Bah Humbug!

Bah, humbug!

There is no better way to begin my annual letter than to exclaim, as Ebenezer Scrooge might have expressed his dissatisfaction with this holiday. Christmas is the true American celebration of commercial capitalism and, thus more American than the Fourth of July. Very few of us seem to enjoy the pressure, or the expense, of this holiday – but we can’t let it go. Racing around with lists in hand, attempting to spend equal amounts relative to certain stratum classifications for the beneficiaries. Auntie said some really nice things about us back in May, while a daughter-in-law may have fallen short of goals that we secretly set for her.

Have you been naughty or nice? We all begin the year with resolutions that put us on track for all kinds of improvements and personal betterment. How many of us can remember our resolutions for this year? Oh, god! I think that I may have resolved to lose a few pounds, smile more, and work harder and here we are. Most of my clothes still fit – some may have tightened and stretched though – and I’m feeling cranky and lazy.

There is an old joke that has been going around the internet for years (and most certainly has existed for decades earlier). It poses the question: what if there had been three wise women rather than three wise men? The assumption is that the term “wise man” is a contradiction. The women would have asked directions, and thus arrived on time. They would have helped to deliver the baby, cleaned the stable, made casseroles, and brought with them practical gifts.

This scenario doesn’t work for most, however. Life would be so simple if only there were just the one child to purchase gifts for. When my brother, the carpenter, became a father, my sister could not see the value of bringing carpenter tools for the son who might follow in his dad’s footprints. Oh no, she felt that the lad should do better. Instead of a hammer, she would bring the boy water colors. Instead of a ruler, she would bring the prodigy a calculator. Instead of encouraging her nephew to develop the skills of his father, she would plant the seeds for dreams.

Today, the boy has grown to be a man. His father, the carpenter, has retired with a modest pension. He led a simple life and, for the most part, has kept his sense of humor. The aunt, or the carpenter’s sister, seems to complain a lot – things are just never quite right for her. The son cannot drive a nail straight to save his life. Because of his father’s example at the work ethic, he worked hard and finished college earning a degree in philosophy – scored high in his class too. He is now unemployed with just the occasional job substitute teaching at the local grammar school.

Oh, yes – I was talking about Christmas shopping wasn’t I? The experience of a large family provides ample opportunity to observe seemingly infinite variations on the themes of life. Our level of education has given us all better lives. Carpentry is a nice stable skill and philosophers dream with a logical discipline that can only lead to a better understanding. Reality, however, does not change – neither the philosopher nor the carpenter has any idea what to get the other for Christmas.

Bah, humbug!

Frank Andrew Munsey: Father of the Pulp Magazines

Frank A. Munsey was an exceptional man and deserves his place in the history of American publishing. He was ambitious, energetic, creative, intelligent, self-sacrificing, egocentric, and

Frank A. Munsey

driven. He is well known for being the first to use pulpwood paper to control cost for the publication of Argosy magazine.  His legacy, however, is hardly limited to this single act.

Horatio Alger, Jr. , whose Ragged Dick stories starting in 1868 were well-known at the time that Munsey was growing up, wrote stories of boys and their “rags to riches” lives. These boys succeeded because of their perseverance, total honesty, and hard work. Munsey modeled his life on the influence of Alger’s writings. He would grow from humble origins to a highly successful life as entrepreneur and publisher.

Munsey was born to a farming family in remote Mercer, Maine in 1854. He had failed at running a General Store before becoming a telegraph operator and working his way to manager of the Western Union office in the state capital of Augusta, Maine. In Augusta, he was exposed to state legislators, businessmen, and their achievements. The publishing industry was active there, and Munsey was exposed to the influence, power, and wealth that might be realized.

Golden Argosy

In 1882, with a few hundred dollars in his pocket and a Horatio Alger, Jr. story in his dossier, Munsey moved to New York City. Less than 3 months later, he published the first edition of Golden Argosy. Of course, like most dreamers, Munsey’s path to success was hindered by reality. True to the teachings of Alger, Munsey’s frugality, hard work, intelligence, and perseverance (and perhaps even a little luck) allowed him to continue.

Golden Argosy had been aimed at boys and, although somewhat successful, would not sustain itself.  Boys don’t have money to spend on advertiser’s products and they grow up, thus the market for the magazine was naturally hindered. Munsey realized this difficulty and applied himself to overcome the challenge. In 1889 he began to publish a second periodical, Munsey’s Weekly, for adult readers.

Munsey's Weekly

Munsey’s Weekly soon had a circulation of 40,000 copies each week. Munsey, who was now enjoying some reward for his effort was not satisfied. He continued to aggressively work toward greater circulation and continued growth. He realized that to succeed his publications needed to have more than what he considered good ideas. Rather, he needed readers who purchase magazines and the products of the advertisers.

Munsey's Magazine

Golden Argosy was struggling and Munsey’s Weekly, although doing well, was not growing as it should. Munsey felt the growth in the newspaper business, specifically the Sunday editions, would ultimately be the demise of the weekly periodical business. He responded by changing Munsey’s Weekly to the monthly Munsey’s Magazine in the fall of 1891. He priced the magazine competitively at 25 cents and educated himself regarding the differences between the monthly and weekly periodicals. But, he was still not satisfied.

