SKU: 14140492863

Chronicles of the Big Bend: A Photographic Memoir of Life on the Border

Sale price$27.50 Regular price$30.56
Save 10%

Pay in installments of $7.64 with ShopPay, AfterPay and Klarna

Shipping Estimate
USA
  • USA
  • CAN

Ships within 48 hours · Estimated delivery Aug 25 - Aug 30

Promo Codes Available:

For Your Every Summer RSVP, with Code: SUMMER15

Description

Chronicles of the Big Bend: A Photographic Memoir of Life on the BorderAs a young teamster on a pack mule train, Wilfred Dudley Smithers saw the Rio Grande's Big Bend for the first time in 1916, and it captured his imagination forever. For decades thereafter he returned to Texas' last great frontier the great bend of the Rio Grande on the Texas Mexico border chronicling the region and its people in words and photographs. After half a century of photography, Smithers' superlative collection of nine thousand images ended

As a young teamster on a pack-mule train, Wilfred Dudley Smithers saw the Rio Grande's Big Bend for the first time in 1916, and it captured his imagination forever. For decades thereafter he returned to Texas' last great frontier-the great bend of the Rio Grande on the Texas-Mexico border-chronicling the region and its people in words and photographs. After half a century of photography, Smithers' superlative collection of nine thousand images ended up at the University of Texas at Austin, and in 1976 more than one hundred of these were reproduced in Chronicles of the Big Bend, a critically acclaimed work that until now has long been out of print. The years that Smithers chronicled in the Big Bend were sometimes violent ones. Pancho Villa and Chico Cano were among the many "bandits" playing hide-and-seek with the U.S. Cavalry-events Smithers recorded. He was also an eyewitness to liquor-running and smuggling during Prohibition. His principal subjects, however, were the people of the Big Bend: local ranchers, Mexican American and American families, miners, Texas Rangers, and others living simple lives in this harsh and beautiful land. With words and camera Smithers wanted to capture "vanishing lifestyles, primitive cultures, old faces, and odd, unconventional professions. Before my camera I wanted huts, vendors, natural majesties, clothing, tools, children, old people, the ways of the border." He also told his own life story along with that of the Big Bend. There are illustrated chapters on the military, law enforcement, curanderos (healers), liquor smugglers, avisadores (secret-message senders), and the national park. Smithers' word sketches and black-and- white photographs capture the harsh reality and stark beauty, the dust and the mystery of the frontier era of the Big Bend that ended in 1944 when it became a national park. Chronicles of the Big Bend is a rare documentary look at a frontier region as it was known by only a few and as it will never be seen again. It is a deeply personal human portrait of the majestic Big Bend. WILFRED DUDLEY SMITHERS (1895-1981) was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, in 1895. He began taking photographs at age fifteen while living in San Antonio, and later worked as a teamster, joined the U.S. Army, operated a photo studio, served as a news correspondent, and helped pioneer aerial photography.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Texas State Historical Assn
Published: 03/15/2013
ISBN: 9780876112618
Pages: 160
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 9.80h x 7.00w x 0.40d
Shipping Notes
  • Free Standard Shipping on $100+ Orders to the USA.
  • Except Preorder products are shipped in 48 hours.
  • Delivery to the USA:
  1. Standard Shipping : 3-10 business days
  • If time is of the essence, please consider selecting expedited delivery for faster service.
Exchange/Return Notes
  • We offer a 30-day return/exchange service after receiving.
  • Final sale items are not eligible for returns or exchanges.
  • To process your return/exchange, please contact us at [email protected]
  • Please click here for more details>>> Return & Exchange Policy
SKU: 14140492863

Discover Niche Categories That Outsell

Top-Converting Item to Boost Your Average Order

4.1 ★★★★★
Based on 29 reviews
Sort
Highest Rating
Newest First
Oldest First
Product Reviews
C
Verified Purchase
Chris F
Belleville, US
★★★★★ 5
Five Stars
Format: Hardcover
Awesome another cool piece to add to my collection.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2014
D
D Hajdukovic
Draper, US
★★★★★ 5
Five Stars
Format: Hardcover
Stupid sexy Flanders
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2014
W
Verified Purchase
Wesley B. Jackson
Cuba, US
★★★★★ 4
funny!
Format: Hardcover
See the "candy wrapper rustler", the "hymn hummer" and all the others you remember )or still know, from church. See Homer's water-slide-to-the-baptismal-pool, and more. Fun to give as a gift.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on August 24, 2008
T
The Art and Making of
Battle Creek, US
★★★★★ 4
Another Great Entry In This Series!
Format: Hardcover
See video for review. (For a full flip through and in-depth review, follow the Youtube link on my Amazon profile).
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2018
R
Reverend Skull
Waukegan, US
★★★★★ 3
for Simpson fans
Format: Hardcover
If you're a fan of the Simpsons' neighbor, this will certainly tickle your funnybone. Good old left-handed Ned tells and shows all, God bless him.
WAS THIS REVIEW HELPFUL?YesReportShare
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2009

recommand products