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Texas Out Back
Attractive book of outhouse sketches.
68 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 1974
4 people want to read
About the author
Leon Hale
32 books10 followersLeon Hale was an American journalist and author. He worked as a columnist for the Houston Chronicle from 1984 until his retirement in 2014. Before that, he had a column in the Houston Post for 32 years. He was the author of twelve books.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 27, 2019
Background first, because it's important. My family and I drive down to the Texas Coastal Bend several times a year, often with the little town of Rockport as our destination. Rockport is a scenic and as yet largely undiscovered old port city. It has a thriving local art community, some great restaurants, and plenty of beach access....all things that we love and actively seek out. Rockport also has a fine little independent used bookstore where a visitor can usually run into a few good deals if they are willing to spend a bit of time looking through the racks.*
I myself usually make a beeline to the Texana section, which is typically well stocked with goodies of a local flavor. As usual, I was not disappointed. Tucked away on a shelf was a slim volume that looked old and well-worn, just the sort of thing I'm looking for. Turns out it was a copy of "Texas Out Back," with an introduction and text by Texana specialist Leon Hale, with illustrations by Anthony DeYoung. The book was a former Victoria Public Library specimen, with lots of library stickers pasted on it and the slot for the check-out card still glued to the inside front page. First edition, copyright 1973. The price was $6.00. SCORE!!!
You need to know that Leon Hale wrote a column for the Houston Post for 30+ years, all the way to the newspaper's demise in 1995. Hale then went to work writing columns for the Post's erstwhile competitor, the Houston Chronicle. Hale also wrote a number of semi-fictional books with a Texan accent, and was a bit of a counter-culture hero to the ice house and country tavern denizens across the state. Artist Anthony DeYoung was a Texan by default, moving to San Antonio from climates north in 1928. Best known in Texas for his Alamo portraits, he was a talented artist whose work was cut short by a stroke at age 49. Paralyzed on his right side, he taught himself to paint left-handed, though none of his post-stroke work sold well. He spent his last years in a veteran's hospital.
So with all of this combined talent in hand, wordsmith and artist, what we have here is a collection of beautifully penciled depictions of.....outhouses. That's right. Privies. Backhouses. Johnnies. Drawn from 1929 through 1934, these drawings represent a fun lark for DeYoung. You can almost feel the warm humor coming off of the pages as the artist faithfully documents a rapidly disappearing piece of Americana. Almost all of the structures documented are from the South and West Texas areas. According to Hale, it was not unusual for DeYoung to just stop by the side of a road, or drive up into someone's yard and just begin drawing. The pencil work is deft and realistic, the artist drawing exactly what he saw, including the trees and landscape surrounding each subject. It's a beautifully done tribute to the privy, a place where class consciousness broke down under the weight of a need we must all fulfill no matter our social station. There are a total of 22 sketches in this thin book, and it's well worth spending a few minutes on each page, taking in all of the careful detail.
I personally love this sort of history. The best stories can often be found on the margins, and this book does not disappoint on that factor. I'm sure it's a hard to find item, probably not too many copies of this small gem to be found. If you DO happen to come across one, open it up and find some sweet and gentle humor and a look into a bygone era. Five stars for this guy.
*I'm sad to report as of this edit that that fine little independent bookstore in Rockport is no more, a victim of Hurricane Harvey, a storm which destroyed a significant portion of Rockport's art and culture section of town. Numerous businesses were quite literally wiped out of existence, and now all that is left is bare concrete and asphalt.
I myself usually make a beeline to the Texana section, which is typically well stocked with goodies of a local flavor. As usual, I was not disappointed. Tucked away on a shelf was a slim volume that looked old and well-worn, just the sort of thing I'm looking for. Turns out it was a copy of "Texas Out Back," with an introduction and text by Texana specialist Leon Hale, with illustrations by Anthony DeYoung. The book was a former Victoria Public Library specimen, with lots of library stickers pasted on it and the slot for the check-out card still glued to the inside front page. First edition, copyright 1973. The price was $6.00. SCORE!!!
You need to know that Leon Hale wrote a column for the Houston Post for 30+ years, all the way to the newspaper's demise in 1995. Hale then went to work writing columns for the Post's erstwhile competitor, the Houston Chronicle. Hale also wrote a number of semi-fictional books with a Texan accent, and was a bit of a counter-culture hero to the ice house and country tavern denizens across the state. Artist Anthony DeYoung was a Texan by default, moving to San Antonio from climates north in 1928. Best known in Texas for his Alamo portraits, he was a talented artist whose work was cut short by a stroke at age 49. Paralyzed on his right side, he taught himself to paint left-handed, though none of his post-stroke work sold well. He spent his last years in a veteran's hospital.
So with all of this combined talent in hand, wordsmith and artist, what we have here is a collection of beautifully penciled depictions of.....outhouses. That's right. Privies. Backhouses. Johnnies. Drawn from 1929 through 1934, these drawings represent a fun lark for DeYoung. You can almost feel the warm humor coming off of the pages as the artist faithfully documents a rapidly disappearing piece of Americana. Almost all of the structures documented are from the South and West Texas areas. According to Hale, it was not unusual for DeYoung to just stop by the side of a road, or drive up into someone's yard and just begin drawing. The pencil work is deft and realistic, the artist drawing exactly what he saw, including the trees and landscape surrounding each subject. It's a beautifully done tribute to the privy, a place where class consciousness broke down under the weight of a need we must all fulfill no matter our social station. There are a total of 22 sketches in this thin book, and it's well worth spending a few minutes on each page, taking in all of the careful detail.
I personally love this sort of history. The best stories can often be found on the margins, and this book does not disappoint on that factor. I'm sure it's a hard to find item, probably not too many copies of this small gem to be found. If you DO happen to come across one, open it up and find some sweet and gentle humor and a look into a bygone era. Five stars for this guy.
*I'm sad to report as of this edit that that fine little independent bookstore in Rockport is no more, a victim of Hurricane Harvey, a storm which destroyed a significant portion of Rockport's art and culture section of town. Numerous businesses were quite literally wiped out of existence, and now all that is left is bare concrete and asphalt.
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