This page will contain scanned images from our collection of rare books that focus on Tombstone, Arizona, past and present, and other Old West venues. It is our purpose to share as much of our collection as possible with those that are truly interested.
You will notice the items on display have dark lines through them or a red logo. This is from a clear Mylar transparency that we lay the document on before scanning it. We do this to stop unauthorized copying of the items.
Our goal is to promote and educate people on the magnificent history of the American West. Step back in history and enjoy these rare books and scarce images from early Tombstone and southeast Arizona!
A very scarce book in the true first edition is this
copy of Jack Ganzhorn's I've Killed Men. While
full of errors it is none the less very difficult to
find. The first edition was published in London just
before World War II. It is said many copies were
apparently lost or destroyed during the war, thus its
scarcity. The book is noted for having some great
photographs, one of special importance is that of Tom
and Frank McLaury with Ed Finerty. © Kevin Mulkins
2012
There are many Arizona books unrelated to Tombstone and
its troubles that are in and of themselves classics and
worthy of any Western Americana/Arizona collection. A
few examples follow in this updated listing. This
little pamphlet by Dan Rose titled Prehistoric and
Historic Gila County Arizona was published in
Globe, Arizona in 1933. It is an Arizona rarity and is
more so because it was the personal copy of, and is
signed on the front cover by, Clara T. Woody, resident
of Globe, Arizona. Clara T.Woody is the author, along
with M.L. Schwartz, of the 1977 scarce first edition
hardcover book Globe, Arizona. This pamphlet
is a excellent example of an "association copy",
considerably enhancing its collectibility and value.
© Kevin Mulkins, 2012
Another Arizona rarity is this 1954 first edition copy
of Ghost Riders of the Mogollon by Ivan Lee
Kuykendall. This book tells the story of the
Graham-Tewksbury feud in Arizona. No sooner had the
book been released when the publishers were sued by
some of the descendants of the characters involved.
Only about two hundred copies reached private hands and
are now deep in private collections. © Kevin
Mulkins, 2012
The next two photographs are of the same book. The top
photo shows a unremarkable book. It is a fictional
novel by William S. Hart titled A Lighter of
Flames. William S. Hart was a popular silent
screen actor but not a very good author! He did,
however, write several books. You will recall he was an
admirer of and personal friend to Wyatt & Josephine
Earp. Hart, through his many influential and personal
friends in Hollywood, tried to help the couple get
Wyatt's life story told but with little success. This
book is very special because it is a one of a kind
"association copy" as can be seen in the second
photograph.
It is signed, dated, and inscribed on the front free
endpaper by the author "For My friends Mr. Mrs. Wyatt
Earp." This exceptional and unique association book, we
are quite sure, was held in the hands of Wyatt and
Josephine Earp and most likely was signed in their
presence. © Kevin Mulkins, 2012
Another rare Tombstone book is this first edition copy
of South from Tombstone by Dan de Lara Hughes.
The true first edtion of this book was published in
Great Britan in 1938. It is exceptionally rare with a
dust jacket and in fine condition. Many attribute the
scarcity of this book to the bombing of Britan during
WWII with many copies being destroyed or damaged beyond
repair. The book is not complimentary to the Earps. The
author also puts himself in many historic situations!
© Kevin Mulkins, 2012
The next two photographs are of the same book. The top
photo shows the cover of author William Henry Bishop's
book titled Old Mexico and Her Lost Provinces.
The first edition of this book was publsihed in 1883
and is one of the first if not the first book to
describe Tombstone in its early days. It gives an
account of the Earp/Clanton fight and of the various
characters in Tombstone including John H. Behan.
This second photograph shows the title page of the book
Old Mexico and Her Lost Provinces. This first
edition copy does not have the title on the front
cover, only on the spine of the red cloth can you find
the title. The student of Tombstone history would do
well to read this book, for it is one of the earliest
accounts of the mining camp. © Kevin Mulkins, 2012
This exceedingly rare book titled Tombstone and its
Mines is by legendary mining engineer William P.
Blake. It contains his comprehensive report of the past
and present condition of the mines of Tombstone,
Cochise County, Arizona for the Development Company of
America in 1902. E.B. Gage is featured on the frontis
of this rarely seen book. Gage would go on to
consolidate many of the Tombstone mines in 1903.
©Kevin Mulkins, 2012.
A recent acquistion, one of great provenance and
rarity. In marbled boards, this small book titled
Tombstone Mill & Mining Com. vs Way Up Mining
Com. is the personal copy of legendary geologist
William P. Blake and is one of only two known to exist.
