Saturday Morning Western Pulp: December 23, 1922

101 years ago, this was the Christmas issue of Street & Smith's WESTERN STORY MAGAZINE, when it wasn't as venerable and iconic a pulp as it came to be over the next couple of decades. But it was already the home of a great deal of fine Western fiction. There are several obvious Christmas stories in this one: "Peg Leg's Christmas Party" by F.R. Buckley, "'Merry Christmas'" by Frank Richardson Pierce, and "The Yuletide Trail" by A.M. Chisholm. Plus some stories with titles that might or might not be indicative of holiday subject matter: "The Glacier Cache" by Courtney Ryley Cooper, "The Bladed Barrier" by Joseph B. Ames, and "The Power of Prayer" by John Frederick, actually Frederick Faust his own self. There's another story by Courtney Ryley Cooper, "Bears and Bystanders", which doesn't sound the least bit Christmasy, and one called "The White Chink" by obscure pulpster Lupe Loya. I have no idea who did the art for this cover.

I was somewhat intrigued by Courtney Ryley Cooper because I'd never heard of him. I found this information about him online:

Courtney Ryley Cooper (1886-1940) was an American writer, journalist, circus performer, publicist, and noted crime novelist. Born in Kansas City, he joined the circus at age 16 where he worked first as a clown, eventually working his way up to general manager. After a brief stint as a journalist and as a marine, Cooper turned to writing screenplays, westerns, and crime novels in the 1920s and 1930s. He achieved moderate success with his crime novels, even earning the admiration of F.B.I. director J. Edgar Hoover, who called him "the best informed man on crime in the U.S." Cooper committed suicide by hanging in a New York hotel room in 1940; persistent rumors suggested his death was actually murder, but no suspects were ever found. Cooper was reportedly investigating German activity in Mexico just prior to his death.

Sounds almost like a pulp character himself. There's a free e-book of one of his Westerns on Amazon. I grabbed it and may even get around to reading it one of these days. We'll see.

Saturday Morning Western Pulp: Western Story Magazine, May 6, 1933

A nice cover by H.L. Parkhurst on this issue of the venerable WESTERN STORY. Inside are stories by Robert J. Horton (Walt Coburn's mentor and an author I have to get around to reading one of these days), Austin Hall, and Hugh Grinstead, plus a serial installment by Frederick Faust writing as John Frederick. Looks to be a pretty typical issue of WESTERN STORY from this era, which means it's probably pretty good. 

Saturday Morning Western Pulp: Western Story, March 13, 1926

Most of the WESTERN STORY covers during the 1920s were on the sedate side, but here's one that has some nice action. I can't read the artist's name in the scan, but maybe someone among you can identify who painted this cover. Inside this issue are two stories by Frederick Faust, one as by Max Brand and the other as by John Frederick, plus stories by Frank Richardson Pierce, Hugh Grinstead, Ray Humphreys, Austin Hall, Reginald Barker, and Kenneth Gilbert, all regular contributors to WESTERN STORY.

Forgotten Books: In the Hills of Monterey - Max Brand (Frederick Faust)

Originally appearing as a serial in Western Story in October and November of 1924 under the pseudonym John Frederick, this is more of a historical novel than a traditional Western. It seems to be Faust's attempt to cash in on the popularity of Johnston McCulley's character Zorro, who had been appearing in the pulps for several years previously. Set in Spanish California in 1817, the novel features several Zorro-like elements: a masked hero who has a secret identity; a villainous provincial governor; bumbling soldiers; a beautiful heroine; a magnificent horse, etc. Faust throws in some unexpected twists, though, and puts some unusual spins on the familiar in order to make this an interesting, entertaining novel.

Don Francisco Valdez is a young Spanish nobleman who has been brought to California to marry the beautiful Ortiza Tarabel, the daughter of a wealthy, powerful landholder. On the ship carrying Valdez to California is also Colonel Louis Mortier, a French soldier on a mysterious mission of his own. Valdez has a slave with him, a redheaded Englishman called El Rojo who was formerly a prisoner of Moorish pirates in the Mediterranean. (Getting complicated enough for you already? There's more.) Valdez has his horse with him, the great stallion Sanduval. After a fencing exhibition on shipboard where it becomes obvious that the slave El Rojo is really a master swordsman, Sanduval leaps overboard as the ship approaches the coast. El Rojo goes after the horse, but once they reach the shore, instead of bringing Sanduval back, El Rojo rides off into the hills on him, escaping from a life as Valdez's slave.

El Rojo becomes a hunted outlaw and gathers some allies, a band of ninja-like Navajo Indians who have a grudge of their own against the brutal governer, Jose Pyndero. Plenty of intrigue, romance, swordfights, and hair's-breadth escapes follow, along with the introduction of a mysterious English nobleman, Lord Wyncham, who shows up in Monterey and stirs the pot even more. It's all a bit silly and over the top for modern readers, but if you can put yourself in the place of a Twenties pulp reader and not let the obvious plot devices bother you, the novel is great fun as well.