Old West Books has published a new catalogue of Rare, Out of Print Books on the American West. This latest is Catalog 72 April 2026. The West was the “Old West” from the mid-19th century to the early 20th. Those were the days of cowboys and Indians, sheriffs and lawmen, cattle and cattle rustlers, horses and wagons, and lots of guns. Then, civilization as we know it took over and the Old West was gone. Here are a few selections from those long ago, legendary days.
We begin with an account by a soldier who was in the first regiment of dragoons. They were sent to march on the Pawnee villages of the upper Red River in 1884 and to the Colorado Rockies the following year. The title is, Dragoon Campaigns to the Rocky Mountains; being a History of the Enlistment, Organization, and First Campaigns of the Regiment of United States Dragoons; together with Incidents of a Soldier's Life, and Sketches of Scenery and Indian Character. By a Dragoon. It was published in 1836. Authorship has been attributed to James Hildreth though some believe he only delivered the manuscript to the publisher. Describing conditions he writes, “During the winter our tents have been our only protection from the cold. The single blanket the government allowed us was our only covering at night. As to our rations, they have been poorer, if possible, than our accommodations. The pork rusty, the flour spoiled and the beans of the meanest quality...” The dragoons were accompanied by famed western artist George Catlin, who brought back many sketches from his trip. This book is also noted for providing one of the first descriptions of poker, which the soldiers used to pass the time and pass their money. Item 31. Priced at $1,400.
Elizabeth Custer spent the last 50-plus years of her life defending and rebuilding the reputation of her deceased husband, Gen. George Armstrong Custer. The General's reputation was badly tarnished by how it came to an end, but his widow did much to help restore it. Item 13 is The Boy General. Story of the Life of Major-General George A. Custer, published in 1909. It is a biography of the career of Gen. Custer, going back to his childhood, much of it taken from her three major books. On the flyleaf, Mrs. Custer has written, “Motto on General Custer's Spanish Sword Do not draw me without cause Do not shield me without honor.” On the preface page Mrs. Custer explains, “General Custer was called the Boy general because he was but 23, the youngest General in the army.” Item 13. $1,400.
This is one of those books you almost don't have to read because the title tells you so much: The Guerillas of the West; or, The Life, Character and Daring Exploits of the Younger Brothers, with a Sketch of the Life of Henry W. Younger, Father of the Younger Brothers, who was Assassinated and Robbed by a Band of Jayhawkers. Also, The War Record of Quantrell during the Three Years that Cole and James Younger were with Him, Also a Sketch of the Life of the James Boys, whose Names are Familiar to Every Household in the Country, and Whose Reputed Deeds of Blood, Robbery, and Crime of Almost Every Kind, Equal the Most Desperate Brigand of the Nineteenth Century, Etc., Etc. The author was Augustus Appler and this is the 1876 second printing, published the year after the first. Ramon Adams said of it, “this book served as the fountainhead for many later and less accurate volumes. This is the first book dealing with the James Brothers and was published while they were still active.” At this time, they were still part of the gang of the then better-known Younger Bros., but the Youngers were captured during a bank robbery that year while the James brothers escaped. Jesse made sure that the James' name would live in even greater infamy than the Youngers. Both sets of brothers started out with Quantrill's Raiders, a group of pro-Confederacy guerrillas operating in Missouri during and after the Civil War, but they broke off to become bank and train robbers. Item 2. $8,500.
The George Harter family took a trip across much the country, from Michigan to California, in '64. They loaded up the kids in the car and headed west... Not really. This was 1864, not 1964. They hitched up the horses to the wagons and turned west. Item 28 is Crossing the Plains. An Account of the George Harter Family's trip from Cass County, Michigan, to Marysville, California, in 1864; taken from the diary of George Harter, by Doris Harter Chase, published in 1957. George's granddaughter transcribed the story and printed it in a small edition for family. Not surprisingly, it is very rare. Old West tells us, “They traveled along the Platte River, remarks on Pawnee Indians, Fort Kearny, seeing a gravestone inscribed, 'killed by Indians,' Chimney Rock, Indians begging for food, Fort Laramie, Independence Rock, Sioux Indians, Salt Lake City, Brigham Young, Truckey Lake and Pass, Sacramento, Marysville, etc. Details some of the daily events and obstacles they encountered, game, mosquitos, problems with horses, wagons, animals, water, etc.” $950.
Edward Everett Ayer was an immensely wealthy man in the early twentieth century. He made his fortune in lumber, primarily by supplying railroad ties to the rapidly advancing railway system. He became interested in Indians, amassing a huge collection of books and other artifacts. He gave most of it to two institutions he helped found, the Newberry Library and the Field Museum. Item 45 is Ayer's copy of Scout and Ranger being the Personal Adventures of Corporal Pike, of the Fourth Ohio Cavalry, as a Texas Ranger, in the Indians Wars. It was written by Pike and published in 1865. This is a second variant of the first edition. Pike was a Yankee who became a Texas Ranger, but later became a Union spy. Ayer gave this copy to the Newberry in 1911 and it contains his presentation bookplate. It also has a small label stating it had been removed from the library. Gifts don't necessarily last forever. $2,500.
Old West Books may be reached at 719-260-6030 or oldwestbooks@earthlink.net. Their website is www.oldwestbooks.com.