Munsey, Sept. 1899

He admired the Sunday newspapers because they appealed to the full breadth of the market. There was something that appealed to the young and the old, to both men and women, and from the bottom to the top of the economic strata. He wanted to change the character of the magazine. So, Munsey formulated a plan to make his magazine “light, bright, timely – a magazine of the people and for the people, with pictures and art and good cheer and human interest throughout.” The price would be dropped to ten cents in the hope of meeting the means of just about everyone who could read. The hitch in the works was distribution. The American News Company was an obstacle. It was the way that periodicals reached the dealers in this country, and they were not interested in Munsey’s idea of decreasing the price in order to increase circulation. Munsey tried to go around them and solicited directly to the dealers, but he received no response – at least not directly. The dealers, however, submitted their orders directly to American News. In the end, American News decided to make the deal with Munsey and Munsey’s Magazine sold 40,000 copies the first month, 60,000 the second month, then 100,000, and progressively increased its circulation to 700,000.

Argosy, Dec 1896

Munsey maintained that the success of Munsey’s Magazine enabled the success of his entire business. Six months later, Golden Argosy became The Argosy. In its eleven and a half years, its life had been quite precarious. Circulation had dropped from 150,000 weekly down to 9,000 while most of Munsey’s energy had been going into the Munsey’s Magazine experiment. It was now time to address his original dream.

Argosy, April 1922

The new Argosy magazine would be an all-fiction magazine. In 1896, The Argosy began publishing using cheap pulpwood paper with a better quality coated paper cover. Munsey was able to keep the price down and produce a magazine that contained 192 pages of content. Circulation began to climb steadily, and by 1903 had reached a half-million.

Munsey’s success increased after this, and by his 25^th anniversary in New York he owned 2 daily newspapers and 6 magazines – The Argosy, Munsey’s Magazine, The Scrap Book, The All-Story Magazine, and The Railroad Man’s Magazine.

Munsey died in 1925, but his publishing empire continued to operate until 1942 when it was taken over by competitor, Popular Publications. His legacy of being the first to publish with cheap pulpwood paper is really just a part of the story. He was a remarkable man who was not only entrepreneur, but also writer, editor, salesman, and promoter. Perhaps most important was his steadfast determination and empirical approach to business. His ideas of the relationship between price and circulation and the relationship to ad revenue may not have been unique to the industry but he proved the theories. 

Pulp Magazines: A Cultural History – Timeline

The history of magazine publishing is complex. There is a great deal of variance in records, definitions, and resources due to the size and scope of this history. I am in the process of assembling a timeline to use in my personal research, as well as to share in the course that I will teach. Much of what is listed here needs further explanation. Like any timeline, however, it will serve as an adequate starting point. 

1663 – world’s first magazine – Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen (tr. “Edifying Monthly Discussions”)

1704 – first English language magazine in London – Review – publisher was Daniel DeFoe  

1731 – The Gentleman’s Magazine published by Edward Cave in England. 1st use of “magazine” 

1739 – The Scots Magazine begins – today remains the oldest consumer magazine in print.

1741 – American Magazine – first U.S. magazine 

1741 – Ben Franklin’s General Magazine – 3 days after rival Bradford’s American Magazine

1770 – The Lady’s Magazine – 1^st  women’s magazine starts –  literary & fashion content

1796 –Alois Senefelder develops lithography to produce high-quality printed images (Germany).

1821 – The Saturday Evening Post – 1^st successful magazine in America was founded

1825 – fewer than 100 magazines in the U.S. –  more than 600 by 1850 –  established as mass medium

1840 – Graham’s Magazine – a nineteenth-century periodical based in Philadelphia established

1841 – Edgar Allan Poe became the editor of Graham's

1841 – Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” in Graham's – recognized as the first detective story

1843 – wood-grinding machine invented to create ground wood pulp that can be used to make paper

1843 – The Economist begins examining news, politics, business, science, and the arts.

1850 – Harper’s Magazine made its – oldest general-interest monthly in America

1850 – Number of magazines published in the U. S. reaches 685.

1854 – chemical treatment to make wood pulp for paper making patented

1855 – Street & Smith founded

1857 – The Atlantic Monthly – founders include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes

1863 – postage rates created for first-, second-, and third-class mail

1864 – American News Company began – magazine, newspaper, book, (and comic book) distribution

1867 – Federal Department of Education began

1870 – Scribner's Monthly: An Illustrated Magazine for the People – American literary periodical

1879 – 3 classes of mail reorganized – magazines now have same low postage cost as newspapers.

1882 – Frank A. Munsey moves to NY from Maine – 1^st  issue of Golden Argosy published less than 3 months later. 

1883 – Life – American magazine similar to Puck – 1883-1936 published as humor & general interest

1885 – The Engraver and Printer – a house journal for the Boston Photogravure Company.

1886 – Cosmopolitan launched in U. S. as family magazine – later literary & eventually women's magazine in the late 1960s.

1887 – Sherlock Holmes makes first appearance in Beeton’s Christmas Annual with “A Study in Scarlet”

1888 – National Geographic Magazine – 9 months after start of National Geographic Society

1890 – 4,400 magazines with 18 million circulation in the U. S.

