Most stories begin as books and then work their way to the theater, movies, or television. This one seems to have evolved in the opposite direction. Johnston McCulley did publish his story A White Man's Chance in a magazine in 1919, the year that it made its way to the big screen. However, the first book edition, of which this is a copy, was not published until 1927. McCulley was an extremely prolific writer, but most of what he wrote was short stories, so you will need to look to magazines to complete a comprehensive collection of his works. You will also need to track down his various aliases. Much of his material was detective fiction, but the character for which he is best known is a Spanish nobleman who performed in disguise in old colonial California. He fought for the poor and downtrodden against corrupt government officials and other evil-doers, often carving the letter "Z" into their faces with his shiny sword. This, of course, is Zorro, bearer of sword, whip, mask and cape. A White Man's Chance is set on the other side of the Mexican border with a different Spanish-American hero. Item 521. $275.
Item 208 combines literature and non-fiction within that dubious field of "historical fiction." The title is Here Comes the King, a 1933 first edition by Philip Lindsay. It replays the sad tale of Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, who not dying soon enough on her own, had to so be induced to do so by her husband. Much of it was her own fault. She had affairs both before and during her marriage, the latter understandable, as by then, Henry was a 300-pound, smelly brute. He was also all-powerful in England in 1542, which gave him the right to chop off her and her lovers' heads, which he did. $100.
Here is an unusual pre-World War I era item: Flag Signal Instructor. This is a die cut wheel designed to teach the army and navy semaphore code. It shows a soldier with die cut spaces for arms with flags. As you turn the wheel to show the various letters of the alphabet, his flag-bearing arms move to the correct position. Item 329. $150.
Between The Covers Rare Books may be reached at 856-456-8008 or mail@betweenthecovers.com. Their website is www.betweenthecovers.com.
