The Great Taos Bank Robbery And Other Indian Country Affairs (The correct first and second states of the first edition) - Ex-libris bookman and publisher Ernie Bulow

Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press, 1973. First edition. Hardcover. Sold as a pair. 147pp. Octavo [21 cm] "True" first state: Grayish yellow cloth over boards (two photos on rear of dust jacket). Second state: Yellowish gray cloth over boards (one photo on rear of dust jacket. Both books in very good or better condition, with contemporary gift inscriptions on the front endpapers. Both jackets are price-clipped. The edges are lightly chipped (largest chip measures 1/2 " wide by 1/4" deep), and the spine of the "second" state jacket is a bit faded. Ernie Bulow's copies of Hillerman's first book of non-fiction, a collection of nine essays about life in New Mexico.

Paired with the books is a very interesting copy of a typed article titled "The Great Taos Bank Robbery- The Mystery of its Two States" by Bob Maddox of Squid Ink Books (Tucson, Arizona, November 2013) which turns the previously accepted order of the two states on its head. Maddox's article was published in May-June 2015 issue of 'Firsts Magazine.' Louis A. Hieb published a the definitive bibliography of the Hillerman's works (published between 1970-1989) titled 'Tony Hillerman: From Blessing Way to Talking God, A Bibliography' (Press of the Gigantic Hound, Tucson, 1990). Maddox points out that, in his bibliography, Hieb (p. 59-60) describes the two states of 'The Great Taos Bank Robbery' as follows:

"Binding: Two issues exist which have identical cover and spine lettering but differ with regards to cloth and endpaper colors and dust jackets...

"1) Yellowish gray (93) cloth lettered in black (267). Light yellowish brown (near 76) endpapers. Illustrated paper jacket printed in grayish brown (61) with single illustration (Shiprock) on back panel.

"2) Grayish yellow (90) cloth lettered in black (267). Yellowish white (92) endpapers. Illustrated paper jacket printed in medium purplish blue (200) with two illustrations on back panel."

In his essay, Bob Maddox turns this around on its head. He states,

"Today in the book collectors' market the book in grey cloth which has the single drawing on the rear dust jacket panel is usually referred to as the first state book... Ernie Bulow (writer, bookseller, and publisher) had written in an article in 'Firsts Collecting Modern First Editions' magazine ('Collecting Tony Hillerman', June issue of 1994) that Hillerman and people at the University of New Mexico Press did not know which variant came first, but that he had no reason to question Hieb's bibliography. However, in a NOTE added to a Hillerman price list that Bulow distributed by mail..., he wrote,

'When Louis Hieb published his bibliography of Hillerman in 1990 he noted two states of this publication. One dust jacket had a single photo on the back, the other had two photos. Since Hieb listed the books in that order, it was assumed that was the first and second state and everyone has held to that order ever since. I asked Tony at the time and he couldn't remember. I asked Jack Rittenhouse who had been director of the press at the time and he couldn't remember either. Since I found the single photo version more aesthetic than the other, I felt it had to be the second state, since it didn't make sense to make the jacket less attractive. A few years later a noted book dealer from Southern California gave me a copy for Tony to sign. It was the version with two photos. It had all the review material laid in the front and every indication showed they had been there all along. As far as I am concerned that settled the issue once and for all.'

This theory is further cemented by Maddox's account of a visit from Farmington book dealer Marvin McIntyre to Squid Ink Books. Maddox writes, "He noticed a copy of 'The Great Taos Bank Robbery' on my shelves and mentioned that the states of this book were different than had been reported by Hieb. He said that he knew this because they [he and his wife] were friends with Dan Stouffer, who had designed the book and jacket back in 1973.