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The Sunday Post, Issue #8: First Edition Western Gems from the Flea Market

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The Sunday Post newspaper featuring headlines and articles on a wooden table.


Happy Sunday, Everyone! 

I visited a large antique flea market in the city this past Saturday, marking my first trip there in at least a year and a half. It’s such a sprawling place that it takes a long time to see everything, so I’m sure I missed quite a few treasures along the way. In short, I ended up buying quite a few Westerns from the store.

One booth caught my eye with a collection of older Zane Grey hardcovers, likely all first editions, each priced at a reasonable $6. Sadly, all except for two were in such fragile condition that I knew my book repair skills wouldn’t be enough to fix them. I didn't go for them, which I kind of regret, but I’d rather save my money for better copies down the line. Nonetheless, I did pick up the first edition of Under the Tonto Rim, pub. in 1926, and The Lost Wagon, pub. in 1936. At another booth, I found the first edition of The Thundering Herd, pub. in 1925, for $13, which I gladly bought. There was also a first edition of Riders of the Purple Sage for $14, but it was in such poor shape I was afraid it would disintegrate before I made it home, so I passed on that one.

I also discovered a variety of paperbacks at different booths and snagged several for just fifty cents each, along with a few others ranging from one to three dollars. The titles I found include The Night Riders by Todhunter Ballard, Powder Valley Holdup by Peter Field, A Gun for Billy Reo by C. Hall Thompson, The Girl from Fort Wicked by Dee Brown, Bandolero by Arnold Hano, and both The Wild West and The Wild West: The Night of the Assassin by Robert Vaughan. Additionally, I grabbed Marauders' Moon by Luke Short, The Doomsday Marshal by Ray Hogan, The Times of Wichita by Bruce H. Thorstad, Canyon O'Grady #4: Shadow Guns by John Sharpe, The Gunsmith #227: Safetown by J.R. Roberts, and Cimarron #2: Rides the Outlaw Trail by Leo P. Kelley.

Moreover, I picked up several paperbacks from different series: Lone Star by Wesley Ellis (#28: And the Mescalero Outlaws, #30: And the School for Outlaws, #44: In the Cherokee Strip, #63: And the Phantom Gunmen, and #90: At Cripple Creek); Stagecoach Station by Hank Mitchum (#2: Laredo, #16: Mojave, #19: Last Chance, #29: Panhandle, and #35: Bonanza City); The Searcher by Josh Edwards (#1: Searcher, #2: Lynch Law, and #3: Tin Badge); Slocum by Jake Logan (#78: The Journey of Death, #110: And the Cracker Creek Killers, and #185: Pikes Peak Shootout); and The Trailsman by Jon Sharpe (#13: Blood Chase, #30: White Savage, and #53: Longhorn Guns).

This past week, I shared my thoughts on The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones and featured Stagecoach Station 1: Dodge City by Hank Mitchum in my Friday 56 post.

Looking ahead to this coming week, I plan to review Tom Clavin's Bandit Heaven on Wednesday or Thursday, and I’ll showcase Bandolero by Andrew Hano in my Friday 56.

⁓B.J. Burgess

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