by Owen Wister
1951 signed, numbered limited edition (Copy 508 of 1,500), Limited Editions Club (Los Angeles, California), 7 3/8 x 10 3/8 inches tall beige cloth hardcover in publisher's brown slipcase (which has a printed label to its spine), gilt-decorated brown leather label to front cover, gilt-lettered label to spine, fore page edges untrimmed, top page edges stained red, illustrated with William Moyers' pen-and-ink drawings accented in color, signed by Moyers (1916-2010) on the limitations page, xix, 437 pp. A very good to near fine copy - clean, bright and unmarked - in a very good slipcase which has only minor soiling.
Widely regarded as the foundational masterpiece of Western fiction, Owen Wister's landmark 1902 novel permanently defined the archetypal cowboy and established the conventions of the romantic American Western genre. Set against the vast, untamed landscapes of the Wyoming Territory during the late nineteenth century, the narrative follows a nameless, chivalrous Virginia-born cowboy as he navigates the rugged conflicts between cattle rustlers, corporate interests, and frontier justice, all while pursuing a courtship with a refined New England schoolmistress.
This spectacular fine press edition is elevated by the vivid illustrations of Cowboy Artists of America member William Moyers, whose dynamic drawings perfectly capture the grit and expansive atmosphere of Wister's plains. Beautifully designed by legendary typographer Saul Marks and masterfully executed at the Plantin Press in Los Angeles, this volume stands as a classic, highly collectible example of mid-century American fine printing.