Hoffman Birney

Steeldust, the Story of a Horse

The Penn Publishing Co, Philadelphia, 1928, 264 pp.

Grossett & Dunlap, 1928

Ted Hoyt rescues the blue roan Steeldust from a beating by the Van Harts.  They want to bankrupt Ted and
his father’s ranch, so give Steeldust to Ted, hoping that she will injure him.

Herman Hoffman Birney (1891-1958) was born in Philadelphia, and educated at Dickinson College, Penn.  He served in the American Army, and after he left, became Deputy Chief of Reports and Publications in the Ballistics Department of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency.  Under the name David Kent he wrote Westerns.  He wrote horse and ranch stories under his own name, of which Steeldust and The Pinto Pony are two.  It is quite possible more of his titles were horse books.  Please let me know if you can identify any.

Finding the book:  both are reasonably easy to find in the USA.  Neither were printed in the UK.

Sources and links:

Terri A. Wear:  Horse Stories, an Annotated Bibilography, Scarecrow Press, 1987

Arlington National Cemetery website

More information on Hoffman Birney

Many thanks to Lisa Catz for the photographs and summary.

Bibliography - horse books only

The Pinto Pony

The Penn Publishing Co, Philadelphia, 1930, 266 pp.  Illus M de V Lee.

“A Western horse story filled with thrills and suspense. Tex, a wild horse is first captured by an Indian, and then
becomes the property of a young rancher. Tex figures prominently in the capture of a gang of bandits, and helps
his owner to win a homestead when Indian lands are thrown open for settlement. “