Here we present Dime Novels, Penny Dreadfuls, Story Papers and Pulp Magazines.
All of which were popular reading for the masses in America and abroad from the later 19th and early 20th centuries.
They were then overtaken by the comic book revolution which they helped spawn.
Please do not upload anything after 1922 without first getting it cleared by an administrator first.
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Adventure magazine first appeared in October 1910. In its first ten years of publication, it carried stories by such well known authors as Rider Haggard, John Buchan, Rafael Sabatini & Baroness Orczy. By the 1920s, Adventure had become one of the most profitable and critically acclaimed magazines of its kind, and in 1935, it would be hailed as 'The No. 1 Pulp' by the editors of Time. At its peak it was publishing over 300,000 copies.
Adventure's reputation as 'The No. 1 Pulp', stems from the editorship of Arthur Hoffman, who was editor from 1912 to 1927. Hoffman introduced several key features establishing Adventure as more than just a magazine; the editorial pages column known as 'The Camp-Fire'; 'Lost Trails' which helped re-unite readers with lost family and friends; 'Wanted-Men and Adventurers,' a 'Help Wanted' section for those interested in excitement and adventure; and 'Ask Adventure,' wherein readers submitted questions to the magazine's international panel of experts.
Adventure was first published by the Ridgway Co., an offshoot of the Butterick Publishing Company, which was mainly known for the publication of sewing patterns, so Adventure was a vast departure into the pulp market.
It ran from 1910 until 1953 for a total of 753 issues. In April 1953, the pulp changed its format to that of a men's adventure magazine for a further 128 issues. The magazine finally folded in 1971.
The All-Story Magazine was first published in January 1905 by the Frank A. Munsey Company based in New York, USA.
It went through a few title changes in its publishing history: The All-Story, All-Story Magazine, All-Story Weekly & All-Story Cavalier Weekly.
Its authors included Sax Rohmer, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Zane Grey & Damon Runyon.
It ran for a total of 444 issues before merging with Argosy in July 1920. It is widely regarded as one of the most important of the early fiction magazines.
Argosy, later titled The Argosy and Argosy All-Story Weekly, was an American pulp magazine from 1882 through 1978, published by Frank Munsey. It is the first American pulp magazine. The magazine began as a children's weekly story-paper entitled The Golden Argosy.
In late September 1882, Frank Munsey had moved to New York City to start Argosy, having arranged a partnership with a friend and with a stockbroker from. Munsey put most of his money, around $500, into purchasing stories for the magazine. Once in New York, the stockbroker backed out, and Munsey released his New York friend from involvement, as they were hopelessly underfunded. He then pitched the magazine to a publisher, and convinced him to publish the magazine and hire Munsey as editor.
The first issue published December 2, 1882, was eight pages and cost five cents. Munsey found targeting children a mistake, as they did not stay subscribed for any length of time, since they grew out of reading the magazine. Additionally, children did not have much money to spend, limiting the number of advertisers.
In December 1888 the title was changed to The Argosy. Publication to monthly in April 1894, at which time the magazine began its shift towards pulp fiction. It eventually published its first all-fiction issue in 1896. The all-fiction Argosy launched a new genre of magazines, and is considered the pioneer among pulp magazines. (Source: wikipedia)
It appears that nothing before 1951 was renewed as well as not all issues after were renewed. However, many individuals stories were renewed. We have had to remove all issues after 1922 until stories can be searched.
Beadle's Dime Library was published by Beadle & Adams based in New York, USA.
The publication first appeared in June 1860 and ran for over 670 issues. The covers retained a constant orange colour for the whole of the series.
The first few edition covers were illustrated with the reverse of a dime (10c) coin, thereafter illustrated with a scene from the novel.
The stories were mainly Adventure stories, Detective Stories or Westerns, with a complete story in each edition.
Beadle's Half Dime Library was published by Beadle & Adams based in New York, USA.
This publication was a companion to Beadle's Dime Library which was primarily aimed at boys, which was reflected in the price of a nickel which was thought more affordable to youngsters of the time.
Its popularity was such that it ran for just over 28 years.
In the beginning, the stories were of Indians, pioneers, backwoodsmen, or the sea. Later, detective stories became the rule.
Boys' First-Rate Pocket Library was published by Aldine Publishing Company based in London, UK.
This publication is not considered a Pulp magazine but falls under the terminology of a "Penny Dreadful". Unusual for a publication of its type it featured coloured covers.
It was first published in 1890 and run for a total of 472 issues until it folded in 1905.
The stories were typically lurid tales intended to grip the reader, initially of pirates and highway-men, later concentrating on crime and detection.
