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Books On The West From Gene W. Baade Books on the West from Gene Baade By Michael Stillman Gene W. Baade offers catalogues of "Books on the West." Catalogue 1104 (did he really start with #1?) is a collection of intriguing books and ephemera of both the "Cowboys and Indians" Old West and the more realistic version. Virtually all are priced within the reach of collectors of modest means, and these are books you will not only want to collect, but read as well. Baade's catalogue is a fun read for anyone who likes the Old West, and everyone will find something they especially like within its pages. Here are a few examples. William S. Hart was the pioneer of the western movie. Hart was born in 1865 in the very un-cowboy town of Newburgh, New York, but spent many of his early years in the Dakotas as his father looked for work. Unlike most Hollywood cowboys that would follow, he actually lived in and experienced the Old West before it completely disappeared. On maturity, Hart returned to New York where he became a Shakespearean actor. He resisted the movies, which received little respect in their early days, but finally succumbed when given the opportunity to portray the West. While Hart included a share of sentimentality and good over evil endings, his portrayals of the West and those who lived there was based on reality. Even the dialogue, limited by the fact that this was still the silent movie era, attempted to portray the rough speech of this rough land. By the time talkies appeared, Hart, once the most popular cowboy of all, had slipped at the box office. After completing what is probably his best film, "Tumbleweeds," in 1925, he dropped from site. Those who followed, from the more glamorous Tom Mix, to the sterile and perfect cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, are better remembered today, but Hart was the one who portrayed the real cowboy of the Old West. Item 55 is a first edition of his autobiography from 1929, My Life East & West. Priced at $50. Speaking of cowboys, item 32 is Cow People by J. Frank Dobie. Cow People? I know we use terms like "firefighter" and "flight attendant" to be gender neutral, and that's a good thing, but I think cowboys and cowgirls should always be "cowboys" and "cowgirls," not "cow people." Actually, Dobie was one of the great Texas cowboy writers of the 20th century, and this is undoubtedly a most interesting book. It is a first edition from 1964. $25. If you ever stayed at some out of the way lodge, you probably signed their guestbook. Ever wonder what happens to these years later, long after the lodge has closed its doors? Here's one answer. Item 9 is the guestbook from Fred and Evelyn Johnson's fishing lodge somewhere along Deer Creek, California. There's a bowlegged cowboy carved in relief on the cover, and he's been hand-painted in orange and yellow. Inside are 14 pages of notes and signatures from the happy campers who visited the lodge between 1938 and 1948. If you're from the area, you may recall some of them. It will take you back to a time when you couldn't take the interstate to get to Deer Creek, and the fish you caught weren't filled with mercury (or if they were, you didn't know it). $100.
Books On The West From Gene W. Baade none Here are some more memories from a very popular California vacation spot. The book is B.G. Holmes' Letters of the Early Pioneers of Big Bear Lake. This book was privately printed in 1955, but covers the time prior to 1930. It includes reminiscences of some of the people who lived in or spent time around Big Bear as far back as its first settlement. It's an interesting piece for anyone who spends time there now. Item 62. $125. There was a time when they used to mix books with advertising, kind of the way they do with children's television programs and movies today. Here is The Texas Cowboy, by Clark Stanley, published around 1901. Stanley describes himself as a Texan who wandered around the West, visiting with Indians, and learning the secrets of their snake oil medicine. And you know what? Clark is willing to sell some of that wonderful medicine to all you gullible readers. Clark Stanley's Snake Oil Liniment "is good for man and beast." Among the infirmities it relieved were rheumatism, lame back, toothache, sprains, frost bites, sore throat, and bites of animals, insects, and reptiles (it didn't specify whether snake bites were included). Supposedly, the oil came not from just any snakes, but rattlesnakes. However, a government seizure of this amazing medicine in 1917 revealed it was mainly mineral oil with a little beef fat, red pepper and turpentine. Not even any garter snake oil. Item 134. $250. What is a book pertaining to historical Indiana? "Indianiana?" Whatever it is, here is an example: Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Indiana...Maps of Indiana Counties in 1876. This is a 1968 facsimile reprint, but an obvious valuable resource for those interested in Indiana history. Item 73. $50. Do you remember the story a few years back about a moose who fell in love with a cow? Perhaps it wasn't really love, just animal instinct. I don't know what moose feel. Anyway, it was a wonderful story about this moose who kept trying to romance some farmer's cow. As best I recall, the cow was more reticent and rejected the moose's advances, but I'm not really sure. If you don't remember either, but recall this touching incident, here's a chance to learn the whole truth. The book is A Moose for Jerssica, by Pat Wakefield and Larry Carrara, and yes, Jessica was the love of this moose's life. Item 147 is a first edition from 1987, signed by both Wakefield and Carrara. But not Jessica. $37.50. For those interested in farming, there is a broadside announcing a Public Sale of Stock and Implements in Iowa City, Nov. 10th, '79. That's '79 as in 1879, not 1979. The sale included the land and 25 cords of wood. The broadside is in good shape but has two nail holes. Makes sense for a poster. Item 74. $75.
Books On The West From Gene W. Baade none Item 155 is Charles Wilkes' Synopsis of the Cruise of the U.S. Exploring Expedition During the Years 1838, '39, '40, '41, '42 Delivered Before the National Institute. This was a major event for America as Wilkes' was the first major exploratory journey conducted by the still young nation. Wilkes' expedition visited the Pacific coast of America, Hawaii, the Philippines, Australia, and most notably, Antarctica, which they revealed to be a continent. Better known is the official "Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition" which was published in 1845, but the Synopsis was released three years earlier. $1,500. Item 161 offers the words and music to the 1936 song Chief Okanogan. Francis Wright wrote the lyrics, De Soto Richardson the music. It celebrated peace between the white and red man. You may remember it: "Less and less we hear the coyotes sound their lonely yip, yip, yip. / Since there's peace among the natives, no more arrows zip, zip, zip." You know the rest. $45. Gene W. Baade may be reached by phone in Renton, Washington, at 425-271-6481 or contacted by email at bookwest@eskimo.com

