“Brass Commandments” by Charles Alden Seltzer
Brass Commandments
by Charles Alden Seltzer
Original Copyright Date: 1922
This edition copyright: June 1924, by Grosset & Dunlap
Illustrated by Modest Stein
“The Brass Commandments” is a tale of a western man who lays down the law to the locals and woos a rustic, western maiden. It’s rather predictable, and there’s not much exceptional about it. It’s not very good, or terrible. Largely just a mediocre western novel. As Ron Scheer put it:
”Along with Zane Grey and William MacLeod Raine, Charles Alden Seltzer is remembered today as an originator of what’s often called the formula western. In it, a cowboy hero of sterling qualities, who is fast with a gun, meets and subdues a vicious villain. While this part of the story plays out, the cowboy also wins the heart and hand of a pretty sweetheart.”
“Brass Commandments” is nothing special, and nothing to get excited over. There are far better western novels (and historical accounts!) to read. It’s a little heavy on romance and the goodness of the primitive “elements and instincts” of mankind. But the one thing that I did enjoy was the author’s dexterity and talent in describing the landscape, people, and things. There were a few fine little spots. And his vocabulary was wide and full of good adjectives. Nothing worth reading the book for, but quite pleasurable nonetheless.
This book is bound to be of interest to two groups of people. It was made into a silent film in 1923 and is sure to interest silent film aficionados. And for the vintage western collector–and Charles Alden Seltzer collector in particular–it’s a rather rare and unread work by one of the past century’s leading western authors. Despite the fact that Seltzer seems to have vanished from the memory of most Americans, he was at one time just as famous and popular in the field as L’Amour and Zane Grey are today.
And that ends this short review. I leave you with a quote on the joys of a being astride a galloping horse, and the scent of leather:
“One thing Perrin had not succeeded in rubbing off the chaps, the boots, and the cartridge-belt with his oil and muscle. That was the strange, pungent odor of the leather itself and the the faint, peculiar lingering scent of horses. The scent brought swift memories to Lannon; vivid, compelling recollections of the past. It brought to him again the old atmosphere, the aroma of new sage crushed beneath Polestar’s flying hoofs, the feel of a steady wind pressing against him; he felt again the ripple of Polestar’s mighty muscles; he experienced again the sensation of freedom from restraint of all kinds, the breathless exultation, the wild abandon…”
Brass Commandments, p.77
“Brass Commandments” is currently available in the shop HERE!
