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Mines, Minerals & Mustangs captures the romance of a bygone era and a fast-disappearing way of life

April 15. 2008: Vancouver, Canada- Mines, Minerals & Mustangs is a testament to Nevada’s wild horses and dreams of striking gold. The state’s abandoned past reveals a rich panorama of old ghost towns, lapsed mining claims, a daunting landscape, and living legends – the wild Mestengo horse. According to world-renowned horse whisperer, Monty Roberts, "This beautiful book honors the mustang and is a treat to the eye.”

The book captures the romance of Nevada's past as seen through the eyes of photographer Jeannette Kerr, and her husband and geologist, John Kerr. Together, they share their love affair with this awesome country and its history through breathtaking photography of wild horses, old mines, and fascinating stories of personal encounters with an early generation of miners.

For thousands of years, horses have played an important role in the everyday lives of humans. Using horses as pack animals, early inhabitants came to risk their future on the fickle fate of mining. Few succeeded! However, they all left their legacy in the mountains and valleys of this expansive country.
"To observe these horses and to marvel at their social structure and hierarchy at a water hole is enchanting,” Jeannette Kerr explains.

Prospectors and mustangs developed a symbiotic relationship en route to the Californian-gold camps in the mid 1800s. Together, they discovered a world of wealth in Nevada, particularly in Virginia City where the Comstock silver- and gold-lode deposits were found. According to Tom Patton, president and CEO of Quaterra Resources Inc., “The combination of photographs and personal vignettes brought to life people, places and events once experienced but long forgotten.” He continued by saying, “Jeannette’s photography is exceptional, capturing the true essence of Negada’s wild horses, abandoned mining camps and wide-open vistas.”

For Jeannette Kerr, "The sight of a herd of wild mustangs skimming over the sage desert with manes and tails flying in the sunset nourishes the soul with romantic allegories of freedom." And, in the words of Velma Wild Horse Annie Johnson, "These horses belong to all the people of America and they exist on lands that belong to all the people of America!”

This book provides the perfect complement to any horse or nature lover’s coffee table, and holds special appeal for horse enthusiasts, photographers and prospectors. The common bond is John and Jeannette Kerr’s love of nature, wild horses, geology, prospecting and photography – shared and celebrated together in Mines, Minerals & Mustangs.

Review copies of Mines, Minerals & Mustangs are available from Jean Llewellyn. Please send e-mail requests to: jean@jeanllewellyn.com

Photo: Horses are periodically herded into corrals by the Bureau of Land Management – these are heading towards the Black Rock Desert gather.
(High-res copies of this photo are available by contacting: jean@jeanllewellyn.com)

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