06/03/2026
“The tradition I was born into was essentially nomadic, a herdsmen tradition, following animals across the earth. The bookshops are a form of ranching; instead of herding cattle, I herd books. Writing is a form of herding, too; I herd words into little paragraph-like clusters.” Larry McMurtry
Today is Larry McMurtry’s birthday.
Mention Larry McMurtry and automatically one thinks of Lonesome Dove, Streets of Laredo, and the Last Picture Show. Not only did McMurtry write great standards of American literature he was also a passionate Antiquarian Bookseller. During his years at Stanford he began rare book scouting as a way to finance his way through college and became a sort of sport. He attended auctions and charity sales looking for ‘sleepers’. This sport later developed into a serious business.
In 1970 he and two two partners opened a bookstore “Booked Up” in Washington D.C. He returned to his hometown, Archer City, Texas, in 1988 and opened a second Booked Up. It was one of the largest antiquarian bookstore in the United States carrying 400,000 to 450,000 books. (Wikipedia)
Internet booksellers impacted the Archer City Booked Up. He came very close to selling the bookstore in 2005, however through immense public support it stayed open. Later in 2012 when he decide to downsize his collection. This sale became know as the The Last Booksale. Eventually the store closed in 2021 after McMurtry’s death. The building was sold. Eventually the purchased and reinvented as the Larry McMurtry Literary Center.
