Rediscovered: Gene and Joe

Autograph Hound Saturday. Courtesy Brian Leno, today let’s spotlight a favorite writer here on These Mean Streets. “Some good news,” Brian reports, “I picked up a signed Eugene Cunningham’s Texas Sheriff for 20 bucks. No dj but it supposedly has a long inscription with a drawing. Bought it sight unseen but couldn’t pass it by for 20 smackers.” The inscription mentions Chihuahua Joe, one of Cunningham’s best characters, who sometimes drops into the action mid-novel and always adds some firepower to the fun. It also features the “brand mark” EC on the flank of the galloping steer. The brand is featured on the front boards of the early Cunningham Westerns. Brian got a great deal on this 1934 novel — of course, now he’ll have to pony up more loot to get a copy with a nice dustjacket he can marry to his copy. Still, cheaper than the usual $300 or so for an inscribed Cunningham first in dustjacket. In my experience, I can’t remember Gene just flat-signing a book. He always lays out the…