Arizona and the Southwest at the University of Arizona Library Special Collections
- by Julie Carleton
feature article
2. Powell, Donald M. Arizona Fifty: A List of Fifty Books about Arizona Since Statehood. Northland Press: Flagstaff, Arizona. 1962.
Although this book is not large, it is a succinct starting point for beginning readers in Arizona. The author includes brief annotations on each work. Donald Powell was a respected Librarian, Bibliographer and Professor of Library Science at the University of Arizona. His later two books, An Arizona Gathering and An Arizona Gathering II provide bibliographic background for titles published after 1950.
3. Powell, Lawrence Clark. Southwestern Book Trails: A Reader’s Guide to the Heartlands of New Mexico & Arizona. Albuquerque, Horn & Wallace. 1963. 91 p.
More expansive than Donald Powell’s Arizona Fifty, Southwestern Book Trails provides in depth historical background in the introductions of each chapter. As well, it includes books about Texas, New Mexico and California. This selective bibliography was written by Lawrence Clark Powell; a well renowned librarian who served as head of UCLA’s Library School from 1944 to 1961. He was the author of over 50 books many of them on the Southwest. This book also provides information on well-known collections, collectors and publishers of Southwestern Americana.
4. Powell, Lawrence Clark. A Southwestern Century: A Bibliography of One Hundred Books of Non Fiction about the Southwest. Van Nuys, Calif., J.E. Reynolds. [1958].
This is another selective listing of books on the Southwest. It is now available on the Internet via the University of Arizona Library’s Southwest Electronic Text Center at www.library.arizona.edu/swetc/projects.html.
5. Wallace, Andrew, ed. Sources & Readings in Arizona History. Tucson: Arizona Pioneers' Historical Society. 1965.
This is an authoritative book on the nonfiction literature of Arizona. This annotated bibliography is arranged topically. A scholar in that particular area of Arizona history introduces each chapter.
Conclusion
This article is meant to provide for the reader a survey of the wide range of materials available on Arizona and the Southwest as housed at the University of Arizona Library’s Special Collections. As every worthy title cannot be included in this article, the bibliography will be an excellent starting point for the collector or interested reader. As part of public research institution, the University of Arizona Library is committed to the collection and access to notable books and manuscripts in a comprehensive range of areas, Arizona and the Southwest being one component. The University of Arizona Library’s Special Collections can be found at: www.library.arizona.edu/branches/spc/homepage/index.html.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