Books On The West From Gene W. Baade

Books on the West from Gene Baade

By Michael Stillman

Gene W. Baade offers catalogues of "Books on the West." Catalogue 1104 (did he really start with #1?) is a collection of intriguing books and ephemera of both the "Cowboys and Indians" Old West and the more realistic version. Virtually all are priced within the reach of collectors of modest means, and these are books you will not only want to collect, but read as well. Baade's catalogue is a fun read for anyone who likes the Old West, and everyone will find something they especially like within its pages. Here are a few examples.

William S. Hart was the pioneer of the western movie. Hart was born in 1865 in the very un-cowboy town of Newburgh, New York, but spent many of his early years in the Dakotas as his father looked for work. Unlike most Hollywood cowboys that would follow, he actually lived in and experienced the Old West before it completely disappeared. On maturity, Hart returned to New York where he became a Shakespearean actor. He resisted the movies, which received little respect in their early days, but finally succumbed when given the opportunity to portray the West. While Hart included a share of sentimentality and good over evil endings, his portrayals of the West and those who lived there was based on reality. Even the dialogue, limited by the fact that this was still the silent movie era, attempted to portray the rough speech of this rough land. By the time talkies appeared, Hart, once the most popular cowboy of all, had slipped at the box office. After completing what is probably his best film, "Tumbleweeds," in 1925, he dropped from site. Those who followed, from the more glamorous Tom Mix, to the sterile and perfect cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, are better remembered today, but Hart was the one who portrayed the real cowboy of the Old West. Item 55 is a first edition of his autobiography from 1929, My Life East & West. Priced at $50.

Speaking of cowboys, item 32 is Cow People by J. Frank Dobie. Cow People? I know we use terms like "firefighter" and "flight attendant" to be gender neutral, and that's a good thing, but I think cowboys and cowgirls should always be "cowboys" and "cowgirls," not "cow people." Actually, Dobie was one of the great Texas cowboy writers of the 20th century, and this is undoubtedly a most interesting book. It is a first edition from 1964. $25.

