Monday, January 29, 2007

Lone Ranger First Edition

The Lone Ranger by Gaylord DuBois



On eBay and other locations on the internet I frequently find copies of the Lone Ranger advertised as '1st Edition' and descriptions that state they are by Gaylord Dubois. They really are by Gaylord DuBois but not always 1st Edition. If it has Fran Striker's name on the [front of] the dust jacket or stamped on the outside cover, it is not a first edition.



Many of these do not have Gaylord Dubois's name anywhere except on the fly leaf title page. The actual 1st Edition had his name on the dust jacket, the front cover and inside on the fly leaf title page.

The Lone Ranger by Gaylord DuBois The Lone Ranger by Gaylord DuBois



I have no idea how many of these were actually printed but I have more than one. One edition has Gaylord Dubois stamped on the front cover but not printed on the fly-leaf title page.

Gaylord DuBois holds up his copy of the dust jacket from the 1st edition of The Lone Ranger
I remember Grandpa having the dust jacket in his treasures with his name on the front. In later years I had, in my treasures, a photo copy of the dustjacket with his name on it.

Through the wonders of the internet I have [now] managed to collect a few of the different printings and have the following in my collection:

2 with the dust jacket saying Gaylord Dubois, the book cover stamped Gaylord Dubois and his name inside on the fly leaf title page -- they are both from the first printing.

1 with no dust jacket, Gaylord Dubois stamped on the front cover and on the spine but not printed on the fly-leaf title page.

I also have one with no dust jacket and Fran Striker stamped on the front cover. It does say Gaylord DuBois inside on the fly leaf title page but is not from the first printing.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great info. What is a flyleaf?

My copy has "GAYLORD DU BOIS" prominently displayed on the dust jacket front cover, dust jacket spine, and "GAYLORD DUBOIS" on the title page, but the inside front flap of the dust jacket ("5050") says, "The LONE RANGER by Fran Stryker."

wourpet said...

Thanks for asking. A flyleaf is actually the blank page at the beginning or end. So the page I meant to refer to was the title page.
So on one copy Gaylord Dubois is on the front of the dust jacket, on the dust jacket spine, stamped on the book cover and appears on the title page. On the inside flap of the dust jacket it says Fran Striker. I also have one that has all of the above EXCEPT Gaylord Du Bois does not appear on the title page. I also have one that does not have the picture -- not missing -- just never was there.

JJinWI said...

I have an edition of the The Lone Ranger, and it is different than anything I can find online.
Copyright 1936 by The Lone Ranger, Inc.

On what I believe is the title page, it reads: This book, while produced under wartime conditions, in full compliance with government regulations for the conservation of paper and other essential materials, is Complete And Unabridged"

Red cover and black print, which I can't find represented anywhere. The dust cover has the numbers 110-150 under the Publisher stamp, which is Grosset & Dunlap, New York.

Have you come across any of these versions? The wartime reference is really interesting, were we technically at war in 1936?

If you have any information on this seemingly obscure version, please let me know.

Best regards,

Jim Schultz

wourpet said...

There were several printings of the first edition that all give 1936 as the year. What is the name on the front cover? And on the inside on the first page. I have not, as yet, seen one with the disclaimer you mentioned.

JJinWI said...

The name on the front cover and dust cover is Fran Striker. Gaylord Dubois is listed on the title page above "Based on the Famous....Series" and then "by Fran Striker" is listed, as with the others. I've sent pictures to you of this and other pages.
The flyleaf in this book doesn't view opposite of the title page, as the other versions show. It is bound one page prior to the title page.
Total pages numbered are 218.

JJinWI said...

Do you know why your grandfather and Fran Striker are credited with writing the book?

wourpet said...

I lost your email somehow. If you send again I will respond.

JJinWI said...

One thing that has puzzled me is the dust jacket graphics. It shows the Lone Ranger without a mask. I was hoping to find something different written explaining how the mask became introduced to the story, but my version by Striker goes straight into the mask business.

I would love to get my hands on your grandfathers book and see how Striker re-edited the story.

I assume you have both. Is the story much different?

JJinWI said...

I find the story behind the story very intriguing. How the script writer, Fran Striker fought for rights to the original story, but lost and never really got credit for much of what he actually created.

It gives an interesting insight to how things worked back then and haven't changed much since in the publishing world.

wourpet said...

