(Crime and Punishment, Western Americana, Dime Novels and Fanzines) DALTON, Emmett; CUMMINGS, Ralph F. RECKLESS RALPH'S TWENTY-FIVE CENT NOVEL LIBRARY NO. 2; FEATURING "PRISON DELIVERY" BY EMMETT DALTON; SIGNED BY EMMETT AND JULIA DALTON ON THE FRONT WRAPPER.
Grafton, Mass.: Ralph F. Cummings, 1935. FIRST EDITION. 8vo - 8-5/16" x 5-7/16". Original printed yellow paper wrappers, staple-bound and laid in wrappers as issued. 8 pp. Signed in ink on the front wrapper by former Old West outlaw Emmett Dalton and his wife, Julia Dalton. Accompanied by a Letter of Authenticity from PSA/DNA Authentication Services (Certification Number: AL04813). The physical condition of the item is graded NEAR FINE (utilizing the standard antiquarian book grading scale for works on paper). Wrappers exhibit minor toning along the spine and lower edge of the rear panel, with a few light stray marks and minor signs of handling, remaining remarkably well-preserved, clean, and structurally sound throughout.
Outlaw Criminology and Early Dime Novel Fanzine Publishing
Self-published by Ralph F. Cummings, Reckless Ralph's Twenty-Five Cent Novel Library stands as an early pioneering fanzine dedicated to the preservation, history, and collecting of nineteenth-century American dime novels, nickel libraries, and story papers. The feature piece of this issue, "Prison Delivery," was authored by Emmett Dalton—the sole surviving member of the notorious Dalton Gang following their disastrous October 5, 1892 dual bank robbery attempt in Coffeyville, Kansas. After surviving 23 gunshot wounds and serving 14 years in the Kansas State Penitentiary at Lansing prior to his gubernatorial pardon, Dalton repurposed his firsthand experience into a reformist critique of American penal policy. In "Prison Delivery," Dalton offers pragmatic observations on rehabilitation and reintegration for the hundreds of thousands of individuals released annually from confinement. The issue additionally features publisher Ralph F. Cummings' commentary on popular juvenile fiction, "Two Remarkable Heroes: The Deadwood Dicks, Senor and Junior, Are the Gentlemen."
Institutional Census, Provenance, and Market Scarcity
Given the fragile pamphlet format and small-scale self-publication by Cummings, original issues of this early collecting periodical are notably scarce in any condition, with signed association copies from Dalton extremely rare. A current global sweep of the OCLC/WorldCat database locates only 7 copies preserved in institutional special collections worldwide.
THIS RARE 1935 DIME NOVEL FANZINE FEATURING OUTLAW REFORM WRITINGS AND ORIGINAL AUTOGRAPHS OF EMMETT AND JULIA DALTON REPRESENTS A CRITICAL ACQUISITION FOR INSTITUTIONAL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS OR EXTRAORDINARY PRIVATE COLLECTIONS DEVOTED TO THE HISTORY OF WESTERN AMERICANA, CRIMINOLOGY AND PENAL REFORM, OR AMERICAN POPULAR LITERATURE.
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