Devil John Wright of the Cumberlands. First Edition, 1932. Privately Printed, Pound, Virginia. With Early Appalachian Provenance

Devil John Wright of the Cumberlands. First Edition, 1932. Privately Printed, Pound, Virginia. With Early Appalachian Provenance

Author: Wright, William T.
Publisher: William T. Wright, Pound, Virginia (printed by The Meador Press, Boston).
Year: 1932.
Edition: First Edition.
Binding: Hardcover (original black boards).
Condition: Very Good+ / Near Fine (see full description and images).

Description:

A scarce first edition of William T. Wright’s firsthand account of mountain life, clan feuds, frontier justice, and the career of his father, John Wesley “Devil John” Wright (1844–1931). Published privately by the author in Pound, Virginia, in 1932 and printed by The Meador Press, Boston. Octavo, 313 pages, illustrated throughout with original black-and-white photographic plates, including the frontispiece portrait “John W. Wright and His Mount” and a portrait of “Bad John Wright in Front of Whitesburg Jail.”

Devil John Wright was a Confederate veteran, circus sharpshooter (with the Kentucky Giant Martin Van Buren Bates), Pinkerton and Baldwin-Felts detective, sheriff, federal officer, and relentless bounty hunter in the Kentucky–Virginia borderlands. The book covers his Civil War experiences, outlaw pursuits, moonshining culture, family life (he fathered roughly 35 children), and later years. It is an essential source for Appalachian history, Wright family genealogy, and the lawman/outlaw lore of the Cumberlands. The character Devil Judd Tolliver in John Fox Jr.’s The Trail of the Lonesome Pine was partly inspired by him.

Notable Provenance
This copy carries an early purple postmaster’s stamp and manuscript inscription on the front free endpaper: “GEO. W. ROBINSON, P. M. / RAVEN, VIRGINIA / JUN 13 1932,” with Robinson’s own signature dated the same day and the note “Good.” Raven is a small community in the same Appalachian region. A later reader’s note (“Read July 13, 1979… Good”) appears on the opposite flyleaf. These markings are clean and add meaningful regional authenticity.

Condition (see images)

• Original black cloth boards, strong and clean, with bright gilt spine lettering.
• Binding tight and square; no significant lean.
• Text block clean with natural, even age-toning typical of 1932 paper; no heavy foxing, staining, or moisture damage.
• All plates present and crisp, including the frontispiece and interior portraits.
• Endpapers show the early Robinson stamp/inscription and the 1979 reading note only; no other ownership marks or damage.
• No odors, no ex-library marks, no significant wear to edges or corners.
  A well-preserved example of a privately printed regional first. (No dust jacket was issued or is present.)

Market Context
True 1932 first editions are scarce; most copies in the trade are the 1970 reprint (currently listed around $350).  

Ideal for collectors of Appalachian history, Kentucky–Virginia borderlands material, genealogy of the Wright family, or frontier justice narratives.

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A firsthand reminiscence of mountain life, clan feuds, and frontier justice in the Cumberlands — written by William T. Wright, one of the 35 children of the legendary John Wesley “Devil John” Wright (1844–1931).

This rare 1932 first edition, privately printed in Pound, Virginia, is the definitive biography of one of Appalachia’s most colorful figures: Confederate veteran, circus sharpshooter (with the Kentucky Giant), Pinkerton and Baldwin‑Felts detective, sheriff, federal marshal, and relentless bounty hunter.

Across 313 pages, Wright vividly recounts Civil War adventures, outlaw pursuits, moonshining culture, family life (including his second wife Ellen), and Devil John’s later religious conversion. The volume is illustrated throughout with original black‑and‑white photographs, including a striking frontispiece of Wright on horseback and portraits from various stages of his life.