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[Mick22]

How can we divide and categorize the Pulp Era into different ages (ex. Golden Age, Silver Age, etc.) like comic book ages?

[SuperScrounge]

Well, as I understand it, the comic book ages started with old time comic readers complaining that comics weren't as good as when they were kids, a golden age so to speak, and fans of the superhero revival responding that the then current era must be a silver age, and once there were two loosely defined eras others started inventing eras to go around them.

I don't think that ever happened with the pulps, so other than personal preference it might not happen to the pulps.

[bowers]

 I think pulps could be better divided by product type than by arbitrary "ages". The earlier story-papers and dime novels morphed into pulps, which in turn morphed into slick magazines featuring sci-fi, westerns, romance stories, true crime, and, of course, the men's "sweat" magazines, such as Stag, Saga, etc.
I'm certain this is an over-simplification, but it works for me. Cheers, bowers

[nzumel]

Mike Ashley seems to consider the height of the pulps to be right before and right after WWI, which is also around the time period considered the Golden Age for detective fiction and ghost stories. I'm sure that's not a coincidence. He also seems to put the end of the pulp era at about 1955.

https://www.pulpmags.org/contexts/essays/golden-age-of-pulps.html

Of course, there are the descendants of pulps that existed after 1955, some to this day: Amazing Stories, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine ... I guess Ashley would call these digests, rather than pulps.

[The Australian Panther]

NZUMEL said,

  Of course, there are the descendants of pulps that existed after 1955, some to this day: Amazing Stories, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine ... I guess Ashley would call these digests, rather than pulps. 

Yes, they do call themselves DIGESTS. I still see them in some Newsagents. I'm surprised actually that they still exist. I think that these days they are more like 'Fan' publications. Fans would be their audience.
Those titles used to host the best writers in their genres.

cheers!     

[nzumel]

I was a huge fan of Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine when I was in Junior High and High School. I will still pick up an old vintage copy (pre-1990s) when I see it.

I stopped reading them for a long time when I got to college and changed my reading habits. I remember picking one up maybe ten or fifteen years ago and being very disappointed in the quality of the stories. But I guess it's still a viable publishing venue for new mystery writers while they're still in their short story stage (before they give them up completely and go exclusively to novels).