Books on the American Fur Trade and Mountain Men
Arranged alphabetically by author.


 

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  • Alter, J. Cecil:  James Bridger.  Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, (1962). First Edition Thus. Fine in brown cloth covered boards with a gilt on red title block on the spine. A small quarto of 9 1/4 by 6 inches with very faint rubbing to the cloth at the corners of the spine and to the tips of the boards. In a very good+, price clipped dust jacket with light rubbing to the folds and to the ends of the spine area. 358 pages including an index, bibliography, text and illustrated with a two-page map, an image from a black and white photograph and eight reproductions of contemporary works of art. A revised edition of the author's original 1925 publication.
    TB30037  $50.00



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    Athearn, Robert G.:  Forts of the Upper Missouri.  Englewood: Prentice Hall, 1967. First Edition. Fine black and light red cloth covered boards with gilt tooling. In a very good+ unclipped dust jacket with heavy rubbing and wear to the upper edge of the spine area and with a 1/2" by 1/3" chip from the center of the spine area with no impact on the text. The story of how the military forts and trading post of the Upper Missouri River contributed to the developement of the fur trade and the American West. 339 pages containing text, notes and an index.
    TB25804  $25.00



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    Berry, Don:  A Majority of Scoundrels An Informal History of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.  New York: Harper & Brothers, 1961. First Edition. Fine in medium blue cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine and with the initials "RMF" embossed on the front board. A small quarto of 9 3/8 by 6 1/4 inches. In a very good+, unclipped dust jacket with minor wear and rubbing to the ends of the spine area "An informal history of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, "the greatest name in the mountains" celebrating the trapper-traders, the mountain men of legend, during the peak years of the American fur trade. 432 pages including an index, chapter notes, appendices and text. Illustrated with contemporary works of art. With two, fine fold-out maps contained within a rear pocket.
    TB32454  $75.00




  • Boller, Henry A.:  Among the Indians Eight Years in the Far West 1858-1866.  Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1959. First thus. Fine in blue cloth covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine with gilt top edge to the text block. Edited by Milo Milto Quaife. Laid-in at the front of this copy is a compliments of the season card from Gaylord Donnelley. Originally published in 1868 in Philadelphia by T. Elwood Zell; but, evidently it saw an earlier release prior to November 1867. In the later chapters of this book the author describes his two trips to Montana. The first during the initial gold mine discoveries of Montana and the second in 1864 for a trip to both Montana and California.
    TB33301  $35.00



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    Conard, Howard Louis:  Uncle Dick Wooton The Pioneer Frontiersman Of The Rocky Mountain Region.  Chicago: W. E. Dibble & Co., 1890. First Edition. Good+ in the original decorated brown cloth covered boards with gilt text and black designs on the spine and gilt text and a circle in gilt of a man with the sketch of a log cabin and wagon on the front board. An octavo measuring 9 by 6 inches with a number of short closed tears to the cloth at the head and heel of the spine. The cloth is worn through at the lower tips of the boards and the first free end page was free, but now professionally reattached and the rear hinge has been reinforced. The binding and all pages remain tight and strong. 473 pages of text followed by a one page ad from the publisher. Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of "Uncle Dick" Wooton together with 32 plates and 8 illustrations within the text all as called for. "An account of the adventures and thrilling experiences of the most noted American hunter, trapper, guide, scout, and Indian fighter now living" (from the title page). Considered by Howes to be "quite scarce". (Howes, C-659; Rader, 881)
    TB28486  $200.00



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    Darley, Stephen:  Miles Goodyear The Adventures of the Only Connecticut Mountain Man In The Rocky Mountain West.  (Bloomington, Ind.): AuthorHouse, (2021). First Edition, First Printing. Fine in blue cloth covered boards with orange text on the spine. An octavo of 9 by 6 inches. In a fine, unclipped (no price) dust jacket. 196 pages including an index, bibliography, chapter notes and text. Illustrated throughout with images from earlier works of art and from black and white images from phtotographs.
    TB33119  $30.00



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    Davidson, Gordon Charles:  The North West Company.  Berkeley: University of California Press, 1918. First Edition. Near fine in its original dark blue, patterned cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine and on the front board. A small quarto of 9 1/2 by 6 1/4 inches with minor hints of rubbing to the cloth at the ends of the spine. Without a dust jacket, but protected by a clear Mylar covering. This is volume VII of the University of California's Publications In History edited by H. Morse Stephens and Herbert E. Bolton. 349 pages including two indexes, appendices, bibliography and text. Illustrated with a fold-out map of the Principal Trading Stations of the North West Company and four fold-out maps. Considered by Wright Howes in his bibliography : U.S.Iana to be "quite scarce". An extremely handsome and clean copy with no prior ownership markings of any kind. (Howes, D-90; Ewers p. 136)
    TB32885  $400.00



