St. Michaels, AZ: The St. Michaels Press;, 1947. 122pp, illus including 14 colored serigraphs (2 folding). Dust jacket slightly soiled with some edgewear and a smalll chip from the front panel. Good news: with the bookplate of ethnologist Bertha Dutton, thus a nice provenance. Bad news: Bertha wrote in her books, underlining a few words and phrases limited to the first sixty or so pages. Father Haile (1874-1961) was a Franciscan priest who devoted much of his life to studying Navajo language and customs, and wrote or contributed to 22 books and many scholarly articles. In this book he examines the origin of the "gods" or "speechless ones" and the masks which they left behind for the use of the Navajo people, relying on published and unpublished source material as well as native informants. A classic study. Item #26505

Price: $400.00