I'll pound you to a "Pulp" if you don't show off yours!

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You see it occasionally on pulps that went unsold at the newsstand. They would put that star punch in them and send them back to the distributor to be destroyed. Obviously some never made it. Usually though, they would just send them back untouched or rip off the top couple of inches from their covers and send those. (look up the true gang life pictures on galactic central to get an idea of what that looked like)

Further I believe (this isn't provably fact), some sellers would use the stamp to indicate the pulp was sold and not stolen in a large building where shops were located and a person wouldn't leave with their purchase for some time (think a place like a train station or airport). I remember when I was buying books around 1990 from a small time seller that sold through elementary schools they would put a small symbol type ink stamp inside the book at checkout to do the same. Although I was 7, I remember because I threw a fit at the time. "You ruined my book" I believe this was the same sort of behavior they sometimes had 50 years earlier.

Basically with just about everything involving pulp magazines it was a sort of fly by the seat of your pants enterprise creating and distributing these.

Unfortunately at a time when the world had a lot more drab colors, putting stuff like that on you pulp was a way to ensure failure. Probably helped it to last for only 3 issues.

Further, if you didn't have girls, violence or crazy stuff going on, no one cared. Boys and young men bought most of this stuff. If it didn't quickly grab their attention, it was a doomed title.

The first 13 issues of Weird Tales had horrible covers a lot like this. Almost looks like they were drawn by a child. They are probably my favorite pulp covers by far though.

And, it's been a few too many days since this thread was added to. So, a short run from near the end of the title:

Even if it is a reprint, happy to have this as my only pulp where REH gets the cover. Also has Killdozer by Sturgeon, I really do need to sit down and read this one...

Nothing special but this is one of those tiny b&w covers that Steranko had in his History of Comics and it struck me as a kid into being obsessed into owning one day.

Picked it up on eBay but I think the seller is a board member too.

Not pulps but 1940's crime mags. Picked these up yesterday at a flea market for a buck each. Thought they might fit in here.

While I'm doing mags, I got this a couple of months ago. Love the Bettie Page look.

Got this for five bucks:

You can't beat that deal

While I'm doing mags, I got this a couple of months ago. Love the Bettie Page look.

 

Robot that is some cover I love it!

A couple pickups today. Bedsheet Astoundings are always fun to get:

C.L. Moore, L. Ron Hubbard, Leigh Brackett, Theodore Sturgeon, and Doc Smith. Not a bad line-up of writers. Also has a fascinating little essay by John W. Campbell, written on 8 December 1941, already discussing some writers who are not going to be writing any more for the duration.

An even better line-up, with van Vogt, Heinlein, del Rey, and Asimov.

And one more pickup. Moving from bedsheets to digests:

Good stuff, and you remind me that it's time to read some more Leigh Brackett. Image (from Ace site) is Robert Schulz' art for Ace D36 'The Sword of Rhiannon'.

Good stuff, and you remind me that it's time to read some more Leigh Brackett. Image (from Ace site) is Robert Schulz' art for Ace D36 'The Sword of Rhiannon'.

Which originally appeared in the pulps as "Sea Kings of Mars":

I don't believe "The Sword of Rhiannon" and "The Sorcerer of Rhiannon" are actually related beyond the title. I suppose I should read them and verify that, though...

& my fun UK edition...it's a great read...

was just able to pick up a quartet of REH Conan WT pulps i needed recently.

Just picked up a collection of 200 Shadows.

There were a group of 55 of them that are pedigree quality, were bought of the newsstands and put away. Some of them have the collectors name written neatly on the front cover in fountain pen and stamped by the rare 1934 Shadow stamper.

After doing some research, I found out that the gentleman passed away 2 years ago at age 91. He was an intelligence operative in WW2 and must have purchased the books when he was 15 or 16 years old. A great story.

I am putting about 35 of the pedigree quality ones in my collection, selling the other 20+, and selling the rest of the collection (avg. grade).

Below are a few issues that are going into my personal collection!

The Crime Oracle - 1936

The Fate Joss - 1935

Death By Proxy - 1936

City of Crime - 1936

The Yellow Door - 1936

Brothers of Doom - 1937

City of Doom - 1936

Dwight

306-531-2211

Incredible!

Amazing, Dwight. What a great addition to your already incredible Shadow collection.

I got a whole box of them, I bought them to read but the covers aren't so bad either...

Great pickup!

1955 was a great year for this title. The McCauley covers are outstanding. In the May issue, the blending of pinup and scifi blows my mind. McCauley, a confirmed bachelor most of his life, met his wife, Grace, when she came to his house on a modeling assignment. She is the stunning subject of many of his best cover paintings.