Denizens of the Desert: A Tale in Word and Picture of Life Among the Navaho Indians, the Letters of Elizabeth W. Forster

Quarto hardcover first edition of half blue cloth, stamped on the spine in a lighter metallic blue. and half cream colored boards, in fine condition. The dust jacket is near fine with several very short closed tears along the top and bottom edges and slight spine tip wear. "The Letters of Elizabeth W. Forster, Photographs by Laura Gilpin". In 1930, after getting stranded without gas on an empty road near Chinle , Arizona, Forster and Gilpin sought and received help from a group of friendly Navajos. A few months later, Forster, a registered nurse, got a job in Red Rock, Arizona as a field Nurse for The New Mexico Association of Indian Affairs. Her letters over the next two years, mostly to Gilpin, provided this account of life in a small New Mexican Navajo community. Forster accepted and lived by the customs of Navajo culture, and in turn was accepted by the Native Navajos. Gilpin documented Navajo life with her beautiful photos, which became famous. xiv and 140 pp. Southwest, Navajos, Social life and customs, photographs, Public health nurses, Letters. …