[It’s taken only 70 years to get this issue reviewed. Gives me hope that I’ll catch up on my reading someday, and be able to positively answer that question that all of us book and magazine readers and collectors have to endure, namely “Have you read all those books?”] Western Story Annual [1948] (Street &… Continue reading Issue Review – Western Story Annual, 1948
Author: Sai S
Adventure House Pulp and Collectibles Show – Trip Report
Adventure House held their first pulp convention in Maryland recently. I found cheapish tickets for the trip, and there I was. A good beginning to what I hope is a new annual show. Rain depressed attendance (Hurricane Florence sent preliminary rain storms up and down the east coast) and flights and in general I got… Continue reading Adventure House Pulp and Collectibles Show – Trip Report
Ramon F. Adams – Author, Cowboy historian, Candyman
Ramon F. Adams c. 1965 in the Tucson Daily Citizen Yes, you read that right. Candyman was one of the professions of Ramon F. Adams, a prominent author on the west and cowboys. He was born in Moscow, Texas in 1889, trained as a violinist before a wrist injury ended his musical career as teacher… Continue reading Ramon F. Adams – Author, Cowboy historian, Candyman
J. Edward Leithead – Author, Dime novel historian
J. Edward Leithead wrote over 200 stories for the pulps from 1922 to 1950. In this article, originally published in True West, Feb 1967 (also republished in Pulp Vault 14), he reminisces about writing for the western pulps, starting with Western Story in the 1920s to the end in the 1950s. He also wrote many… Continue reading J. Edward Leithead – Author, Dime novel historian
Artist Robert G. Harris – article in Arizona Highways
From 1934-37, Robert G. Harris painted more than 70 covers for pulp magazines. Almost two-thirds of those were for Street and Smith’s Wild West Weekly, and a few more western covers for the Thrilling magazine group. David Saunders’ Pulp Artists site has a nice biographical article on him here. This article by Amy Abrams about… Continue reading Artist Robert G. Harris – article in Arizona Highways
Confessions of a pulpeteer – Jack Smalley article about his days as a pulp author and editor – part 2
Part 1 appeared the previous week. A discovery I made early in life was that pulp publishers were a daring breed, ready to plunge into new fields at the drop of an idea and gamble thousands on what might turn out to be a flop. Life was exciting in the Twenties and readers wanted to… Continue reading Confessions of a pulpeteer – Jack Smalley article about his days as a pulp author and editor – part 2
Confessions of a pulpeteer – Jack Smalley article about his days as a pulp author and editor – part 1
[Jack Smalley was the editor of Battle Stories, a pulp published by Fawcett from the late 1920s to the early 1930s. This memoir appeared in Westways magazine, June 1974 with the title: Amazing Confessions of a Pulpeteer. It was later reprinted in Murania Press‘ Blood and Thunder prozine in 2014. I read it first in an… Continue reading Confessions of a pulpeteer – Jack Smalley article about his days as a pulp author and editor – part 1
John Philip Falter – biographical article about the artist
John Philip Falter was a fine artist who did a few covers for the pulps, all western themed. He is better known for having done more than 100 covers for the Saturday Evening Post between 1943 and 1971. His pulp covers (images taken from the FictionMags Index): Western Story Magazine, November 7, 1931 cover by… Continue reading John Philip Falter – biographical article about the artist
Canine Covers in honor of National Dog Day
Pick your favorite. Mine’s the German Shepherd in the Argosy. Adventure, July 18, 1919 cover by James Reynolds Argosy, February 7, 1925 cover by Charles Livingston Bull Blue Book, February 1934 cover by Joseph C. Chenoweth The Popular Magazine, March 20, 1916 cover by John A. Coughlin Short Stories January 10th, 1941 cover by A.R. Tilburne… Continue reading Canine Covers in honor of National Dog Day
Index to the fanzine Xenophile – part 2
Had the good luck recently to acquire a complete run of the fanzine Xenophile. Have been reading a few issues, shocked by the low prices and high dudgeon evinced by subscribers at price increases of pulps to as much as $3 for a late 1930s Black Mask issue. Didn’t find it indexed, so this is… Continue reading Index to the fanzine Xenophile – part 2