First Trade Issue

My Life on the Frontier Volume II: Death Knell of a Territory and Birth of a State, 1882–1897 [First Trade Issue]

Otero, Miguel Antonio.

Publication: Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1939. First edition.

Notes: The second book of Otero's memoirs of his life as a prominent politician in Territorial New Mexico. Otero, the second generation of a New Mexican political family, was one of the most prominent Mexican Americans of the first half of the 20th century.

"The author tells about the lynching of Joel Fowler and has a long chapter on Vicente Silva and his gang."—Adams, Six-Guns and Saddle Leather, 1659; also Adams, Burrs Under the Saddle, 294; Howes "US-iana" O141.

Despite being well documented in bibliographies, the issue points for this book are not well established. There seem to be three issues: 1) A 400-copy signed and numbered deluxe issue, with an inserted limitation sheet and a number of halftone plates. The jacket is light blue printed in magenta. 2) the first trade issue (this copy) bound in red cloth, stamped in black with an orange paper jacket printed in magenta. The jacket is priced at $3.00 on the flap. There are no illustrations. 3) The second trade issue appears to use first printing sheets (although perhaps they are a near-identical second printing), with reproductions of the illustrations from the deluxe issue inserted; the jacket is priced at $5.00; it is bound in oatmeal-colored cloth stamped in brown; the jacket is cream colored, printed in black.

xiv, 306 pages.

Edition + Condition: First edition, first printing, trade issue. A near fine to fine copy in a very good orange dust jacket tanned at the spine with some surface loss to the orange paper. Copies in the original orange dust jacket are uncommon.

Item No: #13654

Price: $200