Zane Grey Books

Q My father left me his collection of Zane Grey books when he died in 1982. It consists of about 72 books all bound in tan covers with blue and red trim and book titles written in gold. Most have copyrights in the 1940s. The publisher is Walter J. Black. Does this set have value?

A Zane Grey was born Pearl Zane Grey in Zanesville, Ohio, in 1872. He was a semi-pro baseball player and dentist who started writing in his spare time. He became a best-selling author of Westerns. His first book was published in 1903. Several books were published after he died in 1939. First editions with dust covers sell for the highest prices. Most were published by Harper’s. Reprints of 73 of the books, a first edition (The Camp Robber), and a biography of Zane Grey were published by Walter Black Publishing House of Roslyn, New York. Millions of copies were made and sold in the 1950s and ’60s and only The Wolf Tracker and The Camp Robber get a high price. Most of the reprints sell for $1 or $2 each. For more information, see Zane Grey’s West Society website www.zgws.org