Auction Name: 2026 February 26 Historical Manuscripts & Texana Signature® Auction

Lot Number: 47023

Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/6328*47023

Will Hale. Twenty-four Years a Cowboy and Ranchman in Southern Texas and Old Mexico: Desperate Fights with the Indians and Mexicans. Hedrick, [Oklahoma Territory]: W. H. Stone, [1905]. 8vo (5 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches). 5-268, [1] pages, with nine inserted illustrated plates. Original printed violet paper wrappers.

First edition of William Hale Stone's Western autobiography, issued under the pen name Will Hale. "Exceedingly rare" according to Adams, this work is represented by only four institutional copies recorded in OCLC. We could not locate any earlier sales records; Van Allen Bradley observed in the 1972 edition of The Book Collector's Handbook of Values, "none has been offered for sale in modern times." Adams further remarked that the Library of Congress copy was "almost too brittle to handle."

Hale's narrative, likely embellished with elements of popular Western storytelling, remains a fascinating and elusive cornerstone of Texana and frontier literature.

Condition: Spine sunned with small chips at extremities; wrappers with light creasing and soiling. Hinges starting; text block over-opened in places; scattered light wear and staining throughout. Pencil annotations by previous owners on rear free endpaper.

Reference: Adams 2146; Bradley 205; Rader 2985.

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