Only the publishers got anything from it. Grandpa was paid $100 for his first book. There were no royalties and for subsequent printings his name was also removed from the outside cover.

wourpet said...

I have not gone through both stories to compare but it is my understanding, and according to anything grandpa told me, it is the exact same story and was never edited by Fran Striker -- only the names on the cover were changed.

JJinWI said...

It doesn't surprise me at all that your grandfather received little compensation for putting the novel together. George Tremble, the publishing mogul from Detroit, appears to have been the person who benefited from both writers works, and gave little credit to their contributions on the Lone Ranger projects. He even attempted to claim he was the original creator after Striker had written the early scripts.

I believe, if there is a difference in the books, it would appear in the first few pages.

I'm going to do some further research on the war-time stamp that appears in my "Striker" book. I'm certain there is another interesting story behind that element.

I'll forward any information that I discover to you.

Best Regards,

Jim

jschultz101@gmail.com

JJinWI said...

I found another reference to the wartime compliance statement. It appears in Tarzan of the Apes, same publisher, too. Here's what I found:

The sylphlike quality of this book, which strikes me as a testament to the graceful and efficient use of materials in the manufacture of the book, also stands as evidence to a more grim and unhappy fact: the volume was printed sometime after the United States had entered the brutal conflict of the First World War and after the federal government imposed strict rationing on materiel with a potential military application (such as paper). On the title page, Grosset & Dunlap have inserted an assurance to the reader:

This book, while produced under wartime conditions, in full compliance with government regulations for the conservation of paper and other essential materials, is COMPLETE AND UNABRIDGED.

It’s a testament to the printers employed by the firm that they were able to ensure that the book’s content would not be physically reduced in the process of reducing the book’s material cost. To comply with the restrictions, the printer used a paper size that was smaller than the original first edition and of a lighter stock (hence the flimsiness), but they also used hollowed cardboard covers for the hardcover binding. Combined, these two efficiency measures shaved 1 pound's worth of unneeded weight from the volume's heft.

The United States did not enter the War until after April 1917 (the hostilities in Europe began in June 1914, the same exact month McClurg first published the book in England). Because this is clearly a war-time publication of Tarzan of the Apes, I presume, therefore, that it appeared much later than the date printed in the colophon of the copyright page. All you have to do is pick the book up in your hands to realize this.

JJinWI said...

I wasn't sure if you received this by email, so I'll put a link to my version.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r189/jschultz_photobucket/LR_cvr.jpg

Series Books said...

Hello,
In reply to Jim Schultz's inquires with regard to the wartime conditions notice. First, remember that the copyright notice is not indicative of when a book was printed, or if it is (or isn't) a first edition. The copyright only indicates when the author first obtained copyright rights from the US Copyright office.

The wartime conditions notice was used in compliance with the paper rationing in World War II (not I). The US Office of Price Administration was responsible for administering this program. Paper rationing began at the very end of 1942. Therefore, anytime you see this notice you will know that the printing of the particular book in your hands is most like from 1943 through 1948. Although the war ended in August 1945, the paper rationing continued until 1948.

If you have a book such as Tarzan (1914) or the Lone Ranger (1936) with a wartime conditions notice, you know for sure that your particular book is a much later printing (no earlier than 1943).

keeline said...

(part 1)

I apologize for the late reply. I have collected series books for many years and have written many research articles and presentations. My biggest area of specialty is the Stratemeyer Syndicate who frequently had their books published by Grosset & Dunlap.

The Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books are better documented than most other series with regard to printing variations. The list of titles on the jackets can be used to estimate the printing dates for the jacket and book it was originally issued with (no swapping please).

Lists inside the book of older thick copies after the text were added to the text pages at the time of binding. They don't tend to change as often so they are less reliable as an indication of vintage though dates derived from the ads in the book should conform with those on the dust jacket.

Any list on the copyright page or the year itself is generally not helpful since cheap publishers like G&D saved money everywhere they could and this included avoiding making expensive changes to the printing plates for the groupings of pages that included the title and copyright pages.

Modern books, using techniques like photo-offset can make small changes to the copyright page with little or no expense. One technique used on modern books is "descending numbers" where a sequence of numbers like "9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" is on the copyright page. The smallest number is the printing for that edition of the book. Recall that a 25th anniversary edition of the book with a new ISBN might start all over again with a new number line. G&D series books didn't have these.

