A History of the Ancient Southwest

Portland, ME: Bond Wheelwright Co, 1957. Signed and Inscribed by the Author to the Former Owner. Hardcover. Good+ (Boards are moderately edgeworn/scuffed/smudged; textblock edges are foxed/scuffed; ffep has a blind stamp from the former owner; notes on endpaper preceding half-title; some pages are lightly foxed; interior is clean; binding is solid.)/Good- (DJ is intact, but has heavy shelf/edgewear/sunning/scuffing; there is peeling and toning; small tears at edges.). Orange cloth boards with black illustration and black and white lettering; orange DJ with b&w-photo illustration and black and white lettering; xx, 383, richly illustrated. INSCRIBED AND DATED TO THE FORMER OWNER, BY THE AUTHOR, ON FFEP. "In this book which is not only for the archaeologist but for the layman, Mr. Gladwin begins by describing the process through which dirt encrusted sherds finally emerge 'as the dictionary of an ancient language of which there is no other written record.' He does it in such enticing terms that the chances are most of his readers will wish that they could join in the fun. But there is much more than fun in this profusely illustrated volume. In translating 'the architecture, pottery, stones, and bones that have been uncovered into something resembling a history of the peoples who left these behind them,' which is what he sets out to do, the author makes provocative use of his vast knowledge of the ancient Southwest." -- DJ.