Summary
Idah Meacham Strobridge was raised on a cattle ranch in Humboldt County, Nevada, and observed the changing Great Basin desert from the passing of emigrant wagon trains to the age of steam locomotives. She began to write at age 40 and she wrote about what she knew — the desert. Her desert is stark and formed from experience and personal tragedy. She saw beauty, mystery and enchantment in what she called "sagebrushland." Her works include In Miners Mirage-Land (1904), The Loom of the Desert (1907), and The Land of Purple Shadows (1909). Strobridge was also an award-winning book binder and founded the "Artemisia Bindery" in Los Angeles, California.