Gene Autry and the Thief River Outlaws-USED VG

Title: Gene Autry and the Thief River Outlaws

Author: Bob Hamilton (Robert Sidney Hamilton)

Illustrator: Dan Muller (noted Western artist and student of Buffalo Bill Cody)

Publisher: Whitman Publishing Co., Racine, Wisconsin

Edition/Format: 1944 "Authorized Edition" (Whitman series #2303). It features a full-color pictorial paper-covered board binding with a matching dust jacket (when originally issued) and a decorated Santa Claus dust jacket flap/liner.

Historical Context: During the 1940s and 50s, Whitman dominated the juvenile market by publishing authorized standalone novels and series featuring real-life silver screen cowboys, radio personalities, and comic characters (Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, Tarzan, etc.). These were printed on high-acid, cheap pulp paper to keep them affordable for young readers during and immediately after WWII.