Journals of John D. Lee, 1846-7 and 1859
Salt Lake City, UT: Privately printed for Rolla Bishop Watt by Western Printing Company, 1938. First edition, limited. Hardcover. SIGNED. 294 pp. Quarto [28 cm] Green cloth with gilt stamped titles on the front board and backstrip. The extremities are mildly bumped, rubbed, and faded. The tipped in portrait at page six is missing, with remnants of glue on the page. The dust jacket has a couple of small red ink stains on the front panel, is lightly rubbed, and has a number of short chips and closed tears in the edges. With sunning to the jacket's spine, and a piece of tape on the reverse, at the head of the spine. Otherwise a sharp copy of this scarce title. Very good / very good. Item #47340
Inscribed by the editor to fellow historian C.M. Drury. One in an edition of 250. This copy is out of series, and the limitation page states this copy to be an exchange copy. A professional curmudgeon, Charles Kelly was the first to wade into the murky water of John D. Lee. Kelly acquired the diaries from the Lee family and from Rolla Watt, who was the nephew of W.W. Bishop, the Nevada lawyer who represented Lee at trial. For all of Kelly's spite, he was surprisingly fair to Lee and paved the way for other historians, most notably Juanita Brooks.
Price: $1,250.00