Texas’ iconic writer, Larry McMurtry, was celebrated for capturing the unique world of Texas ranch country and portraying the way of life here and throughout the American West. The world recognizes his beloved Western, Lonesome Dove, as one of the definitive works in the genre. But in addition to being an acclaimed author and screenwriter, McMurtry was a world-renowned book collector who considered his collection, amassed over decades, to be his proudest achievement.

After he passed away in 2021, McMurtry’s most rare and valuable books ended up in the hands of a Dallas collector. The Larry McMurtry Literary Center (LMLC) in Archer City, which houses 300,000 of the books that were in McMurtry’s bookstore, Booked Up, is working to buy back many of the 28,000 rare books that comprised McMurtry’s private collection.

“Each of the volumes in this collection, which is valued at close to $1 million, bears Larry’s bookplate, making each irreplaceable,” explains George Getschow, executive director of the LMLC. “These are the books from the private collection in his home, and they meant more to him than the Pulitzer Prize he was awarded for Lonesome Dove, more than the Academy Award he won for Best Adapted Screenplay for the film Brokeback Mountain, and more than the National Humanities Medal he received from President Barack Obama. As Larry said in his memoir, Books, creating his personal library was his greatest achievement.”

Two generous grants from the Texas Historical Foundation and support from individual donors have allowed the LMLC to begin this critical acquisition. The initiative focuses on works about Texas and the American West, as well as books authored by McMurtry. The books will be used to create the Larry McMurtry Personal Library within the LMLC, where they will be available for public viewing and scholarly research.

The process of acquiring the books involved the LMLC working with a committee of collectors and appraisers to select the books that best showcase McMurtry’s extraordinary acumen for collecting. The first phase, funded by a quarterly microgrant from the Texas Historical Foundation, included the purchase of 47 rare books. The second phase, made possible by the Foundation’s annual grant, will facilitate the purchase of approximately 50 of the collection’s most valuable books.

The Larry McMurtry Personal Library will enhance the LMLC’s position as a resource for scholars and writers, while attracting more cultural tourism to Archer City and the surrounding region.

Since its inception in 2024, the LMLC has had as one of its goals returning Archer City, located 140 miles northwest of Dallas, to the cultural prominence it held when McMurtry attempted to transform his hometown into another Hay-on-Wye, a village in Wales known for its antiquarian bookstores and literary tourism. When McMurtry presided over his bookstore, people traveled from all over the world to visit his “Temple of Books.” Now, Getschow notes, this is beginning to happen again, creating a ripple effect on Archer City’s economy.

The LMLC’s goal of carrying McMurtry’s legacy to the next generation is coming to fruition, with the Larry McMurtry Personal Library as the cornerstone of the Center. The LMLC has hosted field trips of students from area schools, and Getschow shared that many parents report their children are showing an interest in McMurtry’s work, particularly Lonesome Dove.

As 10-year-old Archer City resident Gideon Schroeder eloquently describes, he identifies with the characters in Lonesome Dove because they reflect his own life as a cowboy. On days when he does not have school, he wakes up at 5:30 a.m. to help his dad on the ranch. “I’m a cowboy,” he shared, “and Lonesome Dove is about cowboys like me.”

For the LMLC, that connection between McMurtry’s work and the next generation is exactly what the Larry McMurtry Personal Library can preserve and inspire for years to come.

Special thanks to Stephanie G. Miller for sharing the story of the Larry McMurtry Literary Center and the important work being done to preserve McMurtry’s legacy for future generations. 

All images provided by the Larry McMurtry Literary Center