first edition
1881 · Los Angeles
by Bell, Major Horace
Los Angeles: Yarnell, Caystile & Mathes, Printers, 1881. First Edition. 457pp. Octavo [23 cm] Green cloth with gilt stamping to front board and backstrip. About very good. Minor wear to extremities of board, particularly the rear joint. Internally clean. Bell went to southern California in 1852 and soon became involved in the Los Angeles Rangers (the local law enforcement). This is one of the finest accounts of the early lawless days in Los Angeles and the first book printed, published, and bound in Southern California. "Bell has written more minutely upon the 'seamy side' of society than any other Californian author, and there is a fascination about (truncated)