Historic Photos of Texas Lawmen

by Mike Cox (Text by)

Overview

The history of law enforcement in the Lone Star State goes back well before photography, dating to Texas’s days as part of the Spanish empire. After that Texas became a province of Mexico and for nearly a decade stood among the nations as an independent republic before becoming the 28th state in the Union in 1845.

Beyond the contribution to law and order made by constables, sheriffs, town marshals, city police officers, and federal lawmen, Texas is the birthplace of a law enforcement institution unique in the world, the legendary Texas Rangers.

Historic Photos of Texas Lawmen features close to 200 images of Texas lawmen, bad men (and a few bad women), assorted characters with a law enforcement connection like the legendary Judge Roy Bean, and shots of the places they did their work—for good or bad. Each photograph has a story to tell.

Some of the images in this volume, coming from the author’s personal collection, are published here for the first time. But all of the images command attention, many as attention-getting as the business end of a Texas Ranger’s .45.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684420698
Publisher:	TURNER PUB CO
Publication date:	12/01/2008
Series:	Historic Photos
Pages:	202
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

An elected member of the Texas Institute of Letters, Mike Cox is the author of fourteen nonfiction books. Over a freelance career of more than forty years, he has also written hundreds of articles and essays for a wide variety of publications.

His most recent book, The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821-1900 (2008) received excellent reviews and has been a best-seller among books about the Old West. 

A former award-winning reporter, he was a longtime spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety and later communications manager for the Texas Department of Transportation before retiring in 2007.

These days he devotes full time to his freelance writing, while finding time to pursue a little fishing and hunting. He lives in Austin with his wife and daughter.

Editorial Reviews

This, undoubtedly largest collection of pictures of these persons ever assembled, provides another dimension to the material presented in numerous books and magazines referring to this storied group of law enforcers. It is not unusual, especially for the aficionado, when reading an account of a particular action, to wonder what the person, or persons involved looked like. This book, in many cases, now offers the reader an opportunity to browse, in an attempt to satisfy this curiosity, and the splitting into time slots simplifies the search.
Another interesting aspect of the material offered is the 'feel' one gains of the Era from the pictures of the old towns.

All of these photos provide one with an opportunity to project oneself back, in a nostalgic manner, into the Era. The book certainly has fulfilled its titled purpose of providing a fine compilation of historic photos of a large number of this illustrious group. It can provide a possible means of "putting a face together with an action". For the person with a more casual interest, this book can provide a pleasant and interesting trip "through the west like it used to be".

Wild West History Association Journal

Historic Photos of Texas Lawmen covers 1849 to 1938 and acts as a history of the era from early settlement to Prohibition and the Great Depression (there's a particularly disturbing image of the slain Bonnie and Clyde). As written and compiled by Austin-based Mike Cox - whose previous book was The Texas Rangers: Wearing the Cinco Peso, 1821-1900 . . . as a cavalcade of uniquely Texas images, it's impressive.
—Cary Darling

Star-Telegram.com