books of the American West, these listings will run the gamut of genres. You're receiving this list because you've either purchased from us or are a friend in the business. If you prefer not to see these monthly postings you may easily unsubscribe using the link at the bottom of the page.
This month we feature many books, photographs and ephemera of Californiana and Western Americana. Highlights include a vernacular photo album depicting Telluride in the early 20th century; two bank checks from the ghost town of Bodie, California; a copy of "Story of Estes Park" by Enos Mills; and a pristine set of Yellowstone stereoviews.
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Telluride Colorado Vernacular Photo Album
Condition: Good. Telluride, CO. Vernacular Photo album from Telluride, Colorado circa 1905-1910. Album is typical black flexi-boards with string-tied binding. Includes 51 snapshots laid loose (clearly some of these have fallen from mounts in album) and 117 snapshots in album. Snapshots range in size from 2 1/4 x 3 1/2 inches to 3 x 5 inches. Photos in various states with some glued photos and some mounted with corner mounts. Too bad for us but only 5-10 photos have annotations. Also includes three mounted larger format photos approx. 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches.
 
Album evidently depicts a family plus friends and colleagues living in Telluride, Colorado, circa 1905-1910. Many landmarks and buildings are recognizable including a birds-eye panoramic view of Telluride from Telluride Peak, the old hospital near N. Fir St. , Bridal Veil Falls, Bower House, Blue Lake, the Rio Grand Southern RR, Tom Boy Mine and the Smuggler Mine. The large format photos are likely Joseph E. Byers photos (from collector of Telluride photography) and show the Smuggler Mine and Pandora Mill, plus two bird's eye views of Telluride. There are also a grouping of snapshots showing nurses in and around the old Telluride Hospital. Other views include school children, family outings, surveyors, buggy rides, horseback rides, plus family outings. A better than average vernacular album. Ready for more research. 018510. $450
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Story of Estes Park and A Guide Book
Mills, Enos A.
Printed By the Outdoor Life Publishing Co., Denver, Colorado, 1905. Softcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Green wraps with white imprint; 6pp of advertisements, including one for the author's Long's Peak Inn. Copyrighted to 1905. Wraps have light wear to edges and white imprint is lightly chipped; binding is cracked; a few leaves in the text block are creased near binding. Illustrations include altitude and mileage charts, many b&w photographs of the scenery of the area, and a tipped in folding map of Estes Park and the surrounding area, from the notes of A. E. Sprague, another local hotelier and guide. Enos A. Mills is known as "The Father of Rocky Mountain National Park" for his efforts to conserve the area. ; B&W Photographs; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 105 pp. 018377. $950
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Yellowstone National Park Stereoview Set
Underwood & Underwood
Keystone View Company, Meadville, PA. Condition: Fine. Set of 30 stereoscopic silver gel photographs on typical 3 1/2" x 7" stiff grey cards. Title on spine reads "Stereographic Library - Yellowstone National Park - Vol. I - Keystone View Co." Copyrighted by Underwood & Underwood. No date but published circa 1920 by Keystone View Company. Set of views in fine condition; slipcase box in very good condition with light soiling and wear. Wonderfully clean set of stereoviews of Yellowstone National Park with crisp images and mounts. Each card numbered and titled on the front of mount with full written description of view on verso, including the title from the recto translated into French, German, Spanish, Swedish, and Cyrillic. Set includes typical highlights for the park (Old Faithful, Grand Canon of the Yellowstone, geyser basins, wildlife etc.) but also several striking views of rail and stagecoach transportation and tourists viewing scenery. A must have set for any National Park collection. One set of 50 stereoviews found at BYU as of May 2019.
