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My name is Kim and I’m a bibliophile.
I’ve been mad about books from the time I could read. As a child, I was befriended by the traveling librarian who routinely came to our school with a van full of books. The Traveling Library’s visit caused real excitement in our small school of three classrooms, and it was great fun to clamber in and search for a new treasure. The benefits of having a friend in the traveling library meant that I was allowed to borrow from their home base when I visited my grandparents’ in town. Walking through the somewhat darkened room of bookcases full of so many unread titles was intoxicating. Imagine my delight years later to find used bookstores... with cases of books, so like the library’s, with the wondrous option of purchasing the books to take home forever!
Thus began an obsession with buying books. Not just any books, new books were nice... old, out-of-print books were the titles most sought. The types of books collected were, and are, many... but primarily of an equine nature. As an equine artist, I eagerly searched for books with illustrations from artists I’d loved as a child... Paul Brown, C.W. Anderson, Sam Savitt (who grew up nearby), Wesley Dennis, and others. Favorite authors were also on my “hit” list... Marguerite Henry, Walter Farley, Patsey Gray, Dorothy Lyons, T.C. Hinkle, Will James, Mary O’ Hara, Rutherford Montgomery, and so many more.
Dog books, such as the collie books of Albert Payson Terhune, and animal books were added to the my wish list and began to occupy my shelves. Non-fiction books on horses and dogs and horse racing titles also began to follow me home. The addition of ebay as a bibliophilic resource has only added to the strain of finding more room for books... but happily so.
I am not an expert on books or collecting... just an amateur with passion. When a favorite title is brought up here for discussion, I welcome your feedback... and we’ll learn more together.
This week,
Do You Remember...
“The Crooked Colt” by C.W. Anderson.
I remember borrowing this book in second grade. The artwork was so extraordinary, and the story of a little colt who didn’t fit in with his peers hit home, as I'm sure it must have done for many children.
C.W. (Clarence William) Anderson was born in Wahoo, Nebraska in 1891. He attended the Chicago Art Institute, after a stint in the Navy, and moved east... eventually settling in Mason, New Hampshire. The artist drew cartoons for The New Yorker and other publications. In the 1930’s he began his famous “Billy and Blaze” book series, with many additional fine children’s books to come. The artist also penned and illustrated some superb books about thoroughbred racing and racehorses, and offered some beautiful art portfolios and prints. His early illustrations were done with etching and lithography, later he turned to using a black colored pencil in a style simulating his earlier lithos. C.W. Anderson also illustrated a few children's books and poetry books written by his wife, Madeleine Paltenghi Anderson. The artist passed away in 1971.
“The Crooked Colt” was first published in 1954. The story tells of a little white-faced colt who was small and had crooked legs. He couldn’t run and play with the other colts in the pasture, and was befriended by the farm’s youngest daughter. The colt’s mother led him to a far pasture where they stayed until he grew stronger. Sunshine and grass, and exercising with Mom, soon put him right and he returns to see the little girl and race the other colts in the pasture. All’s right in the end. The book was reprinted numerous times in hardcover and paperback. If you would like to find a copy, check with the online auctions and booksellers... it shouldn’t be too difficult to locate.
If you would like to find out more about C.W. Anderson... I would highly recommend a book by Charles Emil Ruckstuhl entitled “Andy as I Knew Him.” It was published in 2004. Mr. Ruckstuhl is Mr. Anderson's stepson.
I’m sure we’ll revisit more of Anderson’s titles later on, and we'll have many to choose from.
If you know of any titles missing from this list, please let me know.
Books written by C.W. Anderson:
- A Filly for Joan
- A Pony for Linda
- A Pony for Three
- A Touch of Greatness
- Afraid to Ride
- And So to Bed (cartoons)
- Another Man O' War
- Big Red
- Billy and Blaze
- Black, Bay and Chestnut
- Blaze and the Forest Fire
- Blaze and the Grey Spotted Pony
- Blaze and the Gypsies
- Blaze and the Indian Cave
- Blaze and the Lost Quarry
- Blaze and the Mountain Lion
- Blaze and Thunderbolt
- Blaze Finds Forgotten Roads
- Blaze Finds the Trail
- Blaze Shows the Way
- Blind Connemara
- Bobcat
- Complete Book of Horses & Horsemanship
- Deep Through the Heart
- Favorite Horse Stories
- Great Heart
- Heads Up, Heels Down
- High Courage
- Horse Show
- Horses are Folks
- Linda and the Indians
- Lonesome Little Colt
- Phantom, Son of Gray Ghost
- Salute
- Sketchbook
- The Crooked Colt
- The Horse of Hurricane Hill
- The Miracle of Greek Sculpture
- The Outlaw
- The Rumble Seat Pony
- The Smashers
- Thoroughbreds
- Tomorrow's Champion
- Twenty Gallant Horses
Books illustrated by C.W. Anderson for other authors:
- A Pony Called Lightning by Miriam Mason
- Gallant and Game by A.H. Hutchinson
- Honey on a Raft by Madeleine Paltenghi Anderson
- Honey the City Bear by Madeleine Paltenghi Anderson
- Midnight, Rodeo Champion by Robert Gard
- Remus Goes to Town by Madeleine Paltenghi Anderson
- Rumpus Rabbit by Madeleine Paltenghi Anderson
- Silverpoints by Madeleine Paltenghi Anderson
- The Red Roan Pony by Joseph Lippincott
- Under One Bough by Madeleine Paltenghi Anderson
© Kim Jo Hess - Hobby Horses
