103

VERSO
Label, J. N. Bartfield Galleries, New York, NY

The Disappointment of a Lifetime is recorded in the C. M. Russell Catalogue Raisonné as reference number CR.UNL.172.

According to Russell biographer, Larry Len Peterson, “Both Francis Parkman’s Oregon Trail and Theodore Roosevelt’s The Winning of the West were published by George Palmar Putnam. So when G. P. Putnam’s Sons contacted the Russells to provide illustrations for yet another one of many reminiscence books by an old cowboy, they couldn’t turn it down it down, even though it meant missing Montana’s special day on June 14, 1904 at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri. Throughout that summer Russell remained busy finishing an order of one color halftone, eight black-and-white halftones, and fifteen line engravings for Charles J. Stedman’s Bucking the Sagebrush, or The Oregon Trail in the Seventies. It was one of his largest and most important commissions to date. The cover of the rare dust jacket summarized the book, ‘A chronicle of Western life in the good old days of an ex-cowboy.’ The story is told simply and without exaggeration but the picturesqueness of the author’s style and the thrilling experiences through which he passed make it as fascinating as a romance.”

LITERATURE
Charles J. Steedman, Bucking the Sagebrush, or The Oregon Trail in the Seventies (New York, NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1904), illustrated halftone

Condition ReportAs viewed through glass. Paper appears to be in excellent condition. No signs of fading.

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders; such statements are educated opinions and should not be regarded as facts. The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction has no responsibility for any errors or omissions.