The theme of the island of Malta suddenly jumped up and took over the week here on These Mean Streets. By luck, Kevin Cook had a Malta appropriate signature in, and ready to show off on Autograph Hound Saturday.
But for Autograph Hound Super-Sunday I had nothing. I was thinking of just skipping the John Hancocks for today, when out of the blue yesterday Autograph Hound Supreme Brian Leno demonstrated, yet again, exactly why he is the champion of this domain.
Here’s Brian:
Far be it for me to sit on my beanbag when you guys are having all the fun with the Siege of Malta.
This inscription is from The Knights of St. John (1932), a novel by Paul L. Anderson which — while I haven’t read it — undoubtedly deals with the siege. Just check out the Dedication.
Anderson of course is well-known for his stories of prehistoric man which appeared in issues of Argosy during the early 1920s. These stories were obviously enjoyed by Robert E. Howard, and influenced him when he wrote tales such as “Spear and Fang.”
Anderson was also a sought-after photographer, but I remember him especially for his series of books dealing with Rome that were written for a young adult audience. I spent a lot of study hall hours in middle school reading Pugnax the Gladiator — or With the Eagles — instead of doing my homework.
The Knights of St. John seems like it should be another fine read by Anderson, and one of these days I’ll get to it.
Anderson’s signature is, I think, fairly rare — this is the only example in a book I’ve ever found. I will keep looking; it’s the least I can do for a study hall buddy.
