In these days of print as ephemera and books as somehow compromised unless they are Googled or Kindled, I am bemused by this automatic newsletter that I get from Buckingham Books. I keep thinking to myself, I thought Westerns were OVER! So why are these books so expensive?
I scan anxiously to see whether I have any thousand dollar books. So far I’ve only turned up one worth a couple of hundred dollars, but it was a history of Universalism.
Why is this book dealer, which evidently specializes in Western books, actually in Pennsylvania? At one time that was the frontier West, but that was quite a while ago.
I notice how many are “privately printed,” which means self-published, which is supposed to be a major no-no that renders a book less valuable. And they are often small, local, and not illustrated. Maybe extremely limited in number. But they are what Mary Clearman Blew called “first generation history,” sometimes written by eyewitnesses and sometimes by descendants or obsessed amateur historians. Some of it, like the broadside about barbed wire, is frank ephemera now made valuable by time. "Suitable for framing." I'm sure you can deduce the moral of the story.
They seem to have nice covers, maybe “stamped Morocco leather” with slipcases. I know that among the Western art aficionadoes it is the custom to put leather covers and slip cases on the first fifty or a hundred copies of a book. Bob Scriver put the “presentation” copies of “The Blackfeet: Artists of the Northern Plains” in a slipcase that had a kind of box on the front. In the box was a spray of perennial sage, a valued Blackfeet plant. Might not mean much if you have it growing in your lawn, but what if you lived somewhere far away?
I won’t reproduce all the offerings here, but if you’re interested, I’m sure Buckingham Books will put you on the list.
1. JONES, C.N. [COMPILED BY]. EARLY DAYS IN COOKE COUNTY 1848 - 1873. Gainesville: Privately printed, n.d. [ca 1936]. First edition. 8vo. Printed wrappers, 88 pp., preface, frontis. [portrait], illustrated from photographs. A history of Cooke County, Texas with emphasis upon early settlers, pioneer doctors, cotton and wheat growing, county buildings, slavery, Indian raids, outlaws and lawmen, ranching, experiences of early settlers, a brief history of all the towns in the county, etc. There is material on the emigrant trail to California, the Butterfield Overland Trail, Chisholm Trail, open range ranching, early cattle drives, etc. Herd 1188 says, "Rare." Six Guns 1191 says, "Rare." "Though a comparatively recent book, this volume seems to have become rare. It contains some material on outlawry." Former owner's small stamp on inside front cover, else near fine in original stapled, stiff, wrappers, housed in a quarter leather and cloth clamshell case with raised bands and gold stamping on the spine. $1500.00 SIX GUNS 1191. HERD 1188. CBC 1121. (23663)
2. CLAY, JOHN. THE SHEEP HERDER'S GRAVE. A STORY OF THE RANGE. [Chicago: Traders Printing Co.] n.d. [ca 1930]. First edition. 8vo. Two color printed wrappers, 15 pp., illustrated, advertisement. Story of a man, Joseph Arthur, who had a fine life in England, but due to his fondness for alcohol lost his family, farm, and eventually left for the United States to perhaps find his way again. Next we find a sheep herder, named "English Joe" who resides in his camp in Wyoming. He still has his fondness for alcohol, when he can gather up enough money and the time to indulge in it, but his is a lonely and fallen existence. He was liked by the ranchers and had many friends. He died from exposure during a bitter snow storm and was found and buried by his friends in Wyoming. Light evidence of water staining to edges of all pages, else a very good copy of a rare item. Housed in a quarter morocco and cloth clamshell case with gold stamping on the spine. $1500.00 (24793)
3. CLAY, JOHN. THE CRY OF THE HOUNDS. [Chicago: Privately Printed] 1933. First edition. 8vo. Inscribed "Dear Mrs Cross, I send you this story because I love you. John Clay." Blue-green decorated wrappers, glassine endpapers, 29 pp., illustrated. A Christmas greeting from Mr. and Mrs. John Clay. Holiday greetings sheet bound in. Clay tells many stories about people and fox hunts during his days of riding to the cry of the hounds. Fine, bright copy. Housed in a cloth clamshell case with gold stamping on spine. $1500.00 (24795)