James D. Keeline
http://www.Keeline.com
http://Stratemeyer.org
http://www.Keeline.com/articles

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this info. I have my copy up on Ebay right now, & so now I can more accurately describe it. My copy has DuBois on the dust cover & stamped on the book, but not on the title page (only says Fran Striker there). It also came with an insert kind of like a leaflet with a picture of the lone Ranger on Silver on it. I'm pretty sure that came with the original book.

Anonymous said...

this is sooo cool.

Anonymous said...

I have most of this collection, and I have always considered that the Original Lone Ranger book by Gaylord Dubois was a stand alone edition, and not part of the 18 episode set. The Lone Ranger Volume one by Gaylord Dubois and Fran Striker can be a first edition of the #1 book of that set.

Mark said...

Wendy, Are you still interested in finding out more about the various Lone Ranger printings? If so, we can exchange emails and I will tell you all I know. Mark

Frank seriesbooks@hotmail.com said...

Mark,
Why don't you go ahead and post your information here.

I believe the first two printings of the 1st edition are as follows:

(1) 1st ed/1st printing:
Title Page:
"The Lone Ranger"/ by /Gaylord Dubois /
Based on the Famous / Radio Adventure Series / by / Fran Striker

(2) 1st ed/2nd printing:
Title Page:
"The Lone Ranger"/
Based on the Famous Character / by / Fran Striker

Both printings have the same dustjacket:
FF = summary of the Lone Ranger by Fran Striker;
RF = Western Stories for Boys listing to X Bar X Boys with the Secret Rangers;
RP = Four Headliners for Boys! listing four books.

Unknown said...

Frank - I'll post what I have found out about the first book only. If you want info on the others I have that also.
Wendy described the first edition. I don't think the spine is numbered.

The 2nd is exactly like the first except Mr. Dubois' name is NOT on the title page. That is the only difference. Spine not numbered.

The 3rd is exactly like the second, but the spine is numbered.

The next two printings all have Gaylord Dubois on the covers and spines of both the book and dust jackets, one lists to Gold Robbery ('39) on the back cover and the other lists to and Tonto ('40).

For the next 6 printings Gaylord Dubois' name ONLY shows up on the title page with Fran Striker on book and the dust jacket. Listed older Lone Ranger titles run up to 1943.

In 1947 Mr. Dubois' name is gone and the text has a slight change to it. On the last page, half of the last line of the second paragraph is dropped along with the last 6 paragraphs.

I have found no printings of this book between 1943 and 1947.

I found 8 printings after 1947...so far.

On top of that, there are probably more early and later printings then I have found, but this has been a long process of trying to find all the printings.

So look upon this information as a good start, but no where near complete.

Mark

Unknown said...

Regarding the different printings of The Lone Ranger;
I have a decent start on this, but only a start. As has been stated by James Keeline above, I have used the prior listings of Lone Ranger titles, and other G&D titles, as a way to help know about when a new dust jacket printing was done, but that may or may not be a new book printing. It’s quite probable that G&D over-printed a book, but issued new dust jackets as time went on.
Wendy described the first printing with Mr. Dubois on covers and spines of both book and dust jacket and on the title page. Of note might be that the spine is not numbered as well.
The next printing is exactly like the first except that Gaylord Dubois does NOT show up on the title page. The spine is still not numbered.
The next printing is exactly like the one above excluding his name from the title page, but the spine IS numbered.
The next two printings both have Gaylord Dubois on the covers and spines of both the dust jacket and the book, but one lists older titles to ‘Gold Robbery’ (1939), the other to ‘and Tonto’ (1940).
For the next 7 printings Gaylord Dubois ONLY shows up on the title page, Fran Striker is on the covers and spines of both book and dust jacket. Each different printing has a longer list of older Lone Ranger titles up to Rides Again (1943).
I have found no printings between 1943 and 1947.
In 1947 (based upon Tom Quest Sign of the Spiral and the Hardy Boys listing to Phantom Freighter listings), the text to the last page has been changed and Mr. Dubois no longer shows up anywhere.
The last sentence at the end of the second paragraph, and the remaining 6 paragraphs are gone.
I have found 8 printings after 1947.
Again, this is only a good start to finding all the printings, I have no doubt there are many others.