Brave and Bold Weekly was published by Street & Smith based in New York.
It ran from December 1902 until March 1911 for a total of approximately 429 issues.
It featured a complete story each week mostly reprinted from previous Street & Smith publications such as Golden Hours and Good News.
The stories were mainly adventure based covering many different genres.
The Brookside Library was published weekly by Frank Tousey based in New York, USA.
It ran from 1882 to 1884 for a total of 410 issues.
It was classed as a 'Dime Novel', although only costing 5 cents, and featured a complete story each week. These stories were mostly Romance based.
The Deadwood Dick Library was published by M.J. Ivers & Co based in New York, USA.
It was published weekly and ran from 1899 to 1900 for a total of 64 issues.
A Dime novel series containing primarily frontier, western, detective and mystery stories re-printed from Beadle's Half-Dime Library.
Deadwood Dick is a fictional character who appeared in a series of dime novels, originally published between 1877 and 1897 by Edward Lytton Wheeler.
The name became so widely known in its time that it was used to advantage by several men who actually resided in Deadwood, South Dakota.
Dick Turpin was a story paper published by Aldine Publishing from April 1902 to September 1909, starring 19th century highwayman Dick Turpin.
Apparently published 4 times a month it ran for a total of 182 issues (This figure doesn't equate to the time-scale of the publication).
The stories were mostly written by A. Sherrington Burrage writing under the name Charlton Lea.
Famous Fantastic Mysteries was published by the Frank A. Munsey Company based in New York, USA.
Published originally as bi-monthly, it had a short spell as a monthly magazine before reverting to bi-monthly. It ran from 1939 to 1953 for a total of 81 issues.
A fantasy fiction magazine offering reprints of scientific and fantastic classics from earlier decades. Some of it's more famous authors included G. K. Chesterton, H. G. Wells, and H. Rider Haggard. Renewals seem to have taken place in 1982 which would make magazines 1943 and earlier in public domain.
Fight Stories was published by Fiction House based in New York, USA.
Its publishing run covered two spells: monthly from June 1928 to May 1932 for a total of 47 issues, then quarterly from Spring 1936 to Spring 1952 for a further 59 issues (106 total).
A pulp magazine devoted to stories of boxing, plus articles of the famous boxers of the time.
It is best remembered for publishing a large number of stories by Robert E. Howard, creator of Conan the Barbarian.
The Five Cent Wide Awake Library was published by Frank Tousey based in New York, USA.
Published weekly from 1878 to 1896 it ran for a total of over 1350 issues.
It featured mainly western and adventure stories.
Tousey was the first publisher to issue a dime novel featuring Jesse James, The Train Robbers; or, a Story of the James Boys, which appeared in No. 440 of the Wide Awake Library. The dime novel was written by John R. Musick under the name W. D. Stevens.
Not only first on the scene, Tousey also became a major source of output for the James tales in dime novels. He even created a series called James Boys Weekly.
Four O' Clock magazine was published by A.L. Swift & Co. based in Chicago, USA.
Published monthly from February 1897 to December 1902 it ran for a total of 71 issues.
It was well known for its cover art featuring well known artists of the time such as J. C. Leyendecker.
It featured original stories and poetry of a general nature.
After its final issue it merged with The Philharmonic, a magazine dedicated to the modern arts.
The Halfpenny Surprise was a British magazine published by Edwin J. Brett based in Fleet Street, London, UK.
Published weekly from November 1894 to April 1906, it ran for a total of approximately 600 issues. The title was then changed to New Surprise.
It featured complete stories of Adventure and Suspense in each issue.
Jungle Stories was a pulp magazine published by Glen-Kel Publishing, a division of Fiction House based in New York, USA.
Published quarterly from 1938 to 1954, it ran for a total of 59 issues.
Essentially a character pulp, each issue featured a lead novel about Ki-Gor. This character was an imitation of Tarzan, which has caused Jungle Stories to be heavily collected by some Burroughs fans. Ki-Gor however lacked Tarzan's ability to communicate with animals. Each of the covers usually featured a scantily clad girl in a leopard skin costume.
Mammoth Adventure was a short-lived bi-monthly pulp magazine published by Ziff-Davis based in Chicago, USA.
It ran for 8 issues between July 1946 to September 1947.
As the title suggests it features mostly Adventure stories both historical and modern.
The covers featured luridly drawn depictions of one of the stories within.