1890 – Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray published in Lippincott’s Magazine (book a year later)

1890 – Short Stories was an American fiction magazine that existed between 1890 and 1959.

1891 – The Strand magazine – a monthly in UK & US begins – 1^st publishes Sherlock Holmes, “A Scandal in Bohemia” in July, 1891.

1892 – Four color rotary press

1893 – 20,000 readers cancel their subscriptions to Strand Magazine when Sherlock Holmes is killed off in “The Final Problem.” Conan Doyle relented in 1902 bringing back the detective hero in “The Adventure of the Empty House.”

1893 – Frank Munsey cuts price of Munsey’s Magazine to 10¢ and the cost of subscriptions to $1.00 to boost sales and seek profits from advertising revenue rather than copy sales.

1893 – The Engraver and Printer publishes color halftone.

1895 – Collier’s weekly magazine starts and is published until 1957.

1896 – First “pulp” magazine published by Munsey – The Argosy. Prior to WWI, The Argosy had several notable writers, including Upton Sinclair and Zane Grey

1898 – New York State passes law against misleading advertising

1898 – Ladies’ Home Journal owner Cyrus H. Curtis buys Saturday Evening Post and relaunches it as an illustrated journal

1900 – more than 5,000 magazines now in the U.S.

1900 – Price of “chemical” wood pulp $36/ton – down from $344/ton in 1866

1903 – Street & Smith had started a boys' periodical, The Popular Magazine, but seeing it was not reaching its market they revamped its content, doubled its page count, and converted it to an all-adventure pulp from Feb. 1904, making it the first direct rival to The Argosy.

1905 – post office refined the rules that defined which publications would be recognized as magazines to eliminate such abuses as passing off one-time advertising circulars or books as magazines and qualifying for reduced rates. Magazines must now have a known office address, consecutive numbering, a date of issue, an editorial focus such as literature, science, etc., and be assembled from printed sheets without heavy covers or binding. 

1905 – All-Story Magazine started by Munsey (Jan. 1905). Edgar Rice Burroughs was first published in All-Story. Other All-Story writers Rex Stout, Mary Roberts Rinehart, and Max Brand.

1905 – The Monthly Story Magazine started by Story-Press Corporation (May 1905).

1906 – The Monthly Story Magazine becomes The Monthly Story Blue Book Magazine. For the next 45 years (May 1907 to January 1952), it was known as The Blue Book Magazine, Blue Book Magazine, Blue Book, and Blue Book of Fiction and Adventure.

1908 – The Cavalier was published by the Frank Munsey Co. between 1908 and 1914.

1910 – Adventure magazine – an American pulp magazine that was first published in November 1910 by the Ridgway company, an offshoot of the Butterick Publishing Company.

1912 – Photoplay – first magazine for movie fans

1914 – The Gentleman’s Magazine ceases publication

1919 – Under editor George Horace Lorimer, The Saturday Evening Post publishes a 200-page issue with 111 pages of advertising. The publication was selling more than a million copies a week with high-profile authors and Norman Rockwell’s covers.

1919 – Western Story Magazine was a pulp magazine published by Street & Smith, which ran from 1919 to 1949.  It was the first of numerous pulp magazines devoted to Western fiction. In its heyday Western Story Magazine was one of the most successful pulp magazines; in 1921 the magazine was selling over half a million copies each issue.

1920 – Black Mask Magazine –a pulp magazine launched in 1920 by journalist H. L. Mencken and drama critic George Jean Nathan

1921 – Love Story Magazine, the first romantic fiction pulp, began in May of 1921 and soon became the best selling pulp magazine for Street & Smith publishers.

1922 – Reader’s Digest begins publishing. 

1923 – Time – first U.S. news magazine started by Henry Luce

1923 – Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published

1926 – Amazing Stories launched by Luxembourg-born Hugo Gernsback, one of the pioneers of science fiction in the U.S. His name lives on in the annual Hugo Awards. 

1926 – Street & Smith changed their distribution from the American News Company to the Chelsea News Company (a collection of independent distributors organized by Street & Smith and organized as a subsidiary) – note: the exact date is uncertain and may have been as late as 1930.

1927 – Final Sherlock Holmes story, “Shoscombe Old Place,” published in the April issue of the Strand Magazine.

1928 – Daisy Bacon becomes editor of Street & Smith’s Love Story Magazine (January, 1928) and remained in the position for 22 years.

1928 – Flying Aces – one of so-called "flying pulp" magazines, popular during the 1920s &  1930s

1929 – Wonder Stories –  early US science fiction magazine published under several titles (1929- 1955)

1930 – The Times (London) carries its first crossword puzzle.

1930 – Oriental Stories, later The Magic Carpet Magazine, pulp 1930-34, offshoot of Weird Tales.

1931 – Dime Detective – most popular of Popular Publication's line of detective pulps and one of the company's longest surviving titles.

1933 – Newsweek begins publication

1933 – Esquire is the first men’s magazine

1934 – Spicy Detective – Published by Culture Publications.

1935 – Horror Stories – US pulp magazine –  published tales of the supernatural, horror, & macabre.

