Williams Lake, BC: The Picture Man Photographic Workshop, 1978. First Edition. Soft cover. Collectible Good. Item #2210055

1st printing. 4to pictorial blue and white stiff wraps. 312pp. Crammed with fabulous descriptive black and white photos of rodeo action. Inscribed by Wise with a rather scrawling presentation, "Jim / Good / working the / ?? ?? / game / Williams / Lake / with / you / Don." On the title page is printed, "The copy [this book] was written, photographed, edited, and pasted up by Done Wise ..." According to one website, Wise was "The 1976 winner of the Interior Rodeo Association's Bert Roberts Memorial Award -- given to the person who has contributed the most to the promotion of the sport of rodeo." I cannot tell you how thorough and remarkable Wise's rodeo photos are. It appears that the rodeos represented are all around the British Columbia interior of the Cariboo Chilcotin, a vast country I have driven through off and on: Douglas Lake, Kelowna, Clinton, Quesnel, Williams Lake, many more. One entry on pages 218-219 is a good sample, with photos, "A bull riding classic / Deightman vs. Head Hunter." "It's mighty rare when a cowboy turns down a drink with his partners at stampede time. Mertis Dightman did it once. It was just after he drew the rankest bull that ever did make it to the Williams Lake Stampede," etc. One website says, "In 1966, Dightman became the first black cowboy to qualify for the Professional Rodeo Association National Finals." One more example is a full page photo captioned, "Diane White on the finer points of goat tying." Cowboys, clowns, cowgirls, horses, bulls, cows, you have it all in this extraordinary book. It is a modern rarity. Only two copies appear in world libraries. Moderately worn covers, and back cover with a corner triangle crease.

Price: $750.00