Rare books from Back of Beyond Books

Belgium: Manufacture Liegeoise D'Armes A Feu. Very Good. Leather Flexi-board. Black pebbled leather album 7" x 11" with gilt title on cover and spine. Wear to edges, binding pulling from spine but all pages holding tight. Marbled endpapers. Leaves show light foxing to edges plus definite wear from use. Most pages are linen backed with photo images securely mounted to either album leaf or thinner note paper bound in. Images generally are 4 1/2" x 7 1/2". Album contains 145 photographs plus several pages tipped in from printed trade catalogs. In addition, 6 pages of ledger sheets are tipped in at back of album. This remarkable in-house catalog contains photographs of shot guns, pistols, and revolvers which Manufacture Liegeoise produced for hunting, military and personal use. All photographs are stamped "ML" (Manufacture Liegeoise) or "Cockerill", the English steel supplier and founder of Manufacture Liegeoise (1866). The company continued… Read More

Very Good. Pamphlet. White wraps with b&w illustration on front, staple bound. Signed by author Joyce Hamilton and her husband Jon Hamilton. Wraps have light soiling, else very good. Joyce Hamilton's diary contains daily entries while on the famous jet boat adventure going UP the Colorado through the Grand Canyon.; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 30 pp; Signed by Author .

Washington, D. C.: A. O. P. Nicholson / Cornelius Wendell. Very Good. 1857, 1859. First Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. William H. Emory was appointed commissioner of the United States and Mexico Boundary Survey following John Russell Bartlett, who was MIA from the survey upon Emory's arrival to assume his appointment. Emory was left to scrap together an effective survey party and obtain an accurate survey of the border after previous errors had ceded the Mesilla Valley, important in constructing a trans-continental railroad, to Mexico. The Gadsden Purchase had corrected this, but also added new territory to be surveyed. In addition to helping to clear up the boundary controversy, Emory's accounts were important in noting that the deserts of the southwest were not an agrarian paradise, and his team assembled a wealth of natural history and anthropological observations. This report is also notable for the illustrations, with many plates of scenery, plants, animals, and in… Read More

Department of the Interior. Very Good. U.S. Geographical and Geological Survey of the Rocky Mountain Region. Views on the Green River, Canon of Desolation Series, No. 94. Bright yellow card with imprint on verso. Photo has light silvering, else very good. This image depicts the party portaging near Log Cabin Cliff. E. O. Beaman was the photographer of Powell's second Colorado River Expedition from 1871-72. After leaving the survey he continued photographing Native Americans in New Mexico and Arizona.; 4 1/2" x 7" .

Los Angeles: Muir Dawson. Good with no dust jacket. 1950. First Edition. Hardcover. Burnt orange boards with black title imprint on front. Limited edition of 180 copies printed at the private press of Muir Dawson; 45 in wrappers for presentation and 135 in boards for sale. The copy comes from Muir Dawson's collection, although not marked as such. 1 3/4" piece missing along the spine and light rubbing to edges. Overall good.This volume reprints the first published account of James White's controversial trip down the Colorado River in 1867, two years before Powell. The account was originally published in the San Bernardino Guardian. Includes an introduction by Francis P. Farquhar and a selected bibliography. Farquhar 40. ; 16mo 6" - 7" tall; 7 pp .

Archive of material from the businesses of Anton M. Holter, the father of the lumber business in Montana. This archive includes 13 binders of manuscript letters, orders and receipts, most on company billhead and dated between the 1870s and 1890s. Each binder has between 50 and 125 sleeves; most sleeves contain multiple items. There are approximately 1500 items. Correspondence has expected wear and soiling but overall the archive is in very good condition. Holter family papers are found at the Montana Historical Society and the Library of Congress.This archive of material surrounds the A. M. Holter Hardware Company, a business influential in the social and economic development of Montana Territory. A treasure trove of information for the Montana historian, this archive contains correspondence from Montana businesses during its territorial and early statehood days. Anton Martinius Holter (1831-1921) has an impressive resume. "The father of the lumber business in Montana" was a… Read More

Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Fine in Fine dust jacket. 1991. First Edition. Hardcover. Quarter cloth boards with pictorial dust jacket and mylar cover. Signed by author on title page. Dust jacket has sticker residue over the price, otherwise no wear or soiling present. ; B&W Illustrations; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 162 pp; Signed by Author .

London, England: Voyage). Very Good with no dust jacket. 1773, 1777, 1785. Hardcover. Ten volumes, (nine quarto volumes plus one folio atlas volume) all bound uniformly in contemporary tree calf with elaborately gilt-decorated spines with raised bands and red and green morocco spine labels interspersed with gilt stamped image of Cook's ship the Endeavour or Resolution. Volumes have been expertly re-backed. Light rubbing to leather on board edges with some abraded areas. Overall text, plates and maps are quite clean with occasional foxing and a rare small chip or tear to edges of pages. Plate XLII in volume II has a minor closed tear. One plate in atlas volume shows an archival repair, expertly rendered. One leaf in volume 1 missing 3/4" piece from edge. Three volumes from the 3rd Voyage have extra-wide margins. Trimming to several plates is a little tight to plate margins but no content loss was observed. Within several of the folding maps are very small blemishes at folds, not… Read More

Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania: Emerson, Smith & Co.. Very Good. Broadside. Broadside printed on Japanese paper and dated to the late 19th century. Broadside has rough edges and was folded multiple times. Broadside has many creases likely due to the statement printed in the upper left corner: "This is genuine Japanese paper. Press the sheet up into a ball, then straighten it out, and you will observe that it possesses remarkable properties, and a careful examination will interest you." Broadside has light toning, overall very good. Also included is a 8" x 10 ½" ordering form that has heavy toning and has been folded multiple times. This broadside promotes the double cross-cut narrow blade saw which was patented in 1883 by Emerson, Smith & Co., saw manufacturers. The broadside is likely dated to around 1887 as the proprietors note their 1887 hand book for saw prices. As of April 2022 one copy found at the Hagley Museum & Library in Delaware. ; 19" x… Read More

Very Good. Mounted gelatin silver photograph. Likely taken between 1900 and 1910. No photographer information. Previous owner has written on verso in pencil "Hunters 1905 winter. Guthrie area Oklahoma c. 1908. Central OK near the Cimmaron[sic] River." Photograph measures 6 x 8 inches and mount measures 9 ¾ x 11 ¼ inches. Photograph has moderate yellowing; mount has moderate creasing and sticker residue on verso. Overall very good. This image depicts a large group with their rifles and at least four dead coyotes. It looks like the whole town came out for the hunt with men, women and children pictured. .

Camden, SC: Liveoak Press. Near Fine with no dust jacket. 1993. Limited Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. Hazelnut brown leather bound boards w/ gilt stamped lettering to front and spine, and gilt stamped border and fish illustration to front; four raised bands on spine; text block aeg; corners and head and foot of spine, and spine bands slightly rubbed, else exterior fine; sea green marbled decorative end papers; contains 60 color plates and B&W reproductions of etchings, drawings and watercolors by William J. Schaldach. Schaldach (1896 - 1982) was an American artist, editor, and writer; he held a number of editorial positions for outdoor magazines and publishing firms, and in addition to his prolific writing, his illustrations regularly appeared in magazines, calendars, outdoor advertising, and are included in the permanent collections of the Library of Congress and numerous museums. He is regarded as one of the foremost names in twentieth-century sporting art and literature. Fish… Read More

Meadville, PA: Keystone View Company. Good. Stereoview. Set of three stereoviews depicting different locations in Utah. All produced by the Keystone View Company, appearing to come from two different boxed sets. No date is printed. Two in color come from one set and the other in black and white is from a different set. All are mounted on grey boards with black lettering. All are in good condition with a large curve to the mounts and slight wear to edges. Images are crisp. The two color photos are titled "Lobby at Zion Lodge Center, Zion Nat. Park, Utah" (UP 29448) and "Cedar Breaks Pavilion, Cedar Breaks, Utah" (UP 29453). The image in black and white is titled "The Lodge at Bryce Canyon, Utah" (29044). .

New York: E. P. Dutton, Inc.. Fine in Fine dust jacket. 1984. First Edition. Hardcover. First edition. Inscribed by the author with 3 handwritten postcards and 1 letter written by Ed Abbey to Ernie and Nanette Von Bulow of Southwestern Books, Gallup, New Mexico. Postcards and letter are dated 1982, '84 and '86. White cloth over black boards with bright maroon imprint on the spine. Fine condition. Slumgullion Stew contains selections from old favorites, considered by Abbey, "as the best and the most representative of my writing-so far". Included are writings from books such as the Journey Home, Abbey's Road, Down the River, and Jonathan Troy. The postcards are truly great items for the Ed Abbey collector. One postcard written to Ernie reads: "E. P. Dutton is going to remainder my SLUMGULLION STEW (the bastards!), both hardcover & soft…I'm buying 100 copies of the hard for probable donation to Earth First…" An excellent association copy. ;… Read More

Oklahoma City: Lusk Publishing Company. Very Good with no dust jacket. 1939. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. Green cloth boards, blank spine, title in black lettering on cover. Tight binding. Light rubbing to corners, otherwise in very good condition. Inscribed by author on front endpaper: "To Bob and Roberta—to old friends, there from the earliest years, Louis L'Amour." During production of a film adaptation for one of his novels, L'Amour and the cast signed a number of his works, including this book, his first publication a decade before his Westerns and his only published poetry. This copy became separated from the other signed books; by the time it made its way to us, it had been grouped erroneously with a wide collection of science fiction novels. Despite missing its dust jacket, this copy's clothboard covers still retain a vibrant green color and grain texture. A fine addition to a true L'Amour fan's collection. ; Thin Small 8vo… Read More

New York: Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway System. Very Good. 1912. Chromolithograph. A large, gorgeous chromolithograph print reproduced from a painting by Thomas Moran, which is preserved in the original railroad company frame. The print measures about 35 x 26 inches while the frame measures approximately 40.5 x 32 inches. Moran's last name and the date 1912 are printed in the bottom left corner of the image. The frame is in near fine condition with minor chipping to paint. AT & SF is painted on the bottom, but the plaque is missing. Item has not been examined out of frame. The print appears to be in very good condition with a small number of tiny white abrasions. A sheet affixed to the back of the frame states that this item was given to Harry Rubenstein of the American Iron and Metal Company in Cushing, Oklahoma by the Santa Fe Railway Company in 1952. A photo of Moran and an old listing are also affixed. A plastic presentation plaque is screwed to the bottom of the back… Read More