Covered Wagon Women: Diaries & Letters from the Western Trails, 1840-1890. Edited & Compiled by Kenneth L. Holmes 11 Volumes

Glendale CA: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1983. Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 1983-1993 11 volumes, Collector's Editions #14 of 33 sets bound in full grained brown leather with the title gilt stamped on the front board and backstrip. All volumes near fine or better and signed and numbered on the limitation pages, small owner label on the flyleaf of each volume. Laid in the volume eleven keepsake is a typed letter from the published explaining why the leather of the limited sets are a bit different. - Volume I: 1840-1849. 272 pages. Collector's edition keepsake: Catherine M. Berry, 'A Letter from the Mines.' 12 pages, numbered and signed by the author. - Volume II: 1850. 294 pages. Collector's edition keepsake: Margaret Hereford, 'Alone in a Strange Land.' 16 pages, numbered and signed by the author. - Volume III: 1851. 283 pages. Lacks the print keepsake. (Ive had 4 sets of the limited edition and none had this keepsake) - Volume IV: 1852, The California Trail. 295 pages. Collector's edition keepsake: 'By-Laws and Resolutions of the Dubuque Emigrating Company to California [1852].' 12 pages, numbered and signed by the author. - Volume V: 1852, The Oregon Trail. 312 pages. Collector's edition keepsake: Harriet Scott Palmer, 'Crossing over the Great Plains by Ox-Wagon.' 12 pages, numbered and signed by the author. - Volume VI: 1853-1854. 281 pages. Collector's edition keepsake: 'An Extract from the Diary of William Royal [1855].' 12 pages, numbered and signed by the author. - Volume VII: 1854-1860. 295 pages. Collector's edition keepsake: 'The Lander Cutoff, 1858.' 12 pages, numbered and signed by the author. - Volume VIII: 1862-1865. 264 pages. Limited Edition Keepsake. The Journal of Mrs. Mary Ringo. A Diary of Her Trip Across the Great Plains in 1864. With a Foreword and Conclusion by Her Daughter Mattie Bell Cushing. Covered Wagon Women. Santa Ana. Self published. 1956. 38 pages. Gilt decorated hard cover. First edition. Illustrated. Important reference work. Very scarce in this condition. Limited edition of 45 copies, number Volume IX: 1864-1868. 259 pages, Collector's edition keepsake: facsimiles of two maps of the Butterfield Overland Mail route from Conkling, 'The Butterfield Overland Mail.' Numbered. - Volume X: 1875-1883. 277 pages. Collector's edition keepsake: Mae Stone (age 12), 'To Oregon in 1898 by Wagon.' 16 pages. - Volume XI: 1879-1903. 276 pages. Collector's edition keepsake: 'Kenneth L. Holmes and Covered Wagon Women. numbered and signed by the author. Rare limited edition of this celebrated set with nine of the eleven keepsakes. "This set was initiated by Dr. Holmes after years of working and collecting in the field. His interest was in presenting the material to the public in a readily available form for reference and reading. He viewed the series as a continuation of 'First White Women Over the Rockies' edited by Drury. The diaries are reprinted verbatim, with no changes in spelling, punctuation, etc. Each is introduced by the editor with historical background and identification of characters wherever possible. Minor footnoting to clarify the text is included. The series was very successful for the publisher." - Clark & Brunet 144..