1936 – Life magazine – Time founder Henry Luce bought in 1936 solely for its name

1937 – The Saturday Evening Post – 3 million circulation – the largest in the U.S.

1937 – Look – bi-weekly, general interest and photojournalism magazine starts and continues to 1971

1939 – Planet Stories – US pulp science fiction magazine, published by Fiction House (1939-1955)

1939 – Startling Stories – US pulp science fiction magazine, Ned Pines' Standard Magazines (1939-1955)

1939 – Unknown (also known as Unknown Worlds) -- US pulp fantasy fiction magazine,  S&S ’39-‘43

1944 – Seventeen – first magazine devoted to adolescents

1946 – More than 200 mass-oriented magazine launched in U.S.

1949 – “The Day the Pulps Died” – April 8, 1949 – S&Smith announced it would stop publishing its pulps

1950 – Strand Magazine, famous for first publishing most of the Sherlock Holmes stories closed.

1953 – TV Guide begins publication with distribution in 10 cities with a circulation of 1,560,000

1953 – Playboy – Monroe on the cover and famous nude calendar shot inside.

1954 – Sports Illustrated launched by Time-Life.

"Pulp"? What's Dat?

What comes to your mind when you hear “pulp fiction,” “pulp magazine,” or “the pulps”? In today’s Pop Culture, the use of the term “pulp” goes far beyond its original meaning. The Quentin Tarantino movie, Pulp Fiction (1994), might very well have been the source of 

today’s usage. But Pulp Fiction was more homage to film history than a nod to the publishing history that it borrows the word “pulp” from.  The release of Tarantino’s flick was nearly 20 years ago and may rapidly be becoming an obscure point of reference.

Nearly 30 years ago, some efforts were made to bring back The Black Mask magazine – it was a weak attempt to capitalize on the title of a classic “pulp” magazine. At the same time Vintage Books (imprint of Random House, Inc.) had reprinted some of the classic stories from that magazine. The strength of this literary canon must have much more to do with breeding familiarity with the term “pulp fiction” – at least for the audience that it reached.

My recognition of the use of the term, “pulp” to describe a variety of literary styles and a magazine format, goes much further back. By the time that I would have been aware of the “pulps” back in the 1950s that period in publishing history had pretty much run its course. The economic growth of the post-World War II era, the growth of the movie industry, the increase in paperback book sales, and the beginnings of television represent a symphony to the demise of the “pulp” magazine era. Yet somehow these descriptive phrases are embedded in my knowledge base.

SO, WHAT IS PULP, REALLY?

So, we might ask about the term “pulp” – what does it mean? And, how did it come to be used in this context?  The term “pulp”, like “noir” in film, has evolved to have a more generic meaning than its literal origins.

The making of paper dates back to China around 105 AD. Paper was originally made from rags and later bamboo fiber broken down with lye. Over the centuries, the art and technique of making paper has evolved. Raw materials varied regionally with rags being the most common source of fiber. Challenges came from the quality of the raw materials, the pulping process, and surface treatments that improved strength and finish.

 It was during the 19^th century when the papermaking industry finally came of age. In 1843 a wood-grinding machine that produced ground wood pulp suitable for papermaking was invented.  It took well over a thousand years before papermaking could be done cheaply and efficiently by machine. Another milestone was achieved in 1854 when an alternative method, using chemical pulp to make paper was patented.

MAGAZINES FOR EVERYONE

Late in the 19^th century, magazine publishing was being refined, evolving from newspapers to story sheets to dime novels to magazines that were cut and trimmed similar to what we know today.  Also during this same time period, advances in education and literacy were taking place. A Federal Department of Education was founded in 1867. At the beginning of the 20^th century, roughly half the population between the ages of 5 and 19 were enrolled in school – by 1940, that figure had jumped to 75 percent.

Along with the development of papermaking, advances in magazine publishing are related to improved distribution.  In 1863, postage rates were streamlined into first-, second-, and third-class rates, and in 1879, the three classes of mail were reorganized so that magazines now enjoyed the same low postage cost as newspapers. The highest magazine circulations climbed from 40,000 before the Civil War to 100,000 by the end of the century.

In 1905, the post office refined the rules that defined which publications would be recognized as magazines to eliminate such abuses as passing off one-time advertising circulars or books as magazines and qualifying for reduced rates. Magazines must now have a known office address, consecutive numbering, a date of issue, an editorial focus such as literature, science, etc., and be assembled from printed sheets without heavy covers or binding.

INNOVATION HITS TOWN

Frank A. Munsey had been a telegraph operator in Augusta, Maine prior to moving to New York City in 1882 at the age of 28. He was determined to get into the publishing business and produced his first magazine, Golden Argosy, less than 3 months after his arrival in the big city. Under financed, but determined, Munsey managed to stay in publishing and quickly learned and developed his business.

Munsey’s original idea had been to publish his magazine for young readers but realized that, as his target market aged, there was a continuing need to develop new readers. In 1888 he changed the name of the magazine to The Argosy in an effort to attract more mature readers that might continue to purchase his magazine for a longer time. In 1889 he started Munsey’s Magazine to diversify and appeal to a different audience. Munsey’s ability to innovate was well documented in 1896 when he adapted a new form of low-cost wood pulp paper for the publication of The Argosy magazine.

