first reference books

[Whiskey Johnson]

New guy here. From this 'wire, and Historical dates; I have chosen my "years" as 1879-1882. I have the general direction for attire and leather, but need REAL reference. I am shifting about $100 from the "second pistol" fund to books.

I am thinking that a copy of "Packing Iron" should be one, what is your second recommendation?

I will be looking in the usual chain book stores in Lansing, Mi. Pretty decent size places.

Thanks!   

[St. George]

Regrettably, that C-Note won't go very far buying new books...

Look instead at the used book sellers and on the net - www.abebooks.com - www.bibliofind.com - www.bookfinder.com - and so on and so forth.

You should start your personal library 'at' your PublicLibrary - reading and  deciding which books you really need and then pursuing used copies as you can.

The Time-Life series - 'The Old West'  - is an excellent reference source and can often be found at estate sales and garage sales - as can reprint copies of the pre-1900 mail order catalogs of Sears, Roebucks & Co., and Montgomery Wards.

Both of those will show you 'exactly' what was available at that time, and Time-Life will show you folks wearing it.

'Packing Iron' is great - but only later on will you 'need' it, since it handles the gunleather and no more.

More will chip in with good references, I'm sure - and there are numerous reference books cited in the back pages of this Forum.

Building a 'good' reference library can get pretty expensive - and for certain out-of-print titles like McDowell's 'A Study of Colt Conversions and other Percussion Revolvers' - for example, you'll pay more than for a weapon.

Good Luck.

vaya,

Scouts Out!

[River City John]

A good general reference is the three volume cased set-"The Wild West" published by Salamander Books, London.
Excellent text and photos. The three titles are "Age of the Gunfighter"; "The American Frontier"; and "The Native Americans".

ISBN # 1-84065-168-7

RCJ

www.abebooks.com has them listed at anywhere from $1.00(?!) to $61.00, with median around $16.00-$25.00 for the set.


If you can't find it, send me your 'C'-note and I'll sell you my copy.

[Books OToole]

. The three titles are "Age of the Gunfighter"; "The American Frontier"; and "The Native Americans".

RCJ

I have given mixed reviews of thsee books.  In The Reference Library for March/April Shootist I review my Top Five.  If you are at the NCOWS convention in KC this weekend, look me up. 

[Packing Iron is in my top five.]

Books

[St. George]

My own reference library includes books that cover specific aspects of the era - along with the more 'general' aspects.

Single-topic reference books included, but not limited to - are:

Saddlery Catalogs - Dry Goods and Hardware Catalogs - Chuckwagon Cooking/Recipes - Hats - Clothing - Boots - Spurs - Gunleather - Revolvers - Military-Issued Weaponry - Lever-Action Rifles - Single-Shot Rifles - Shotguns - Derringers - The Civil War - The Indian Wars - The Spanish-American War - the Mexican Punitive Expedition - Gambling Devices - Saloons - Saloon Tokens - Soiled Doves - Women's Clothing and Accessories - Bowie Knives - Victorian-Era Jewelry - Indian Artifacts - Fur-Trappers - Treatises on Indian Tribes - Sign Language - Cattle Brands - Lawmen - Bad men - Detectives - Entrepreneurs - Emigrants - Emigrant Travel Routes and Diaries - Matchsafes - Pocket Watches - Watch Fobs - Victorian-Era Style - Arrowheads and Lance Points - Individual Battles/Campaigns - Battlefield Archaeology - Military Tokens - Military Suppliers - all these, including Pamphlets, Monographs, Treatises and the like, since the list goes on and on.

You might want to start small - but the books do accumulate, over time, and another great way to enhance your personal library is to tell your family about certain titles or topics - and 'wah-laa' - perhaps there's something to unwrap...

Many of these different books can also be found at gun shows - and can be significantly under-priced, when the seller would much rather be selling ammunition and high-capacity magazines - and small, independent booksellers will often do the looking for you when you've established a rapport, that you'll never get from any of the chain book stores.

Cast a wide net.

Good Luck.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

PS - Thanks to the Editor, all of these topics are and will be talked about in NCOWS' - 'The Shootist' - as they are currently being discussed at CAS City's 'Historical Society Forum'.