The National Police Gazette, commonly referred to as simply the Police Gazette, was an American magazine founded in 1845 by two journalists, Enoch E. Camp, also an attorney, and George Wilkes, a transcontinental railroad booster. In 1866, Wilkes and Camp sold the Gazette to George W. Matsell. The editor and proprietor from 1877 until his death in 1922 was Richard Kyle Fox, an immigrant from Ireland.
Ostensibly devoted to matters of interest to the police, it is a tabloid-like publication, with lurid coverage of murders, Wild West outlaws, and sport. It is well known for its engravings and photographs of scantily clad strippers, burlesque dancers, and prostitutes, often skirting on the edge of what is legally considered obscenity.
The National Police Gazette enjoyed considerable popularity in the late 19th century and early decades of the 20th century; but its popularity decreased during the Great Depression. The National Police Gazette continued on after the death of Fox as a monthly publication for many years before ceasing print publication in 1977.
In its heyday it was immensely influential. In the first part of the 20th century, the United States became the centre for professional boxing. It was generally accepted that the "world champions" were those listed by the Police Gazette. After 1920, the National Boxing Association began to sanction "title fights". (Source: wikipedia)
New Story Magazine was a pulp magazine published monthly by Street & Smith based in New York, USA.
Formerly Gunter's Magazine, then The New Magazine, it then became All Around Magazine, finally merging with Peoples' Magazine.
It ran from August 1911 to November 1915 for a total of 52 issues.
It featured 'Up-To-Date Original Fiction' mainly Mystery, Adventure and Western stories. Some of its contributors were H. Rider Haggard, Edgar Rice Burroughs and Edgar Wallace.
The Northern Messenger was a Sunday weekly magazine published by John Dougall & Son, based in Montreal, Canada.
The publisher John Dougall, was born in Paisley, Scotland in 1808. He immigrated to Canada in 1826. He was known to hold strong religious views and was a member of the Congregational Church.
It was previously known as the Canadian Messenger which ran from 1864-1875. The Northern Messenger ran from 1876-1950 and featured stories and articles with some religious overtones.
The Nugget Library V1 was a weekly magazine published by Street & Smith based in New York, USA.
It ran from 29 August 1889 to 16 August 1892 for a total of 167 issues.
It mostly included complete adventure stories in each issue, with two series featuring continuing characters, Tom Edison Jr. and Diamond Dick, both based on real life people. Thomas Edison, the famous inventor portrayed in his younger developmental years and Diamond Dick inspired by the life and career of herbal-medicine promoter and showman George B. McClellan, whose nickname was 'Diamond Dick'.
The Nugget Library V2 was a weekly magazine published by James Henderson and Sons based in Fleet Street, London, UK.
It ran from January 1908 to May 1916 for a total of 330 issues.
It featured a mix of adventure, historical and school stories.
The Popular Library was a monthly magazine published by Street & Smith based in New York, USA.
It ran from November 1903 to October 1931 for a total of 612 issues.
It originally was intended to be a boys' magazine, but after three issues it changed to a more mature mens' pulp magazine.
It went through a number of name changes in its publishing run:
The Popular Magazine for Boys and 'Old Boys': November 1903
The Popular Magazine: December 1903 - September 1927
The Popular Stories: September 1927 - December 1927
The Popular: January 1928 - October 1928 and finally again,
The Popular Magazine: October 1928 - October 1931.
It featured short stories, novellas, serialized larger works, and even entire short novels. The magazine's subject matter covered a number of different genres, although it contained mostly men's adventure stories.
The magazine can be considered a forerunner of the pulp fiction magazines that were prominent from the 1920s to the 1950s, as it avoided more highbrow fare in favour of fiction 'for the common man'.
One of the magazine's earliest successes came with the publication of H. Rider Haggard's novel Ayesha in 1905. Other well-known authors published by The Popular Magazine include H.G. Wells, Rafael Sabatini, Zane Grey, John Buchan, Sax Rohmer and Edgar Wallace.
R.A.F. Aces was a quarterly pulp magazine published by Better Publications Inc. based in New York, USA.
Basically one of a number of wartime propaganda magazines published in the USA to boost morale, it featured thrilling stories of Air Aces defeating the Nazi menace during World War II.
It ran from August 1941 to Summer 1944 for a total of 13 issues.
Robin Hood is a famous outlaw in English folk tales who was a highly skilled archer and swords-man. Traditionally depicted as being dressed in Lincoln green, he is often portrayed as 'robbing from the rich and giving to the poor' with his band of Merry Men. Robin Hood became a popular folk figure in the late-medieval period, and continues to be widely portrayed in literature, films and television.
The Robin Hood Library 002 was published by The Amalgamated Press Ltd based in Farringdon Street, London, UK.