Munsey is credited with being the first to use new high-speed printing presses to print on inexpensive, untrimmed, pulp paper in order to mass-produce affordable magazines. These are what became known as “pulp” magazines. They contained a variety of literary genres – action and adventure fiction set in all kinds of settings – western and ranch, desert and jungle, space and urban, high-seas and railroads. There were heroes of all kinds – foreign legion, sports, lawmen, concerned citizens, newspapermen, scientists, politicians, and detectives. This was literature written and published for the common man, a new literate reader who was intelligent yet humble, the housewife, the working class, and the professional. It was literature as entertainment for all.

“PULPS” TODAY

Today the usage of the term “pulp” has lost its roots but references literary practices that were established during the era of the “pulp” magazines – simplistic interpretations of right and wrong, strong decisive heroes, the willingness to make sacrifices to get to the source of evil, the strength to resist corruption, the value of principle over the temptations of money and power, respect for the weak provided they share a moral high-ground, gritty dialogue, and down and dirty action. 

How I became interested in the “Pulps”

WHAT IS "PULP"?

The “Pulps” refer to a huge number of magazines published from the late 19^th century 

through the 1950s. The term originates from the use of low-grade paper made from wood pulp rather than from the traditional cotton and linen fibers.  It dries more quickly, turns yellow and becomes brittle – thus, it has a much shorter lifespan.  This lower quality paper, although it might be perceived as less desirable for publishing “artistic" literature, provided an outlet for more experimental writing styles and expanded the market for literature. It allowed literature to become accessible beyond the conservative confines of the upper classes.

Growing up in a working class neighborhood, in a working class city, bookstores were often considered beyond people’s means. Libraries were the primary reading resource. However, libraries have always been subject to their own limitations – public policy and budget restraints for example. So, there is economic filtering of knowledge and ideas.

 The incubation of ideas and the growth of knowledge are held back by a conservative educational system and the limitations that a market economy has to respond to disparate demand. Our social structure is based on a market system that gravitates toward providing the least common denominator, and values education that consolidates knowledge. This limits demand for a broader spectrum of ideas.

Back in the 19^th century, however, the demand for education was growing quickly along with a society that was not defined by mass communication. The country was under pressure to fill up the vast amount of space that was available between the oceans. The push was rapid and chaotic at first, but then began to call out for order. Towns popped up and with them the need for civic responsibility – government and education were treated with great respect. Ideals stemmed from population “melting pots” that had come to rest at a particular location. Local civic values were based on need and those who came forward as leaders did so from a variety of backgrounds.

As this growth occurred, the need for diversion or entertainment was also growing. These experiences provided great tales of adventure and daring that became the focus of an increasing demand for resources both for the purpose of learning and for entertainment. 

The lessons learned from our rapid growth would be the basis for further growth, and the adventures of those who were leading us forward were very compelling tales. So, the demand for magazines that were affordable to a growing reading public seemed to have blossomed from the confluence of population growth, increased literacy, and the promise of a bright future for all. The “American Dream” was taking shape!

THE BRIDGE TO NOW

Imagine, if you will, growing up in a quiet, urban residential neighborhood that is populated by working class families, living on shady tree-lined streets of mixed single and double family dwellings. Windows are open in the summertime allowing the sounds of life to surround you – the calm being interrupted occasionally by street merchants calling out – the ragman, the knife sharpener, bread and milk deliveries. Supermarkets are rare and “mom & pop” markets – green grocers and butcher shops  –  are the common source of food purchases. Streets are populated with children of all ages playing on tricycles, bicycles, scooters, and wagons while older kids are intensely occupied in street games. Traffic is light on these streets and there is very little to threaten the idyllic community. It was sort of like the movie Pleasantville, but less cynical.

This was a simple world for young men like myself. In the late 1940s and the 1950s of 

post-war America, we were not so bombarded with commercial television – we simply did not have TV. When television began to appear in our homes, years went by before there were more than a handful of channels and no color until the 1960s.  Men, who were not sinister, wore fedoras – only boys wore ballcaps, and nobody wore their hat in the house.  We read the newspaper for news. We listened to the radio for sports and entertainment. If we were interested in expanding our horizons, we looked to the library. If we had any pocket money, there was a small sundry store on the corner that sold candy, soda pop, comic books and the dwindling offerings of what was once a booming magazine industry. 

By the late 40s and the 50s, the “pulp” magazine industry was being pushed aside by a growing paperback novel industry. It was a publishing phenomenon that had run its course – from roots that included story sheets to dime novels to magazines with inviting color covers and exciting content. There were still some colorful and alluring covers to be seen on racks of our neighborhood stores but  things change and, by this time, the term “pulps” had become synonymous with western heroes, hard-boiled detectives, bizarre creatures from space, and movie romance.

Well into my teens by the 1960s, I loved sitting with my father at the kitchen table in the evening reading mystery novels together. Mostly we got our books from the library, although a full set of Dickens occupied an honored place in our home.  There were no routine book purchases in our house, but I remember having seen sexy paperback book covers in the houses of friends. Dad had studied literature in college, gone on to a law degree and retained a love of reading all his life. He always subscribed to The Saturday Review of Literature and Norman Cousins was as familiar in our house as any of the sports heroes of the time. Dad was somewhat of a literary elitist but the times were changing.