Unknown said...

Regarding the different printings of The Lone Ranger;
I have a decent start on this, but only a start. As has been stated by James Keeline above, I have used the prior listings of Lone Ranger titles, and other G&D titles, as a way to help know about when a new dust jacket printing was done, but that may or may not be a new book printing. It’s quite probable that G&D over-printed a book, but issued new dust jackets as time went on.

Wendy described the first printing with Mr. DuBois on covers and spines of both book and dust jacket and on the title page. Of note might be that the spine is not numbered as well.

The next printing is exactly like the first except that Gaylord DuBois does NOT show up on the title page. The spine is still not numbered.

The next printing is exactly like the one above excluding his name from the title page, but the spine IS numbered.

The next two printings both have Gaylord DuBois on the covers and spines of both the dust jacket and the book, but one lists older titles to ‘Gold Robbery’ (1939), the other to ‘and Tonto’ (1940).

For the next 7 printings Gaylord DuBois ONLY shows up on the title page, Fran Striker is on the covers and spines of both book and dust jacket. Each different printing has a longer list of older Lone Ranger titles up to Rides Again (1943).

I have found no printings between 1943 and 1947.

In 1947 (based upon Tom Quest Sign of the Spiral and the Hardy Boys listing to Phantom Freighter listings), the text to the last page has been changed and Mr. DuBois no longer shows up anywhere.

The last sentence at the end of the second paragraph, and the remaining 6 paragraphs are gone.
I have found 8 printings after 1947.

Again, this is only a good start to finding all the printings, I have no doubt there are many others.

Mark

David Porta said...

"little compensation" is all relative. It was good money for Gaylord, who, at the time, was laid up in bed and dependent on family. And it opened the door to what became his writing career. Since his writing career was, to Du Bois, simply a means to make a living and support his true ministry in this world serving his Lord Christ Jesus, had he been recompensed with a percentage of the gross income his novel generated, we might never have had all the comic book, comic strips, juvenile novels, and Big Little Books, etc., which he went on to write after The Lone Ranger. Certainly he did not begrudge the purchasers of his labor any fruits of the product therefrom.

Gaylord Du Bois said (in GAYLORD DUBOIS SPEAKS in ERBzine © Bill Hillman):

"In 1936 I was given a copy of a Lone Ranger radio script to study with these instructions: 'Write a 60,000 word novel based on this script, and if we accept it, you will have more assignment.' The radio script was very corny, and a very shaky basis for any novel; but I used what little of it was usable in constructing the plot of the novel. It was titled 'The Lone Ranger,' and my name as author was prominent on the jacket and cover. My name disappeared from the third and subsequent editions (or printings), but I had and have no complaint, because I sold all the rights to the novel to Whitman Publishing Co. It was perfectly good business because I imagine it is less confusing for the reader to think that the entire series was written by Fran Stryker. Back in those days I did quite a bit of ghost writing for well-known adventure authors, who shall remain nameless here."

+++

Irv Ziemann wrote (in Gaylord DuBois: King of the Comics Writers, his book-length biography sporadically serialized in 6 chapters in the then-weekly Comics Buyer's Guide 1989-1990, beginning in issue 829, ending in issue 863):

//
In 1935, illness struck again. Brucellosis, which had chronically affected him since childhood, forced him to return home. There, confined to bed and dependent on his family, he wrote to Lloyd E. Smith, a college friend who was then on the editorial staff of Whitman Publishing Co.

"I asked Lloyd," DuBois recalled, "if he could assign me any work I could do in bed, and he sent me one of the earliest radio scripts — a very short one — about The Lone Ranger. He told me, 'If you can write a 60,000-word novel based on this --- something I can buy --- I'll send you further work.'

"I grabbed at the chance. In six weeks I turned out The Lone Ranger — a novel I sold with all rights for one hundred dollars."

Ten years later, the editor-in-chief at Grossett and Dunlap, which printed the Lone Ranger series, told Du Bois that his first novel had outsold all of the subsequent ones ghost-written by other people; however, Gaylord was to receive little credit over the years. His name appeared on the dust jacket and cover of the first edition; the next edition carried DuBois' name on the title page but replaced it on the dust jacket and cover with the name of Fran Striker, creator and owner of the Lone Ranger property. Subsequent editions removed DuBois' name entirely, and a more recent edition (Boston: Greg Press, 1980) carries a new introduction with a biography of the "author," Fran Striker. "This was entirely legal," DuBois said. "Over the years, I became a 'ghost.'"

