Selling A.B. Guthrie Jr. Books in Albuquerque
The Big Sky, The Way West, These Thousand Hills, Arfive, The Last Valley, Fair Land, Fair Land, and the six-novel Big Sky series spanning 150 years of Western expansion
A.B. Guthrie Jr. · 1901–1991
Alfred Bertram Guthrie Jr. is one of the defining voices of the American West. His six-novel Big Sky series — beginning with The Big Sky in 1947 and concluding with Fair Land, Fair Land in 1982 — traces 150 years of Western expansion from the beaver-trapping fur trade of the 1830s through the settled ranch country of the early twentieth century. The Way West won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1950. Guthrie wrote the screenplay for Shane (1953), one of the greatest Western films ever made. His first editions — particularly the two William Sloane Associates titles — are among the most sought-after pieces in Western Americana collecting, and they appear regularly in Albuquerque and Santa Fe estate libraries alongside other canonical Western writers.
I handle A.B. Guthrie Jr. first editions, signed copies, and Western Americana collections in Albuquerque every week. This guide covers what makes Guthrie collectible, how to identify his first editions, and what your books might be worth. I don’t buy books — but I won’t let you give away something genuinely valuable without knowing what it is. If you’d rather just have the whole collection gone, I’ll come to you and take it as a free donation pickup. If you have Guthrie on your shelves — whether a single dust-jacketed The Big Sky or a complete estate library of Western literature — I can help.
Last verified May 2026 · Original research by Josh Eldred
Pillar Contents
Why collect A.B. Guthrie Jr.
Because The Big Sky is widely considered the greatest Montana novel ever written, and the six-novel series it anchors is the most ambitious fictional chronicle of the American West’s transformation from wilderness to settlement. Guthrie did what no other Western writer attempted at the same scale: he traced a single regional landscape across six generations, from the free trappers of the 1830s through the homesteaders and schoolteachers of the early 1900s. The books are not genre Westerns — they are literary fiction that happens to be set in the West, and they earned Guthrie a Pulitzer Prize, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a permanent place in the American literary canon.
The collecting case is straightforward. Guthrie’s first two novels were published by William Sloane Associates, a small, prestigious New York house that published relatively few titles. Sloane first editions are scarce by nature — the press runs were modest compared to the major trade houses. The dust jackets are fragile, mid-century designs that suffered the usual decades of shelf wear, sun fading, and attic storage. A fine first edition of The Big Sky in a clean, unclipped dust jacket is a genuinely uncommon book. Add the Pulitzer for The Way West and the institutional demand from university libraries across the Mountain West, and you have a collecting field where supply is limited and demand is steady.
Then there is the film connection. Guthrie wrote the screenplay for George Stevens’s Shane (1953), adapted from Jack Schaefer’s 1949 novel. Shane is one of the most iconic Westerns in cinema history, and Guthrie’s name on the screenplay adds a film-history dimension to his collectibility that pure novelists do not have. Collectors of Western film memorabilia, Hollywood screenwriting history, and George Stevens all intersect with the Guthrie shelf.
Guthrie’s signature pool is closed — he died in 1991 — and he was not a prolific signer. He lived in Choteau, Montana, population roughly 1,700, for most of his adult life. He was not a book-tour author in the modern sense. Signed copies are genuinely scarce, and when they surface from Mountain West estates, they carry significant premiums over unsigned copies.
A.B. Guthrie Jr. — first editions by year
The Big Sky series novels are marked with an asterisk (*). The series follows different characters across the same Montana landscape over 150 years.
Murders at Moon Dance
1943 · E.P. DuttonGuthrie’s first novel. A mystery set in Montana ranch country. Scarce in dust jacket. Not part of the Big Sky series but an important bibliographic starting point. Guthrie later dismissed it as apprentice work, which makes surviving first editions interesting as a collecting curiosity — many copies were discarded or lost.