018492. $425
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Montana - Its Story and Biography - A History of Aboriginal and Territorial Montana and Three Decades of Statehood (Volumes I-III)
Stout, Tom
 American Historical Society, Chicago And New York, 1921. Hardcover. Condition: Good. Set includes three heavy volumes, paginated as such: Volume I (including Index) iii-xlix, 1-894pp; Volume II 1-656pp; Volume III 657-1449pp. All have brown cloth boards with gilt title on spine; all edges marbled and decorative pastedowns and endpapers. Boards have moderate wear and light soiling; light soiling and toning throughout text blocks. Contemporary inscription by previous owner on first front endpaper of each volume. A thorough history of Montana. Shipping may cost extra due to weight of books. Six Guns 2149. ; B&W Plates and Illustrations; Small 4to 9" - 11" tall. 018497. $250
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Highgrade - The Mining Story of National, Nevada
Arthur H. Clark Company, Glendale, CA, 1981. Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Buff dust jacket over red buckram boards with gilt title on spine. Dust jacket has a mylar cover, and has light soiling and minor creasing; boards and text block are clean. A highly readable and well-illustrated narrative about the National Mine located in the Santa Rosa Range of Nevada. ; Large 8vo 9" - 10" tall; 150 pp. 018498. $38
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Daily Territorial Enterprise - Virginia, Nevada, Thursday Morning, April 6, 1865 - Vol. X, No. 56
Newspaper. Condition: Very Good. Newspaper measures 20 ¼" x 14 ¼". Newsprint is moderately toned and fragile at folds; a 6" tear repaired with archival tape on pages 2 and 3, affects content. This newspaper was published near the end of the American Civil War, and was published in one of the cities chiefly responsible for financing the U.S. Government during that war: the bustling Virginia City, Nevada. Articles are titled "Fall of Richmond," "Fall of Charleston," "Old Abe in Richmond" and also includes mining sales and assessments levied, and many advertisements from local businesses. ; 4 pp. 018489. $95
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Map Showing Location of the Jerome-Phoenix Copper Bearing Schist Belt in the State of Arizona
Bower, F.W.; Richard T. Belcher
Mayer, Arizona, 1917. Condition: Good. Map measuring 40 ½" x 16"; no content on verso. Compiled by F.W. Bower of Mayer, Arizona, and drawn and sold by Richard T. Belcher, U.S. Mineral Surveyor of Phoenix, Arizona. Map has five folds, all of which have light creasing around them; one fold has 11" of repair tape on verso for support; a few ½" tears along edges; light toning overall.
This detailed map depicts the Verde Mining District from Clarkdale to Phoenix, showing rail lines, mines, geographic features, towns and county boundary lines. No copies found in commerce or on OCLC as of May 2019. Image is slightly cropped, please call for more images. 018495. $75
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Partie Du Mexique No. 47--Parts of Wyoming, Colorado and Utah
Vandermaelen, Philippe Marie
Brussels, 1827. Condition: Very Good. Map is in very good condition with light chipping to the borders and very light soiling. Old coloration defining portions of the northeastern border plus lakes and what is likely to be the Colorado River (Rio Zaguananas). Beautiful and somewhat fanciful map of the American west including portions of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah from 1827. 21 1/2" x 29 1/4". Other landmarks include Timpanogas Lake (Utah Lake) , the fabled Rio de Buenaventura, the Animas River and the San Juan River. Sheet is from Vandermaelen's amazing 6 volume atlas--probably the first world atlas mapping the entire world on a uniform scale, forming what would be an immense globe if spliced together. Much of the information presented was gathered by the Domiquez-Escalante Expedition of 1776. ; 1 pp. 018507. $295
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Narrative of Nicholas "Cheyenne" Dawson (Overland to California in '41 & '49 and in Texas in '51) with an Introduction by Charles L. Camp and Colored Drawings by Arvilla Parker [Signed]
Dawson, Nicholas; Charles L. Camp
The Grabhorn Press, San Francisco, 1933. Hardcover. Condition: Good. Illustrated by Parker, Arvilla. Printed and published by The Grabhorn Press, 1/500 copies. Ex-libris of Danish-American actor Jean Hersholt with bookplate and signature on front pastedown. Signed and inscribed by novelist Hugh Walpole to Jean Hersholt on front endpaper. Quarter buckram over brown paper boards with title label on spine; fore and bottom edges deckled; color illustrations throughout. Boards have light soiling and light wear to edges; front endpapers have moderate toning. Dawson was a member of the first immigrant train to California (1841) with General Bidwell. Graff 1027. Howes D159. ; Number Seven of the Rare Americana Series; Large 8vo 9" - 10" tall; 100 pp; 018501. $75
