Horace Bell On the Old West Coast
Bell, Horace, edited by Lanier Bartlett, On the Old West Coast: Being Further Reminiscences of a Ranger. William Morrow and Co, New York, .1930. [xiv] 1-336 pages, 6 ¼” x 9 ½” . Grey cloth covered boards, paste-on title in red on front cover and spine, lacks dust jacket.
First edition, trade issue. Good but faded copy. Previous owner’s small label pasted on front free end page. Illustrated end papers and throughout in black and white.
Born in Indiana in 1830, Bell settled in Los Angeles in 1852. He was a founding member of the Los Angeles Ranger, a member of Walkers Filibusters in Nicaragua, a lawyer, journalist and newspaper publisher, and author of two Southern California history books. He died in 1919. His first book Reminiscences of a Ranger: Early Times in Southern California (Zamorano 80 #5, Howes 324) was published in 1881. It is a classic account of classic account of the “seamy” side of 19th century Los Angeles. The current work was published posthumously in 1930 based on his notes expands on this theme.
[$40]