Selling Marc Simmons Books in Albuquerque
Following the Santa Fe Trail, New Mexico: An Interpretive History, The Last Conquistador: Juan de Oñate and the Settling of the Far Southwest, and the definitive NM-historian estate shelf
Marc Simmons · 1937–2023
Marc Simmons was New Mexico’s most prolific working historian for fifty years. He wrote more than forty books on New Mexico and the Santa Fe Trail, lived in Cerrillos (south of Santa Fe), and kept an encyclopedic working relationship with both UNM Press and Sunstone Press that makes his corpus the single largest body of NM regional history by one author. He died on September 14, 2023, age 86, at La Vida Llena in Albuquerque. The signature pool is now closed, and his Sunstone Press signed stock is the last signed inventory ever to circulate.
Last verified May 2026 · Original research by Josh Eldred
Pillar Contents
Why collect Marc Simmons
Because Simmons is the reference-shelf foundation of any serious New Mexico history library. Academic historians cite him constantly; lay readers learn their Santa Fe Trail and Oñate history from him first; UNM Press and Sunstone Press sold every title he published; and his death in 2023 closed the signature pool. His books appear on more Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Las Vegas (NM), Cerrillos, Madrid, and Galisteo estate shelves than any other single NM historian. The 1988 Sunstone reprint of Albuquerque: A Narrative History, the 1984 Albuquerque volume, the Santa Fe Trail guide, and the Oñate biography are the tentpoles.
Marc Simmons — first editions by year
The Little Lion of the Southwest: A Life of Manuel Antonio Chaves
1973 · Sage Books / Swallow PressEarly biography. Sunstone Press later reprinted.
Witchcraft in the Southwest: Spanish and Indian Supernaturalism on the Rio Grande
1974 · Northland PressEarly folk-culture study. Scarce first edition. Ohio University Press reissued.
New Mexico: A Bicentennial History
1977 · W.W. NortonPart of the States and the Nation series.
New Mexico: An Interpretive History
1977 · University of New Mexico PressUNM Press mainstay — the standard short history. Multiple reprintings.
Albuquerque: A Narrative History
1982 · University of New Mexico PressThe single-volume history of Albuquerque. First UNM Press printing 1982; paperback reprint 1988.
Following the Santa Fe Trail: A Guide for Modern Travelers
1984 · Ancient City PressThe definitive Santa Fe Trail guide. Revised 1986, 2001. Ancient City Press first is the collectible.
Kit Carson & His Three Wives: A Family History
2003 · University of New Mexico PressUNM Press biography.
The Last Conquistador: Juan de Oñate and the Settling of the Far Southwest
1991 · University of Oklahoma PressThe definitive Oñate biography. U of Oklahoma hardcover first.
Massacre on the Lordsburg Road: A Tragedy of the Apache Wars
1997 · Texas A&M University PressApache-wars monograph.
Stalking Billy the Kid: Brief Sketches of a Short Life
2006 · Sunstone PressSunstone Press biography of Billy the Kid.
Turquoise & Six-Guns: The Story of Cerrillos, New Mexico
2011 · Sunstone PressSimmons on his own adopted hometown.
New Mexico's Spanish Livestock Heritage: Four Centuries of Animals, Land, and People
1985 · University of New Mexico PressWith José Agustín de Escudero. Scarce first.
Across the Plains: Sarah Raymond Herndon's 1865 Journey by Wagon Train from Iowa to Montana
1994 · Sunstone PressSimmons edited.
Estate-shelf fingerprint
Simmons estates are uniformly NM-history-serious. The profile one estate is the Cerrillos, Madrid, Galisteo, or Santa Fe household of a retired historian, journalist, or civic figure who worked the northern-NM history beat and accumulated Simmons titles over forty years. Profile two is the UNM history-department faculty estate. Profile three is the Albuquerque Boomer estate from families whose NM ancestry goes back to the Territory period — these estates use Simmons as the reference shelf against which family genealogy is checked. Profile four is the Santa Fe Trail serious-hobbyist estate. All four carry the Ancient City Press Following the Santa Fe Trail first.
Pricing & condition notes
Following the Santa Fe Trail 1984 Ancient City Press first editions in jacket land in the mid-two figures unsigned, low three signed. Albuquerque: A Narrative History 1982 UNM Press first in jacket runs mid to upper two figures unsigned, low three signed. The Last Conquistador 1991 U of Oklahoma first in jacket is mid to upper two figures unsigned, low three signed. 1974 Northland Press Witchcraft in the Southwest first is scarce — upper two to low three figures in sharp condition. Sunstone Press titles signed in stock run mid double digits.
What not to do
Do not confuse the 1977 W.W. Norton New Mexico: A Bicentennial History with the 1977 UNM Press New Mexico: An Interpretive History — they are different books by the same author in the same year. Do not clip the 1984 Ancient City Press Following the Santa Fe Trail jacket. Do not confuse Sunstone Press reprints with the original publishers' first editions — Sunstone has reprinted many Simmons titles in paperback and the reprints are not the collector-tier.
Marc Simmons as the “Dean of New Mexico Historians”
Marc Simmons earned the informal title “Dean of New Mexico Historians” through fifty years of prolific, accessible, and rigorously researched writing on the state’s history. Unlike academic historians who publish primarily for scholarly audiences, Simmons wrote for the general NM reader — the Santa Fe Trail enthusiast, the genealogist tracing Territorial-period family lines, the Albuquerque civic leader who wanted to understand the city’s Spanish colonial origins. This accessibility made his books the default reference shelf for NM history across the state.
