The Old West



The Old West is both a series of 26 books published by Time-Life between 1973 and 1979, and a single volume compendium released in 1990 which combines information from all 26 books. The books were a definitive and comprehensive recreation of the west as it really was, and in 1980, a 27th book, Master Index, was created to document the usage of each and every name, place, item and whatnot, throughout each of the 26 books in the series.

Merchandise
Promotional merchandise was available at various times throughout the years, and usually revolved around The Gunfighters, the 8th book in the series. Callers who would call Time-Life's subscription department following a commercial advertising promotional merchandise or after reading a printed ad in various newspapers and magazines would receive not only The Gunfighters, usually theirs to examine free for 10 days, they also received the merchandise being promoted, theirs to keep whether they send the book back or not.