Following the success of DuBois' novel, Lloyd Smith began to send him other work, mainly the writing of Big Little Books --- DuBois wrote 30.
//

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know if Gaylord DuBois spent time in New Mexico writing? Specifically in the Capitain area?

Annie said...

Thank you for this post! It was very helpful to me as I'm trying to date my three vintage Lone Ranger books--two of which had Gaylord Dubois' name on them!

Jonathan B said...

New to Lone Ranger but a long-time collector. Echoing James Keeline's comment, dust jackets provide valuable information about printing priorities.

The many postings above agree that the 1936 1st printing of ‘The Lone Ranger’ is distinguished by having both Gaylord DuBois' and Fran Striker’s name on the title page. Unfortunately, the dust jacket evidence contradicts this.

All are agreed that the early printings show DuBois as the author on the book’s front cover and spine, but differ in that DuBois’ name does not appear on the title page of all printings. All also apparently agree (since no differences have been noted) that the dust jackets are the same for all printings, with DuBois the author on the front cover, spine and rear cover, and Striker’s name on the front flap.

But the jackets are not the same, their differences establishing printing priority.

The rear of all DuBois dust jackets seen to date list four ‘Headliners for Boys’ book titles. Later labeled the ‘Spotlight Books for Boys’ list, the most recent titles on any year’s list are used by collectors to identify the year a book was printed. A review of many ‘Ranger’ dust jackets with DuBois as author, has found 1) all list the same 4 books, the topmost being ‘Lone Ranger’ with DuBois as author; 2) no Fran Striker dust jackets show this same 4 book list (the earliest Fran Striker DJ – ‘Mysterious Ranch’ - lists 2 Lone Ranger titles along with 9 other titles), and 3) the earliest Fran Striker ‘Lone Ranger’ DJ (at least of those seen to date) lists 3 Ranger titles (perhaps there is a 2 title list as well?). Stated differently, no Fran Striker ‘Lone Ranger’ DJ lists just the four ‘Headliners for Boys’ titles.

That review also revealed that books lacking DuBois’ name on the title page, also identify the author of ‘Tailspin Tommy’ – on the rear of the DJ – as Mark Stevens. By way of contrast, copies with both DuBois’ and Striker’s name on the title page have DJ’s that identify Tommy’s author as Hal Forrest.

‘Tailspin Tommy’ must have had an author vs. creator dispute similar to DuBois and Striker. Hal Forrest was clearly creator of the character and comic strip, while Mark Stevens was perhaps a ghost writer (a search of abebooks shows no other books published in that era with Stevens as an author). The dispute was seemingly settled by removing Stevens’ name everywhere from the book and jacket (I have a copy of the apparently scarce 2nd printing of 'Tommy' with this Forrest DJ). Stevens' name is removed from the title page, and everywhere else it is replaced by Forrest (the book's cover, spine, and dust jacket front cover, spine, front flap and rear cover).

Importantly, all later ‘Spotlight Books’ lists also show Hal Forrest as ‘Tailspin Tommy’s author. You don't need a 2nd printing of 'Tommy' to verify this.

This proves the first printing of ‘Tailspin Tommy’ shows Mark Stevens as its author. It also proves that when his name appears on a 'Headline Books' list, it was printed before lists with Forrest. While DJ's sometimes may get switched, my sampling of a half dozen copies indicates the 'Stevens' (1st printing) DJ is found on books with NO Dubois on the title page. The 'Forrest' (2nd printing) DJ is found on books WITH Dubois on the title page. Others may wish to confirm this.

This priority also makes better publishing sense. Simply adding a name to a title page, while replacing it on the book’s cover, spine and dust jacket, is a 1 time 1 step process. Starting with both DuBois and Forest on the title page, then removing DuBois’ name, only to again restore it the next year, is a 2 step process.

I gather that the 'DuBois on title page' 2nd printing of ‘Lone Ranger’ title with the 'Forrest' DJ may be scarcer to find than the 1st printing. But scarcity does not establish priority – contemporary publishing evidence does.