Hopalong Cassidy – An American Legend, Limited Edition

Description

Leather bound limited edition on Hopalong Cassidy in box, written by his widow, Grace Bradley Boyd and Michael Cochran, telling the story of William Boyd and his alter ego Hopalong Cassidy. Full of high-quality photos, many never seen before.

This limited edition of only 1000 copies in bound in heavy cowhide and die-stamped with a hand-carved replica of Hoppy’s holster, complete with inset sterling silver heart decoration.

Profguy review: I grew up with Hopalong Cassidy (watching the TV versions of his movies…a bit too young to remember the films at the movie house) and my parents got me a set of his six guns, milk glasses with a mug, and a hat and scarf. Most prized of all was the metal tricycle. Along with the show, these toys fueled my imagination and probably unconsciously at least, helped form my value system (along with the movie Shane, the first my dad took me to see at the cinema). I’m not  a serious collector of anything, but around my late 50’s I found myself thinking about “Hoppy” for some reason and discovered  this book during an internet search. By then I’d acquired nearly all the Hopalong Cassidy movies on Amazon (best deal in the house) and the TV series. But shelling out $300 for a book was something else. I hemmed and hawed nearly three years and then recently, once again happened across this edition while roaming the net, and purchased it. I rationalized that if I didn’t like the book, since there were only a thousand signed, leather bound copies, I could likely sell it and make some money.

When the book arrived, I removed it from the box it was (safely) shipped/packed in and took the shrink wrap off the slipcase. The case opens like a book left to right, and on the left inside cover of the case is a formal portrait of William Boyd as Hoppy. The quality of the photograph facing me (I still hadn’t removed the book itself) thrilled me so much I almost teared up. I just  sat there close to stunned for probably five minutes, caught in the way back machine. As for the book itself – well, I love books and acquired some signed first editions over many years and places. This is the nicest book I’ve ever seen or owned. The leather covers cannot be adequately described. The book’s pictures and the quality of the print and pages are stunning. The fact that William Boyd’s wife, Grace Bradley Boyd signed the book makes it special beyond belief – especially meaningful if you’ve seen her in the DVD about her and William and the Hopalong Cassidy phenomenon.

Let me finally end by saying what I wish I’d known several years ago when trying to determine if I wanted to pay this much for a book about a boyhood hero: If you’re a Hoppy fan, buy this version. I’m sure the other is nice…but I can easily see paying $1000 for this some years down the road and trust me, it is a bargain at $300. As some sort of “objective” validation, when my wife saw it she just touched the cover and came out with an “Oh my.” This volume will always be in the family and before I get too far gone, I’m going to put it in the hands of my son and then his children. It’s a treasure.