Hopalong Cassidy And The Bar 20 Cowboy (1952)

When I was cleaning out the attic, I came across a dead squirrel, cardboard boxes from mercantile establishments no longer in existence (R.I.P., Lit Brothers, Wanamakers and Strawbridge & Clothier) and several long-lost books. Including this Little Golden Book.


E.M. Beecher, il. Sahula-Dycke
1952, Simon and Schuster
Based on characters created by Clarence E. Mulford

Starting in the 1920s, Clarence E. Mulford wrote 28 Western novels starring a heroic cowboy (Louis L'Amour would write another four). Paramount brought the character to the screen in 1935, using silent film actor William Boyd. 65 films later, Hopalong Cassidy was an industry that spawned a radio show, television programs and personal appearances by Boyd and his horse Topper.



Now, I never saw the movies or TV series, but I loved these illustrations. Also, the idea of sneaking up on a horse and capturing it for my very own.

And then branding it neatly with my own initials.



Looking at these illustrations again reminds me how I used to love pintos. Now they call them paints and they're muscular Quarter Horse types, but I grew up reading stories where pintos were always scrawny little Indian ponies, who lived wild and free on the wide prairies.


About the author.
I couldn't find anything about E.M. Beecher, but my real interest was in the artist, anyway. Ignantz Sahula-Dycke (1900-1982) was born in Austria, emigrated to the U.S. and eventually specialized in art of the Southwest.



Links
Hopalong Cassidy website
Wikipedia - Hopalong Cassidy
B-Westerns about Topper
Fusco Four Modern - Sahula-Dycke
Toklak website - Sahula-Dycke
Mulford's books at Fantastic Fiction
Wikipedia on Lit Bros.
- on Wanamaker's
- on Strawbridge & Clothier

Mister Ed, The Talking Horse (1962)

Mister Ed, The Talking Horse
Barbara Shook Hazen, il. Mel Crawford
1962, Golden Press

Ed, having taken possession of the phone once again, invites an entire orphanage to visit for the weekend.


I really have no excuse for this, except that I have always loved the illustrations in this Little Golden Book.


In talking horse-related topics, the cheerful memoir Alan Young (aka Wiiiiiilbuuuur!) published in 1995, Mister Ed And Me, is worth a read.


About the author
1930-
Hazen was born in Ohio, worked in publishing and then began freelancing as a children's writer after her son was born. She has written over fifty books.

About the illustrator
1925-
Canadian-born Crawford seems to be one of the most popular illustrators for Little Golden Books. As the post on the blog Illustration Station shows, Crawford did another equine-themed Little Golden Book in 1958's Fury Takes The Jump.

Links
Barbara Shook Hazen's website
de Grummond Collection on Hazen
Illustration Station
Mel Crawford's blog
Mel Crawford on a website about collecting Little Golden Books
Alan Young's website