James Will William Roderick (6 results)

hardcover. Condition: Good.

First Edition. Very good copy in the original title-blocked cloth. Spine bands and panel edges slightly dust-toned and rubbed as with age. Remains well-preserved overall. Physical description; x p., 1 l., 328 p. : illus. ; 21 cm. Subjects; Horses ; Folklore.Horses Legends and stories. 3 Kg.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Will James (Author-Illustrator) (illustrator). Reprint. Text/Bright, strong & Near New w/soiling to pg 36. Illustrated embossed brown cloth boards w/rubs to corner tips & upper/lower spine edges. DJ/None. First published by Charles Scribner; this is a reprint with Scribner logo to lower edge of copyright page. Novel by cowboy author & illustrator Will[iam] Roderick Jackson (1892 - 1942). Story accompanied by action packed illustrations, some first seen in the Saturday Evening Post.

First Edition. Very good copy in the original title-blocked cloth. Spine bands and panel edges slightly dust-toned and rubbed as with age. Remains well-preserved overall. Physical description; x p., 1 l., 328 p. : illus. ; 21 cm. Subjects; Horses ; Folklore.Horses Legends and stories. 1 Kg.

8vo. xi, [3], 310 pp. Title illust. by James, over 40 text illustrations & plates by the author. White-silver textured publisher's cloth, black lettering front cover & spine, portrait illust. of "Smoky" on front cover by James (slight darkening to spine, dustsoiling, edgewear), w/ d.j. cover art facsimile letter from James on front cover, and original front cover art now on back (slight chipping head & foot of spine, dustsoiling, minor wear to corners), still VG/VG copy, w/ ownership markings on front pastedown, price covered by Dennen's Book Shop, Detroit, MI bookseller's label. First "Library Edition" (17th total printing), featuring new dustjacket blurb newly written by William T. Hornaday indicating that all other printings of the Newbery Award winner (1927) were exhausted, and "is the only trade edition available." Originally published as a straight-up genre Western by James, and written in the Western dialect of a real cowboy on the Montana prairie, the book was inspired by a large blue roan that would accept no rider other than himself. James's iconic drawl, and his personal connection with wrangling horses, working cowboys, and ranch life connected with the Newbery committee despite his year-long incarceration in the Nevada State Penitentiary for cattle rustling -- where he took up illustrating and earned himself a parole in 1915. Smoky was later embellished with colour plates and larger illustrations further attracting young readers. For modern readers, and children's readers, the most jarring aspect of James's writing (typical with most Westerns published at the time), are the distinct racist stereotypes, and language, in keeping with the significant legal and cultural racism prevalent in the West persisting well into the 20th Century with African-American communities explicitly prohibited from owning land or property, Chinese- and Japanese-Americans specifically enjoined from marrying outside of their races as well, owning property, or gaining citizenship some of which persisted in Montana until 1953; as well as ordinances across the West notably targeting Hispanic-Americans. Exceedingly scarce in original dustjacket.

8vo. xi, [3], 310 pp. Title illust. by James, over 40 text illustrations & plates by the author. Green publisher's cloth, black lettering front cover & spine, portrait illust. of "Smoky" on front cover by James (very slight bumping to couple corners, slight dustsoiling toning to fore-edge of front cover), still a VG bright copy, signed by the author in 1926. First edition, 2nd printing, signed of this early Newbery Award winner (1927), originally published as a straight-up genre Western by James, and written in the Western dialect of a real cowboy on the Montana prairie, the book was inspired by a large blue roan that would accept no rider other than himself. James's iconic drawl, and his personal connection with wrangling horses, working cowboys, and ranch life connected with the Newbery committee despite his year-long incarceration in the Nevada State Penitentiary for cattle rustling -- where he took up illustrating and earned himself a parole in 1915. Smoky was later embellished with colour plates and larger illustrations further attracting young readers. For modern readers, and children's readers, the most jarring aspect of James's writing (typical with most Westerns published at the time), are the distinct racist stereotypes, and language, in keeping with the significant legal and cultural racism prevalent in the West persisting well into the 20th Century with African-American communities explicitly prohibited from owning land or property, Chinese- and Japanese-Americans specifically enjoined from marrying outside of their races as well, owning property, or gaining citizenship some of which persisted in Montana until 1953; as well as ordinances across the West notably targeting Hispanic-Americans.