This evening I was looking for something in my archives when I ran across an interesting ticket stub. I never did find what I was looking for, but the ticket stub got my mind wandering.

The ticket stub was for The Shepherd of the Hills in Branson, Missouri. I remember the show being very exciting and full of drama and I really enjoyed it.

Back in 1994 I paid $17 to see the show.

The show was a bit pricey for me at the time, but it was something I really wanted to see as Harold Bell Wright is one of my favorite authors.

I also found out that the show is still running and has been for more than 50 years, so if you go to Branson you can see this show. However, the tickets are more than double what I paid in 1994.

I have several copies of The Shepherd of the Hills. The book by Harold Bell Wright was published in 1907, and this is the date that most editions of the book have listed.

This book has the 1907 date, but is not a first edition. There are a couple reasons why I know that it is not a first edition. First, the picture on the cover of the first edition is rectangular and not oval. Second, the first edition was published by Book Supply Co.

This edition was published by the A. L. Burt Company in 1909. Beware, if you are trying to buy a first edition of The Shepherd of the Hills. This edition is often listed for sale as a first edition and offered at prices much higher than it is worth. I would not pay more than five to ten dollars for this edition.

Here is another edition of The Shepherd of the Hills that I have. This one has a nice dust jacket and the only date shown in the book is 1907.

This edition is from 1970 and is published by Grosset and Dunlap. There is a special reason why I know the year of this edition.

This edition was sold at Uncle Ike’s Post Office in Notch, Missouri and would have a stamped signature of Levi Morrill and a postmark from Notch. It would  sometimes have the signatures of some of his descendants. This copy has the signatures of three generations of his descendants.

Levi Morrill was who Harold Bell Wright modeled Uncle Ike after in The Shepherd of the Hills.

Have you read The Shepherd of the Hills?

Steven