Orrin Schwab Books

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 Scarce & Rare Western Americana List

Last updated December 28, 2009


1. Alter, J. Cecil-editor. UTAH HISTORICAL QUARTERLY. Complete volume 19. 1951. Salt Lake City, Utah State Hist. Society: 1951. Maroon buckram hardback covers. Some wear, else near VG. This volume was later published as the book "West From Fort Bridger", and was written by J. Roderic Korns. $60.00

2. Bain, H. Foster-editor. TYPES OF ORE DEPOSITS. San Francisco, Mining and Scientific Press: 1911. . Some shelf wear. Corners bumped. Some scuffing to binding. Title page has a couple of small perforations from an eraser. Scarce title. $70.00

3. Baker, W.W. FORTY YEARS A PIONEER: BUSINESS LIFE OF DORSEY SYNG BAKER, 1848-1888. Seattle, Lowman and Hanford: 1934. . 255 pages. Signed by the author. Some shelf wear to binding and rubbing to spine and corners. Slight dulling to cover title. Scarce limited edition. $175.00

4. California's Magazine Company. CALIFORNIA'S MAGAZINE. Edition De Luxe. Volumes 1 and 2. Two volume set complete. California's Magazine Company: 1916. . Two volume set complete. Bound in light brown leather. There is shelf wear to the edges of the spine and corners. The corners are rubbed through and bumped. A few small tears and chips to the leather at the spine edges. Volume 1 has a couple of small leather tears near the bottom of the spine. Volume 1 has some scratch marks in the leather made from a pencil, or similar item, on the front cover. The bindings are tight and the contents are clean and tightly bound. This is a very scarce publication. There are many photographs and numerous fine art plates featuring California and American artists and sculptors in both volumes. A total of 332 plates in total are present in these two volumes. This work was done both as a promotional publication for California, (with many different towns and their agricultural and economic benefits highlighted). And as a documentary of the just-concluded 1915 World's Fair, held in San Francisco. There are detailed sections featuring many of the California County exhibits at the fair. There are also sections on countries such as Japan and Italy in their exhibits. Truly a wonderful California and World's Fair publication. $575.00

5. Clark, Thomas D. THE RAMPAGING FRONTIER: MANNERS AND HUMORS OF PIONEER DAYS IN THE SOUTH AND THE MIDDLE WEST. New York, Bobbs-Merrill: 1939. . 606 $15.00

6. Culmsee, Carlton. UTAH'S BLACK HAWK WAR: LORE AND REMINISCENCES OF PARTICIPANTS. Logan, Utah, Utah State University Press: 1973. . 181 pages. Slight shelf wear, else near VG in slightly edge-worn dust jacket. Dust jacket has some small tears to the edges. Scarce hardcover edition. An excellent historical account of frontier Utah's most bloody Indian conflict. A very nice copy. $30.00

7. Driggs, B.W. HISTORY OF TETON VALLEY IDAHO. Caldwell, Idaho, Caxton Printers, Ltd. : 1926. . 227 pages. Shelf wear to binding and rubbing to spine and corners. Fading to gilt title on front cover. Very scarce. $225.00

8. Eells, Rev. M. TEN YEARS OF MISSIONARY WORK AMONG THE INDIANS AT SKOKOMISH, WASHINGTON TERRITORY, 1874-1884. Boston, Congregational Sunday-School and Publishing Society: 1886. . 271 pages. Shelf wear and rubbing to spine and corners. Ex-library ink mark on spine and card pocket inside back cover, but no other signs of ex-library and overall light ex-library wear. A very scarce and important Northwest and Native American history. $75.00

9. Forster, Dale E. OREGON EXPRESS COMPANIES. Lake Oswego, Oregon, Raven Press: 1985. . 231 pages. Slight shelf wear, else VG. Limited to 500 copies. An important historical book. $155.00

10. Greenwood, Robert-editor. CALIFORNIA IMPRINTS, 1833-1862. A BIBLIOGRAPHY. Los Gatos, California, The Talisman Press: 1961. . Slight shelf wear, else VG in slightly edge-worn dust jacket. $30.00

11. Hamilton, Patrick. THE RESOURCES OF ARIZONA: ITS MINERAL, FARMING, GRAZINE AND TIMBER LANDS. San Francisco, A. L. Bancroft & Company: 1884. 414 pages. Spine is faded a bit. Corners are bumped a bit at the edges. The 414 pages of text are followed by 14 pages of advertisements. A scarce Arizona title. $150.00

12. Hodge, Frederick Webb-editor. HANDBOOK OF AMERICAN INDIANS NORTH OF MEXICO. Volumes I (1) and II (2). Washington, D.C., Government Printing Office: 1912. Complete set of two volumes in first edition. Original green cloth binding. There is slight shelf wear to the spine edges and the corners, with corners slightly bumped. The pages are clean and thd binding is tight. A massive set, with over 2,000 text pages. With illustrations and folding maps. A beautiful set of this classic Native Americana work. $140.00