The Big Sky *
1947 · William Sloane Associates · upper three-figure to four-figure range in DJThe masterpiece. Big Sky series book one. Set in the 1830s–1840s fur trade era. Follows Boone Caudill, a young Kentuckian who heads west to trap beaver in the wild Missouri River country. Widely regarded as the greatest Montana novel ever written and one of the finest American novels about the frontier experience. The William Sloane Associates first edition is the centerpiece of any Guthrie collection. Blue-green cloth binding, gold spine lettering. The dust jacket is the primary value driver — without the jacket, the book drops to two-figure to three-figure range.
The Way West *
1949 · William Sloane Associates · Pulitzer Prize · upper three-figure to four-figure range in DJBig Sky series book two. Set in 1845, following a wagon train on the Oregon Trail. Won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1950. The second William Sloane Associates first edition and the second most valuable Guthrie title. The Pulitzer adds institutional and academic demand on top of the collector market. Like The Big Sky, the dust jacket is critical to value. The novel was adapted into a 1967 film starring Kirk Douglas, which adds a minor film-tie-in dimension.
These Thousand Hills *
1956 · Houghton MifflinBig Sky series book three. Set in the 1880s cattle-ranching era. Follows Lat Evans, a young cowboy who rises in Montana’s ranching society. Guthrie’s first title with Houghton Mifflin after William Sloane Associates closed. First editions are more common than the Sloane titles but still collectible in jacket. Adapted into a 1959 film starring Don Murray. The transition from Sloane to Houghton Mifflin is an important bibliographic point: Houghton Mifflin had larger press runs, so first editions are more available but less scarce.
The Blue Hen’s Chick
1965 · McGraw-HillGuthrie’s autobiography. Covers his childhood in Choteau, Montana, his years as a newspaper editor at the Lexington Leader in Kentucky, his Nieman Fellowship at Harvard, and the writing of The Big Sky. Essential context for understanding the novels. Collected by Guthrie completists and Western literary scholars. First editions in jacket are modestly valued but always in demand from serious collectors building a complete Guthrie shelf.
Arfive *
1971 · Houghton MifflinBig Sky series book four. Set in the early 1900s. Follows a schoolteacher arriving in a small Montana town. The title refers to the A5 cattle brand. A quieter, more interior novel than the first three — less action, more character study of a community in transition. Houghton Mifflin first edition. Less commonly collected as a standalone but essential for set completion.
The Last Valley *
1975 · Houghton MifflinBig Sky series book five. Continues the Arfive community into the mid-twentieth century. Guthrie’s environmental concerns become more explicit — the novel addresses land use, development pressure, and the tension between preservation and progress that was becoming a defining issue in the Mountain West during the 1970s. Houghton Mifflin first edition.
Fair Land, Fair Land *
1982 · Houghton MifflinBig Sky series book six. A return to Boone Caudill’s era — set in the 1840s–1870s, bridging the gap between The Big Sky and These Thousand Hills. Guthrie wrote it as an old man returning to the landscape and characters of his masterpiece. The last novel in the series and a late-career capstone. Houghton Mifflin first edition.
Playing Catch-Up
1985 · Houghton MifflinA late-career mystery novel set in Montana. Not part of the Big Sky series. Guthrie returning to the detective genre of his first novel, Murders at Moon Dance, but with four decades of craft behind him. Houghton Mifflin first edition. Minor collectible.
A Field Guide to Writing Fiction
1991 · HarperCollinsGuthrie’s book on the craft of fiction, published the year he died. Based on his decades of teaching and workshops. A niche collectible for writing-craft collectors and Guthrie completists.
How to identify A.B. Guthrie Jr. first editions
Guthrie’s bibliography spans two primary publishers, each with different first-edition identification methods. Knowing your publisher is the first step.
