Long Days and Short Nights: A Century of Texas Ranching on the YO, 1880-1980

Mountain Home, TX: Y-O Press, 1980. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. An exceptional copy of this classic of modern Texas books. Long Days is an anecdotal and oral history of the YO Ranch, which was started near Kerrville by Charles Shreiner in 1880. The book is profusely illustrated with halftone photographs and drawings. The author is best known for his mystery and science fiction novels.

192 pages. 8-1/2 by 11-1/4 inches. Drawings by Joe Beeler. First edition (first printing). This is a very good copy in a very good dust jacket, chipped in places along the edges. What makes this an exceptional copy is that it is inscribed, often at length, by many of the people associated with the ranch, including four of the Schreiners (Charles III--who inscribed the book three times; Charles IV; Gus; and Walter Schreiner). The book is inscribed to Sharon (Fancy) and Joe Marino of Bills Bar B Que, a popular BBQ joint in Kerrville, who apparently collected signatures over several years. In addition to the Schreiners, a number of other people mentioned in the book inscribed the volume, including Bob Snow (a Texas game warden and father of a YO foreman), Ace Reid (signed with a sketch), Butch Ramsey (game biologist), Tommy and Pam Thompson, Sandi Ramsey (head of housekeeping), and Button (a.k.a. Norman Elmo Forehand, head of tourism). The author, Neal Barrett Jr., inscribed this copy to the late previous owner, Tom "Tommy" Gardner, a Texas attorney and book collector.

There was a limited edition signed by six Schreiners and I have seen trade editions (like this one) signed by the same six. I have not seen another copy signed by so many of the ranch hands.