THE LONGHORNS.

Boston: Little, Brown, & Co., 1941. xxiii,388pp. Index. Notes. Photographs. Illustrations by Tom Lea. Tan pictorial cloth. First edition. INSCRIBED. Externally, a couple of fine creases to the spine with very slight darkening to the spine. Internally, there is tanning to a few pages with “1941” written on the front pastedown and a small ink notation on one page. Bookplate of the inscribe on front fly. The unclipped dust jacket shows chipping to the head and toe with light general wear. Overall, a very good book and dust jacket. Dobie describes the book as a “history of the Longhorn breed; psychology of stampedes; days of maverickers and mavericks; stories of individual lead steers and outlaws of the range; stories about rawhide and many other related subjects. The book attempts to reveal the blend made by man, beast, and range.” William Reese: “One of the true classics of range cattle literature. [It is] certainly one of the Texas author’s best books, and one of the best books on cattle.” Dobie begins with the origins of the Longhorn from its Spanish antecedents and gives us chapters on mavericks, trail drives, lead steers, and stampedes with a nice mix of longhorn folklore thrown in for good measure.  Reflecting the depth of Dobie’s research, the “notes” section is, in fact, as much a bibliography as anything. An important book not just on longhorns but the range cattle industry as well.