William Sloane Associates (1947–1949)
William Sloane Associates was a small, distinguished New York publisher founded by William Sloane in 1946. The house published a curated list of literary fiction, including Guthrie’s first two Big Sky novels. Sloane first editions are identified by:
- The William Sloane Associates imprint on the title page
- Copyright page stating “First Printing” or showing no indication of subsequent printings
- The Big Sky: blue-green cloth binding with gold lettering on spine. The dust jacket features a mountain landscape design
- The Way West: check for the William Sloane Associates imprint specifically — Houghton Mifflin later reissued this title after acquiring Sloane’s backlist
- Sloane published relatively few titles total, so the imprint alone is a strong indicator you may have a first edition — but always check the copyright page for printing statements
Houghton Mifflin (1956–1985)
After William Sloane Associates closed, Guthrie moved to Houghton Mifflin for the remainder of his career. Houghton Mifflin first editions are identified by:
- The Houghton Mifflin imprint on the title page
- Copyright page with “First Printing” stated or a number line where “1” is present (e.g., “10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1”)
- No “Second Printing,” “Third Printing,” or similar language
- Price present on the front dust jacket flap (clipped prices suggest book club or later editions)
Book club editions — the most common trap
Book club editions of Guthrie’s major titles are extremely common, especially for The Big Sky and The Way West. These were widely distributed through the Literary Guild and Book-of-the-Month Club. Identifying features of book club editions:
- No price on the dust jacket front flap
- A small blind stamp (a depressed circle, square, or dot) on the back board, usually in the lower right corner
- Lighter-weight cloth or cheaper binding materials
- Smaller format than the trade first edition
- Book club editions are worth two-figure to low three-figure range regardless of condition. They are not first editions and have no collector premium.
For detailed guidance on assessing the physical condition of your books and dust jackets, see the book condition grading guide.
The Shane screenplay connection
In 1951, director George Stevens hired Guthrie to write the screenplay for Shane, adapted from Jack Schaefer’s 1949 novel of the same name. The resulting 1953 film is one of the most iconic Westerns in cinema history — Alan Ladd as the mysterious gunfighter, Brandon de Wilde as the boy who idolizes him, the Grand Tetons as a backdrop that Guthrie knew intimately from his Montana years. The film won the Academy Award for Best Cinematography and was nominated for Best Picture.
The Shane connection matters to collectors for several reasons. It places Guthrie at the intersection of Western literature and Western film, drawing interest from both collecting communities. Screenplay drafts, studio correspondence, and production materials connected to Guthrie’s Shane work are exceptionally rare and command significant prices when they surface. Even without original manuscripts, the association makes Guthrie’s published books more interesting to film-history collectors who might not otherwise pursue a literary novelist.
The New Mexico angle: Jack Schaefer, who wrote the source novel Shane, lived in Santa Fe for decades until his death in 1991. Schaefer and Guthrie material frequently coexists on the same collector’s shelf, and both appear regularly in Albuquerque and Santa Fe estate sales. If you have Guthrie, check whether you also have Jack Schaefer first editions — the overlap is common and the Schaefer material may also be valuable.
The A.B. Guthrie Jr. titles worth knowing about
These are the Guthrie pieces that carry real value — from single high-value titles to complete Western Americana collections. I don’t buy books, but if you have any of these, you should know what they are before you sell or donate. Here is what to look for:
- William Sloane Associates first editions with dust jackets — The Big Sky (1947) and The Way West (1949). These are the top-tier pieces. Even jackets with moderate wear are valuable because the books are scarce in any jacketed condition.
- William Sloane Associates first editions without dust jackets — still worth two-figure to three-figure range depending on binding condition. Worth selling, not donating.
- Houghton Mifflin first editions in dust jackets — These Thousand Hills, Arfive, The Last Valley, Fair Land, Fair Land. Lower values than the Sloane titles but always in demand for set completion.
- Signed or inscribed copies — any title, any edition. Guthrie’s signature is scarce. Inscribed copies with Montana, Wyoming, or Mountain West provenance are especially desirable.
- The Blue Hen’s Chick — the autobiography. First edition in jacket (McGraw-Hill, 1965). Important for the biographical context it provides on the novels.
- Murders at Moon Dance — the 1943 Dutton first novel. Scarce in any condition, very scarce in dust jacket.
- Screenplay and film materials — anything connected to the Shane screenplay, The Way West (1967 film), or These Thousand Hills (1959 film). Studio correspondence, production stills with Guthrie connection, screenplay drafts.