13. Keystone Driller Company. DRILLING FOR PLACER GOLD. Beaver Falls, PA, Keystone Driller Company: ca. 1920. Shelf wear and rubbing to spine and corners, with slight fraying to cloth at to of spine.. Many photographs of miners and operations in the field. Rare. $95.00

14. McGonigal, Mary Brown. SPRING OF GLADNESS: REMINISCENCES OF PIONEER LIFE IN THE WOOD RIVER VALLEY. (Idaho). Sun Valley, Idaho, High Country Lithography: 1976. 205 pages. Slight shelf wear, else VG in edge-worn dust jacket with a couple of small tears. Signed by author. Rare Idaho history, privately printed. $95.00

15. National Park Service. DRAFT ELIGIBILITY-FEASIBILITY STUDY & ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT. California & Pony Express Trails. MO-IA-NE-KS-CO-WY-UT-ID-NV-OR. Washington, DC, U. S. Dept. of the Interior: 1987. Some shelf wear. Corners bumped. Softbound covers. Some Underlining. Scarce. Covers have light soiling. Includes dozens of fold-out maps. A great reference book on the California and Pony Express Trails. $75.00

16. Nelson, Milo G. IDAHO LOCAL HISTORY: A BIBLIOGRAPHY WITH A CHECKLIST OF LIBRARY HOLDINGS. Moscow, Idaho, University Press of Idaho: 1976. . Slight shelf wear, else VG in slightly worn, else VG dust jacket. $21.95

17. Peery, Wilson Kimsey. AND THERE WAS SALMON. Portland, Oregon, Binfords & Mort, Publishers: 1949. . Signed by the author. Slight shelf wear to spine edges and corners. One spot on front cover has a small stained spot. Dust jacket has slight chipping to edges and light soiling. A rare title. Beautifully illustrated in color and black-and-white by Grace Livinia Pollock. $225.00

18. Penrose, Matt R. POTS O' GOLD. Reno, Nevada, A. Carlisle & Co. : 1935. Some shelf wear. Front hinge starting to crack, but holding. Binding tight. The author was warden of the Nevada state prison. $115.00

19. Peterson, John Alton. UTAH'S BLACK HAWK WAR. Salt Lake City, University of Utah: 1998. . Signed by the author. Very scarce hardcover edition. Rare in first edition hardback. $80.00

20. Pike, Richard. RAILWAY ADVENTURES AND ANECDOTES: EXTENDING OVER MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS. London, Adams Hamilton: 1884. Shelf wear and rubbing to spine and corners, else Good+. Missing front blank endpage. Opens right up to the title page. Binding sound. $70.00

21. Powers, Kate Ball. JOHN BALL: MEMBER OF THE WYETH EXPEDITION TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST, 1832, AND PIONEER IN THE OLD NORTHWEST. Glendale, California, Arthur H. Clark: 1925. . Ex-library, with internal stamps and ink marks on spine. Shelf wear to spine and corners. Binding tight. A solid copy. $33.00

22. Reagan, Albert B. THE SUN GOD MOCCASIN TALES, Volumes 1 and 2. Provo, Utah, M. H. Graham Printing: Printed wrappers. Light wear. Scarce. This is volume 1 and 2 of this scarce publication. $35.00

23. San Francisco. SOUVENIR-PORTOLA: PUBLIC WORK OF SAN FRANCISCO SINCE 1906. San Francisco, San Francisco Municipal Reports: 1909. . 58 pages. Brown softcovers. Some wear to edges of covers, with light soiling. Slight dog-earring to some page edges. Overall clean. A rare publication. Nearly every page has a photograph showing a San Franicisco city building and describing its purpose and cost. This is especially interesting in that these are all post-1906 earthquake construction projects, so it is an early view of the rebuilding of San Francisco after the devastating earthquake. $125.00

24. Shearer, Frederick E.-editor. THE PACIFIC TOURIST. ADAMS AND BISHOP'S ILLUSTRATED TRANS-CONTINENTAL GUIDE OF TRAVEL, FROM THE ATLANTIC TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN. New York, Adams & Bishop: 1884. . 372 pages. Shelf wear and discoloration to the spine and covers. There are a couple of small chips to the cloth at the spine extremities. Corners are rubbed. A reprint of the 1884 first edition. $45.00

25. Snake River Valley, Idaho. THE UPPER SNAKE RIVER VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY. Volumes 1, Numbers 1-4. 1971-1972. Idaho, Upper Snake River Valley: 1971-1972. Some shelf wear. Bound in green buckram. This is a bound volume containing the four numbers of volume I of this scarce periodical. Numerous historical photographs and text. A great Idaho history publication. $20.00

26. Wagner, Glendolin Damon. BLANKETS AND MOCCASINS. Caldwell, Idaho, Caxton Printers: 1933. . First edition. Slight shelf wear and rubbing to binding. Clean and tight copy. $32.00

27. Wistar, Isaac Jones. AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ISAAC JONES WISTAR, 1827-1905. Two volume set. Philadelphia, Wistar Institute: 1914. Paper over boards with red cloth spines. Shelf wear and bumped corners. Binding tight. A wonderful narrative of General Wistar's experiences and adventures in the early west. Very scarce set. $150.00

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