Years later, after military service, college, and beginning to raise a family, I found myself naturally drawn to the book industry. As a bookseller, publisher’s representative, and marketing professional, there were many paths to inviting distraction yet never enough time to define and explore personal interests.  Now, in retirement, opportunities to explore beyond previous horizons abound. Finding a passion for some of the history of our literary culture is a glorious experience. What was little more than a peripheral familiarity with the magazine industry has become a new-found passion.

The importance of Edgar Allan Poe as the author of the first detective fiction was known, but how did this come about? And, how did it become significant? Ned Buntline’s romantic tales of

the wild-west were fresh in the minds of my parent’s generation. How did Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley get from humble individuals living in the west to international stardom? Elderly neighbors had firsthand stories of Indians that they had known.  There were neighborhood parents, brothers, cousins, and friends with tales of their experiences in World War II and Korea.  How did sports become so important to both our culture and our economy? Reading those detective and mystery yarns alongside my dad and the experience of being in the book

trade during a revitalized look at writings contained in TheBlack Mask magazine have provided me with a sense of nostalgia for this literary tradition.

The passing of the Eighteenth Amendment that prohibited the manufacture, sale, and distribution of alcoholic beverages followed by the Great Depression created a backdrop for profound cultural change during the early 20^th century.  At the same time, the “Pulps” were experiencing their peak years. This correlation was not an accident. The writing in these magazines, although not always high art, reflected and articulated the era with uncanny accuracy. Each new idea that arises from reading and thinking about this period results in some kind of discovery that seems more profound than it ought to be, and it becomes clearer every day that we have neglected the significance that this part of our literary history has had on our culture. 

Just 83 years ago today, The Shadow first appeared!

“Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?” . . . why Orson Welles, of course.

Today, July 31^st marks the 83 anniversary of the first appearance of The Shadow as a mysterious narrator on the Street & Smith radio program, Detective Story Hour. He was so popular that they gave him his very own pulp magazine starting on April 1^st, 1931.

The nature of the publishing game at the time was to invest as little as possible in new ventures – the awful world economy of the early 1930s was not conducive to “rolling out” new magazines with any kind of “bang.” Thus, this first Shadow cover used recycled art that had originally appeared as the cover of The Thrill Book on Oct. 1, 1919.

http://www.thepulp.net/the-links/theshadow/shadow-cover/ 

Edgar Allan Poe and Pulp Magazines

Researching the history of pulp magazines must inevitably include the history of mystery and detective fiction. It is widely recognized that Edgar Allan Poe invented detective fiction with the publication of “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” in 1841 (over 45 years before Sherlock Holmes appeared in Beeton’s Christmas Annual in Britain).

The first pulp magazine was Frank Munsey’s Argosy Magazine in 1896. This was soon followed by the Street and Smith publication, The Popular Magazine, in 1903. More important to what would become the pulp magazine industry, Street and Smith had earlier published The Old Detective's Pupil; or, The Mysterious Crime of Madison Square as a dime novel in September, 1886. This was the first appearance of the Nick Carter character who appeared regularly in Street and Smith magazines for nearly 20 years and then had several revisions well into the 1950s.

Nick Carter was originally conceived by John R. Coryell and Ormond G. Smith (son of Francis S. Smith, one of the founders of Street & Smith). Frederic Marmaduke van Rensselaer Dey agreed to write the stories and stayed with that assignment for 17 years. The character was clearly very successful for Street and Smith and also for the pulp magazine business in general. Nick Carter was a crack shot, a versatile and skilled fighter, a talented linguist, and a master of disguise. He was honest and clean – he didn’t smoke, drink, curse or swear. He was a truly mythical hero and became a model for future fiction detectives.

Le Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin was Poe’s detective in “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”.  Dupin had a superior intellect and the ability to use is mind quite creatively to solve the crime. The narrator of the story is Dupin’s nameless friend (these characters have come to be known as Watsons after Sherlock Holmes’ sidekick, Dr. Watson). 

Lines can clearly be drawn that trace detective characters back almost 175 years to Poe. So, we must also consider how Poe’s story was originally published. Poe has also been said to have been the first well-known American writer to have tried to support himself in this trade, although not a very good living. In fact Poe had anything but a good life. An orphan, he never seemed to have much of a relationship with his guardian, John Allan, and financial support was repeatedly an issue.

Times were particularly difficult for writers in the late 1830s when Poe was trying to succeed as a writer. A financial crisis in the United States, known as the “Panic of 1837” had devastated the economy  –  recovery went well into the 1840s. There were no international copyright laws, so publishers used whatever they were able to with little regard for payment. This did not give American authors much bargaining power and publishers were very casual about paying for what they published. Poe worked for a number of “magazines” and journals and began working for Graham’s Magazine in 1840.

It is at Graham’s Magazine that Poe’s contribution to what would become "detective fiction" took place. “The Murders in the Rue Morgue” was published in April, 1841. A month later, “A Descent into the Maelstrom” was published. The third of Poe’s ground-breaking detective stories starring C. Auguste Dupin, “The Masque of the Red Death”, was published in May, 1842.  

