Shea Patten (6 results)

Staple Bound. Condition: Very Good. Very good, clean, tight condition. Staple bound. Text free of marks. Professional book dealer since 1999. All orders are processed promptly and carefully packaged.

Stiff pr. wraps. Condition: Good. 28unnumbered pp, photos, stiff pict wraps nice rpt 6-Guns #1988 Adams 150-123.

Original Wraps. Condition: Fine. First Thus. - Local History Skagway, Alaska Gold Rush, " Soapy " Smith, Wild West Con Man, American Outlaws - history of this colourful gangster who preyed on prospectors and their gold dust, with a near contemporary account of his death at the hands of Frank Reid - 28 pages, oblong 8vo, illustrated with 12 old photos, death bed, morgue, etc. - facsimile edition. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.

Condition: Good. 12mo. Oblong Stapled Wrap. [ca. 20 pp.] B&W Plates. Very Good with Age Toning, Creasing.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. Pictorial wrappers, a very good copy. The rare first edition. Six Guns: "This exceedingly rare little book is said to have been written by H.B. LeFevre [sic], of Skagway. It is a condensed history of the reign of terror and outlawry in White Pass and the Skagway country in 1898, the formation of the vigilance committee, Soapy Smith's counter organization of thugs and cutthroats known as the 'Law and Order Committee of 303,' and the killing of Soapy and the breaking up of his gang." William Reese Company catalog description: "An early, illustrated source for the life and misdeeds of the con artist and swindler, Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith, the most notorious outlaw of the Klondike Gold Rush in Alaska. Known best for swindling his victims through his gambling dens, saloons, and auction houses, Smith's criminal behavior began in Colorado when he was not yet twenty, and ended with his death at age thirty-seven in a shoot-out on a wharf in Skagway. The many photographic illustrations are from images by the Case & Draper firm of Sitka, and show Soapy Smith, his victims, and his stomping grounds, as well as several morgue photographs of Smith's corpse." KURUTZ, KLONDIKE 529. HOWES L229: "Stirring events on the Alaska frontier in 1898, final killing of Smith and dispersal of his outlaw gang." WICKERSHAM 1606. TOURVILLE 2672. SMITH, PACIFIC NORTHWEST AMERICANA 9385. SOLIDAY IV:19. Spude, Catherine Holder, "THAT FIEND IN HELL": SOAPY SMITH IN LEGEND (Norman, Ok. 2012):"The booklet was no doubt intended to promulgate jokes, laughter, and barroom conversations about local politics. No one, especially its creator, meant for it to be taken seriously, much less to promulgate a legend.".

[ALASKA]. First edition. Oblong 16mo. Red pictorial wrappers, n.p. [24 pp.], illustrated, plates. There are thirteen plates, including the title page, and the text is on verso of plates. One of the most well-known con men of the 1800s, Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith, II, operated several rackets in the American West for decades. From Texas to Colorado, to Alaska, Smith organized groups of bunko men into gangs that operated shell games, crooked gambling, and other scams. When the Klondike Gold Rush began in 1897, Soapy saw new opportunities and soon made his new home in Skagway, Alaska. Working from his saloon named Jeff Smith's Parlor, Soapy's cons began in earnest. But, some of the Skagway citizens weren't impressed with Soapy. Soon, several Skagway citizens had had enough and a vigilante group threatened to drive Smith out of town. Finally, when Soapy and his gang took $2,600 in gold from a Klondike miner in an illegal Three-card Monte game, the vigilantes demanded that Soapy give him back his gold. Soapy, of course, refused. Before long a gunfight erupted, leaving Soapy dead. Six Guns 1988 says "Rare." "This exceedingly rare little book is said to have been written by H. B. LeFevre, of Skagway. It is a condensed history of the reign of terror and outlawry in White Pass and the Skagway country in 1898, the formation of the vigilance committee, Soapy Smith's counter organization of thugs and cutthroats known as the "Law and Order Committee of 303," and the killing of Soapy and the breaking up of his gang." Soapy Smith was killed by Frank H. Reid, the elected City Engineer, during a brief altercation on July 8, 1898. Original covers are lightly worn at the fore-edges and the extremities, however all of the text is fine. Housed in a leatherette clamshell case with titles stamped in gilt on the front cover and spine.