4. HARMAN, S.W. HELL ON THE BORDER; HE HANGED EIGHTY-EIGHT MEN. Fort Smith: The Phoenix Publishing Company, 1898. First edition. Cloth, 718pp., numerous illustrations, facsimiles. Sub-title: A History of the Great United States Criminal Court at Fort Smith, Arkansas, and of Crime and Criminals in the Indian Territory, and the Trial and Punishment Thereof Before His Honor Judge Isaac C. Parker, "The Terror of Law-Breakers", and by the Courts of Said Territory, Embracing the Leading Sentences and Charges to Grand and Petit Juries Delivered by the World Famous Jurist..... "An important source book, all the statistical part of the book, the biographical sketches of those connected with the court and the transcriptions from the court records, were the work of C.P. Sterns and are said to be scrupulously accurate. The same cannot be said of all the narrative written by Harman."---Graff 1785. "Exceedingly rare. The rare original has become a collectors item and is the chief source of practically every book and feature story on the old court and Oklahoma outlaws.... The first edition was soon exhausted because of the reputation of Judge Parker's court.... The book contains much material on the outlaws of Indian Territory who were tried and condemned in Parker's court."---Ramon Adams(1969). "....the great book about Judge Isaac Parker and his federal court at Fort Smith. One of the Dalton brothers was killed while serving as a deputy for the judge and, of course, there is much on outlaws and peace and peace officers."---Jeff Dykes in Rare Western Outlaw Books. A rare and important work. This work was originally published in wrappers, with 720 pages. Our copy has been rebound in green 3/4 leather and green marbled paper with green leather corner tips and raised bands with titles stamped in gold on black leather without retaining the wrappers or the frontis. As issued, the last 6 pages are comprised of "Press Opinions" provided to the publisher to help promote the book (pages 715-720). Our copy is missing the corner of pages 717 & 718, resulting in the loss of some text, and pages 719 & 720 are not present. However facsimile copies of pages 717, 718, 719, and 720 have been obtained to ensure total reading of the "Press Opinions." They are laid-in. Leather binding and remainder of text block is clean and tight. Despite the minor faults noted above, this is a desirable copy of a classic outlaw rarity! A handsome copy housed in a matching 3/4 leather and green marbled paper with raised bands on the spine and titles stamped in gold on black leather labels. $3750.00 HOWES H203 ("b"). GRAFF 1785. ADAMS 150-68. RADER 1780. DYKES pp.19 & 22. SIX-GUNS 929. DECKER 46:210. (25238)
5. [PACIFIC NORTHWEST]. MULLAN, CAPT. JOHN. REPORT ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF A MILITARY ROAD FROM FORT WALLA-WALLA TO FORT BENTON. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1863. First edition. 8vo. Original dark green cloth, titles in gold gilt on the spine, 363 [2] pp., errata page, illustrated, plates, tables, charts, maps. With 10 full-page colored lithograph plates. The four folding maps consist of MAP 1: Map of military road from Fort Walla-Walla on the Columbia to Fort Benton on the Missouri; MAP 2: Map of the mountain section of the Fort Walla-Walla & Fort Benton military wagon road from Coeur d'Alene Lake to the Dearborn River Washington Territory; MAP 3: Map of military reconnaissance from Fort Taylor to the Coeur d'Alene Mission, Washington Territory; and MAP 4: Map of military reconnaissance from Fort Dalles, Oregon, via Fort Wallah-Wallah, to Fort Taylor, Washington Territory. Capt. Mullan's report with an itinerary comprises pages 1 - 84 and is followed by the engineer's reports and other meteorological and astronomical data. It covers the period from March, 1858, to September, 1862. Streeter IV 2103 says, "This is a first class report to read and the maps are most helpful in tracing journeys of others. The colored plates add to the interest. Mullan makes the interesting statement towards the beginning of his report (p.6) that he did not realize for the first few years of his work that climatic conditions at Clark's Fork at around Lake Pend d'Oreille were easier in winter than at Coeur d'Alene Lake, though the latter was further south, and that if he had known in 1854 what he did not learn until 1860 he would have located his road by the more northern route." Very good copy. A scarce report. $2000.00 STREETER IV 2103. WAGNER/CAMP 393. GRAFF 2932. HOWES M884. SABIN 51275. PLATH 780. HOLLIDAY 802. BRAISLIN 1346. (25725)
6. JENNINGS, AL. NUMBER 30664 BY NUMBER 31539. A SKETCH IN THE LIVES OF WILLIAM SIDNEY PORTER (O. HENRY) AND AL JENNINGS, THE BANDIT. [Hollywood: The Pioneer Press, 1941]. First edition. 8vo. Inscribed by Al Jennings, "To Almarie Harriss with an old bandit's love. Al Jennings." Grey printed wrappers, 32 pp., frontis., foreword, introduction, illustrated, plates, portraits. A story of the prison life of O. Henry and Al Jennings. Six Guns 1171 says, "Rare." Lightly soiled on the rear panel, and two small spots on front cover, else a fine, bright copy. Housed in a two-tone cloth clamshell case with gold stamping on the spine. $1500.00 SIX GUNS 1171. (23585)
7. MCGEENEY, P.S. DOWN AT STEIN'S PASS. A ROMANCE OF NEW MEXICO. Boston: Angel Guardian Press, 1909. First edition. 12mo. Red pictorial cloth, [6], 114 pp., frontis., portrait. Six Guns 1402 says "Although fiction, this book is included because it is a collector's item among works on Billy the Kid. The account of the killing of the Kid by Garrett is based upon fact, but the rest is romance." Dykes 58: "Rare." ".... but so far as is known it is the first novel in hard covers in which Billy the Kid is an important character. Almost the only incident in the novel that is based on fact is the killing of the Kid at Maxwells." A collectors item for Billy the Kid. Covers lightly rubbed else a very good, tight copy. $750.00 DYKES 58. SIX GUNS 1402. (23726)
9. [MISSOURI]. BRYAN, WM. S. AND ROBERT ROSE. A HISTORY OF THE PIONEER FAMILIES OF MISSOURI, WITH NUMEROUS SKETCHES, ANECDOTES, ADVENTURES, ETC., RELATING TO EARLY DAYS IN MISSOURI. ALSO THE LIVES OF DANIEL BOONE AND THE CELEBRATED INDIAN CHIEF BLACK HAWK, WITH NUMEROUS BIOGRAPHIES AND HISTORIES OF PRIMITIVE INSTITUTIONS. St. Louis: Bryan, Brand & Co., 1876. First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth, blind stamped on front and rear covers, title stamped in gilt on the spine, brown endpapers, [6], 528 pp., frontis., preface, illustrated, plates. The histories of more than eight hundred pioneer families of the five counties embraced in this work are given, with the names of their children, and other matters of interest. Mr. Rose had personally visited one or more members of each family whose history is provided. The five counties are Audrain, Callaway, Montgomery, Warren, and St. Charles. Much on the early days and the Indian Wars, especially the Black Hawk War. Also the history of Daniel Boone and Black Hawk are provided in some depth. The book's former owner's name, T. J. Boulware, is written in the book and on page 310 his family ancestors are discussed. The names of other Boulware family members are also included stating that as of Jan. 5, 1934, this book became their property, and later in the same year, 10-20-34, another family member obtained ownership of this book. Some light cosmetic repairs to spine ends and corners, else very good copy of an elusive title, housed in a cloth slipcase. $1000.00 HOWES B895. (25718)
10. BROOKS, JUANITA. JOHN DOYLE LEE: ZEALOT - PIONEER BUILDER - SCAPEGOAT. Glendale: The Arthur H. Clark Company, 1961. First edition. 8vo. First limited edition of 209 copies. This copy was released one year prior to the red cloth trade edition. The correct first edition issued in only a miniscule printing of 209 copies, of which none were offered for sale. Copies were given to descendants of John D. Lee as well as to friends of the publisher and author. Blue cloth, blue foil stamping on spine and rules, top edge stained blue, 404 pp., frontis. [portrait of John Doyle Lee], introduction, illustrated, plates, portraits, bibliographical note, index. AHC 35 says, "This biography received an award of merit from the Association for State and Local History upon publication. Lee was the only man convicted of perpetrating the Mountain Meadows Massacre. His detailed diaries of his life in southern Utah, before and after the massacre, were edited by Brooks and published by the Huntington Library. The diary for the period of the massacre has never been released by the L.D.S. archives." Brooks was a niece of LeRoy Hafen, and an extremely competent scholar, friend of Dale Morgan, and indefatigable searcher of the truth. She faced considerable criticism within the Mormon Church, of which she remained a devout member, as a result of her scholarly writings. Juanita Brooks grew up in southern Utah and learned of the infamous massacre of 1857 through vague rumors and whispered stories. She was determined to learn the truth about the Mountain Meadows Massacre and eventually published her masterpiece, THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE in 1950. This led to a lifelong interest in John D. Lee, and her two subsequent major publications: the massive two volume DIARIES OF JOHN D. LEE, published in 1955 by the Huntington Library, and this full length biography of Lee, first published in 1961. Former owner's bookplate on front free fly leaf, and inked name and address on front pastedown sheet, lightly rubbed along edges and corners, else near fine copy in a custom made cloth slipcase with leather label on spine. Very scarce edition of this important work. $2500.00 AHC 35. SIX GUNS 286. MATTES 305. (24726)
12. REYNOLDS, JOHN. MY OWN TIMES, EMBRACING ALSO, THE HISTORY OF MY LIFE. [Belleville: B. H. Perryman and H. L. Davison], 1855. First edition. 16mo. Contemporary leather spine and tips over marbled boards, title and decorations on the spine in gilt, teg., 600 plus xxiii [1] pp., frontis. [portrait of John Reynolds], introduction, contents. This first edition was published with 400 copies being issued, and Reynolds had remaindered 350 of these copies to D. B. Cook of Chicago, and most of the copies were destroyed in the Chicago fire of 1857. Reynolds acted as his own wholesaler to market the book. He served as a justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, and was elected Governor of Illinois in 1830. Reynolds writes an observant history, including much on the Black Hawk War. This is a history of Illinois from 1800 combined with the author's autobiographical reminiscences. One of the essential books relating to the early midwest, covering the settlement of the Illinois country, the later Lovejoy riots, the Black Hawk War, the Nauvoo Mormons, and the Icarian Community. In writing the work, Reynolds had the aid of two of his literary friends, John Mason Peck and John Russell. The help that Peck gave may have been considerable. Lyman C. Draper also helped by answering inquiries and supplying maps for the author's use in his study of the Black Hawk War. The book is esteemed as a source book of the first consequence, much sought, and very difficult to obtain. Former owner's name written lightly in pencil on the title page, former owner's penciled notes on rear free endpaper, light wear to the extremities, else a very good, tight copy of a very rare book. Slipcase. $3500.00 HOWES R231. EBERSTADT 135:380. GRAFF 3479. BUCK 57. BYRD 2343. SABIN 70420. DECKER 50:129. STREETER III:1510. SIEBERT II:416. (25715)
13. [ILLINOIS & MICHIGAN]. HAMILTON, HENRY E. INCIDENTS AND EVENTS IN THE LIFE OF GURDON SALTONSTALL HUBBARD. COLLECTED FROM PERSONAL NARRATIONS AND OTHER SOURCES, AND ARRANGED BY HIS NEPHEW, HENRY E. HAMILTON, 1888. [Chicago: Rand, McNally & Co.,], 1888. First edition. 8vo. Rebound in black kangaroo leather, gold stamping on front cover and spine, raised bands, new beige-colored endpapers, [4], 189 pp., frontis. [engraved portrait of G. S. Hubbard]. Gurdon Hubbard (1802 - 1886) was both an adventurous pioneer and an excellent businessman. Hubbard came to Chicago in 1818 as an employee of the American Fur Company. He went by way of the Illinois River to St. Louis and Cahokia, spent the winter at a post near Hennepin and in the spring returned to Mackinac. He was with the Illinois Brigade again in the winters of 1821-22 and 1822-23. Hubbard, born in Vermont, went to work as a boy of sixteen for the American Fur Company and was stationed at the company's post on the Illinois River, subsequently being transferred to a Michigan post. Hubbard settled in Chicago in 1834. He was one of its first trustees and later one of its leading citizens. The book has much on the early history of the Illinois and Michigan Country. It is one of the best books relating to the interior of the lower peninsula of Michigan, especially the western portion, and furnishes a valuable picture of northern Illinois during the fur trading period. The Hubbard Trail, which is Route 1 along the eastern portion of Illinois, was traveled and established by him in 1822 as he traveled the many miles from Chicago to Danville, Illinois. Hubbard had an early trading post in Danville where he lived from 1828 until 1834. Beautifully bound, this is a near fine copy housed in a cloth slipcase with leather label on spine and titles stamped in gold. $1500.00 HOWES H735. GRAFF 1997. BUCK 132. STREETER III 1517. LITTELL 505. GREENLY [MICHIGAN] 120. DECKER 49 106. HUBACH pp.52-53. (25722)
