THE WIRE DEVILS [and] TWO STOLEN IDOLS [pair of pulp thrillers]

1) Packard, Frank L. THE WIRE DEVILS. London: Hodder & Stoughton [1918]. Edition not stated. Very Good or better cloth, in edgeworn dustwrapper with lovely portrait of a masked gentleman-crook, a Phantomas or Green Hornet type character called "The Hawk." This is a "sensation thriller" detective novel by a Canadian author who really knew how to sustain pulp thrills. In jacket this catalogs $65 or $85. 2) Packard, Frank L. TWO STOLEN IDOLS. Toronto: Copp Clark, 1927. Canadian First. Lacking front flyleaf, otherwise Very Good cloth, in action-pictorial dustwrapper having tape repairs on underside. Murder mystery and mayhem; Oriental adventure and some Fu Manchu-esque "Yellow Peril" content. Elaborate ciphers are woven into the tale for extra appeal to cryptography fans. In dustwrapper this catalogs $80 to $125 even chipped; a fine dustwrapper would break the $200 margin. Estimated value: $145 to $210.