The Virginian,
A Literary Map

Everett Henry (1893-1961), illustrator
The Virginian from America's
First "Western" Novel,
Written by Owen Wister.
Cleveland: Harris-Intertype, 1962
Color offset lithograph
Geography & Map Division
Copyright deposit (183.6)

Owen Wister's The Virginian was one of the first and most influential of a long line of novels romanticizing life in the American West and establishing the cowboy as a folk hero. Against the outline of the Dakotas, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Idaho, this literary map highlights scenes from the classic novel, such as the card game with Trampas during which the Virginian delivers his famous line "When you call me that, smile." An inset map shows the states where the events in the novel took place, with Wyoming, the primary locale, highlighted.