Shanghai Pierce—Very Fine Copy in Fine D.J., Author’s ALs Laid In

176.     EMMETT, Chris. Shanghai Pierce, A Fair Likeness. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, [1953]. [i-vi] vii-xiii [1, blank], [1-2] 3-326 pp., 8 plates (mostly photographs), text illustrations by Nick Eggenhofer. 8vo (24 x 16 cm), original brown cloth, spine lettered in brown on yellow ground. Very fine in very fine d.j. Signed by author on front free endpaper. Laid in is a one-page typed letter dated July 15, 1953, signed by the author to Mr. William H. Morrow, informing him that a copy of the book will be sent to him by Dudley R. Dobie (laid in is Dudley’s customary handwritten note on a bank deposit slip). Emmett remarks in his letter: “I trust you will find [this book] to be true, you being quite an authority on the old cooter yourself” and concludes: “I have another book in the making, but if at all—it will have to emerge faster than did Shanghai, as I do not have that much time left.” Also enclosed are two communications from collector Helen Runnells (a handwritten note and a typed letter signed) discussing various historical matters and a painting of Runnells’ ancestor, Shanghai Pierce.

     First edition. Adams, Guns 678. Adams, Herd 764. Basic Texas Books 56. Dykes, Fifty Great Western Illustrators, p. 126 (Eggenhofer #70). Dobie & Dykes, 44 & 44 #56. Reese, Six Score 38: “Pierce was a grand original, the first cattle king of Texas. A well written biography.” Abel Head (Shanghai) Pierce (1834-1900), was a prominent stockman and rancher ultimately responsible for introducing Brahman cattle into Texas because he believed them immune to ticks. He was originally from Rhode Island and at one point was worth over one million dollars, a remarkable sum for the time in Texas. See Handbook of Texas Online: Abel Head (Shanghai) Pierce. For a photograph of Shanghai Pierce, see Item 469 herein.