Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Paperback 850: Famous Sheriffs and Western Outlaws / William MacLeod Raine (Perma Books P18)

Paperback 850: Perma Books P18 (1st ptg, circa 1948)

Title: Famous Sheriffs and Western Outlaws
Author: William MacLeod Raine
Cover artist: Uncredited

Estimated value: $15-20

PermaP18

Best things about this cover:

  • What are "Things you'd find in the most cliché depiction of a saloon"?
  • Hardbound paperback. Because "Perma"nence. Permabooks is retrospectively adorable.
  • So the guy shoots his gun then lays it gently down on the table and walks away. Seems … implausible.
  • I like the aural juxtaposition (!) of "cloud" and "rain" in this dude's name.


PermaP18bc

Best things about this back cover:

  • "BOOKS*TO*KEEP." It kills me that your core concept is that paperbacks should come in a hardbound version for preservation purposes … and then several years later, you still have the same name, but the hardbound versions: gone.
  • This company is dedicated to stretching the meaning of "permanent" as far as possible before it snaps.
  • The problem with the PERMAgloss, as any paperback collector knows, is that "perma" part is a damn lie. Shit peels off like crazy. Here, it's just pulling from the surface slightly, creating weird puddle-like patterns that I'm not sure you can even see on the scans.


Page 123~

But they did not leave wholly unavenged.

~RP

[Follow Rex Parker on Twitter and Tumblr]

2 comments:

Tulse said...

The grip on that gun must be the size of a turnip.

Wild Bill said...

Too bad the cards were not Black Aces and Black Eights.