Graham’s Magazine might be considered a significant model for the publishers that more than a half century later would be publishing what have come to be known as “pulp magazines”.  During the 1840s a typical number of Graham’s would consist of 3 or 4 short stories, a light essay on manners, a biographical sketch, a literary article, a considerable amount of poetry, narrative, lyrical and didactic, an outdoor sketch by “Frank Forrester,” a travel article, fine arts and book review departments, a “chat” with the editor, as well as a colored fashion plate and one or two art plates by well-known engravers. 

So, what the hell am I doing at PulpFest? What is PulpFest? Who cares?

My career in the book biz was mostly a very fulfilling experience and I can think of very little that I would change. Sure, it would have been nice to have made a whole lot more money, but that was never something that was on the table. It was the people, the ideas, and the dynamic relationships between both.

My retirement has also been pretty damn nice for the past decade. Spousal unit and I are always busy, mostly healthy, travel, have plenty of time with family and friends, and would not complain about comfort.

So, what the hell am I doing at PulpFest? What is PulpFest? Who cares?

The term “pulp” refers to the pulp paper that was a cheap medium for publishing in the infancy of a highly competitive, new industry that began with the maturation of society after the industrial revolution – yes, I’m referring back to the early to mid-19^th century.

After the age of discovery and exploration and the industrial revolution, society was adjusting to a transition from an agrarian base to one of trade, manufacturing, and new ways of viewing the world. More and more of the populace began to reach out, beyond the microcosm of their immediate community for ideas and opportunity. There had always been a fascination with those who had left the nest and reported back on their adventures, discoveries, successes, and tragic failures.

To put this in perspective, we must realize that there was no Facebook, no Internet, and no telephones. Many were illiterate. Mail (Pony Express, 1860), the telegraph (1837), and newspapers (Gutenberg, 1450) were relatively new innovations and not always widespread resources.

As a society reaps the benefit of greater economic efficiency, it begins to prosper. An early measure of prosperity is a greater awareness of the broader world. There is a growth in sophistication and education. Literacy provides the potential for even greater knowledge.  The growth of the publishing industry and the evolution of written storytelling are integral parts of our culture.

The Pulp Magazines and periodicals provided the basic incubator for many styles of storytelling that have both filtered and broadened our knowledge of human experiences.  They form a foundation for today’s literature, movies, entertainment, and what has become known as “popular culture”. Thus, the history of this industry has also contributed to our overall social and cultural history.

During the process of this evolution, all kinds of things were tried. Some was good, some was brilliant, and much was just plain awful. There were many stories shared through a broad opportunistic medium. The early publishing industry helped  to define what the market would become – what kind of information do people want to learn about, what kind of storytelling best conveys this information, and what is not desired. We learned that entertainment and learning are related. We learned how to manipulate information consumers for both good and bad reasons.

The “Pulps” provided a laboratory that was essential. However, because this medium was so basic and included rougher experimental elements of what would evolve to levels of greater refinement, there is a tendency to be disdainful and ignore the importance of this stage in the development of our culture. Some of the pulp writers were very good wordsmiths but not very creative. Some were terrific at plot development. Others explored how dialogue is converted from the ear to the page. Some were prolific, while others were slow and deliberate. Very few had all the skills to be looked back on as literary all-stars, but it is evident that they influenced each other and together contributed to an end product.

PulpFest is one of a number of “meet-ups” where collectors, traders, aficionados, writers, editors, and publishers get together and help to sustain and proliferate the knowledge this history. Since I have been researching the history of the pulp magazines for a course that I will teach, the idea of attending PulpFest was compelling. Summertime is the time for road trips. So, here I am!

Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow must be turning over in their graves.

So, I'm watching the national evening news and they keep promising "much more". But, so far there hasn't been much. The lead story is a speculative story on the chance that a major terrorist has been killed in Mali. Of course none of it has been confirmed and this particular terrorist has survived 2 previous claims that he had been killed. Should this be a lead story? No wonder the major networks are no longer viable news resources. 

Then there's the sink hole! Possibilities of sink holes a reality for 40% of the country. Where can we go? What really is the threat? Should we all be concerned? Should 40% of us be concerned? Finally, some TV stars got stuck for an hour on an elevator. Oh my god!

Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow must be turning over in their graves. They may even be glad to be dead – given that journalists can no longer sell news stories of any depth. When is the last time that anyone has felt compelled to read their local newspaper? Watched their local TV news?

Does anyone believe all the nonsense that comes out of Washington, D.C. these days? I don't think so. We watch or read the news in utter disbelief and frustration. Have our elected officials learned to play the media as well as all this? I don't think so. No, the media tries so hard to sell advertising that they create stories and hype for whatever they may. Then they harp on it over and over with redundant commentary that could drive us all nuts. The only compelling thing about the news is the level of stupidity that we are all subjected to.

The amazing thing about all this is that higher education has become the right of all. So, we should all have the analytic skill to reject the baloney that we are presented with daily. We have the internet and access to information of all kinds. The threat of "information overload" is real as we try to figure out how best to use all the technological advances we are confronted with. Yet, we have become apathetic regarding the effort that is required to delve into the facts of the matter – whatever that is.

