Rare Book Monthly
Book Catalogue Reviews - December - 2006 Issue
Western Books From Gene W. Baade
Perspective issues make George Pine's beaver appear something of a Beaverzilla.
Here is a book for collectors of Coutts, Alberta. This may not be a large number of people, undoubtedly not nearly as large as the number of people who never heard of the place. Actually, Coutts is today one of the major U.S.-Canadian border crossings. You can quickly cross the Montana border to Interstate 15, and travel to Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, or even Mexico without hitting a traffic light. However, it was not quite so major a crossing in the 1960s, when item 8 was published, The History of the Border Country of Coutts. It will tell you about businesses, ranching, schools, and the people of Coutts, along with references to Lewis and Clark, the fur trade, and Indians of the area. $75.
Ezra Meeker crossed the Oregon Trail three times by oxcart, once in the 1850s, like so many others, but twice more post-1900 as an old man, to call attention to the trail and its preservation. He would later also travel the trail by rail, car, and airplane. In 1926, he published Kate Mulhall A Romance of the Oregon Trail. This is a piece of historical fiction, fictional characters based on his real-life experiences. Item 99 is a copy of this book, signed by Meeker. We can't say for certain what his age was at the time he signed, but we can place a minimum based on the year of publication. When the book was published in 1926, Meeker was 96-years-old. $100.
Item 122 recounts an Easterner's visit to the old west. George W. Pine, of Herkimer, New York, made two railway trips out west, and wrote about them in his 1870 book, Beyond The West. This was during the era the transcontinental railroad was just being completed, so those who traveled by train were still something of pioneers, though not quite on a level with Meeker's generation. Pine visited many places in the west, and gives you a view of the area as access to tourists was just opening up. $125.
Gene W. Baade may be reached at 425-271-6481 or bookwest@eskimo.com.
You may view or search all of the items they offer for sale online through the following link: Books For Sale.
