Western

1889 · 63050 — Portland OR: David Steel Successor to Himes the Printer 169-171 Second Street 1889. Tall 8vo. 2 xv 1 17-480 pp. With four woodcut engraved plates 2 facsimile signature plates. Half-gray-brown reverse-suede publisher’s calf & corners over plum-coloured ribbed cloth gilt decorations & lettering on spine gilt stamped title on front cover minor scuffing & wear head & foot of spine some rubbing to corners slight bumping edgewear slightly shaken several pages w/ ink & pencil manuscript corrections annotations & updates still a VG copy inscribed by the author from the library of John Baptiste Horner 1856-1933 noted literature & English professor and museum curator at Oregon Agricultural College now Oregon State who had completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Willamette University in 1887 and later a doctorate at Philomath College in 1899 perhaps best remembered for his “Oregon Literature 1899 Short History of Oregon 1924 and his comprehensive and expansive Oregon History and Early Literature 1931 w/ his ownership signature in upper left corner ffep. First edition inscribed of this rare and excellent association copy of Wells’ informative early history of the early exploration by Euro-Caucasians into the Pacific Northwest from the 16th-Century forward; the impact and spread of the fur trade through the Oregon Country; the formation of the Oregon Territory and the multiple military conflicts with native Americans up to the Modoc War in 1855-1856. Appended at the front rather than a table of contents is a detailed and comprehensive 11 pp. index offering an essential reference tool in exploring the work. In this particular copy J. Horner has frequently made corrections crossed out passages updated information and dates and provided MS brackets in pencil and ink to emphasize certain sections. Captain Wells 1854-1940 had been hired as editor for West Shore magazine in 1883 and largely changed the focus of this pioneering magazine from a literary feature to stories and supplements that highlighted the Pacific Northwest’s industries communities resources and their importance to attract new settlers investors and tourists. His drive as well to expand the magazine and lavish woodcut and lithograph engravings also strained the company’s finances forcing the West Shore into reorganization in 1890-1891. David Steel, Successor to Himes the Printer, 169-171 Second Street, hardcover