This copy has Blake's personal book plate affixed to it
and his hand written index. The book contains the brief
of the Way Up Mining Co. before the Supreme Court of
Arizona in 1882 and it also contains two papers given
by Blake titled The Geology of the Way Up
Claim and another, The Geology Veins of
Tombstone both signed by him on the hand written
index page. ©Kevin Mulkins, 2012
The next two books are identical in content but show two variant covers. They were produced by Mollie E. Fly, wife of the famous Tombstone photographer C.S. Fly. The truth be known, Mollie was probably as good or better at the trade than her famous husband. Mollie Fly produced these books titled Geronimo, the Apache Chief probably in 1906. They were string tied and sold at stationary stores in Tombstone. The fragile booklets contained thirty of her husbands Geronimo photographs, some crudely retouched by her. Her brief text expresses the bitterness and misconceptions that lingered in Territorial Arizona twenty years after the close of the Indian wars. They are extremely scarce and coveted by Geronimo, Apache Indian, and Tombstone collectors. ©Kevin Mulkins, 2012
This example shows the cover most commonly found. An original, owned by the Arizona Historical Society, was reprinted in 1986 by the Tucson Adobe Corral of the Westerners. A limited edition of 500 copies were produced to commemorate the centennial of the final surrender of Geronimo and his Apache band. ©Kevin Mulkins, 2012
Wyatt Earp passed away on January 13, 1929. The doctor
who attended to him and was with him when he died was
Dr. Fred C. Shurtleff. He wrote at the bottom of page
348, in his book The Sunset Trail, regarding
Earp's passing. He writes of the specific time, date
and place he died and signed his name underneath. It is
not known for sure if Dr. Shurtleff had this book with
him and had been reading it that morning or if he added
this annotation later in his library where this book
resided. At any rate it is a treasure! ©Kevin
Mulkins, 2012
One of the great rarities from Tombstone is this fragile softcover volume. It was produced by the editor/owner of the Tombstone Prospector William "Billy" Hattich. Tombstone, In History, Romance and Wealth was produced in a souvenir illustrated edition, commemorating the arrival of the railroad to Tombstone in 1903. The Tombstone mines were being consolidated by E.B. Gage. Hopes were high that Tombstone would return to the boom days of the early mining camp. This fifty-four page volume promotes many businesses in Tombstone along with the town's early history. It was reprinted in 1981 by John D. Gilchriese via the Oklahoma Press. We do not know how many of the rare original editions were produced by the Tombstone Prospector. We believe no more than one-hundred were offered for sale in Tombstone. ©Kevin Mulkins, 2012
This is the extremely rare hardcover version of
Tombstone, In History, Romance and Wealth. We
believe less than ten of these exist. They were
specially bound with personalized gilt print by William
"Billy" Hattich for his friends, most of them
businessmen, in Tombstone. This one belonged to
businessman and banker C.L. Cummings, a Tombstone
"stalwart" and good friend of Billy Hattich.
©Kevin Mulkins, 2012
This book, more than any other, elevated Wyatt Earp to
"legend" status. Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal
by Stuart Lake is a classic. The true first edition
copy has the word "belly" mispelled as "ellby" on page
54. This near fine first edition copy has its original
dust jacket. Many first edition books have a similar
dust jacket but if you look carefully at the dust
jacket, you can tell it is from a later edition. Later
edition dust jackets look the same but are short, on
the first edition copy, by about an eighth of an inch.
This copy is also signed by the author! ©Kevin
Mulkins, 2012
Another book that was instrumental in elevating Wyatt
Earp and Tombstone to legend status was Walter Noble
Burns' book titled Tombstone, An Illiad of the
Southwest. A scarce book with the elusive dust
jacket. This copy is signed and inscribed by the author
to the daughter of pioneer German immigrant parents who
met and married during Tombstone's early days.
©Kevin Mulkins, 2012
Some might call this little stapled booklet ephemeral
in nature. It is, however, integral to the book
Apache Agent by Woodworth Clum. It is the
Epilogue and contains thirteen pages of information and
additional material not contained in the original trade
edition of the book. A total of ten original
mimeographed copies were produced for the family only
of John P. Clum. Apparently, later, Woodworth Clum
produced ten finely bound copies of the book Apache
Agent, these being specifically bound for the
family members and friends of John P. Clum. The rare
finely bound leather editions contain the Epilogue and
another extra page. ©Kevin Mulkins, 2012
Pictured is a first trade edition of Apache
Agent by Woodworth Clum, son of John P. Clum, the
founder of the Tombstone Epitaph newspaper and strong
supporter of Wyatt Earp and his brothers in the early
days of Tombstone and beyond. This copy is signed by
the author. ©Kevin Mulkins, 2012
Photographed is a very rare, fine leather bound copy of
Apache Agent by Woodworth Clum. Only ten of
these were produced for family members and friends by
the author. All are warmly inscribed by Woodworth Clum.
These ten copies are among the rarist of books
regarding Tombstone and are coveted by book collectors.
Ramon Adams' perfectly describes this volume in his
bibliographical reference book Six-Guns and Saddle
Leather on page 134, #446. All ten copies of this
book have the rare Epilogue in them, a different title
page, and an extra explanatory page. This copy is
warmly inscribed to Florence Baker Clum, John P. Clum's
wife, and includes a photograph of her and him taken in
1915. ©Kevin Mulkins, 2012.
Another early Tombstone book is Helldorado
authored by William M. Breakenridge. He was a deputy
Cochise County Sheriff under John H. Behan.
Breakenridge and his book have always been somewhat
controversial. His portrayal of the Earps in Tombstone
was not as positive as other books of the time. This
copy, scarce in the colorful dust jacket, is signed by
the author. ©Kevin Mulkins, 2012
Another rare Tombstone book in the dust jacket is
Lorenzo D. Walters' Tombstone's Yesterday.
Considered to be not very factual and heavy with
anecdotal content, it is none the less a true rarity in
the elusive dust jacket. Many of these books were
damaged or destroyed in a warehouse fire early in 1928.
This copy is signed and inscribed to Walter Noble
Burns. ©Kevin Mulkins, 2012
A pristine and rare original softcover copy of the 1939
WPA version of The Private Journal of George
Whitwell Parsons. This volume was prepared by the
Arizona Statewide Archival and Records Project Division
of Professional and Service Projects, Work Projects
Administration. One hundred or less of these originals
were produced in 1939. This copy belonged to William B.
Shillingberg and was used in his research while writing
his exceptional book Tombstone, A.T.
©Kevin Mulkins, 2012
Contact us with any questions at:. kevbevmulkins@msn.com or call us at 520-603-9325.
We hope you enjoyed your visit here -- please return soon.