Adventures from the American West from Old West Books
Catalog 22 from Old West Books.
By Michael Stillman
Old West Books has issued its Catalog 22 July 2008 of rare, out of print books on the American West. This is an exciting catalogue, for not only is it filled with many collectible pieces, I think every one of them must be an interesting read. These are the stories of people who explored and settled the Old West, and at times engaged in a few altercations with their firearms. Some of them weren't able to always make effective use of those arms, such as General Custer, but these are people who lived exciting lives, and occasionally, thrilling (if unpleasant) deaths. The Old West fascinates us because it was such a spectacular and different world. These adventures of the 19th century are still electrifying to relive today. Now here's your chance.
Frank Grouard, like many of the names in this catalogue, is not a celebrated one, but his life was far more interesting than that of most of today's celebrities. Grouard was the son of a Mormon missionary who ran away from home and was captured by Indians at the age of 19. Captured as opposed to killed because supposedly Sitting Bull saved his life and adopted him as a brother. Evidently, Grouard did not feel the same about Sitting Bull as after seven years with the Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, he escaped, and became an Army scout under General George Crook, helping track down the Indians. He was in the area when Custer made his last stand, and reportedly "intercepted" smoke signal communications that Custer had been defeated, which his superiors did not believe. He is also said to have been the first non-Indian to see the Custer battlefield. Grouard is held responsible by some for the eventual death of his one-time comrade Crazy Horse. According to this theory, after the latter's surrender, Grouard, acting as interpreter, supposedly deliberately misinterpreted Crazy Horse's words to make him sound hostile to whites. His arrest was ordered, and Crazy Horse died in a scuffle which followed. Others hold this theory very unlikely. Grouard's life would bring him in contact with many more important events and personalities, including the final Indian defeat at Wounded Knee. His story is recounted in Life and Adventures of Frank Grouard, by Joe De Barthe. This would not include the final chapter of his life as the book was published in 1894, and Grouard lived until 1905. Item 241. Priced at $775.
Hugh Lenox Scott was not a witness to Custer's demise, but he knew much about it and Custer's Seventh Cavalry. Scott graduated from West Point in June 1876, which was when Custer met his fate. He was so moved by it that he asked to join up with the Seventh Cavalry, where he met many of the soldiers who served with Custer. Along with their stories, he recounts his own from the campaigns in the years which followed. His book, Some Memories of a Soldier, was published in 1928. Item 46b. $725.
A very long, though non-military career, is recounted in Seventy Years on the Frontier. Alexander Majors crossed the plains in a wagon, rode briefly for the Pony Express, and once hired Buffalo Bill to carry dispatches between wagon trains. He was obviously quite an elderly man when his biography was published in 1893. This copy is inscribed by Majors to his grandson. Item 73. $650.
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: APRES DE MANNEVILLETTE Le Neptune Oriental
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: CASSAS Eaux fortes de la Sicile et quelques vues d’Espagne
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: CASSINI DE THURY Carte générale et particulière de la France.
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: JOUY; GARNERAY Vues des côtes de France dans l'Océan et dans la Méditerranée
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: LA PÉROUSE Voyage autour du monde
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: LE GENTIL DE LA GALAISIERE Voyage dans les Mers de l’Inde
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: LICENT Hoang Ho, Pai Ho, Loan Ho, Leao Ho. Itinéraires suivis dans le bassin du golfe du Pei Tcheuly
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: FRENCH SCHOOL FROM THE 19th CENTURY Panorama d’Athènes
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: PEETERS Description des principales villes, havres et isles du golfe de Venise
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: PÉRON; FREYCINET Voyage de découverte aux terres australes
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: STACKELBERG La Grèce : vues pittoresques et topographiques.
Gros & Delettrez, 7 November: VALENTINER Atlas des Sonnensystems.
Forum Auctions Online Sale: The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper Ending 7th November, 2024
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). The Thirteen Problems, first edition, The Crime Club, 1932. £15,000 to £20,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Dumb Witness, first edition, 1937. £3,000 to £4,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Cards on the Table, first edition, The Crime Club, 1936. £2,000 to £3,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: [Carr (John Dickson)], "Carter Dickson" and John Rhode. Drop to his Death, first edition, Heinemann, [1939]. £600 to £800.
Forum, Nov. 7: Berkeley (Anthony). Jumping Jenny, first edition, Hodder and Stoughton, 1933. £800 to £1,200.
Forum Auctions Online Sale: The Detective Fiction Collection of John Cooper Ending 7th November, 2024
Forum, Nov. 7: Marsh (Ngaio). Overture to Death, first edition, The Crime Club, 1939. £600 to £800.
Forum, Nov. 7: [Day-Lewis (Cecil)] "Nicholas Blake". The Beast Must Die, first edition, 1938. £750 to £1,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Brand (Christianna). Green for Danger, first edition, signed presentation inscription from the author, John Lane the Bodley Head, 1945. £600 to £800.
Forum, Nov. 7: Christie (Agatha). Murder is Easy, first edition, signed by the author, 1939. £3,000 to £4,000.
Forum, Nov. 7: Sayers (Dorothy L.) Lord Peter Views the Body, first edition, Gollancz, 1928. £6,000 to £8,000.
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Sotheby's Fine Books, Manuscripts & More Available for Immediate Purchase
Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. 11,135 USD
Sotheby’s: Edgar Allan Poe. The Raven and Other Poems, 1845. 33,000 USD
Sotheby’s: Leo Tolstoy, Clara Bow. War and Peace, 1886. 22,500 USD
Sotheby’s: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 1902. 7,500 USD
Sotheby’s: F. Scott Fitzgerald. This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, and Others, 1920-1941. 24,180 USD
Freeman’s | Hindman Fine Printed Books and Manuscripts, Including Americana November 14
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: LEROUX, Gaston. The Phantom of the Opera. FIRST AM. ED, FIRST ISSUE IN THE VERY RARE DUST JACKET. 1911. $6,000 – 8,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD, John. A Monograph of the Trochilidae...Humming-Birds. L., [1849-] 1861. $60,000 – 80,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: A COMPLETE RUN of Limited Editions Club publications, v.p. [mostly New York], 1929-2010. $50,000 – 60,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: ORWELL, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four. Lon., 1949. FIRST EDITION IN A VERY FINE DUST JACKET. $6,000 – 8,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: GOULD. A Monograph of the Ramphastidae...Toucans. L., [1852-] 54. SECOND ED. $35,000 – 45,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14:The Federalist. NY, 1788. FIRST EDITION, THICK PAPER COPY. $60,000 – 80,000.
Freeman’s | Hindman, Nov. 14: SELBY. Plates to Selby’s Illustrations of British Ornithology. Edin., [1833-] 34. $20,000 – 30,000.