Cowboys & the Trappings of the Old West [Hardcover]

William Manns (Author), Charlotte Berney (Author), Elizabeth Clair Flood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2003

Cowboys & the Trappings of the Old West is a pictorial celebration of the old time buckaroo. The cowboys' colorful story and history are graphically presented in this epic narrative. For the first time, his saddles, chaps, spurs, and other tools of the trade are presented in a carefully crafted portrait. Tribute is given to the artisans and craftsmen who fashioned the cowboy's unique outfit. The history of the famous frontier saddlemakers is explored. Through rare, many never before published photos, the history of the early cowboy is traced from the cattle drives and ranches of the old west to the Wild West Show and Rodeo Arena. Cowgirls and Calico Queens are included as exciting companions to our old time cowpokes. With over 550 color photos, 9"x11.5", deluxe hardcover edition. This book has a colorful foreword by the late Roy Rogers. Chapters include spurs, hats, saddles, boots, guns, chaps, WIld West Shows, soiled doves, longhorns, and much more.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Rarely does a book come along of such exceptional quality as Cowboys & the Trappings of the Old West. This was obviously a labor of love by authors William Manns and Elizabeth Clair Flood. Every aspect of the life and equipment of the old time cowboy has been painstakingly researched and documented. The book starts off with a touching foreword by the King of the Cowboys himself, Roy Rogers. This wonderful title explores the cowboys' simple cattle drive days, and his rise to icon status. The clever text filled with colorful anecdotes, follows the old time cowpoke through a fascinating jorney from ranch life to rodeo arenas, wild west show fame, and finally on to Hollywood. Individual chapters address the chronological design evolution of spurs, chaps, saddles, hats, weapons, and clothing. It is rare that a colorful picture book is combines with such superbly written text.

No matter how many times you pick up this book, you will discover more fascinating information in the fact-laden captions and text. This book is destined to become the definitive book on the subject, and an important one for and cowboy enthusiast or collector of Western Americana. -- Publisher Comments

About the Author

Elizabeth Clair Flood is a San Francisco native who now calls Wilson, Wyoming home. Flood is a frequent contributor to national magazines, including Architectural Digest, and a staff writer for Cowboys and Indians magazine. She loves western cuture, and travels throughout the Rocky Mountain region collecting research for her books and articles.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: ZON International Publishing; 1st edition (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0939549131
• ISBN-13: 978-0939549139
• Product Dimensions: 11.7 x 9.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #736,024 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reference manual for period wear., March 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Cowboys & the Trappings of the Old West (Hardcover)

I found the book both entertaining and informative. The photography and description of the material is excellent. As an amatuer historian on the subject, I found it to be educational as well as concise and pointing out subtle items which could have been overlooked by the casual observer. It is one of those books the reader can either read from cover to cover or open anywhere and dig right in.

It covers all aspects of turn-of-the-century attire and accouterments from the working cowboy to the Wild West Show performers. Excellent and entertaining.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great reference for old west history buffs, November 5, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Cowboys & the Trappings of the Old West (Hardcover)

This is a very good book for those interested in all the various accessories that the cowboy (and cowgirl) used. It is a good reference for old west living history groups that need to authenticate costume articles to a particular time period. The pictures are top quality.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Research Book, June 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Cowboys & the Trappings of the Old West (Hardcover)

It has a great number of photos that show details of western clothings, accessories, and other items. As a costume designer, I need to see the details for my research, and this book helped me a lot.
The book shows everything from hats, bandanas, leather cuffs, spurs, to boots. It also has a nice section on cowgirls.