For your consideration is "Cowboy in the Making" by Will James, 1942, published by Charles Scribner's Sons and copy-righted by the publishers in 1937. "Cowboy in the Making; Arranged from the First Chapters of "Lone Cowboy"" details the life and adventure of a cowboy growing up in Montana. A young orphan boy finds companionship with his horses and an old trapper as they travel together through the Rocky Mountains of the Old West. Billy is orphaned at the age of four when a steer gores his father. A year later, five-year-old Billy leaves his home ranch, the only life he has known, and strikes out across the land with Bopy, an old French-Canadian trapper. Will James's writing and his 25 pen-and-ink drawings capture a boy's view of the West at the turn of the twentieth century. The piece features four full color illustrations and numerous black and white illustrations by the author throughout the book. William Roderick James (1892-1942) was a Canadian-American artist and writer of the American West. He is known for writing "Smoky the Cowhorse", for which he won the 1927 Newbery Medal, and numerous "cowboy" stories for adults and children. His artwork, which predominantly involved cowboy and rodeo scenes, followed "in the tradition of Charles Russell", and much of it was used to illustrate his books. In 1992, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. The blue cloth bound stamped illustration hardcover is in nice condition, front cover features the author's illustration of a horseback cowboy roping a cow, slight scuffing noted to cover edges. Intact pages exhibit age tanning. Original paper dust jacket exhibits tears and fading. Book measures 7"W x 9"L x .75"D