It ran weekly from 15 April 1919 to 10 July 1920 for a total of 57 issues.
Robin Hood 007 was published by Aldine Publishing Co. based in Chaucery Lane, London, UK.
It ran monthly from 1912 to 1914 for a total of 14 issues.
Aldine Robin Hood Library 013 was published by Aldine Publishing Co. based in Chaucery Lane, London, UK.
It ran monthly from 1924 to 1927 for a total of 88 issues.
Sensation is a monthly pulp magazine published by Sensation Magazines Inc. a division of King Features Syndicate, Inc. based in New York, USA.
It apparently only ran for two issues, dated November 1939 and January 1940. It featured stories and articles of a sensational nature as the title would suggest.
More sensational than the contents of the magazine was the editor, William Buehler Seabrook who actually practiced cannibalism on one occasion, out of curiosity to discover the taste of human meat. He had lived with a tribe of cannibals, called the Guere, whose Chief could not accurately describe the taste to him.
He also had dealings with Aleister Crowley and had a lifelong fascination with the occult practices of Satanism and Haitian Voodoo.
Something To Read: A Journal For Single And Married Everywhere, was a weekly tabloid which was published by Edwin J. Brett based in London, UK.
Accurate details of this publication are not available, but it is believed it was published from 15th March 1881 onwards. It has upwards of 1100 issues.
The main part of the publication consisted of 16 pages with a novelette supplement consisting of 8-12 pages. The novelettes are mainly romantic based.
Spicy-Adventure Stories was a monthly pulp magazine published by Culture Publications based in New York, USA.
It ran from July 1934 to December 1942 for a total of 95 issues.
It contained adventure stories of a risqué nature and the covers reflected this, featuring nearly always a scantily clad young maiden in some form of jeopardy.
N.B. From late 1935 through late 1937, most issues appeared in two different versions - one un-censored and the other self-censored. The censored version was identifiable by a star within a box located at the top of the cover. The interior illustrations were typically 'toned down' in the censored versions e.g. lingerie drawn over a topless female, and some even had variant contents.
Due to censorship issues the title was cancelled and was changed to the more acceptable Speed Adventure Stories, featuring tamer stories. This was published as a Bi-Monthly from January 1943 to January 1946 for a further total of 18 issues. It had two different publishers during this spell, Trojan Publishing and Arrow Publishing.
Sunday Novel was a supplement to the Sunday Edition of The Detroit Free Press.
It consisted of a complete novelette each Sunday.
Exact details of total issues and press run are unavailable.
The newspaper itself was first published as the Democratic Free Press and Michigan Intelligencer on May 5, 1831.
Telling Tales was a monthly/bi-monthly pulp magazine published by Clayton Magazines based in New York, USA.
It ran from August 1919 to September 1925 for a total of 91 issues.
It was one of the many magazines that became better known as 'Girlie Pulps', describing itself as 'A Magazine Of Speed, Spice And Sparkle'.
It published several stories by well-known pulp authors such as Murray Leinster and H. Bedford-Jones.
Covers usually consisted of mostly young women, sometimes scantily clad, by artists such as Frederick Alexander Duncan and George 'Jack' Oscar Greineras.
Thrilling Adventures was a monthly pulp magazine published by Metropolitan Magazines Inc. based in New York, USA.
Thrilling Adventures was created by editor Leo Margulies and was patterned after the pulp 'Adventure'. It was one of 16 pulps that Margulies founded that incorporated the adjective 'Thrilling' in the title. Metropolitan Magazines changed its name to Thrilling Publications to reflect that.
It consisted of 'Adventure' and sports stories which appealed to the more mature reader. Well known authors who had their stories published were Edgar Rice Burroughs, Louis Lamour and L. Ron Hubbard amongst others.
Young Folks' Tales was published by James Henderson and Sons based in Fleet Street, London, UK.
It ran from September 1906 to May 1921 for a total of 546 issues. It then becomes Young Folks' Tales (New Series).
It initially published 4 issues a month until 1910 when it was reduced to 3 issues a month.
The title was taken over by the Amalgamated Press in April 1920 and a new cover introduced in May 1920.
The first editor was Roland Quiz (Richard M. H. Quittenton), author of the old Tim Pippin stories, who was 73 and retired when he took the position.
It at first reprinted long stories from Our Young Folk's Weekly Budget which had appeared in 1871-75. After two years however they had used the complete stock of Quiz's Tim Pippin/Giantland tales. From issue 61 the stories were mostly originals, with half of the new stories being written by Roland Quiz himself.
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