Back to the Old American West with Old West Books

Old West Books is back with a new selection of “rare, out of print books on the American West.” This one is their Catalog 71 January 2026. There are cowboys and cows, lawmen and law breakers, horses and cavalry, settlers and showmen, everything you would want from a collection on the Old West. Here are a few selections but there are many more in this most recent Old West catalogue.

We begin with an autobiography of a western outlaw, The Story of Cole Younger by Himself Being an Autobiography of the Missouri Guerrilla Captain and Outlaw, His Capture and Prison Life, and the Only Authentic Account of the Northfield Raid Ever Published... published in 1903. Cole and his two brothers were part of the guerrilla Confederate supporters who roamed around Missouri and Kansas during the Civil War. After the war, some of them continued, becoming more common criminals than revolutionaries. The Youngers hooked up with a couple of their compatriots, Jesse and Frank James, and participated in several bank robberies. It all came down for the Youngers after an unsuccessful bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota in 1876. The James Brothers went a separate direction, but the Youngers route led to capture. They were all sentenced to life in prison. One of the brothers died in prison, another died within a year after they were granted parole in 1891. Cole went on to live a more respectable life. Jesse James was shot and killed a while earlier but Frank also was released, and Cole Younger and Frank James put together a wild west show and toured for a few years. He died in 1916. Item 69. Priced at $15,000.

This next item is called by Old West, “About as rare as it gets for James/Younger material.” The title is Jim Cummins The Guerrilla, by Jim Cummins, published in 1908. Cummins was a Confederate sympathizer. He joined with Confederate guerrillas in Missouri, hooking up with William Anderson's band, an offshoot of the better-known Quantrill's Raiders, where James and Younger cut their eyeteeth. Anderson earned his name of “Bloody Bill.” He was noted for committing some of the more brutal of atrocities, both on the living and the bodies of the dead. His men killed many union soldiers and sympathizers until he was tracked down and killed by soldiers in 1864. Cummins' book tells about these groups and their leaders and about the bloody raid on Lawrence, Kansas. He also recounts his two years as an Indian scout. Item 18. This is a very rare book with only two other copies known. $11,500.

George Armstrong Custer's military leadership abilities were recognized even as a young man in the Civil War. He played a significant role at Gettysburg and through the remainder of the war. Custer was present at Appomattox. He then went out west and became a noted Indian fighter. However, for all his success at a young age, most people remember him only for his biggest failure and worst day in his life. A bit too brash and confident, he and his men were wiped out at the Battle of Little Big Horn in 1876. After his death, his widow, Elizabeth Custer, devoted her life to reestablishing his reputation, tarnished by his final battle. She outlived him by over 50 years. She wrote three books about her husband. This is the first - Boots and Saddles or Life in Dakota With General Custer, published in 1885. It is a wealth of information though written from the point of view of Custer's greatest admirer. This copy is accompanied by an 1898 royalty statement from the publisher which is signed by Mrs. Custer. Item 19. $1,250.

Next is On the Border with Mackenzie, Or Winning West Texas from the Comanches, by Robert Carter. The Comanche were a strong people not given to turning over their land without a fight. They controlled a large portion of Texas, as far west as the Pecos River, a land then known as Comancheria. It included parts of several other states too. The Comanche controlled their land for many years, but in the Nineteenth Century, they were forced to cede more and more parts of their territory to European settlers. It was a numbers game, and the Comanche lacked the numbers, particularly after European diseases for which they had no immunity ravaged their communities. They held on as long as they could, but their ability to fight and defend their land ended by the 1870s. Reese, speaking of this book, said “Carter's book is one of the primary sources for the Indian wars on the South Plains in the 1870s.” Carter served under Ranald Mackenzie in Texas. He witnessed some of fiercest Indian fighting in the West. A wound forced him to retire in 1876. Old West notes, “This is one of the great rarities of Western Americana printed in the 20^th century, issued in a small edition by an obscure Washington publisher in the midst of the Depression. It wasn't published until 1935, the year before Carter died. Item 14. $4,500.

This an account of a journey west in 1850 and other events. The traveler was Mary Hayden. She wrote about it in her book Pioneer Days, published in 1915. She gave accounts of difficulties they faced, “Indians, river crossings, lightning storms, death of animals, sickness, etc.” She writes about the 1855 Indian War and the Mountain Meadows Massacre. She also describes incidents “with the 14^th Infantry stationed at Vancouver Barracks in 1864 which was filled with derelicts who joined the Army to get free travel to the west coast.” The Haydens settled near the Vancouver Barracks, the site of today's Vancouver, Washington. Eberstadt said this is “One of the rarest of overland narratives. Privately printed in a few copies for family use.” Item 33. $12,500.

Old West Books may be reached at 719-260-6030 or oldwestbooks@earthlink.net. Their website is www.oldwestbooks.com.