Donate Erna Fergusson Books — Free Albuquerque Pickup

I accept Erna Fergusson donations anywhere in the Albuquerque metro with free pickup — the whole collection: Dancing Gods, Our Southwest, New Mexico: A Pageant of Three Peoples, Albuquerque, Mexico Revisited, and Murder and Mystery in New Mexico. You don't sort or price anything. Bring it all, including the early hardcovers you might not recognize; the 1931 first of Dancing Gods is collectible, so I check everything and the rest funds New Mexico literacy.

Published June 2026 · By Josh Eldred, New Mexico Literacy Project

Erna Fergusson is often called the first lady of New Mexico letters — an Albuquerque writer (the Erna Fergusson Library bears her name) whose Dancing Gods introduced generations to the ceremonials of the Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache peoples, and who helped shape how the world sees the Southwest. Her books are foundational on New Mexico shelves, and when a collection gets cleared, most people just want it to land somewhere that honors it. That's exactly what I'm for: I take the whole thing, free, and I check every book.

What I take: all of it

You don't have to know what's valuable

Here's the reason to call rather than dump: Fergusson's early firsts are collectible — especially Dancing Gods (Knopf, 1931), in fine condition with its dust jacket, and signed copies bring more. The later printings and UNM Press reprints, by contrast, are common, and a non-collector can't always tell a 1931 first from a reprint. That's exactly the distinction I check. Bring the whole shelf and I'll recognize the early firsts, protect them, and keep the reprints in circulation, with any value put to good use in her home city.

Why donate instead of selling it yourself

For a confirmed 1931 first, selling on your own can pay. For the reprints and later printings, listing each is more work than it's worth, which is why shelves get dumped intact. Donating handles it in one call: no research, no pricing, no listings, no shipping, free pickup at your door, reading copies to new readers, and a genuine first recognized and supporting New Mexico literacy. Here's where donated books go.

How free pickup works

Call or text 702-496-4214 (or schedule online), tell me roughly how much there is and where you are, and we set a time. I come to you and load it all. I cover Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Corrales, the East Mountains, and the surrounding metro, and I handle whole-house and estate cleanouts regularly.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I donate Erna Fergusson books in Albuquerque?

Right here — free pickup anywhere in the metro for the whole collection: the Southwest classics, the local books, the travel books. Call or text 702-496-4214.

Are Erna Fergusson books collectible?

The early firsts (Dancing Gods 1931) are collectible, jacketed/signed more; later printings and reprints common. Bring it all and let me check.

Reprints too?

Yes — UNM Press reprints, later printings, reading copies. Just don't throw any of it out first.