BRITISH JUVENILE STORY PAPERS
AND POCKET LIBRARIES INDEX

by Steve Holland

Copyright © 2000 by Steve Holland

The Western Library was, in Amalgamated Press terms, rather short-lived, running to only 110 issues between 1950 and 1954. The 64-page stories appeared in the same pocket library format as the more famous Sexton Blake Library, sharing with the latter a number of authors (T.C.H. Jacobs, better known as Jacques Pendower, for instance), as well as its editor Len Pratt. Unlike the Blake series, a number of {Western Library} titles were reprints of American novels, by such famous authors as Ernest Haycox, Max Brand and Clarence E. Mulford (the creator of Hopalong Cassiday). The longest running series was the Lannagan tales of John Hunter, which were translated into picture strips in a companion {Cowboy Library}. Shorter series included the Careless O'Connor series by Mike M'Cracken (Gordon Landsborough) and the Whip McCord series by Jacobs. Other series may exist.

The title was fully illustrated, with some stunning covers by D.C. Eyles and internal illustrations by the likes of James Holdaway.