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California in 1846 - Described in the Letters from Thomas O. Larkin, "The Farthest West," E. M. Kern, and "Justice"
Larkin, Thomas O.; E.M. Kern; Oscar Lewis (notes and introduction)
The Grabhorn Press, San Francisco, 1934. Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Blue paper over black cloth boards with title label on spine; fore edge deckled. Boards have light scratching and toning to all edges; previous owners bookplate on front endpaper. From the introduction, "the purpose of this book is to picture, from a somewhat unusual viewpoint, the swiftly changing series of happenings in California during the most eventful year in its history." ; B & W Illustration; 4to 11" - 13" tall; 64 pp. 018439. $25
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By Stage, Horse & Packet - The Far West Letters of Joseph Pratt Allyn
Allyn, Joseph Pratt; John Nicolson and David K. Strate (Editors)
The Book Club of California, San Francisco, 1988. Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Edition limited to 450 copies. Pictorial paper boards with title label on spine. 1" round dampstain near bottom edge of first few leaves, otherwise clean. This book contains selected correspondence of Joseph Pratt Allyn (1833-1869). "These letters are not just another western travel account, but rank as committed art, expressing a fine clarity of people, places, developments and things. Allyn constructs as well, an intelligent search for order and meaning in the West as a whole " (xiii). ; B & W Illustrations; Large 8vo 9" - 10" tall; 192 pp. 018500. $15
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California Gold Rush Miscellany, Comprising: The Original Journal of Alexander Barrington, Nine Unpublished Letters From the Gold Mines, Reproduction of Early Maps and Towns from California Lithographs; Broadsides, &c., &c.
Barrington, Alexander; Jane Bissell Grabhorn (Explanatory Text)
The Grabhorn Press, San Francisco, 1934. Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Maroon paper over red cloth boards with title label on spine; fore edge deckled. Boards have light wear to all edges and title label is slightly faded; previous owners' bookplates on front pastedown; text block clean. 1/550 copies printed at Grabhorn Press. A miscellany, all manuscripts and illustrations in this publication "have been carefully selected with the end in view of giving a picture of the early mining days in California. To accomplish this last it was deemed more suitable to give the viewpoint of the average man, unprepossessing, and more often than not, unsuccessful, than to search for Sutters and Larkins as has so often been done" (page iii). ; B&W & Color Illustrations; 4to 11" - 13" tall; 45 pp. 018438. $38
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Mines, Murders & Grizzlies - Tales of California's Ventura Back Country
Outland, Charles
Ventura Historical Society and the Arthur H. Clark Company, 1986. Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. Second Edition. Buff dust jacket over red buckram with gilt lettering on spine. Fine. "In chronicling the men and mores of Ventura County from 1871 and 1890, the author hopes to preserve some of the true stories and high adventures of the colorful mountainous back country as it existed in an era that is gone forever" (dust jacket). ; B & W Illustrations; Large 8vo 9" - 10" tall; 151 pp. 018418. $19
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Cement Hunters - Lost Gold Mine of the High Sierra [Signed]
Wright, James W. A.
Glen Dawson, Los Angeles, 1969. Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Quarter cloth over illustrated paper boards with gilt title on spine; leaves in text block are a grey-blue color. 200 copies printed by J. Wilson McKenney, Wilmac Press, San Mateo. Signed and inscribed by editor, Richard E. Lingenfelter, on front endpaper. Boards have light wear to all edges; glue and paper residue on front pastedown. "Legend places [Lost Cement] bonanza somewhere along the rugged eastern slope of the Sierra about the headwaters of the Owens River and describes it as a wide curbstone of reddish cement, richly bejeweled with nuggets of gold" (iv). ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 52 pp; Signed by Editor. 018503. $35
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Calico
[Coke, Larry; Madame De Lill]
