(WEST) [George A Custer] His first four Nomad letters in a b

Sale 2675 - Lot 295

Price Realized: $ 750

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500

(WEST.) [George A. Custer.] His first four "Nomad" letters, in a bound volume of "Turf, Field, and Farm." Volume V complete with 26 weekly issues. 416 pages. Folio, 18 x 12 inches, contemporary ½ calf over marbled boards, worn, front board detached; intermittent foxing, first leaf detached and worn, two clippings removed (not affecting Nomad). New York: July to December 1867

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George Armstrong Custer (1839-1876) came to prominence as a Union general in the Civil War, and then took a commission as lieutenant colonel of the new Kansas-based 7th United States Cavalry in 1866. There he began writing occasional dispatches for the sporting weekly "Turf, Field, and Farm: A Journal of Society." The first four installments of his Nomad column were dated 9 September (in the 21 September issue, pages 182-183), 29 September (in the 12 October issue, page 230), 26 October (in the 9 November issue, page 295), and 11 November (in the 23 November issue, page 326), all under the title "On the Plains." The first two describe a buffalo hunt, and the next two describe his role in General Winfield Scott Hancock's campaign against the Cheyenne, establishing his reputation as an expert in the tactics of the Indian Wars. Custer later published 10 more columns in "Turf, Field, and Farm" from 1869 to 1875 under various titles, but all signed Nomad.

The Nomad letters were Custer's first offerings for a national literary audience. They cover much of the same ground as the serialized memoir he wrote for Galaxy Magazine in 1872, which was later published as "My Life on the Plains." The Nomad letters were not published in book form until 2014, edited by Brian Dippie as "Nomad: George A. Custer in Turf, Field, and Farm."

With--a later volume of "Turf, Field, and Farm." Volume IX with 27 issues. 432 pages. Folio, 18 x 12 inches, contemporary ½ calf, worn, boards detached; intermittent foxing, 5 clippings removed (not affecting Nomad), first 3 issues worn at edges. Includes Custer's sixth and seventh Nomad letters, dated 12 September 1869 (in the 24 September issue, page 199, describing a buffalo hunt with Lord Waterpark and Lord Paget from England) and 8 November (in the 19 November 1869 issue, pages 326-327, discussing another buffalo hunt with sportsman K.C. Barker). An editorial note in the 24 September issue discusses the Nomad letter and General Custer (page 201). This volume is also notable for incidental coverage of the perfect baseball season of the Cincinnati Red Stockings (see pages 87, 103, 215, 309, etc.). Note that Cincinnati's 36-22 victory over the Central City team of Syracuse, NY is here called a 22-22 tie, which would have ruined the team's famous perfect record. New York, July to December 1869.