His output was extraordinary: more than forty books, hundreds of newspaper columns (he wrote a regular history column for the Santa Fe New Mexican and the Albuquerque Journal for years), and numerous edited volumes, introductions, and forewords for other NM historians’ books. This column-writing habit means that Simmons’s influence extended far beyond his book-buying readers — he shaped how an entire generation of New Mexicans understood their own state’s history.
For collectors, the “Dean” designation has market implications. Simmons is the foundation author for any NM history shelf. You cannot build a serious NM history collection without him. This means his books appear on every NM history estate shelf, and their consistent presence creates a reliable baseline of supply. The collectible premium attaches to signed copies (especially since his death in 2023 closed the signature pool), to scarce first editions from small presses (Northland Press, Ancient City Press, Sage Books), and to titles with personal inscriptions to prominent NM historians, politicians, or civic figures.
His home base in Cerrillos — a former mining town on the Turquoise Trail between Albuquerque and Santa Fe — was itself a piece of NM history. He documented it in Turquoise & Six-Guns: The Story of Cerrillos, New Mexico (2011, Sunstone Press). The Cerrillos / Madrid / Galisteo corridor estate is the most Simmons-dense geography in the state. For estate sellers in this area, I offer free pickup throughout the Rio Grande corridor.
UNM Press, Sunstone Press, and the Simmons publishing network
Simmons published with two NM-based presses more than any other: University of New Mexico Press and Sunstone Press (Santa Fe). Understanding the publishing relationship helps collectors identify first editions and distinguish them from the many reprints in circulation.
UNM Press published Simmons’s most important scholarly titles: New Mexico: An Interpretive History (1977), Albuquerque: A Narrative History (1982), New Mexico’s Spanish Livestock Heritage (1985), and Kit Carson & His Three Wives (2003). UNM Press titles went through multiple printings over decades, so distinguishing the true first printing from later UNM Press printings requires careful copyright-page examination. A first printing will have “First edition” or a number line descending to 1. Later UNM Press printings will show revised printing histories or higher numbers in the line.
Sunstone Press published many of Simmons’s later and more specialized titles: Stalking Billy the Kid (2006), Turquoise & Six-Guns (2011), and numerous other NM-history monographs. Sunstone also reprinted some titles originally published by other presses. Sunstone editions are trade paperbacks, and many were signed in stock — Simmons regularly signed his Sunstone inventory at the press’s Santa Fe office. These signed Sunstone copies are now the last signed Simmons inventory that will ever circulate, since his death closed the signature pool.
Other publishers in the Simmons network include Ancient City Press (Santa Fe), which published the important Following the Santa Fe Trail (1984); Northland Press (Flagstaff), which published Witchcraft in the Southwest (1974); University of Oklahoma Press, which published The Last Conquistador (1991); and Texas A&M University Press, which published Massacre on the Lordsburg Road (1997). For each title, the original publisher’s first printing is the collectible edition. For the broader NM publishing landscape, see the UNM Press pillar guide.
Additional Simmons titles frequently found on estate shelves
Beyond the primary first editions listed above, Simmons published dozens of additional NM-history titles that appear regularly on estate shelves. These include:
- Spanish Government in New Mexico (1968, UNM Press) — his earliest major scholarly work, based on his PhD dissertation
- Coronado’s Land: Essays on Daily Life in Colonial New Mexico (1991, UNM Press) — social-history essays
- Ranchers, Ramblers, and Renegades: True Tales of Territorial New Mexico (1984, Ancient City Press) — popular-history narratives
- On the Santa Fe Trail (1986, University Press of Kansas) — edited primary-source narratives
- The Old Trail to Santa Fe: Collected Essays (1996, UNM Press) — collected trail-history writings
- Hispanic Albuquerque, 1706–1846 (2003, University of New Mexico Press) — co-authored with Frank Turley
- New Mexico Mavericks: Stories from a Fabled Land (2005, Sunstone Press) — collected biographical sketches
- Santiago: Saint of Two Worlds (1991, UNM Press) — cultural-history study of the Santiago tradition
Many of these titles are now out of print and scarce. Signed copies of any Simmons title carry a premium now that the signature pool is closed. If you have a shelf of Simmons titles and are unsure which are first editions, I can evaluate the entire collection during a free pickup visit. For the broader NM history collecting context, see the Fray Angélico Chávez pillar, the Hampton Sides pillar, and the Paul Horgan pillar.
Frequently asked questions
What's the most collectible Marc Simmons book? +
How do I tell a true first edition from a later printing? +
Is Marc Simmons's signature collectible? +
Who owns the Marc Simmons shelf in Albuquerque? +
How do I sell my Marc Simmons collection? +
Does Simmons’s death in 2023 affect the value of signed copies? +
I have Simmons’s newspaper columns. Are clipped columns worth anything? +
How do I tell a Sunstone Press reprint from an original first edition by another publisher? +
Have a Marc Simmons collection to sell?
Free pickup in Albuquerque and the Rio Grande corridor. I come to the house, I sort and grade the collection, I handle every title — the common reading copies, the mid-tier firsts, and the pillar-tier signature pieces. No stress, no donation-center triage, no trip to Goodwill.