Rare TLS signed “W. B. Masterson,” one page, 8.5 x 11, The Morning Telegraph letterhead, February 4, 1914. Letter to friend, author, and Old West pioneer Robert M. Wright, regarding the publication of his 1913 autobiography, Dodge City, The Cowboy Capital, in full: “I got your letter yesterday and hasten to reply for fear I'll forget it as I find it is quite easy for me to forget things now. I am indeed sorry that the book doesn't sell more readily than it does for it really is a meritorious volume. I will call Mr. Price's attention to what you say regarding his writing from time to time stories from the book and believe as you do that it will help its sale immensely. What is required to stimulate the sale of a book is advertising and unless that is done there is little demand for a book no matter how interesting it is. I know of no way to help out in the matter here although it might be worth while to place some of them on sale in one of the book stores. I have talked the book up among friends and one of them told me the other day he intended sending for a number of books to present to some personal friends. I loaned mine to him to read and he was greatly interested in it. I hope for better results with the book.” In fine condition, with slight minor chipping. Accompanied by three typed manuscript pages from Wright's book, which detail the murder of Masterson's brother, Ed (1852-1878).
Masterson first arrived in Dodge City in 1877 as a deputy sheriff alongside Wyatt Earp. The next year he was elected Sheriff of Fort County, Kansas, and would later wear a badge in both Colorado and New York. In 1878, Bat's brother Ed Masterson, then Marshal of Dodge City, was murdered by an outlaw as described in the pages of Wright's manuscript. At the turn of the 20th century, Masterson moved to New York and was appointed deputy marshal by President Theodore Roosevelt, although his principal vocation for the rest of his life became journalism. Masterson began writing for the Morning Telegraph in 1902. His columns, entitled ‘Masterson's Views on Timely Topics,’ were churned out three times a week for the next 18 years and revealed his opinions on war, crime, politics, and societal changes.
Robert Marr Wright (1840-1915), considered one of the founders of Dodge City, was first appointed by then-General Ulysses S. Grant to be a port trader at the Fort Dodge military outpost. He then went on to serve in various political offices between the mid-1870s and early 1880s, holding the positions of mayor of Dodge City, treasurer of Ford County, as well as the state's forestry commissioner.
After an impressive climb to success, Wright was later hit with financial difficulties in his final years. Battling morphine addiction and struggling to support his family, Wright began pulling together his recollections and historical sources for an autobiographical work on the frontier town. It ultimately bore the lengthy title Dodge City, the Cowboy Capital, and the Great Southwest in the Days of the Wild Indian, the Buffalo, the Cowboy, Dance Halls, Gambling Halls, and Bad Men. Despite the interest expressed by Masterson and his associates, sales of the book were not strong. Most copies of the first printing were destroyed by the printers, leaving Wright to die penniless in 1915; the actual publication is a rare find today.
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