DEDICATION COPY OF REMINGTON'S FIRST BOOK FOR JACK FOLLANSBEE. REMINGTON, FREDERIC. 1861-1909. P...

DEDICATION COPY OF REMINGTON'S FIRST BOOK FOR JACK FOLLANSBEE. REMINGTON, FREDERIC. 1861-1909. Pony Tracks. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1895. 8vo. Illustrated throughout by Remington. Publisher's deluxe suede binding, minor wear to the corners. Provenance: Frederic Remington, autograph inscription to: Jack Follansbee; Thomas L. Smith (bookplate); Henry G. Lindner (receipt from Bennett Book Studio, with catalogue description laid-in). DELUXE BINDING OF PONY TRACKS WITH LONG PRESENTATION INSCRIPTION TO 'JACK' FOLLANSBEE WHO IS CENTRAL TO REMINGTON'S FIRST BOOK, and 'one of the men who rode the ponies who made the tracks' (from the dedication): 'To 'Jack' Follansbee, In memory of some very warm days – some very cold nights – some hundreds of long miles – some happy evenings in Bavicora's mud walls – and duly mindful of 'Jim' – 'Charlie' – the big wolf – 'Billy' and several bottles of 'sotol' – now empty and gone like the happy days. Your devoted slave, Frederic Remington.' Follansbee is first introduced on p 58 as 'the 'patron' of the Hacienda' (the Bavicora Ranch), and the story of Jack, 'Old' Jim (Remington's horse), Charlie (the cook), Billy (Jack's valet) covers the next 70 pp through p 130. The chapters are 'An Outpost of Civilization,' 'A Rodeo at Los Ojos,' and 'In the Sierra Madre with the Punchers.' They form the central drama of the work, chronicling Remington's influential 1893 trip to visit and ride Follansbee at William Randolph Hearst's Babicora Ranch in Chihuahua. John G. 'Jack' Follansbee was William Randolph Hearst's best friend throughout his life, having met at and dropped out of Harvard. In an attempt to steer the younger Will Hearst out of the newspaper business, his father George Hearst offered him a large portion of his vast land holdings in the Chihuahuan desert and gave his friend Follansbee 100,000 acres to sweeten the deal. Follansbee is described as a larger-than-life character and lived as a 'Mexican grandee' managing Hearst's lands at Babicora, alongside his own. Hearst and Follansbee's Babicora played a large role in introducing Western artists to the vaqueros of the Mexican deserts. Remington sculpted the Bronco Buster, completed in 1895, upon his return from the ranch. Charles Russell, Edward Borein, and Herbert Dunton all visited the ranch and made work based on their experiences. Cormac McCarthy's Border Trilogy features the Babicora Ranch, where Billy and Boyd find their stolen horses (see lots xxx – xxx). Follansbee and his companions, as well as Babicora itself, are illustrated by Remington throughout the chapters. The deluxe binding of Remington's first book, unrecorded by Merle Johnson, is exceedingly rare. The Bennett description laid-in here notes six known copies, with only two traced at auction through rarebookhub. A Remington rarity with a fantastic association. Adams Herd 1878; BAL 16489; Howes R-201. See Older, William Randolph Hearst: American, New York, 1936. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing