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Courtesy of AbeBooks bookseller T. N. Luther, Books & Art, specialist in Wild West books.
Here is a selection of some of the most collectible and rare books about the Wild West found at AbeBooks.  | 
AbeBooks'sellers who specialize in rare & collectible Wild West books
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This volume tells the story of the march of the contingent of General George Crook as part of the campaign against the Sioux and Cheyenne hostiles in the spring and summer of 1876, as written by a participant and professional journalist. While not exceptionally scarce in itself, this volume has that little something extra. It is a second edition, (publication date 1892), in very good condition, with bright, unchipped silver gilt on both cover and spine. What gives this particular copy its’ special appeal is a tipped-in letter from the author to Dr. Valentine McGillycuddy (ex-contract surgeon, U.S. Army, and future Indian Agent at Pine Ridge Reservation), dated 1877. This connection between two of the major players in the then-unfolding saga of the last of the Indian Wars serves as reminder of the personal linkages that really typified the building of the Old West.
In a remarkable early life as an Indian scout, trapper, miner & rider for the Pony Express, William F. Cody developed a reputation for courage. Yet it was as a buffalo hunter that Cody gained his nickname of Buffalo Bill. So powerful had the myth of the Wild West become, that he was able to turn his life into a theatrical spectacular which toured the U.S. & Europe. He almost single-handedly invented the Wild West that later generations have come to know through films & TV. Cody's autobiography vividly relates the excitement of this wild frontier. While the book itself is only a scarce title to obtain, what makes this one rare, is that it is signed by William F. Cody, Buffalo Bill.
Powell's 1869 exploration was the first documented expedition to successfully navigate the perilous rapids of the Colorado River through the uncharted Grand Canyon. Prior to Powell's 1869 exploration, the region surrounding the Colorado River was considered unnavigable and was non-existent on current maps. This region was the last unknown stretch of land in the continental United States. The Powell maps are the first to accurately depict the land of this region. The expedition set off in 1869 with ten men and four boats under the direction of one-armed Civil War veteran John Wesley Powell. After three months and nearly 1,000 miles, only five of the original party emerged from the depths of the canyon. Their historic journey mapped the last wild, untamed river of the American West and named the last unknown regions of American geography.
1851 Third Edition - 2 Vol. This set has been newly rebound in deep brown cloth with black leather titles and gilt lettering. There are 17 engravings ane 1 map in the 2 volumes. This work is considered unconditionally to be among the finest early writings on South Africa, its wildlife and big game hunting. Overall, it is an unusually nice set at an attractive price.
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The Emigrants' Guide was published in 1848 and set out a logical way of tracking a trail across country through use of longitude and latitude, spotting landmarks and mileage measured by the use of a "roadometer" designed by Orson Pratt. The guide was used not only by Mormon pioneers emigrating to the Great Salt Lake Valley, but also by Oregon and California pioneers. The gold seekers heading to Sutter's Mill in California also found it an invaluable guide. It is considered "one of the most reliable and highly praised of all gold rush guidebooks." [Unruh, John D., Jr. The Plains Across: The Overland Emigrants and the Trans-Mississippi West. 1840-1860. (Urbana; University of Illinois Press, 1979) p. 317.] Due to it's popularity and frequent use along the trail by pioneers and gold seekers alike, many copies did not survive making a first edition copy of Clayton's Emigrants' Guide a rare find.
The book was and is one of the most widely circulated works on American Indians written in the 19th century, and the illustrations so beautifully presented herein remain the most important body of illustrative material for wild Indian life in the American West. Deluxe issue of the tenth edition, one of "twelve or more" with the plates printed in outline and colored by hand. The London publisher, Henry Bohn, took over publication in 1845 and altered the title to that given above. What is important in this copy is the colored plates.
A splendid copy of this -- at turns, hilarious and moving -- western classic." Purports to be the reminiscences -- dictated at the ripe age of 111 -- of one Jack Crabb -- plainsman, Indian scout, gunfighter, buffalo hunter, bunco schemer, and renegade squaw man.."
Overall, this is a very nice copy of this standard of western literature. "The material presented here has been collected chiefly from contemporaneous sources -- pioneer newspapers, journals, diaries, scrapbooks, manuscript letters, and state, county, and municipal records, and the reminiscences of eyewitnesses. The writer has traveled hundreds of miles, interviewed numerous pioneer settlers, and visited many libraries, archives departments, newspaper offices, county court houses, and city halls in his search for data to make the stories complete and accurate.." Includes chapters titled: The Wagon Trails, The Cattle Trails, The Kansas Cow Towns, and The Buffalo Range.
First clothbound book to be printed, bound and published in the city of Los Angeles. Horace Bell came to California during the Gold Rush, reaching Los Angeles in 1852, where he joined the Rangers, volunteer riders organized to patrol surrounding areas which were rife with desperadoes. Bell's historical narrative is replete with first hand accounts of daring adventure. |
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ild West: Histories and personal experiences of the old West, and art by those who were there, takes us to our roots as a nation, and the wonder and dangers of exploring and settling a vast continent. Such a book collection takes us into the lives of extraordinary men, both white and Indian, and it is difficult to realize that the west still was not completely won only about 100 years ago.
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