Pamphlet. Condition: Very Good. Copyrighted to 1941, Mr. and Mrs. Larry Coke, Yermo, California. Buff wraps with orange lettering, staple bound. Wraps have light wear to all edges and light soiling; a few leaves have light pencil marginalia. This pamphlet includes a brief history and anecdotes from "old timers" of the California ghost town, Calico. Includes b&w illustrations and a simple map of the town. ; 16mo 6" - 7" tall; 57 pp. 018506. $45
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Southern California Local History - A Gathering of the Writings of W. W. Robinson [Signed]
Robinson, W. W. ; Nunis, Doyce B. (editor)
Zamorano Club, Los Angeles, 1994. Hardcover. Condition: Fine. First Edition. Red buckram with gilt lettering and illustration; housed in matching slipcase. Signed by the editor Doyce Nunis and printer Ward Ritchie on limitation page. This publication was a keepsake presented at the joint meeting of the Roxburghe and Zamorano Clubs in Los Angeles and limited to 150 copies. Slipcase has light soiling otherwise fine. A sample of writings from a great writer and historian of southern California local history, W.W. Robinson. ; B & W Illustrations; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 492 pp. 018315. $48
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Bodie Bank Checks
Set of two checks from The Bodie Bank dated to December 1878, when the town was at its height. Bank checks each measure 8" x 2 ¾"; printed and manuscript text on each check; no content on verso. Both checks have two 1/8" punctures near right and left edges, and each has ½" x ½" closed tear near center, affecting content. From 1877 to 1882, Bodie, California was a busy town, boasting a population of about 10,000. Its hey-day began around 1875 when "pay dirt" was discovered in a nearby cave, the influx of miners increasing as a large gold deposit was found at the Bodie Mine in 1878 (Bodie State Historic Park). These checks, at the amounts of $110 and $500, were written early on when the Bank was first established. In 1932 the Bodie Bank burned in a town-wide fire, leaving only the brick vault, and the safe inside it, intact. 018483. $225
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Six Dirigibles at Ross Field, U.S. Army Balloon School
Huddleston Photo Co., Los Angeles, Cal. Condition: Very Good. Panoramic photographic print of six dirigibles at Ross Field, U. S. Army Balloon School in Arcadia, California. Negative number and copyright information in the negative: "No. 8660 - Huddleston Photo Co. - Los Angeles, Cal." Photograph taken circa 1918. Photograph measures 42" x 8 ¾" and is shrink-wrapped. Has not been examined out of shrink-wrap. Light yellowing overall; ¼" chip from top left corner. The U. S. Army Balloon School at Ross Field was established in 1918 as a training ground for aerial surveillance. The School operated for only a brief time. After the end of WWI balloon operations became a smaller part of the Army's aviation program and the School ceased operations in the spring of 1919. The image captured here is quite detailed with the six dirigibles looming over the soldiers, who are holding onto the balloons, flanking them, or standing in the balloon's basket. One copy found at LOC as of April 2019. 018487. $1,250
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Muir Woods Photo Album
Palmer-Mitchell, Virginia and Thomas
 Condition: Very Good. Vernacular photo album with 25 silver-gel photographic prints of Muir Woods, California taken circa 1909. Album covers are brown burlap with title label on front; covers measures 11 ½" x 7 ¼"; black leaves, all have been used. Photos measure between 3 ½" x 3 ½" and 6 ½" x 4 ¼"; a few have captions on the photograph or underneath it in pencil; most have good contrast and detail, but a few have poor contrast and focus. Album covers have light wear to edges; photos have light silvering and yellowing. Overall very good.
Album belonged to Virginia and Thomas Palmer-Mitchell. Most of the images depict a group of young men and women posing in Muir Woods, all looking carefree and happy among the iconic Redwood trees. One image depicts the party on the "Gravity Train" up Mount Tamalpais, and one depicts a cabin in the woods. The log cabin was built in 1905 and was located near the north end of the redwood forest. Although the photo is captioned "A cabin, Muir Woods - John Muir's," the nicely situated cabin was likely built for William Kent, who donated the land to make Muir Woods National Monument. It is said that John Muir stayed at the cabin at one time ("Historic Resource Study for Muir Woods National Monument"). A nice grouping of early photographs of the popular national monument. Please call for more images. ; 14 pp. 018493. $475
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Tradition and Innovation
Bates, Craig D. ; Lee, Martha J.
