The Light Of Western Stars by Zane Grey (Early Grosset & Dunlap Issue), 1914 🤠🌟🌵

This volume is an early issue of a foundational work by the master of the Western genre, Zane Grey.

Published in 1914 by Grosset & Dunlap in New York, this copy is identified by its 1914 copyright by Harper & Brothers and an early printer's code (K-P) on the copyright page.

The book is an artifact of the Golden Age of the Western and a piece of documented retail history, evidenced by the Cressey’s Eugene, OR, bookstore stamp. This volume is a strategic investment for the collector interested in the cultural history of the American frontier.

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object📖✍️✨

The Light of Western Stars is a classic Western Romance that defined the genre for the 20th Century. It details the struggles of a young woman from the East, Madeline Hammond, as she navigates the harsh social and physical landscape of the New Mexico cattle range.

The volume is distinguished by its highly preserved color frontispiece illustration, a crucial element that helped sell 1914 fiction and is highly sought after by illustration collectors. The internal design is clean, featuring a distinct olive green cloth binding with a decorative front board, confirming its identity as a durable, early 20th Century novel intended for wide circulation.

3. About the Author✍️🏛️

Zane Grey (1872–1939) was one of the best-selling American authors of all time. Originally a dentist, his true passion lay in writing tales of the American West. His novels were instrumental in creating the enduring myths of the cowboy, the struggle between civilization and wilderness, and the ethics of the frontier.

Grey’s work shaped the early film industry, with dozens of his stories adapted for the screen. His writings are a critical record of the changing American identity during the transition from the frontier to the modern industrial age. This 1914 publication date places the work firmly in his most prolific and influential period.

4. Historical/Political Era Context🌍🕰️📜

This book was published in January 1914, placing its creation just months before the outbreak of World War I in Europe. It represents a significant moment in American popular culture—the height of the country’s romantic fascination with the "Myth of the West."

As the actual geographic frontier had closed, the literary and cinematic West, championed by authors like Grey, became a powerful cultural space. This book provided an escapist narrative for a nation facing industrial strain and an increasingly complex international landscape. Its publication date makes it a 111-year-old artifact of pre-WWI American sentiment.

5. The Ideal Collector💡🧐🏛️

This volume is an essential component for a curator of 20th Century American Popular Fiction. The book's significance is found in its author, its genre-defining content, and its verifiable 1914 publication year.

It is an ideal acquisition for a collector who seeks to build a library focused on the history of the Western genre or the aesthetic of early 20th Century American trade publishers. The specific bookstore stamp from Oregon provides a compelling regional collecting point.

6. Value & Rarity💎✨🏛️

The item is 111 years old (published in 1914) and has survived through two World Wars and the Great Depression. The rarity is low on a textual level, but the value is high due to the book's status as an early 1914 issue of a foundational Zane Grey work.

This is a material artifact whose value is based on the author’s global recognition and the quality of the production, confirmed by the original color illustration. Its documented history, verified by the retail stamp, elevates its status as a collector's item with a traceable path.

7. Condition🔎📚✨

This is a transparent and factual condition report based on direct visual analysis.

• Positive Qualities:

  • The color frontispiece illustration is bright and fully intact.

  • The olive green cloth binding is tight and the cover design is clearly legible.

  • The interior text block is notably clean with minimal yellowing or foxing for a book of its age.

• Imperfections:

  • The spine shows minor rubbing and fading, consistent with 111 years of shelf life.

  • The corners are lightly bumped and the head and tail of the spine show minor crimping.

  • The front flyleaf contains a small, faint pencil notation ($5.00) in the upper right corner.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features🤓📜🤩

• The Light of Western Stars was first published serially in The Ladies' Home Journal in 1913, a move that guaranteed its success with a massive audience.

• The publisher, Grosset & Dunlap, was instrumental in popularizing American literature by issuing attractive, inexpensive editions, making them an important piece of 20th Century publishing history.

• The "K-P" code on the copyright page is a verifiable printer's mark used to track print runs, confirming the book's specific production month and year within 1914.

• The story features the famous romanticized setting of a New Mexico cattle ranch, a theme that would dominate Western novels and films for the next fifty years.

9. Supporting Information🏷️📦💰

• Title: The Light Of Western Stars, A Romance

• Author/Maker: Zane Grey

• Year: 1914

• Publisher/Foundry: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers (Published by arrangement with Harper & Brothers)

• Place of Origin: New York, USA

• Format/Binding: Decorative Cloth, Hardcover, Color Frontispiece

• Edition: Early Issue, Copyright 1914

• Rarity: Collectible Early Issue of a Genre Classic

• Bookstore Stamp (Verbatim Transcription):

  • "CRESSEY'S. EUGENE, OR. BOOK STORE" (Oval Stamp on Front Free Endpaper)