Friday, November 12, 2010

Forgotten Books: SPURS WEST! edited by Black Mask's Joseph T. Shaw (1951)








Gallop on over to Patti Abbott's pattinase for more of this week's Forgotten Books!

Tomorrow: A gallery of books by Charles Willeford. For the lowdown on the author, check out Doug Levin's new article, "Charles Willeford's Portrait of the Artist as a Used Car Salesman" at the Mulholland Books site. 

13 comments:

Todd Mason said...

That's a pretty impressive lineup, all right...how's it read to yoU? BTW, how do you scan your materials without damaging them?

Todd Mason said...

And, is there a predominant source for these stories? DIME WESTERN, ZANE GREY WESTERN, THE SEP, etc.?

Cullen Gallagher said...

"Oh, wow," he says with envy, picking up his jaw off the floor before scuttling over to ABE and eBay.

Thanks for letting me know this exists!

Evan Lewis said...

Well, Todd, you caught me. I haven't read these stories - yet. But I've had this book a long time and always thought it an interesting curiosity.

As for scanning, this book is a rarity - it's well-used enough for the cover and first few pages to open flat but still hang in there. Maybe because it's a "Perma" book??

Unknown said...

Thanks for the link to MulhollandBooks.com. Can't wait to see your Willeford gallery. We are huge fans over here!

George said...

I have Joseph T. Shaw's hardboiled book, but not this one. To echo Todd: impressive lineup!

Charles Gramlich said...

Interesting, that back cover reads almost like it could be written today, as if sensibilities haven't changed a lot. The western still needs defending it seems.

Evan Lewis said...

Oops. Forgot to address Todd's third question. Sadly, there is no list of original appearances - or even copyright dates - for these stories. Peculiar.

Unknown said...

I have this one. I bought a second copy at the airport in Milwaukee years ago and sent it to the late Hal Rice, one of the biggest short story fans I ever met.

Steve Lewis said...

I had this one on my nightstand all last winter before it got displaced. I read the first four stories, all good. I'll have to see what I did with it. Maybe it slid off behind...

From http://www.philsp.com/homeville/anth/t66.htm

Spurs West! ed. Joseph T. Shaw (PermaBooks, 1951, pb) [Western]; Not to be confused with the WWA anthology of the same name, edited by S. Omar Barker, Doubleday, 1960.

* · Stagecoach West! · Frank Bonham · na Dime Western Magazine Sep ’50
* · Dusty Wheels - Bloody Trail! · Frank Bonham · ss, 1949; Popular Publications
* · The Long Shot · John M. Cunningham · ss The American Magazine Jun ’49
* · Partners’ Quarrel · Bennett Foster · ss The Saturday Evening Post Jun 10 ’50
* · Wild Leather! · Norman Fox · ss, 1948; Hearst Magazines
* · The Last Snake · A. B. Guthrie, Jr. · ss Esquire Nov ’49
* · Deep Winter · Ernest Haycox · ss Colliers, 1943
* · Red Horse Hamber · Dee Linford · ss The Country Gentleman, 1948
* · The Man Who Cursed Texas · Ray Nafziger · na, 1935; Popular Publications
* · A Man for the Rio Flame · Bob Obets · na Star Western Nov ’50
* · Son of a King · Thomas Thompson · ss Dime Western Magazine Nov ’50

Evan Lewis said...

Thanks Steve! Those are some surprising sources for westerns. But then, those were the days when westerns were Westerns.

Cap'n Bob said...

I'd love to have this on my shelves.

Walker Martin said...

Thanks for posting the magazine titles that these stories appeared in Steve. When Joseph Shaw left BLACK MASK he eventually became an author's agent and must have dealt with most or perhaps all these writers in that capacity. He probably was very familiar with their western fiction.

I read this collection a long time ago and my copy is buried with my western paperbacks in another room. I need a bigger house...