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    Gray, Edward G.:  The Making of John Ledyard Empire And Ambition in the life of an Early American Traveler.  New Haven: Yale University Press, 2007. First Edition. Fine in gray paper covered boards with gilt text stamping on the spine. A small quarto measuring 9 1/8 by 6 inches. In a near fine unclipped dust jacket with a 1/4" closed tear at the upper edge of the front panel. 224 pages including an index, chapter notes and text. Illustrated with maps and reproductions of contemporary works of art. A Connecticut native, John Ledyard (1751-1789) lead a remarkable life and one filled with friendships with some of the most influential men of his time. He knew and was influenced by Captain James Cook, Robert Morris, John Paul Jones, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and many others. His penchant for travel not just within the United States but across the world gave him a point-of-view few of his era could appreciate. During the American Revolution he served as a British Marine aboard one of Captain Cook's vessels. During that cruise he was introduced to the Pacific Northwest of what is now Washington and Oregon. He recognized the importance of the fur bearing sea-otter and thereafter did all in his power to return to the area. His bad luck prevented him from completing a journey he had contemplated for years: walking through Russia in 1787/1788 to reach the west coast of North America.
    TB29362  $20.00



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    Hafen, LeRoy R.:  The Mountain Men and the Fur Trade of the Far West biographical sketches of the participants by scholars of the subject and with introductions by the editor.  Glendale, Calif.: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, . All first editions, All First Printings.. All ten volumes of this complete set are in near fine to fine condition in light brown cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spines. Each is a small quarto measuring 9 1/2 by 6 inches with the top edges of the text blocks trimmed and stained brown the fore edges of the text blocks are untrimmed. Only a few of the volumes suffer no more than light rubbing of the cloth at the heads and heels of the spines. Each volume contains approximately 400 pages and is illustrated with maps, and reproductions of contemporary works of art. Each volume has a stamped, prior owner's name and address on the first free end page. With the exception of volume x, that prior owner has also noted in the inside margin of each title page the place, date and price he paid for each volume. None of the volumes have their original, plain brown dust jackets. The first nine volumes, published between 1965 and 1972, contain the biographies of some 300 active, male participants in the fur trade. Volume X is the bibliography and index for the entire set. Considered the best biographical resource for the men involved in the American fur trade. (Clark & Brunet, 123)
    TB33314  $900.00



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    Hafen, LeRoy R. and W. J. Ghent:  Broken Hand The Life Story of Thomas Fitzpatrick, Chief Of The Mountain Men.  Denver, Col.: The Old West Publishing Company, 1931. First Edition. Very near fine in its original ribbed, green cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine and gilt text with bands on the front board. A small quarto of 9 1/4 by 6 inches with a whitish stain to the lower quarter of this copy and an early prior owner's name and date of "1931" at the upper edge of the front paste down. Without a dust jacket. 316 pages including an index, chapter notes, appendix and text. Illustrated with a frontispiece of Fitzpatrick and nine plates from photographs and one two page map. Thomas Fitzpatrick (1799-1834) "Of the three outstanding "mountain men" of the trapper and early emigrant periods - the first-named was esteemed by his contemporaries as the greatest and the most capable." DAB, Vol III, p443. This title is considered by Howes to be "quite scarce". (Howes, H-10)
    TB33394  $200.00



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    Hammond, George:  Alexander Barclay: Mountain Man.  Denver, Colo.: Old West Publishing Company, 1976. First Edition, Limited Edition. Near fine in brown paper covered boards with gilt text stamped on the spine and on the front board. A quarto of 11 by 8 1/2 inches with the front joint weakening and with a prior owner's name and "May 3, 1976" on the first free end page. In a very good, unclipped (no price), dust jacket with a 1/2 inch chip at the upper edge of the spine area, two 1/4 inch deep chips at the upper edge of the front panel and a 1/4 inch hole midway up the spine area at the fold to the front panel. The full title reads: "The Adventures of Alexander Barclay Mountain Man: From London Corsetier to Pioneer Farmer in Canada, Bookkeeper in St Louis, Superintendent fo Bent's Fort, Fur Trader and Mountain Man in Colorado and New Mexico, Builder of Barclay's Fort on the Santa Fe Trail, New Mexico in 1848. A Narrative of His Career, 1810 to 1855; His Memorandum Diary, 1845 to 1850". 246 pages including an index, appendix and text. Illustrated with a color frontispiece from a water color painted by Alexander Barclay and numerous images from photographs and water colors and black and white sketches. Contained within the rear pocket of the book are the three folding maps as called for.
    TB33317  $40.00



