Time-Life The Old West

One of my uncles used to have the Time-Life book series The Old West. I remember the brown leather (probably faux leather) covers, and the sheer bulk of the various topics – Cowboys, Gamblers, Scouts. Those of us who grew up in the pre-internet days remember how impressive the books collections were whether they were Time-Life, Popular Mechanics, Funk & Wagnalls, or even the sets of encyclopedias that used to line the shelves.

At the thrift stores (Value Village, and Salvation Army) I noticed that they usually had a few of the books so I started buying them when I got into Rules With No Name. Of the 27 books they printed and reprinted between 1973 and 1980, I have now bought 24 of them. Well, actually a few more than 24 as I have bought beat-up copies just to have them and better copies as I find them.
At the Children’s Hospital Book Sale on April 30, I got to the history table just in time to see someone else buy a stack of 10 books, containing at least three that I needed. Then last weekend at the Value Village I was quite excited to see a large group of the brown books. I was able to pick up 4 more books that I needed – 3 with some mild water damage on the bottom on the pages but I stored them near the dehumidifier and this cleared up .

This means that I now have all of the first 21 – The Cowboys through The Ranchers, am missing The Mexican War, have the next 3, and need the last 2 books – The End and The Myth, and Master Index. I do still need a better copy of The Spanish West which is split down the seam, and could get an even better version of The Canadians if I really wanted to be picky.
I had been getting a bit dismayed at not finding any books at all lately but these last few finds really made it close.