The Wire that Fenced the West

The Wire that Fenced the West is a book written by Henry D. and Frances T. McCallum and published in 1965 by the University of Oklahoma Press.

The book covers the history of the development of barbed wire and the inventors. It also include chapters of how it was marketed and the history of its use in the American West. It includes an illustrated identification guide showing the various brands, styles, and patents.

Chapters

I. Barbed-Wire Fence-Makers

1. Threshold of Promise
2. Prelude to 1874
3. Incident at De Kalb
4. Pre-Glidden Fences
5. Promoting Barbed Wire
6. Moonshine and Monopoly
7. Patent Litigation
8. Barbed-Wire Barons

II. Barbed-Wire Fence-Builders

9. "This Cockeyed World of Cattle Fold"
10. "The Big Die-up"
11. "King of the Coasters" and Brother Jon
12. "Starten' in to Play H--- with Texas"
13. "Improvements" on the Public Domain
14. "Trail to Rail"
15. "Alambre! Alambre! Alambre!"
16. A Nineteenth-Century Alegory
17. Modern Trends
18. Classification
19. Identification

Editions