A Texas Cowboy, Or Fifteen Years On The Hurricane Deck Of A Spanish Pony. Taken From Real Life

CHAS A. SIRINGO

Publication: Siringo & Dobson, 1886, Chicago

Early Variant Reprint.12mo. Blue Cloth, with gilt imprint of cowboy on horseback, with title and author below and with black decorative imprint (See Item 928, page 201 of A Photographic Reference For The Western Americana Collector, by Tim Phelps.) 247pp., including 31 page Addenda. No advertisements. No color frontispiece. Black & white Frontispiece entitled "The Author, In Cow Boy Uniform", with "Copyrighted by Chas. A. Siringo, 1886 All rights reserved." on verso of frontispiece. "Siringo & Dobson, Publishers, Chicago, Ill. 1886." appears at bottom of title page. Verso of title page is a black & white illustration entitled: "The Author after he became stove up----financially, as well as otherwise", (shows a stressed-out Siringo, writing at a desk with two small children crying "Bread Pa Pa"). Siringo's chronicle of his life as a itchy-footed boy, cowhand, range detective, and adventurer. During his years as a cowboy he met young Billy the Kid and later led a posse of cowboys into New Mexico in pursuit of the Kid and his gang. A thrilling account of hard-riding, hard-fighting years on the Texas trail in the authentic words of a man who was there. "The first autobiography of a cowboy, and unquestionably one of the most important range books. The works of Siringo are essential to any range library...The First Edition is virtually unprocurable."---Six Score 99. "Both the first printing...and the second by Siringo & Dobson in 1886 are exceedingly rare."---Merrill Aristocrat. "No record of cowboy life has supplanted this rollicky, reckless, realistic chronicle."--J. Frank Dobie. This book is a very attractive copy with some discrete, skillful, professional repair to spine ends and similar touch-up to corners. Text block tight is clean and tight, with original endpapers. Very good. Protected in matching slipcase with title, author, and year of publication in gilt on leather label on spine. Having examined all references regarding this important book, we are unable to clearly and specifically identify which issue or printing it is, as there are mixed issue points. We are most comfortable declaring it to be an early reprint of the 1885 first edition, and we have identified in the above description every issue point in this variant printing.