Cowboy Dances: A Collection of Western Square Dances

Caldwell, ID: The Caxton Printers, 1948 The Caxton Printers, Caldwell, ID. 1948. Hardcover. Stated 10th Printing. Book is tight, square, and unmarked but for F/O name on the FFFP. Book Condition: Very Good-; bumped head, tail, and lower tips; small paint splashes on rear board; light soiling to boards; slght shelfwear. No DJ. Gray cloth boards with red and blue lettering on the spine and front board; picture of dance on front board in red and blue. Pictorial endpapers. Clean internals, Internal hinges are sound and not split. 411 pp 8vo. This book attempts to be a sufficiently complete resource for aspiring square dancers to begin dancing, particularly when they lack an already established square dancing community. It starts with a probable history and background of the dance, then walks through basic calls, steps, and figures, slowly introducing the various types of dances it covers (including round dances such as the polka and the schottische), then moves into types of Western squares. For each dance it teaches (and these number over sixty), it provides the name of the dance, where Shaw acquired the call for it, a diagram of steps for the square, the full call, an explanation of the calls and steps, and a photograph of a figure in the dance. Additionally, the volume includes a short section on how calls are structured, a glossary of square dance terms, an appendix of cowboy dance tunes (compiled by Frederick Knorr; sheet music with chord changes noted), and an appendix of phonograph records of popular dance numbers, with and without calls. A clean very presentable copy.