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    Hoig, Stan:  The Western Odyssey of John Simpson Smith Frontiersman, Trapper, Trader. and Interpreter.  Glendale: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1974. First Edition, First printing. Fine in red cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine. A small quarto of 9 1/4 by 6 inches. In a fine plain brown paper dust jacket. The story of John Simpson Smith who was a frontiersman, trapper, trader, and intrepreter. One of only 1,613 copies produced. 254 pages containing an index, bibliography, text and 12 illustrations. The 15th volume in the Western Frontiersmen Series by Clark publishing.
    TB29521  $40.00



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    Irving, Washington:  Astoria; Or, Enterprise Beyond The Rocky Mountains.  London: Richard Bentley, 1836. First Edition. All three volumes of this complete set are in very good condition in their original 1/4 black cloth and light brown paper covered boards with printed, paper labels on the spines. Volume 1 has been re-sewn and rebacked with Japanese tissue repairs to the hinges. All three volumes are small octavos of 7 3/4 by 4 3/4 inches with the upper and lower tips of all the boards are worn through and bent. The front and rear paste downs for each volume have the residual glue from what may have been some sort of tape. The printed paper title labels are all rubbed and slightly damaged with small chipping making the printed text a challenge to read. Volume I contains 317 pages of text followed by 2 pages of ads from the publisher. Volume II contains 320 pages of text and is missing its final end page. Volume III contains 294 pages of text. The pagination error on page 308 is evident. Howes in his bibliography, U.S. Iana states: "Classic account of the first American attempt at settlement on the Pacific coast, 1811 - initial action towards substantiating our claim to Oregon - including the earliest extend relation of Wilson P. Hunt's overland expedition from St. Louis to that settlement." (Langfeld & Blackburn, p35; Howes, I-81)
    TB28966  $450.00



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    Karamanski, Theodore J.:  Fur Trade and Exploration Opening the Far Northwest 1821-1852.  Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1983. First Edition, First printing. Fine in yellow cloth covered boards with bold brown text stamping on the spine with a prior owner's embossed seal on the first free end page. In a near fine, unclipped dust jacket with the spine area slightly faded. 330 pages including an index, bibliography, notes, text with several illustrations and photographs.
    TB26601  $35.00



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    Kelly, Luther S., Edited by Milo M. Quaife:  "Yellowstone Kelly" The Memoirs of Luther S. Kelly.  New Haven: Yale University Press, 1926. First Edition. Near fine in dark blue cloth covered boards with gilt text and decorations on the spine. A small quarto of 9 3/16 by 6 1/8 inches with a Christmas 1928 gift inscription on the first free end page. In a very good+, unclipped dust jacket with 1/4 inch deep chipping across the upper edge of the spine area which is also tanned with several small stains. 268 pages including an index, text and illustrated with photographs and reproductions of early art works one of which is by Charles Russel. With a forward dated March 1, 1921 by Nelson A. Miles, Lieutenant-General, U.S.A. who employed Yellostone Kelly as his chief scout. With his ability to speak the Sioux language Kelly was an invaluable aid to the Army in its campaigns against the plains Indians. Following his initial discharge from the Army in 1868 Kelly spent many years as a hunter and trapper in the Yellowstone region learning the trails and geography in Wyoming and Montana. Very uncommon in jacket.
    TB32732  $225.00



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    Larpenteur, Charles:  Forty Years a Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri.  Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1933. First thus. Very good+ in decorated red cloth covered boards with a gilt top edge to the text block. The cloth at the head and heel of the spine show rubbing and there are three prior owner's name and addresses lined out on the first free end page. The gilt text on the spine is slightly tarnished. The end sheets are foxed due to a reaction with the glues used in binding. With an historical introduction by Milo M. Quaife. The book is protected by a clear mylar cover. This narrative was first published in New York in 1892. It describes in broad detail the treatment of the Indians by the fur traders operating in the Northwestern frontier from 1833 to 1871.
    TB33530  $45.00



