The Wild West Catalog
by Bruce Wexler, Running Press, Philadelphia, 2008, $19.95.
In trying to address every aspect of the West in 256 pages, The Wild West Catalog can’t be comprehensive, but it is colorful, fun and sometimes fascinating, and doesn’t cost an arm or a leg. Don’t let the “catalog” title fool you, though; the items in this book aren’t for sale. But like most catalogs, the images are the main thing and the text is minimal.
The sections on cowboys, Indians, cavalry and gunfighters are all too short to be of much use to historians, though the section on guns seems quite thorough, and as a bonus, the “Western Toys” section is loaded with more delightful, benign weapons. Children should marvel at much of this material, as should the young at heart; for example, the cowboy marionette Howdy Doody shares the pages with a new generation’s Woody, the doll based on the cowboy character from 1995’s Toy Story. “The Old West in Popular Culture” section is particularly fun, with its Western comic book covers, movie posters and images of Western film and TV stars from Gary Cooper to James Garner.
A dozen recipes for such delights as 1850s Texas camp bread spice up “The Chuckwagon” section. All in all, it’s a catalog to keep—anywhere in the house.
Originally published in the February 2009 issue of Wild West. To subscribe, click here.