Yosemite Association, Yosemite National Park, CA, 1990. Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Grey boards with silver imprint on front and spine. Tight binding and clean interior. Very light soiling on bottom edge. Board is showing the very slightest of warp. Jacket has very very light edge wear and a very small tear (1/2") on front flap. A comprehensive study of the history and basketry of the Miwok and Paiutes in and around the area of Yosemite and Mono Lake. Illustrated with hundreds of photographs. A beautifully produced book. ; B & W Photographs; Oblong Small 4to 9" - 11" tall; 225 pp. 018401. $45
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Edward Vischer's Drawings of the California Missions 1861-1878
Vischer, Edward; Jeanne Van Nostrand
Book Club of California, San Francisco, 1982. Hardcover. Condition: Fine. Brown cloth boards with gilt title on front and spine. Unpaginated. One of 600 copies printed by the Arion Press. Top edges had moderate foxing, otherwise clean. A collection of color reproductions of drawings done by Edward Vischer of the Missions in California. ; Large 8vo 9" - 10" tall. 018511. $38
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An Artist Records the California Missions [Signed]
Ford, Henry Chapman; Norman Neuerburg (Introduction)
 The Book Club of California, San Francisco, 1989. Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. Decorative cloth boards with title label on spine. 1/450 copies. Signed and inscribed by editor, Norman Neuerburg on half title page. Boards have light wear to edges. This volume contains a portion Henry Chapman Ford's manuscript of "The Mission Era of California" which was left unfinished at his death. The sections included in this volume concern the individual missions and the California Mission Indians, and are profusely illustrated with reproductions of his drawings and etchings. ; B&W & Color Illustrations; Oblong 4to 11" - 13" tall; 100 pp. 018512. $42
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An Old Shoe Box - The Story of a Discovery of a Drawing by Charles M. Russell
C.F.O. [Charles F. Outland]
Santa Paula, California, 1975. Pamphlet. Condition: Fine. Large pamphlet with buff wraps and black lettering. Fine. This publication tells the story of how Mary Rubel Burger found a sketch titled "Damn the Flies!" by Charles M. Russell on an old shoe box. ; B & W Illustrations; 4to 11" - 13" tall; 6 pp.
018460. $15
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Original Sketch of Canyon Kiddies
Swinnerton, James
 Condition: Very Good. Original multi-paneled sketch of a "Canyon Kiddies" cartoon by James Swinnerton. The sketch is drawn on art paper which has been backed on cardboard; measures 11 ¾" x 15 ½" including the backing. The cartoon has three panels, created in ink and watercolor, and has manuscript captions written in pencil. Margins also contain notes in pencil reading "Feb. Issue", "Four Colors," "120 Screen." On verso there are a few pencil notations "February Issue," a string of numbers and a faded rubber stamps with information written in pencil "1974 - 7" - 11/16/25(?)". Very good. Moderate toning and penciled captions are somewhat faded.
The cartoon depicts Hopi and Navajo children. Panels are captioned as follows: "See all the animals here, why do they quake with fear? Zee-Nah has told them large and small, how his big dad can lick them all"/ "Pi-Kee is a puzzled little Hopi girl, she's ne'er before seen hair that curled, her comment is we hope well meant, she says 'that girl's hair is well bent'" / "They're looking high they're looking low, for this wee hiding Navajo, that he'll be found, alas, we fear, because his pup stands round(?) too near." James Swinnerton (1875-1974) was a famous cartoonist and landscape painter. Around 1906 Swinnerton contracted tuberculosis and moved the Southwest for his health. While in the desert he created beautiful landscape paintings and a cartoon series based off of Native American children of the Southwest. The series that this sketch came from was called "Canyon Kiddies," and ran from 1922 to 1941. 018485. $950
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Nine Items in Celebration of Ward Ritchie's 75th Birthday
Ritchie, Ward
 1980. Ephemera. Condition: Fine. Nine items of ephemera celebrating the 75th birthday of Los Angeles printer and publisher Ward Ritchie. All items are housed in a white envelope. All items in fine condition.
Collection includes: "The Laurel & the Grape - On Ward Ritchie's 75th" designed by Grant Dahlstrom and printed at The Castle Press; "Honoring Ward Ritchie on his Birthday", Ethan B. Lipton Printer, David Moise lithographic presswork; "Honoring Ward Ritchie on his Seventy-Fifth Birthday" (no printing or publication info); "Honoring Ward Ritchie on his Seventy-Fifth Birthday"
(no printing or publication info); "Honoring Ward Ritchie on his Seventy-Fifth Birthday" printed at Battledore press; invitation to an informal garden party honoring Mr Ward Ritchie on his 75th birthday printed by Pall Bohne of Bookhaven Press; "A Garden Party" printed at the Oviatt Library, Cal State, Northridge by Howard Williams; "Honoring Ward Ritchie on his 75th Birthday" printed by V. Gerry ; "Ward Ritchie, Printer - A Seventy-Fifth Birthday Salute" designed by Mark Sanders and printed at Northland Press. All told, a nice collection of keepsakes in celebration of Ward Ritchie. 018424. $55
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