We haven’t had an Autograph Hound Super-Sunday rollout in awhile, and I wasn’t expecting Arthur O. Friel to be the guy scribbling the old John Hancock.
From everything I’ve heard, Friel signatures — much less Friel inscriptions — are rare. Not quite non-existent, but your average hen probably has more teeth.
Back in 2019 the Autograph Hound Brian Leno covered the Friel scene for us and mentioned the one inscribed Friel he’d heard of at that time, The River of Seven Stars.
I just got a note from David Balfour, who may well be the collector who has that particular inscribed Friel.
David says, “I enjoyed your article, Rediscovered: Arthur O. Friel, to which I was referred recently. A few years back, I posted the attached images on another site — so this may be the inscription that Brian Leno is referring to.
“In any case, I purchased this copy of River online. The seller didn’t mention anything about an inscription, but I was happy enough to find a good copy of the book at a reasonable price.
“Needless to say, I was thrilled to find the inscription when I opened it.”
So, for all you fans of Friel and the pulp mag Adventure — and to stoke the unquenchable flames of envy deep in Brian Leno’s soul — David offers a fresh look at the loot.
Howl, you Autograph Hounds, howl!
