Clarence Hawkes (1869-1954)

American author, best known for his animal and nature stories. As a child he was blinded in a hunting accident and also had to have part of his leg amputated. He attended a school for the blind in Boston where he met Helen Keller. Despite his physical problems he was to become a very prolific author with over 50 titles published. He wrote many stories of the animals and natural settings he remembered from his youth, but also about the wildlife of a diverse number of locations in America and Europe. His wife Bessie helped him with the research. Amongst his works were five horse stories, some of which are very early examples of the genre, written before 1930.

Hawkes wrote an autobiographical work about his love of nature and how his blindness affected his naturalist activities.There was also a biography recently written about him.


Sources: Time Magazine website

Horse & Pony Books:

PIEBALD KING OF THE BRONCHOS
(JACOBS & CO [USA] 1912)
ILLUSTRATED BY CHARLES COPLAND
(1st UK edition HUTCHINSON 1923)
Reprinted a number of times in the USA.
British edition published by Hutchinson in 1923.
There was also an Australian edition published by Angus & Robertson in the 1920s.
At the moment it is still in print as a print-on-demand title by Kessinger/General Books.
SUMMARY: Wild horse story.

DAPPLES OF THE CIRCUS: A STORY OF A SHETLAND PONY AND A BOY
(LOTHROP, LEE & SHEPARD [USA] 1923)
Reprinted in hardback by Platt & Munk in 1943 and reprinted again by them.
SUMMARY: The story of a circus pony and the boy who loves him.

PAL O'MINE: KING OF THE TURF
(MILTON BRADLEY [USA] 1925)
ILLUSTRATED BY CHARLES LIVINGSTON BULL
Reprinted in hardback by original publisher.
SUMMARY: Historical pony story set in Kentucky around the time of the Civil War. A young lad is given a horse as a reward for his bravery and later enters the animal in the Kentucky Derby in an effort to save his home.

PATCHES: A WYOMING COW PONY
(MILTON BRADLEY [USA] 1928)
ILLUSTRATED BY GRISWOLD TING
At the moment it is still in print as a print-on-demand title by Kessinger.
SUMMARY: Ranch-type story. Larry has fun on his uncle's ranch riding the cow pony Patches.

ROANY: THE HORSE THAT SMELLED SMOKE
(MILTON BRADLEY [USA] 1935)
ILLUSTRATED BY GRISWOLD TING
Reprinted in hardback by Knopf in 1970.

Collector's Info:
Most of the titles, with the exception of Roany (which is quite rare) are reasonably easy to find in the USA. Only one of the books, Piebald, was published in the UK and Australia. Copies of those particular editions can be found in the UK and Australia respectively, but not easily.  Both Piebald and Patches are in print at the moment through a print-on-demand service. They can be ordered new in both the USA and UK, although this is not exactly cheap. Other titles are hard to find outside of America.

Books About the Author:

HITTING THE DARK TRAIL: STARSHINE THROUGH THIRTY YEARS OF NIGHT
(HOLT [USA] 1915)
ILLUSTRATED BY CHARLES COPLAND?
(1st UK edition HARRAP 1916)
British edition published by Harrap.
Reprinted more recently in paperback
In print at the moment.
SUMMARY: Autobiographical account of how the author pursued his naturalist pursuits without his sight.

CLARENCE HAWKES: AMERICA'S BLIND NATURALIST AND THE WORLD HE LIVED IN
By James A. Freeman
(WHITE RIVER PRESS PB [USA] 2009)
Still in print.
SUMMARY: Study of Hawkes' life and his literary works.

Collector's Info:
Both titles are easy to find in the USA and UK and can be ordered new from Amazon, etc. The older editions of Clarence Hawkes' autobiographical work can be harder to find however.