Brand Books
Since 1948, the Los Angeles Corral of the Westerners has published 25 editions of The Brand Book, featuring articles and artwork by many leading Western historians and artists. Most of the Brand Books have only been issued in limited editions, primarily for our own membership, but they are also found in library collections throughout the West.
The contents of each issue of The Brand Book are listed below. Click the the title to view both the table of contents and front cover of each edition, respectively. All of our Brand Books before Brand Book 20 are available online to be read. In some cases, a few copies are still available for purchase. Please visit our contact us page to request ordering information or details regarding a specific edition.
The Westerners Brand Book #1 (1948)
Homer Britzman, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #2 (1949)
Paul Galleher, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #3 (1950)
Homer E. Boelter, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #4 (1951)
Paul Bailey, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #5 (1953)
Bert Olson, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #6 (1956)
Arthur H. Clark, Jr., Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #7 (1957)
W.W. Robinson, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #8 (1959)
Don Meadows, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #9 (1961)
Henry H. Clifford, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #10 (1963)
E. I. Edwards, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #11 (1964)
The California Deserts … their people, their history, and their legends
Russ Leadabrand, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #12 (1966)
George Koenig, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book # 13 (1969)
William F. Kimes, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #14 (1974)
Doyce B. Nunis, Jr., Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #15 (1978)
Anthony L. Lehman, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #16 (1982)
Raymund F. Wood, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #17 (1986)
Konrad F. Schreier, Jr., Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #18 (1991)
The Bidwell-Bartleson Party. 1841 California Emigrant Adventure. The Documents and Memoirs of Overland Pioneers
Doyce B. Nunis, Jr., Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #19 (1996)
El Presidio de San Francisco, A History Under Spain and Mexico, 1776-1846
John Phillip Langellier and Daniel B. Rosen, Editors
Issued simultaneously by the Arthur H. Clark Company as volume 19 in their “Frontier Military Series.”
Doyce B. Nunis, Jr., Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #20 (1997)
Rancho Days in Southern California – An Anthology with New Perspectives
Kenneth Pauley, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #21 (1999)
An Anthology of Articles that Appeared in The Branding Iron, 1948-1995
Msgr. Francis J. Weber, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #22 (2004)
John W. Robinson, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #23 (2019)
Life, Leisure and Entertainment in the Old West
Joseph Cavallo, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #24 (2020)
Aloha, Amigos! The Richard H. Dillon Memorial Volume
Brian Dervin Dillon, Editor
The Westerners Brand Book #25 (2022)
Award Winning Cowboy Poetry, Historical Verse, and Rhapsodic Rhymes
Gary Turner and Tami Turner-Revel, Editors
The Westerners Brand Book #26 (2023)
Indians, Latinos, and Confederates, A Western Family: 1598-1973
Frank J. Brito, Editor
SPECIAL OUTING: An Exclusive Guided Tour of Mount Wilson Observatory
Click here to see a write up and photos of this event.
SPECIAL OUTING
An Exclusive Guided Tour of Mount Wilson Observatory with Dave Jurasevich, Deputy Operations Manager
Saturday, August 17, 2013, 12:00 AM–3:00PM
The historic Mount Wilson Observatory is the birthplace of modern astronomy, with a breadth of fundamental discoveries ranging from solar research and stellar evolution to the very origins of the Universe itself that are unsurpassed at any other scientific facility on Earth. Come walk in the footsteps of the great astronomers of the 20th Century who worked at Mount Wilson and used what were then the largest telescopes in the world to unlock the fundamental secrets of the Universe.
Westerner attendees & their guests will:
… see where Edwin Hubble made his great cosmological discoveries,
… inspect in detail the 100” telescope, the instrument that discovered the expansion of the universe, … tour the 60” telescope and learn of its greatest discovery, locating our place in the Milky Way,
… visit the Monastery where the distinguished astronomers lived, ate, and worked,
… see George Ellery Hale’s private library collection and the study where Einstein lectured,
… witness how Mount Wilson solar astronomers study our Sun and unravel its many secrets
… tour the CHARA Array as it sharpens Mt. Wilson’s leading edge in astronomical research.
Click here to see a write up and photos of this event.
Roundup: August 14, 2013
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA
Social Hour: 5:00PM; Dinner: 6:00PM
Speaker: Dave Jurasevich
Subject: “Mount Wilson Observatory – Past, Present and Future”
Click here to view photos from the event.