Oh yes, thank you for your lack of analytic skill and apathy – without this, you probably would not have read this.

Some birthdays this week, and some quotes:

January 14
Faye Dunaway ('41) "Years are not important, my dear."

LL Cool J ('68) –  "I don't think you should go around talking trash about people because I think that's how you get your hat handed to you."

January 15
Charo (María del Rosario Pilar Martínez Molina Baeza de Rasten) ('41) –  “What I don’t like is when somebody copies somebody and just adopt it. Like, their own idea … I can tell you, to me, Lady Gaga is Madonna with diarrhea.” 

January 16
Kate Moss ('74) –  "Going to the gym wouldn't be on my list of favorite things to do."

January 17
Michelle Obama ('64) –  "I never cut class. I loved getting As, I liked being smart. I liked being on time. I thought being smart is cooler than anything in the world." 

Muhammad Ali ('42) –  "Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything." 

Betty White ('22) –  “Why do people say "grow some balls"? Balls are weak and sensitive. If you wanna be tough, grow a vagina. Those things can take a pounding.”

January 18 
Kevin Costner ('55) –  "I'm a big fan of dreams. Unfortunately, dreams are our first casualty in life - people seem to give them up, quicker than anything, for a 'reality.'"

January 19 
Shawn Johnson ("92) –  "After 13 years of hard landings in gymnastics, one ski run had delivered the biggest injury of my career."

Paula Deen ('47) – "Onions and bacon cooking up just makes your kitchen smell so good. In fact, one day I'm going to come up with a room deodorizer that smells like bacon and onions. It's a fabulous smell."

Dolly Parton ('46) –  "I'm old enough and cranky enough now that if someone tried to tell me what to do, I'd tell them where to put it."

• Charo: Caliente 
• Muhammad Ali: speech 
• LL Cool J: I'm Bad   
• Betty White: Adam and Eve (with Johnny Carson)
• Dolly Parton: Jolene 

I laugh at the Baseball Writers of America!

OMG, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America is boycotting the Baseball Hall of Fame this year. How dare they? Perhaps the era of enhancement drugs is wrong, but how do we actually know that? Steroids, their uses, and benefits are well known and like most drugs have side effects which give their application some need for risk analysis. Are sport writers, sports management, medical professionals, or even the public qualified to judge?

First, but surely not most important, I find it interesting that the New York Times would publish three quarters of a blank page to dramatize this year’s choices for baseball’s Hall of Fame. No wonder the newspaper business is in trouble. Who is paying for that space? Was there an advertiser to underwrite the void? It is difficult for me to respect these decisions by either the New York Times or the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

A word about steroids: how many of us have used steroids? My bet is that most have. How about hydrocortisone? We put it on bug bites, scrapes and scratches, skin ailments, and in inhalers to treat asthma. Hydrocortisone is produced naturally by the adrenal gland, but its manufactured form is widely used and its value is not questioned. Progesterone and estradiol are used every day by millions of women. Anabolic steroids are naturally produced by the body and promote bone and muscle growth. Synthetic versions are the culprit in controversies involving athletes.

Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens are probably the most known athletes that have dominated the news. Bonds and Clemens were both on the list of those nominated this year as candidates for the baseball Hall of Fame for the first time. Home run sluggers Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa were also passed over by these sportswriters.  Babe Ruth, however, a man of some very questionable moral values, may stand at the highest level of esteem among our athletic heroes.

Let’s look at this issue from a different perspective. What about women who have enhanced their breasts? What about the privileged school children whose families can afford tutors to help them compete for academic success? What about our soldiers who have better weapons on the field of battle? What about Viagra? What about those of us who have ever gotten a job because we knew someone? There are many kinds of enhancements that we all use to get ahead in the world.

So, what’s right? Is it ethically correct for a politician to rely on the influence of lobbyists whose job is to educate rather than base their judgment on emotional ignorance? Is it the right thing for our colleges and universities to promise anything to student athletes other than an education? If we start thinking about these things, we can all come up with examples of the nebulous philosophical questions that we are all faced with.

Athletes are just as human as the rest of us. They seek approval. They seek attention. They love their sport. They seek success. There are any number of levels of dedication and commitment. Our culture encourages all sorts of ethical compromises and then arbitrarily makes judgments on those that we would like to feel we are better than. Athletes are natural targets for our hypocrisy. They were favored growing up. They dated the cheerleaders that we lusted after. They were popular. They earn more money. They make headlines for their personal lives that show they are really no better than the rest of us. They deserve what they get!

But wait, we are Americans! Altruism and high moral standards are an important part of our culture. We are also capitalists and most everything, including sports, can be viewed as a business. Do you think that the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY would exist if not for the tourists who see it as a shrine and make that pilgrimage visit? How many times have we heard questionable human behavior justified by the premise that “it’s not personal, it’s business”? It’s a competitive world out there and we need to succeed to survive. Just ask Darwin.

Therefore, I laugh at the Baseball Writers of America. I laugh at the pretentious New York Times that prints only the “news that is fit to print”.  I laugh at my fellow Americans, and I laugh at myself. How do we fix this?