If you ever stayed at some out of the way lodge, you probably signed their guestbook. Ever wonder what happens to these years later, long after the lodge has closed its doors? Here's one answer. Item 9 is the guestbook from Fred and Evelyn Johnson's fishing lodge somewhere along Deer Creek, California. There's a bowlegged cowboy carved in relief on the cover, and he's been hand-painted in orange and yellow. Inside are 14 pages of notes and signatures from the happy campers who visited the lodge between 1938 and 1948. If you're from the area, you may recall some of them. It will take you back to a time when you couldn't take the interstate to get to Deer Creek, and the fish you caught weren't filled with mercury (or if they were, you didn't know it). $100.

Books On The West From Gene W. Baade

none

Here are some more memories from a very popular California vacation spot. The book is B.G. Holmes' Letters of the Early Pioneers of Big Bear Lake. This book was privately printed in 1955, but covers the time prior to 1930. It includes reminiscences of some of the people who lived in or spent time around Big Bear as far back as its first settlement. It's an interesting piece for anyone who spends time there now. Item 62. $125.

There was a time when they used to mix books with advertising, kind of the way they do with children's television programs and movies today. Here is The Texas Cowboy, by Clark Stanley, published around 1901. Stanley describes himself as a Texan who wandered around the West, visiting with Indians, and learning the secrets of their snake oil medicine. And you know what? Clark is willing to sell some of that wonderful medicine to all you gullible readers. Clark Stanley's Snake Oil Liniment "is good for man and beast." Among the infirmities it relieved were rheumatism, lame back, toothache, sprains, frost bites, sore throat, and bites of animals, insects, and reptiles (it didn't specify whether snake bites were included). Supposedly, the oil came not from just any snakes, but rattlesnakes. However, a government seizure of this amazing medicine in 1917 revealed it was mainly mineral oil with a little beef fat, red pepper and turpentine. Not even any garter snake oil. Item 134. $250.

What is a book pertaining to historical Indiana? "Indianiana?" Whatever it is, here is an example: Illustrated Historical Atlas of the State of Indiana...Maps of Indiana Counties in 1876. This is a 1968 facsimile reprint, but an obvious valuable resource for those interested in Indiana history. Item 73. $50.

Do you remember the story a few years back about a moose who fell in love with a cow? Perhaps it wasn't really love, just animal instinct. I don't know what moose feel. Anyway, it was a wonderful story about this moose who kept trying to romance some farmer's cow. As best I recall, the cow was more reticent and rejected the moose's advances, but I'm not really sure. If you don't remember either, but recall this touching incident, here's a chance to learn the whole truth. The book is A Moose for Jerssica, by Pat Wakefield and Larry Carrara, and yes, Jessica was the love of this moose's life. Item 147 is a first edition from 1987, signed by both Wakefield and Carrara. But not Jessica. $37.50.

For those interested in farming, there is a broadside announcing a Public Sale of Stock and Implements in Iowa City, Nov. 10th, '79. That's '79 as in 1879, not 1979. The sale included the land and 25 cords of wood. The broadside is in good shape but has two nail holes. Makes sense for a poster. Item 74. $75.

Books On The West From Gene W. Baade

none

Item 155 is Charles Wilkes' Synopsis of the Cruise of the U.S. Exploring Expedition During the Years 1838, '39, '40, '41, '42 Delivered Before the National Institute. This was a major event for America as Wilkes' was the first major exploratory journey conducted by the still young nation. Wilkes' expedition visited the Pacific coast of America, Hawaii, the Philippines, Australia, and most notably, Antarctica, which they revealed to be a continent. Better known is the official "Narrative of the United States Exploring Expedition" which was published in 1845, but the Synopsis was released three years earlier. $1,500.

Item 161 offers the words and music to the 1936 song Chief Okanogan. Francis Wright wrote the lyrics, De Soto Richardson the music. It celebrated peace between the white and red man. You may remember it: "Less and less we hear the coyotes sound their lonely yip, yip, yip. / Since there's peace among the natives, no more arrows zip, zip, zip." You know the rest. $45.

Gene W. Baade may be reached by phone in Renton, Washington, at 425-271-6481 or contacted by email at bookwest@eskimo.com