“THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNT”

HILL, Joseph J. The History of Warner's Ranch and its Environs. Los Angeles: (Young & McCallister), 1927. Quarto, original three-quarter ivory cloth, original paper spine label, slipcase. $400.

Limited first edition, number 73 of only 300 copies privately printed “for presentation only,” with 11 full-page illustrations including portraits of Juan Jose Warner and William Henshaw, an association copy from the library of Hollywood entrepeneur Rodney Sprigg, who married silent film star June Marlowe in 1932.

"Juan Jose Warner stood larger than most men, both physically and professionally. Six feet, three inches tall, his lifetime accomplishments as a state legislator, merchant, trapper, and ranchero exceeded the feats of most individuals… For 150 years journalists, travelers, historians and countless others have written of Warner's Ranch; some as visitors to the locale, and others as historical detectives who painstakingly attempted to document the structure's age and prominence in San Diego County and California history… Of the several historians who have researched and written about the Valle de San José, perhaps the most comprehensive account is The History of Warner's Ranch and Its Environs, published in 1927 by Joséph J. Hill, Associate Curator of the Bancroft Library and distinguished scholar of the southwestern fur trade." In this volume's preface, prominent historian Herbert Bolton notes "that Hill had at his fingertips the unrivalled resources of the Bancroft collection and that 'his instinct for research took him to local archives and other repositories" (Flanigan, Journal of San Diego History). Illustrated with frontispiece portrait of Wlliam Henshaw and full-page portrait of Warner after etchings by Loren Barton, together with nine plates including facsimiles and four maps. Issued the same year in a trade edition (1000 copies). Howes H486. Contemporary owner inscription of Hollywood businessman Rodney S. Sprigg, who in 1932 married silent film star June Marlowe, famed for starring opposite John Barrymore in the 1926 film Don Juan, and other popular features.

Book fine; minor expert repairs to slipcase.