As the world’s preeminent Observatory during the first half of the Twentieth Century, Mount Wilson holds a unique place in the history of scientific endeavor. It was here that the great astronomer, Edwin Hubble, established the cornerstones of modern cosmology by unlocking the secrets of an expanding Universe, paving the way for our understanding of the Big Bang and ultimate fate of the Cosmos. Fueling the economic engine of scientific enterprise in Southern California, the Mount Wilson Observatory and its founder, George Ellery Hale, were the motivating forces that transformed the San Gabriel Valley into a major center of technological achievement, spawning institutions such as the California Institute of Technology, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and a host of other science-based organizations found here today. Mr. Jurasevich takes the audience on a journey back in time, reliving the storied history of this great American institution. Walk in the footsteps of the finest astronomers of their age, learn how they deciphered the code of the Heavens, and marvel in their discoveries. These concepts put us firmly in our place in the Universe and forever changed our view of the world in which we live.
Dave Jurasevich is the Deputy Director of Operations for the Mount Wilson Observatory. He graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in 1972 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. As an avid amateur astrophotographer, Mr. Jurasevich’s work has been published worldwide in astronomical journals and periodicals as well as being featured on NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day website. He has appeared in various PBS documentaries, including productions by the BBC London, French, German and Swedish Public Television Corporations, as well as a PBS-KCET Huell Howser California’s Gold Special featuring the Mount Wilson Observatory. Be sure to attend a special tour of the historic observatory conducted by Mr. Jurasevich on the Saturday following the meeting. This tour is for Westerners and their guests only and builds on the history outlined in this dynamic presentation. Please see event flyer included for details.
Larry L. Boerio
Deputy Sheriff
Click here to view photos from the event.
SPECIAL OUTING: A Historic Trip Abroad a 1949 Railway Lounge Car – Los Angeles to Santa Barbara
Click here to see a write up and photos of this event.
SPECIAL OUTING
A Historic Trip Aboard a 1949 Railway Car – Los Angeles to Santa Barbara
July 13, 2013
Trip will include: Historic narration by car’s owner and other railroad historians covering the history of the car, the famous name trains it served, the history of the Coast Route upon which you will travel to Santa Barbara, plus customized food and drink service on-board in both directions. Upon arrival in Santa Barbara, you will be escorted by an experienced guide on a tour of the local wine tasting rooms or feel free to do your own tour of this beautiful city. Upon our return enjoy the sunset over the Pacific as you have dinner served to you in the style and comfort of a by-gone era!
Click here to see a write up and photos of this event.
Roundup: July 10, 2013
Almansor Court – 700 S. Almansor, Alhambra, CA
Social Hour: 5:00PM
Dinner: 6:00PM
Speaker: Gabriel Gutiérrez, Ph.D.
Subject: “California Indians on Rancho Azusa: Labor, Consumption, and Historical Agency.”
Gabriel Gutiérrez is this year’s recipient of our Autry Fellowship Award. His presentation this evening will explore the processes and consequences of the “repressive inclusion” of Southern California Indians from the last stages of the Spanish colonial period to the onset of United States industrialization. He will examine the function of Indio vaqueros and conscription of Southern California Indians into the Spanish military as auxiliary troops. Particular attention will also be paid to the emergence of labor contracting and consumerism among Southern California Indians at Henry Dalton’s Rancho Azusa, as well as to an assessment of the rise of criminalization of Southern California Indian cultural practices and behavior.
Dr. Gutiérrez was born and raised in the Boyle Heights section of Los Angeles, California. He is the son of long time community activists Juana Beatriz and Ricardo Gutiérrez and holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Currently, he holds the positions of Director, Center for the Study of the Peoples of the Americas (CESPA) and Professor, Department of Chicano/a Studies at California State University, Northridge. In addition, he produced and hosted the weekly radio show, “The Morning Review with Gabriel Gutiérrez” on KPFK 90.7 FM in Los Angeles for six years.
He has published in the fields of California history, Chicano/a history, environmental racism, critical media studies and media literacy. Currently, he is completing “Latinos and Latinas: Risk and Opportunities” (Forthcoming, Greenwood Publishers, 2014). He is also in the final stages of the manuscript, “Bell Towers, Crucifixes and Cañones Violentos: State and Identity Formation in Pre-Industrial California.”
Larry L. Boerio
Deputy Sheriff
Los Angeles Corral of Westerners
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