As I read through magazines and books i buy, i sometimes come across things inside the pages. I never know what will pop out. So far, i haven’t found any money inside, but that doesn’t stop me from looking.
My best find so far has been a couple of signed postcards from the Western author and poet Clem Yore, sent to his aunt. I found these in an issue of the magazine West i won in an Ebay auction.
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| Postcard from Clem Yore to his aunt, Caroline Hanley |
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| Postcard from Clem Yore to his aunt, Caroline Hanley |
Other finds are more mundane. Recently, i came across a couple of postcards. One i found in a lot of Western Story Magazine that i picked up at an antique show in Oregon. It was advertising seeds by mail order – the Amazon.com of the time.
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| Postcard advertising seeds from H.W. Buckbee |
This renewal notice for the Bangor Daily News came from an issue of Detective Fiction Weekly in 1930.
The yuckiest thing that i ever found was this old-time dental floss made from silk. Looked like knitting yarn till i saw the label. I threw that out fast and am trying to forget where i found it, or i will have to throw out the magazine too.
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| Antique dental floss made from silk |
So what have you found in the magazines and books you’ve bought? Share the best and or the worst thing you found in a comment.
I had several pulps from a midwest farmer who kept track of his farming in the pulps and on the covers. He would list profits from eggs, vegetables, livestock, etc.
Somewhere in my WESTERN STORY set is a letter from a girl friend of old time collector Harry Noble whining about the way he was treating her. We were friends for almost 40 years right up to his death. He must of used the letter for a book mark in the pulp. He was 88 when he died and still had girlfriends.
That's it? No map with a mark showing where someone had buried tons of pulp magazines and a man with one leg mysteriously showing up at your house shortly after you got the map? I'm disappointed, Walker 🙂
Hey Sai, that would be a great plot for a novel! Come to think of it, it's been used already for TREASURE ISLAND. Too Bad…
Inside a September 1952 Zane Grey's Western I found a receipt from Don and Paul Mac's D-X Service station in Racine WI, dated August 12, 1952, for $3 worth of regular gas sold to Nick Sarto. Nick may well have filled up his car the same day he bought the magazine. But the best find I can recall came from a library book, an almost randomly chosen Thomas Hardy novel. Inside was a $10 bill.
I remember reading The Mayor of Casterbridge many years ago. A very well written and extremely depressing novel – if the one you chose was similar, i think you deserved the 10$ 🙂
The coolest thing I found was a kiss. A woman had kissed a page, leaving a lip stick kiss impression. The best part is the name of the story that the kiss was done on, "Fast and Loose". I forget the author but it was in an issue of Argosy. I have a folder filled with news clippings, sketches, stubs etc. that I've found over the years. I did find an envelope with a Christmas card containing a photo negative. The picture was of the original owner as a young man in his navy uniform. Had to send that back to the previous owner (the sailors son).
The coolest thing I found was a kiss. A woman had kissed a page, leaving a lip stick kiss impression. The best part is the name of the story that the kiss was done on, "Fast and Loose". I forget the author but it was in an issue of Argosy. I have a folder filled with news clippings, sketches, stubs etc. that I've found over the years. I did find an envelope with a Christmas card containing a photo negative. The picture was of the original owner as a young man in his navy uniform. Had to send that back to the previous owner (the sailors son).
That's a great story – you should post some pictures of the stuff you've found.
I found one of those rare 1930s Doc Savage stickers used as a bookmark in a Doc pulp.
Did it look like this?