- Association copies — copies owned by or inscribed to other Western writers, editors, or literary figures. Guthrie’s circle included Wallace Stegner, Bernard DeVoto, and other major Western literary voices.
- Complete Western Americana libraries — if Guthrie is part of a larger collection that includes Louis L’Amour, Larry McMurtry, Jack Schaefer, Wallace Stegner, Ivan Doig, and similar Western canon authors, I’ll evaluate the whole library, tell you which pieces have real resale value and where to sell them, and take the rest as a free donation pickup if you’d rather have it gone.
What’s NOT worth much
Not every Guthrie book is a collector piece. The following are common but low-value:
- Mass-market paperbacks — Bantam, Pocket Books, Popular Library, and other paperback editions. These are reading copies worth two-figure to low three-figure range regardless of title or condition. They were printed in large quantities and remain abundant.
- Later reprints without dust jackets — Houghton Mifflin reprints, particularly of The Big Sky and The Way West after they acquired the Sloane backlist. Without jackets and without first-edition status, these are two-figure to low three-figure range books.
- Book club editions — extremely common for all three major titles. No price on jacket flap, blind stamp on back board. Worth two-figure to low three-figure range. The most frequent Guthrie “finds” that turn out to be disappointing.
- Ex-library copies — stamps, stickers, card pockets, spine labels, and security tags destroy 70–90% of collector value. Even a first edition of The Big Sky in ex-library condition is worth a fraction of a clean copy.
- Reader’s copies with heavy wear — broken spines, detached boards, water staining, mildew, foxing, underlining, or marginalia (unless the marginalia is from a notable person). These are reading copies, not collector copies.
- Modern reprints and anniversary editions — Mariner Books, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt trade paperback reissues, and similar modern editions. These are in-print books available new for under two-figure range.
If you are unsure whether your copy is a first edition or a later reprint, look at the book condition grading guide and the first-edition identification section above, or call me at 702-496-4214 for a quick phone assessment. I can usually tell from a few photos whether a Guthrie book is worth pursuing.
Estate-shelf fingerprint
Guthrie does not appear on shelves alone. He is a marker for a specific kind of collection — the Western Americana literary shelf — and when I find Guthrie in an estate, I know what else to look for. The typical Guthrie estate shelf in Albuquerque or Santa Fe includes some combination of the following:
- Louis L’Amour — the genre Western counterpart to Guthrie’s literary Westerns. Almost always present.
- Larry McMurtry — Lonesome Dove, Horseman, Pass By, the Texas ranching novels. The McMurtry-Guthrie pairing is one of the most common in Western literature collecting.
- Jack Schaefer — the Shane connection makes this overlap almost inevitable. Schaefer lived in Santa Fe.
- Wallace Stegner — Angle of Repose, The Big Rock Candy Mountain. Stegner and Guthrie were contemporaries who wrote about the same regional landscape from different angles.
- Ivan Doig — This House of Sky, English Creek. Doig is Guthrie’s direct literary descendant in Montana writing.
- Bernard DeVoto — Across the Wide Missouri, The Course of Empire. The nonfiction companion to Guthrie’s fictional fur-trade world.
- Western history — Francis Parkman, Frederick Jackson Turner, Walter Prescott Webb. The scholarly backdrop to Guthrie’s fiction.
If you are selling an estate that contains Guthrie, do not cherry-pick the one title you think is valuable and donate the rest to Goodwill. The collection as a whole may be worth more than the sum of its parts, and the adjacent titles (Stegner, Doig, DeVoto, Schaefer) may be individually valuable. I evaluate complete collections, tell you which pieces are worth selling and where, and take whatever you don’t want as a free pickup. See the sell-or-donate guide for more on how this works.
Why Guthrie appears on Albuquerque and Santa Fe shelves
Guthrie wrote about Montana, not New Mexico. But his work is canonical Western Americana, and the Mountain West collecting community does not observe state lines. Albuquerque and Santa Fe have some of the deepest concentrations of Western history and literature collectors in the country. The reasons Guthrie turns up in New Mexico estate libraries are structural:
- Western Americana collectors collect the whole West. A serious collector of frontier literature and Western expansion history does not limit themselves to one state. Guthrie sits alongside Cather, Stegner, McMurtry, Schaefer, L’Amour, and Abbey on the comprehensive Western shelf.
