Range Courage Lobby Card, 1927

Second-string Universal cowboy Fred Humes starred in this familiar silent Western about a returning war veteran who finds himself falsely accused of murder. With the help of the rancher's pretty daughter (Gloria Grey) and a spunky 12-year-old (Dick Winslow), the veteran manages to unmask the real murderer, a supposed pillar of the community (William A. Steele). The familiar story by Gene Markey had been filmed previously by Universal as Blinky (1923), starring Hoot Gibson. A very attractive piece housed in an eye-appealing custom frame.

"Silent Stranger" Lobby Card, 1924

Former clergyman turned cowboy star Fred Thomson played a secret service agent masquerading as a deaf-mute in order to catch a gang of mail thieves in this above-average silent Western. Arriving incognito in Valley City, Jack Taylor (Thomson) comes to the aid of the town's new postmaster, Dad Warner (George A. Williams), who has been unable to prevent a series of mail thefts. Suspicion quickly centers upon Warner's clerk, Law Sleeman (Bud Osborne), who, it turns out, is in league with crooked politician Dick Blackwell (Frank S. Hagney). Hazel Keener, in one of her six appearances opposite Thomson, played Dad Warner's imperiled daughter Lillian, and Richard Headrick, best remembered as "The Little Feller" in William S. Hart's The Toll Gate) (1920), appeared as Keener's plucky kid brother. A very pretty card in a beautiful frame.

"Two Gun Man" Lobby Card, 1926

Throughout the '20s and '30s westerns were, for the most part, made cheaply and tossed out to the masses. Rare was the western star who made it to the big, major city movie houses. Those who made the leap were William S. Hart, Tom Mix, and with The Two-Gun Man, Fred Thomson. Thomson earned his stripes; he and his highly-trained horse, Silver King, had been working in the lower-budget field since the early '20s and had built an impressive fan base. In this feature, Thomson plays Dean Randall, a hero of the Great War who comes home to his horse and his father's ranch. He saves a family in a wagon train -- a father (William Courtwright), daughter Grace (Olive Hasbrough), and three orphan children. Back at the ranch, Dean discovers that his father (Joe Dowling) has been conned out of his cattle by rustlers. In addition, the rustlers have gotten a mortgage on the ranch and are threatening to evict the old man. The strain kills Dad Randall, but Grace convinces Dean not to take violent revenge. So he uses his wits instead (plus a lot of impressive stunts with Silver King) to get back the cattle and see that justice is served against the rustlers. This film, and the ones that followed it, showed a lot of promise for Thomson's future; sadly, his death in 1928 kept that promise from being fully realized. A beautiful card and frame.