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South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections has some brand-new additions to its collection: More than 70 South Dakota brand books and other items from the history of branding in the state.

Brands are marks that identify who owns what livestock, be it cattle, horses, mules, buffalo or sheep. They’re usually a simple combination of letters, numbers and symbols.

These emblems of the Old West are used not only to recognize stray livestock but also to deter theft.

Since the 19th century, all brands and their owners across the state have been published in books. Collectively, brand books provide a historical overview of more than a century of ranching history in the state, including the development of South Dakota’s cattle industry and livestock laws.

The earliest editions reflect the open-range practices of the frontier era. Over time, the books mapped the expansion and movement of livestock and, in more modern times, helped trace the origins of disease outbreaks.

The brand books — one of the most comprehensive collections in the state — arrived in the SDSU Archives and Special Collections at Hilton M. Briggs Library thanks to Myron Sonne. 

Sonne graduated from SDSU with a degree in agriculture education in 1967 and a Master of Education in 1970. The retired agriculture educator at Mitchell Technical College raised registered Black Angus cattle near Letcher for nearly four decades and has been an avid collector of brand books and related memorabilia for almost two decades.

He first started learning about South Dakota’s laws about brands when he taught an agricultural law class. His students asked him questions that he couldn’t answer. Seeking out those answers led to a new obsession that he pursued in his retirement.

From the size and breadth of his collection, it’s a hobby he’s pursued successfully. When it comes to finding a new addition, Sonne said it mostly comes down to luck.

“Or being at a sale and something’s happening. Checking online can be good. Sometimes the people you know who know you’re looking will lead to getting books,” he said.

He knows of only a few books that he does not have.

“As a novice, if you see a book you don’t have, you buy it,” he said. “You don’t know if you’ll ever see that book for sale again.”

The oldest pieces in his collection stretch back to the late 1800s. The very oldest book he has is the Western South Dakota Stockgrowers brand book from 1893. Sonne has kept the more fragile pieces in his collection in wooden display boxes that he made himself.

With thousands of entries, newer brand books are much bigger than historical books. Getting a new brand into the book can be challenging.

“We’re almost to the point where you won’t get a new brand. You need to buy it from someone else. You can buy an iron brand, but that doesn’t mean you own the brand. You need the little card certifying that you own it,” he said.

And that little slip of paper can be pricey.

“I recently saw one being sold for about $14,000. Typically, they’ll be $800 to $3,000."

Sonne applied for a brand of his own design and experienced the challenges of submitting an original brand to the South Dakota Brand Board firsthand.

“I submitted it four times to the board, and they kept rejecting it. Finally, they came back and said, ‘This is as close as you’re going to get. Take it!’”

His brand is quarter-circle-S-quarter-circle and M with an arrow down the right leg. He used to brand his small herd of cattle, but the brand doesn’t get much use these days.

“I still have horses, but I haven’t branded those. I’ve always thought about it, but I didn’t want to get kicked,” he joked.

He’d also been thinking about what to do with his personal library of brand memorabilia for a while.

His goal was to donate them to a place where they’re preserved and where researchers and other interested parties can still interact directly with the books. He found the SDSU Archives to be a good fit for those needs.

“I’ve been to museums where their books are behind glass, and people are too busy giving tours to talk to you about them. Here, they’re protected, but anyone can come and see them,” Sonne said.

The books could be of interest to a variety of researchers.

To economic and environmental researchers, the books are primary sources on changes in livestock operations, population fluctuations and the effects of weather on ranching. Genealogical and community researchers can study lineage through brand books.

Sonne said he will continue collecting, meaning he may have a follow-up donation to the SDSU Archives one day.

As for his first donation, Michele Christian, archivist of the SDSU Archives and Special Collections, said it’s now being processed. The archives plans to upload portions of the donation as a digital collection.

Until then, researchers can arrange to see the books with help from the SDSU Archives at Briggs Library.