- The Shane connection roots Guthrie in New Mexico indirectly. Jack Schaefer wrote Shane and then moved to Santa Fe, where he lived until his death. Santa Fe and Albuquerque collections built around Schaefer naturally extend to include the man who wrote the screenplay.
- University and institutional collections. UNM, the Center for Southwest Research, and private Western history collections in the Albuquerque-Santa Fe corridor actively collect Guthrie as part of the broader Western literary canon.
- Retirement migration. Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado residents who spent their working lives in the Mountain West and retired to New Mexico brought their libraries with them. These estates contain Guthrie alongside personal connections to the landscapes he wrote about.
- The bookshop circuit. Albuquerque and Santa Fe have historically supported strong used and antiquarian bookshop communities. Guthrie first editions have circulated through these shops for decades, and copies acquired at Title Wave, Bookworks, or from private Albuquerque dealers remain in local collections.
The bottom line: if you have Guthrie on your shelves in Albuquerque, you are not unusual. This is one of the cities where Western Americana collections concentrate, and Guthrie is one of the authors those collections are built around.
Pricing & condition notes
Guthrie pricing is driven almost entirely by two factors: which publisher issued the first edition, and whether the dust jacket is present and in what condition. Here are the current market tiers:
| Title | Publisher / Year | With DJ | Without DJ |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Big Sky | William Sloane, 1947 | upper three-figure to four-figure range | two-figure to three-figure range |
| The Way West | William Sloane, 1949 | upper three-figure to four-figure range | solid two-figure to low three-figure range |
| Murders at Moon Dance | Dutton, 1943 | mid three-figure range | solid two-figure to low three-figure range |
| These Thousand Hills | Houghton Mifflin, 1956 | solid two-figure to low three-figure range | two-figure to low three-figure range |
| The Blue Hen’s Chick | McGraw-Hill, 1965 | two-figure range | two-figure to low three-figure range |
| Arfive | Houghton Mifflin, 1971 | two-figure range | two-figure to low three-figure range |
| The Last Valley | Houghton Mifflin, 1975 | two-figure range | two-figure to low three-figure range |
| Fair Land, Fair Land | Houghton Mifflin, 1982 | two-figure to low three-figure range | two-figure to low three-figure range |
Signed copies: Add 2–3x to the above ranges for any title with a verified Guthrie signature. Inscribed copies with provenance (Montana recipients, literary figures, publishers) command the highest premiums.
Complete Big Sky series sets: A complete run of all six Big Sky novels in first edition with dust jackets carries a set-completion premium of 20–40% over the sum of individual titles. The set is the thing — collectors who have five of six will pay a premium for the missing volume.
Use the book condition grading guide to assess where your dust jackets fall before reaching out. Jacket condition is the single biggest variable in Guthrie pricing — the difference between a Very Good jacket and a Fine jacket on The Big Sky can be a thousand dollars. For a free evaluation of your Guthrie books, call 702-496-4214 or visit the book appraisal page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most valuable A.B. Guthrie Jr. book?
How do I identify a first edition of The Big Sky?
Is The Way West valuable as a Pulitzer Prize winner?
Did A.B. Guthrie Jr. really write the screenplay for Shane?
What is the Big Sky series and how many books are in it?
Are A.B. Guthrie Jr. signed books common?
Why would an Albuquerque estate contain A.B. Guthrie Jr. books?
What A.B. Guthrie Jr. books are NOT worth much?
How do I sell my A.B. Guthrie Jr. collection in Albuquerque?
Should I get my Guthrie books appraised before selling?
Have an A.B. Guthrie Jr. collection to sell?
Free pickup in Albuquerque and the Rio Grande corridor. I come to the house, I sort and grade the collection, I handle every title — the common reading copies, the mid-tier firsts, and the pillar-tier signature pieces. No stress, no donation-center triage, no trip to Goodwill.