North American Auction Company
Live Auction

Montana Premier March 4th Collector Auction

Sat, Mar 4, 2023 11:00AM EST
Lot 608

"Smoky the Cowhorse" Will James 1929

Estimate: $150 - $300

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$50 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$25,000 $2,500
$100,000 $5,000
For your consideration is the book "Smoky, The Cowhorse" written and illustrated by Will James. This book is copyright 1926, 1929 by Charles Scriber's Sons and published by Grosset & Dunlap, New York. This item contains a "Dogey Hull" signature on the title page. The book details the life of a horse in the western United States from his birth to his eventual decline. Smoky is born in the wild, captured and trained and becomes known as the best cow horse around. However, Smoky is stolen by a horse thief, beaten repeatedly as punishment, and eventually attacks and kills the thief. William Roderick James 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. This tan clothbound gold gilt hardcover book is in very nice condition, very slight scuffing noted to cover edges. Intact pages exhibit age tanning and very slight foxing, no other obvious marring noted. Measures 5.5"W x 8.25"L x .75"D