14. MARCH, P.G. WORCESTER'S PATENT FENCE STAY. FOR PLAIN, BARBED, BUCKTHORN OR RIBBON WIRE FENCES. SIMPLE! CHEAP! DURABLE! USEFUL! Cincinnati: P.G. March $ Co., 1883. 10 1/2' x 13 1/4" light blue broadside printed in black. Directions are provided on how to apply the stay, "After the barbed wires are stretched tight, and firmly stapled to the wooden posts, draw the hooked wire out of coil, and place the coil in a vertical position, against the barbed wires; which wires will naturally go into the recesses of the coil. Then run the hooked wire down the coil, and on the other side of the barbed wires, until the hook touches the top round of the coil, and hangs over the top strand." Lamar Reader's Encyclopedia of the American West says, "The effect of barbed wire on life in the Great Plains was momentous.... It brought about the disappearance of the open range... Barbed wire put an end to the 'long drive' and gave the railroads a boost in their drive to enlist the trade of the cattlemen. Wars broke out between those who accepted the fence and those who refused to relinquish the open range. Fence-cutters were enlisted by the latter group..." A few original folds for mailing, else a fine, bright copy of an item that is unique and is rarely found in such fine condition. It is suitable for framing. $575.00 (18940)
INSCRIBED PRESENTATION BY AL JENNINGS WITH A THREE PAGE LETTER FROM JENNINGS TO HIS WIFE
17. JENNINGS, AL. NUMBER 30664 BY NUMBER 31539. A SKETCH IN THE LIVES OF WILLIAM SIDNEY PORTER (O. HENRY) AND AL JENNINGS, THE BANDIT. [Hollywood: The Pioneer Press, 1941]. First edition. 8vo. Inscribed by Al Jennings. Laid-in is a three page letter, written in pencil to Mrs. Al Jennings. He comments about his stay in Washington, D.C., "I am sitting on my trunk in a little cubby hole & paid $3.00 for one week. The show folded leaving all hands flat. Some damn good people. I look out to my self dodging all appeals for help. ....Best Love Old Dear to you, AL." The letter was written in May of 1938, and the original envelope is enclosed. Grey printed wrappers, 32 pp., frontis., foreword, introduction, illustrated, plates, portraits. A story of the prison life of O. Henry and Al Jennings. Six Guns 1171 says, "Rare." Fine, bright copy. Housed in a cloth four-point folding case with gold stamping on the spine. $2500.00 SIX GUNS 1171. (25802)
18. [COLORADO & NEW MEXICO]. TAYLOR, H.M., S.H. STANDART AND D.R. WARNER. CIRCULAR LETTER TO THE RANGE CATTLE AND HORSE MEN OF THE UNITED STATES MEXICO AND BRITISH COLUMBIA. [Denver: Privately printed, n.d. (ca 1885)]. First edition. Quarto. Printed self wrapper, [4] pp., double columns. Taylor, the designated Secretary of the organization notes: "Introductory measures have been taken by the cattle and horse men of New Mexico and Colorado looking to the perfecting of a distinctively range organization of an international character...." The circular includes the memorial unanimously adopted by the New Mexico Territorial Cattle and Horse Growers' association at their meeting held in Santa Fe on October 31, 1885. To promote cattlemen interests from "the breeding grounds in Old Mexico to the steer ranges in the British possessions..." To protect the range interests and to educate the people of the east that "are not familiar with the requirements of the cattle growing interests of the plains. They know little or nothing of our system of breeding and maturing cattle..." The memorial speaks to costs, diseases, freight rates, etc. [D. R. Warner was the Secretary for the New Mexico cattlemen]. Also included in this circular are the comments from a meeting of the Colorado Cattle Growers' association held in Denver on November 3, 1885, and reported by S. H. Standart, the secretary for that organization. Stressing the problems faced by the cattlemen and the need for an International Range Cattle and Horse Growers' association. "Experience the past season has demonstrated the fact that the marketing of immature and unripe cattle is not satisfactory to either buyer or seller, and entails an annual loss of millions of dollars, without any compensating benefits to the beef consumers of the nation." The organizers believed the two National Livestock Associations could not protect the range and other interests of cattlemen in the West. Not in HERD, Wynar, Streeter Sale, and the other usual standard references. Old folds and a few minor tears to the extremities, else very good copy, laid in half morocco and chemise slipcase with titles stamped in gold on spine. $5250.00 (25803)
I don’t have these books. Contact:
Nancy Anderson
Buckingham Books, ABAA
8058 Stone Bridge Road
Greencastle, PA 17225
(717) 597-5657
Email: sales@buckinghambooks.com Website: www.buckinghambooks.com
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