Larry McMurtry once claimed that he was mostly a book hunter who used his side hustle—being a writer—to finance his love of books and reading. He proved that with his 8,500-square-foot bookstore in tiny Archer City, near Wichita Falls.
My knowledge of that market, by comparison, amounts to about 5 square feet. So I stopped to see friends James Gannon and Blake Johnson. They operate a fine antiquarian bookstore called InkQ Rare Books in Addison.
Gannon and Johnson have a great deal of McMurtry’s personal library on their shelves and a good deal of Bill Wittliff’s, too, among many others of all genres. It’s a magical place to browse (by appointment only).
I wanted their insights on the value of Texas collectibles—wealth that might be sitting on your own shelf. They told me that there are many, many caveats to determining the value of a collectible book—things like first or limited editions, signed copies, and condition among them.
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They hesitate to say what a book is worth without taking a close look because there are so many variables. But they were able to give me some general guidance on retail values, which is the price you might get if a collector very much wanted your unique volume.
McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove, in hardback, first edition, signed by the author, is worth a good deal: $500–$1,000, depending on provenance.
Signed editions of Blood Meridian, Cormac McCarthy’s apocalyptic, anti-Western opus written during the 20-some years that he lived in Texas, are worth much more because he didn’t sign books much at all: up to $10,000.
Elmer Kelton’s critically acclaimed The Time It Never Rained could bring $600. What about Edna Ferber’s Giant? A signed first edition with a perfect dust jacket: $800.
Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne? The 2011 chronicle of the rise and fall of Quanah Parker and the Comanches has been a mega bestseller for years. There are many, many copies out there, but a signed first-edition hardback might fetch $300–$500.
As always, these are estimates. The market may be willing to pay a bit more or less, depending on many factors.
And then there are the rare older books, less known by the general public but still wonderful because they captured snapshots of life on the frontier.
For instance, The Trail Drivers of Texas by J. Marvin Hunter is worth perhaps $1,000–$2,000. And The Adventures of Big-Foot Wallace, published in 1870 by John Crittenden Duval, could fetch $5,000 or more.
If you have Charles Siringo’s A Texas Cow Boy, published in 1885, you could have a little gold mine on your shelf. In 2022, that book sold at auction for $94,500.
Gannon and Johnson figure the most valuable Texas artifact is William B. Travis’ victory or death letter written at the Alamo. It’s housed at the Texas State Library and Archives, but if it were for sale, they estimate it would go for at least $10 million and probably much, much more.