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    Lavender, David:  Land of Giants.  New York: Doubleday & Company, 1958. First Edition. Near fine in green cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine and front board. A small quarto of 9 3/16 by 6 1/8 inches with a slight bow to both boards and hints of rubbing to the cloth at the heel of the spine and light dust staining to the top edge of the text block. In a very near fine, unclipped dust jacket with modest wear to the lower edge of the spine area and tanning to the outside edges of the rear panel. 468 pages including an index, bibliography and text. "The Drive to the Pacific Northwest 1750-1950." (from the dust jacket)
    TB31190  $25.00



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    Leonard, Zenas:  Narrative of the Adventures of Zenas Leonard.  Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1934. First thus. Very good+ in red cloth covered boards with gilt text and decorations on the spine and front board. The gilt text on the spine is slightly faded and the cloth at the corners of the head and heel of the spine are very slightly rubbed and there is the glue stain on the front paste down from the probable removal of book plate. A Lakeside Classic issued in 1934. Edited by Milo Milton Quaife. The book is protected by a clear mylar cover. First appearing in a newspaper in 1835 and reprinted in book format in 1839 and again in 1904 this narrative by Leonard recounts his years as a fur trapper in the American West between 1831 to 1835. The fold-out map is in place behind the first free end paper and is in near perfect condition.
    TB33518  $30.00



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    Morgan, Dale L. and Eleanor Towles Harris:  The Rocky Mountain Journals of William Marshall Anderson The West In 1834.  San Marino, Calif.: The Huntington Library, 1967. First Edition. Fine in red cloth covered boards with gilt text stamped on the spine. A small quarto of 10 by 6 3/4 inches with map end sheets. The first free end sheet has the stamp of the prior owner's name and address and that same prior owner has written in pencil the date and place of purchase on the inside margin of the title page. In a very good+, unclipped dust jacket with small chips from the ends of the spine area and multiple closed tears to the edges of the panels. One of only 1,500 copies printed. 430 pages including an index, bibliography and text with all pages in exceptional condition with no foxing or tanning. Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of William Marshall Anderson from an earlier work of art.
    TB33316  $60.00



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    Mumey, Nolie:  The Life of Jim Baker 1818-1898.  New York: Interland Publishing Inc., 1972. Signed, deluxe limited edition. Fine in 1/2 yellow leather and patterned, paper covered boards with gilt on dark green title labels on the spine as well as gilt borders and tool work. An octavo measuring 9 by 6 inches with reinforced cloth hinges and marbled end sheets and a silk placement ribbon sewn-in at the head of the spine. Without a dust jacket as issued. One of only 100 copies printed and made available for sale. This copy is out of series and it is signed by the Joe Grandee and Peter Decker who provided the foreword. 234 pages including an index, bibliography and text. Illustrated with a frontispiece photograph of a painting of a mountain man by Joe Grandee. Tipped in after the fly title page is a large fold-out map of the western United States showing the travels and expeditions of Jim Baker. This is a facsimile reprint of the extremely scarce, original 1931 edition which was only printed in 250 signed and numbered copies.
    TB28866  $225.00



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    Rich, E. E. (Editor):  Cumberland House Journals and Inland Journal 1775-82 Second Series, 1779-82.  London: The Hudson's Bay Record Society, 1952. First Edition. Fine in dark blue cloth covered boards with bold gilt text stamped on the spine with gilt decorations. A small quarto measuring 9 1/2" by 6 5/8" with the top edge of the text block gilt. The cloth on the spine is slightly faded. Without a dust jacket. One of a limited edition this copy is out of series. This title constitutes volume XV of The Hudson's Bay Record Society. 313 pages including an index, appendices and text followed by a list of members of the Society. Many of the pages of the text block are un-opened.
    TB25951  $75.00



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    Ross, Alexander:  Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River.  Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1923. First thus. Near fine in decorated dark green cloth covered boards with the top edge of the text block in gilt with the gilt text stamping on the spine and front board very clean and bright. There are no prior ownership names, markings or inscriptions in this copy. A Lakeside Classic issued in 1923 edited with an historical introduction and notes by Milo Milton Quaife. The original publication of this book was printed in England in 1849. In the words of the editor, Ross' book provides "a clear and readable account of this interesting phase of the history of our Pacific Northwest...." 388 pages including an index, text and the fold-out map preceding the title page. The map is in perfect condition.
    TB32689  $130.00



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    Ross, Alexander:  The Fur Hunters of the Far West.  Chicago: The Lakeside Press, 1924. First edition. Near fine in dark green cloth covered boards with gilt text on the spine and bright gilt decorations on the front board, a gilt top edge to the text block with minor rubbing to the cloth at the head of the spine. The 22nd volume in the Lakeside Classic series issued in 1924. Edited by Milo Milton Quaife. A continuation of the narratives started with the volume of 1923 which was titled: Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River. 317 pages including an index illustrated with a frontispiece.
    TB33537  $125.00



