The Life and Times of Jo Mora; Iconic Artist of the American West

Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith, 2021. First Edition, 1st Printing. Near Fine/Very Good. SIGNED, Trade edition, [9.25X6.25in]; xv, 319 pp., [1] advertisement of Book Club of California letter press edition, frontispieces, many color illustrations, maps and images, appendix, notes, bibliography and index; Tan cloth covers with gilt lettering and designs on front and spine, blue shades illustrated end papers; Illustrated dust jacket with front and spine lettering on mustard field; Minimal shelf wear to covers, edges and corners, light soiling to dust jacket, tipped in inscription of Hiller on a Jo Mora illustrated label, "Enjoy the Jo Mora Trail ! Best Wishes, Peter Hiller", tipped in reprint of illustration of City and Bay of San Francisco by Jo Mora first published in A Log of the Spanish Main, 1933. Joseph (Jo) Jacinto Mora (1876-1947) was an artist, sculptor, illustrator, painter, muralist, mapmaker, pictorial cartographer, cartoonist, photographer, printmaker, architect and cowboy during his long and very productive career. He was an author, historian and known as the "Renaissance Man of the West". His family immigrated from Uruguay in 1880 to the United States east coast where Jo studied are and started work as a cartoonist. In early 1900, he relocated to California to become a cowboy and travel in the Southwest as a painter and photographer. He lived with the Hopi and Navajo tribes in Arizona to learn about their culture and made detailed illustrations of their daily lives. Later, he moved to the Monterey Bay area and settled in his life as a artist working in a broad range of mediums. His works are wide spread and provide a body of work rich in the culture and times of California and the American West.

This is the trade publication of the 2019 Book Club of California limited edition. These books are well written and illustrated representation of Jo Mora's lifetime works, and rich history of California and the Southwest. An important book as part of any California and Western collection. Peter Hiller (1952 -) is the curator of the Jo Mora Trust and foremost authority on Jo Mora. This publication is long overdue in highlighting and celebrating the extensive and important works of Jo Mora.