The Land of Little Rain; [Text by Mary Austin (1903), Photographs by Ansel Adams and Introduction by Carl Van Doren] [Harold C. Bryant's copy]

Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1950. First Edition. Very Good Plus/Very Good. Ansel Adams, Photographer. SIGNED, INSCRIBED, and tipped in personal note to the Bryant's [10.25x8.25"]; xviii,[2], 133 pp., [4], 48 unpaginated plates, with captions, of black and white images by Ansel Adams [starting at page 103]; Yellow cloth covers with orange lettering on spine and front, map of California and Nevada border area on front and rear end papers; Dust jacket with image of Sierra valley and mountains on front wrapped around spine, red lettering on front, white lettering on field of red on spine, testimonials to Mary Austin on rear; Minimal shelf wear to covers with small spots, signed by Ansel Adams on half-title, inscription on front free end paper "For the Bryant's From Ansel and Virginia", tipped in handwritten note to Bryant's by Virginia Adams ; Dust jacket shows shelf wear and chips to top and bottom of spine and along top edge with no loss of text, red field on spine faded, mild soiling. [Volkmann-Zamorano 80 2B, ]. This book is a reissue of Mary Austin's first book issued in 1903, with a collaboration with Ansel Adams photographs to add to the wonderful narrative by Austin.

Mary Hunter Austin (1868-1934) was an American writer of the Southwest. The Land of Little Rain was her first of 35 books and, by many accounts, her best book. This is a story of life and nature on the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, of Owens Valley, the Inyo Mountains, Mojave Desert, Death Valley and Western Nevada. In Lawrence Clark Powell, California Classics, he writes "There in the county of Inyo she put down roots and absorbed the lore of the Paiute and Shoshone Indians and of the shepherds, ranchers and miners. With her feet on the earth and her head in the sky, she gave voice in singing prose to the soul of a hitherto unsung land." Ansel Adams photographs have brought to life the writings of Austin. Each of the 48 images are captioned with passages from the book and the location. From Powell "Here we see a perfect conjunction of life, landscape, and literature. ... The register of her language is fully as sharp as that of Adams' photographs."

Ansel Easton Adams (1902-1984) was an American landscape photographer, artist, and environmentalist known for his iconic black-white images of the American West. Ansel. with his wife Virginia, spent much of his life visualizing the western environment and inspiring others to see beyond the images. As an environmentalist, he used the power of images as John Muir used the power of his words to advocate for environmental conservation. His early works were first published in the Sierra Club Bulletin in 1922,while he was a summer caretaker in the Yosemite Valley. He founded the Aperture magazine and the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona. Virginia Best Adams (1904-2000) was an integral part of Ansel's photography. They met in Yosemite where her Father had a gift shop called Best's Studio. She inherited Best Studio from her Father and expanded to sell high quality gifts and photographs. She also founded with others the Five Associates, a publishing company that produces photographic postcards, note card, picture books and guidebooks. Later Virginia wrote a children's book, Michael and Anne in Yosemite Valley. She turned the company over to her daughter Anne who renamed it Ansel Adams Museum Graphics that is still in business,

This book was a gift from Ansel and Virginia Adams to Harold C. Bryant. The families were long time friends. A personal hand written note is tipped in to the book from Virginia Adams and reads "Dear Friends - It was such a pleasure to have a visit with you! Hope we can all be together soon - Ansel came back from Mesa Verde and Salt Lake - Wayne was over for supper a couple of nights ago, but I had a touch of flu - or tiredness? and stayed in bed - missed all the fun - We send our Love Virginia"

Dr. Harold C. Bryant (1886-1968) was an American ornithologist and zoologist who served in the US National Park Service and was involved in the establishment of the system of park naturalists. He earned degrees from the University of California, Berkeley and worked in the university's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology from 1910 to 1927. During that period he was also involved with the California Fish and Game Commission, was a lecturer and field trip leader for UC Extension, and summer season ranger-naturalist with the Yosemite National Park. His career with the National Park Service spanned from 1930 to his retirement in 1954. (Inventory #: 14318)