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    Russell, Carl P.:  Firearms, Traps, & Tools of the Mountain Men.  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1967. First Edition, First printing. Near fine in red and bright orange cloth covered boards with a gilt on green title block on the spine and a gilt stamped decoration on the front board. In a very good+ price clipped dust jacket with one inch closed tear to the upper edge of the rear panel. "A guide in picture and text to the equipment of the trappers and fur traders who opened the Old West from the 1820's to the 1840's." A small quarto measuring 9 1/4" by 6 1/4" containing 448 pages followed by an index. Illustrated throughout with more than 400 drawings and sketches of tools, weapons and implements used by the fur traders and mountain men of the era.
    TB27723  $75.00



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    Sandoz, Mari:  The Beaver Men.  New York: Hastings House, 1964. First Edition, First Printing. Fine in decorated light brown cloth covered boards with blind stamping on the front board, gilt text on the spine and map end papers. A small octavo of 8 by 5 3/8 inches. In a near fine unclipped dust jacket with just a hint of soiling to the spine area. A special "Presentation Edition" page tipped-in behind the first free end page and signed by the author. The ninth volume in the American Procession Series and subtitled: Spearheads of Empire. 335 pages including an index followed by a map key.
    TB31184  $200.00



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    Trennert, Robert A., Jr.:  Indian Traders on the Middle Border The House of Ewing, 1827-54.  Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1981. First Edition, First printing. Fine in brown cloth covered boards with bold gilt text stamping on the spine. An octavo measuring 8 1/2" by 5 1/2". In a near fine unclipped dust jacket with the faint hint of a ghost of an old price sticker on the front panel. 271 pages including an index, bibliography, chapter notes, text and illustrated with maps The Ewing brothers of Fort Wayne, Indiana were important Indian Traders of the so-called "Middle Border" area during the Jacksonian period of westward expansion and Indian relocation.
    TB24140  $15.00



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    Vestal , Stanley[W. S. Campbell]:  Joe Meek The Merry Mountain Man.  Caldwell, Idaho: The Caston Printers, Ltc., 1952. First Edition. Near fine in light blue cloth covered boards with bold silver colored text on the spine and the outline of a beaver on the front board. A small quarto of 9 by 6 inches. In a very good, price clipped dust jacket with a 1/3" deep chip from the upper edge of the spine area, shallow chipping at the base of the spine area, heavy wear to the folds and several tape repairs to the recto of the jacket on the rear panel and numerous tape repairs on the verso of the jacket.. Signed by the author using both his real name (W. S. Campbell) and his nom de plume on the fly title page. 336 pages including a bibliography and text. Illustrated with black and white photographs.
    TB29862  $150.00



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    Victor, Mrs. Frances Fuller:  The River Of The West Life and Adventure In The Rocky Mountains And Oregon Embracing Events In The Life-Time Of A Mountain-Man and Pioneer.  Hartford, Conn.: R. W. Bliss & Company, 1870. First Edition. Very good+ rebound in dark green, leather like cloth covered boards with bold gilt text stamping on the spine. An octavo of 8 3/8 by 5 3/8 inches with rubbing and wear to the head and heel of the spine and to the tips of the boards. There is a prior owner's stamped name and address on the first free end page and a 1910 gift inscription on the second free end page. The recto and verso sides of the frontispiece show dampness staining which did not progress any further into the book. 602 pages of text. Illustrated with an engraved frontispiece of Joseph L. Meek and with 30 vignettes and engraved plates. The title page goes on to read: "...Including An account Of The Fur Traders, The Indian Tribes, The Overland Immigration, The Oregon Missions, And Plains; Its Inland Waters, And Natural Wonder With Numerous Engravings."
    TB33315  $250.00




  • Weisel, George F.:  Men and Trade on the Northwest Frontier as Shown by the Fort Owen Ledger.  Missoula: Montana State University Press, 1955. First Edition. Very good+ in green cloth covered boards with gilt test stamping and with light shelf wear and with the spine very slightly tanned. In a very good+ dust jacket with a price clipped front flap with light wear and rubbing at the ends of the spine area and several 1/4" light tan stains to the front panel. The second volume in the Montana State University Studies. 291 pages including an index, text, illustrations and a fold-out map.
    TB14122  $80.00






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