Fabulous Pulp Covers

Love these old pulp fiction covers - the latest additions to my collection. Which one is your favorite?

Fabulous Pulp Fiction Covers

I recently acquired some great new old pulp mystery paperbacks and had to share. The one above is missing the title page, so I'm not even sure when it was published. Here's the illustration on the back:

The Ngaio Marsh is falling apart, but the I still love the cover.

The copy of The Long Memory below was published in 1951. It's in better condition, but it would fall apart if you tried to read it. 

Holiday Pulp Fiction Covers

Here's a selection of delightful vintage paperback covers with holiday themes to get you in the mood for celebrating. Nothing says holidays like a little murder... 

1940s Three Musketeers

This is a 1940s version of Volume Two of The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas. Notice the blurb from George Sand, the pseudonym for Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, Baroness Dudevant. She died in the late 1800s so they must have chose to re-run the old quote in the 1940s version. I love this old cover. 

You can read The Three Musketeers here. 

Vintage Rebecca Cover

Here's great 1964 copy of one of my favorite books of all time, Daphne du Maurier's novel, Rebecca. Doesn't the first Mrs. DeWinter look smug in that portrait? 

With cover copy like that how could you not want to read it? 

And if you've got a minute more, check out the giveaways going on over on Laura K. Curtis' blog to celebrate the launch of her new book, TWISTED. She's giving away something every single day throughout the month of November. It's definitely worth a stop...

Paperback Covers from the 50s

1950s Pocket Book (original book published in 1937)

Today's treat is fabulous pulp covers from my collection.  These are all great covers from the 50s. 

Which one is your favorite?

Penguin Paperback Cover Post Cards

I've been going crazy for old book covers lately and these postcards from old Penguin paperbacks feed right into that obsession. They come 100 in a box and as you can see they are great fun.

The inside cover of the box tells the story of how Penguin books was founded when Allen Lane stood in a railway station and didn't have anything to read. I wish I could take photos of all 100 to show you, but I think you might just have to go buy a box yourself. 

Vintage Agatha Christie Covers

1961 version from Great Pan

Continuing on with my latest obsession with old paperback covers, here we have a selection of Agatha Christie covers, starting with N OR M? above.  With a cover like that I would definitely have pulled that book off the rack. Which one of them was a Nazi agent? I can't even remember. I might have to go back and re-read it. 

Here's a lovely cover from A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED from the 50s. 

Pocket Book edition, 1951

There's more about Christie's The Labors of Hercules here. 

Pulp and Fabulous Tag Lines

I love classic pulps novels, especially the Dell 25c paperbacks. They all have such fabulous cover shots and many have fabulous tag lines. Eric Beetner over at Criminal Element shares this passion and has he has written a great post about these old novels and some fabulous tag lines. 

Here are a few of my favorite covers and tag lines from my own collection: 

"A marriage tainted by the devil's brew of suspicion...and death! 

"The mystery of a strangler who never left a clue."

"He didn't want his killer caught!"

"There was a raging fire and a murderer in the house."

Operation Paperback

Looking for something to do with all those wonderful paperback books you've already read? How about sending them to an American soldier with Operation Paperback...

Operation Paperback is a non-profit organization that helps get gently used paperback books to American troops overseas as well as veterans and military families here in the U.S. 

Since 1999, Operation Paperback volunteers have shipped more than 1.9 million books to soldiers and their families all over the world. That's many wonderful hours of reading that can make overseas assignments go more quickly and provide a much needed distraction at times. 

Volunteering is easy. You sign up on the website, gather some books, request addresses based on the type of books you've collected, box them up and ship them out. 

It's a great way to thank our soldiers for their service and clean out your bookshelves at the same time. Afterwards, you'll have room for more wonderful books. 

Before There Was Pooh Bear, There Was Murder

Did you know these famous people more well known for other things also wrote crime fiction?

A.A. Milne 

Yes, before there was Pooh Bear, there was murder. Alan Alexander Milne's mystery novel, THE RED HOUSE MYSTERY, received critical acclaim. Rumor has it that he decided to delve into the world of children's fiction because it was a better market.  He also wrote a parody on Sherlock Holmes, "The Rape of the Sherlock" that appeared in Vanity Fair.

A.A. Milne, Christopher Robin and Pooh.

Steve Allen 

He was the host of the Tonight Show before Jay Leno and Johnny Carson.  Allen played the piano, loved one-liners and off the cuff routines. He published ten mystery novels.

William Faulkner 

Faulkner won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949, but before than he was one of a team of writers that worked on the screen adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s THE BIG SLEEP, staring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.  He also wrote other screenplays.

His thriller novel, SANCTUARY, hit the best seller list and was also made into a movie.

Samuel Clemens, AKA Mark Twain 

Twain, best known for creating Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, but did you know Huck and Tom solved a murder and collected $2000 in TOM SAWYER, DETECTIVE? Twain was the first writer use fingerprints in his short story, The Thumbprint and What Became of It. 

F. Scott Fitzgerald 

Most well known for writing THE GREAT GATSBY, Fitzgerald's first published work was a murder mystery, “The Mystery of the Raymond Mortage. It was written when Fitzgerald was 13 years old and published in the publication of the St. Paul Academy.

Dave Barry 

Humorist Dave Barry, who also co-writes the Peter and the Star Catchers children's books for Disney with Ridley Pearson wrote the novel BIG TROUBLE (also made into a movie starring Tim Allen.) He's also written several other novels for adults in addition to his nonfiction humor tomes. 

Marcia C. Clark 

Best known as the head prosecutor in the O.J. Simpson case, Clark has now published two mystery novels: GUILT BY ASSOCIATION and GUILT BY DEGREES.




And one writer famous for crime fiction who wrote another famous story but not as famous as his spy novels... Ian Fleming, creator and writer of international super-spy, James Bond wrote the children's novel, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (later made into a movie starring Dick Van Dyke). The only thing it has in common with the James Bond stories is a pretty girl and a cool, yet technically advanced car. 

25c Dell Paperbacks

I love everything about the old 25c Dell paperbacks. The sensational cover art. The maps on the back. The yellowed pages. The great stories. I collect the old paperbacks even if they are stained, torn, or have ripped binding. It just shows how much they were read and loved. For some reason I don't love the covers of the novels after they raised the price past 25c. They just aren't as fun. Take a look at some of my favorite Dell 25 centers...


This is one of my favorites. Look at this cover and notice the shadow of the devil behind the woman's face.

This particular book has a fabulous map on the back of the "Murder Apartment." I certainly don't want to live in the murder apartment, although it is huge and in an excellent location.

The maps on the back are so much fun.

What a great title for a book.  I'd be afraid to walk up those stairs too.

Love the falling bridge in this first edition. 

Barely Savage

Please Follow Instructions Carefully

This was taken inside the top secret Safe House in Milwaukee. You can read more about the Safe House here, but we're not going to tell you the password to get in.

Black Cat Fabulous

photo © Janet Kuchler for Mystery Playground

Today's photo of pulp in the wild features Francis Sill Wickware's DANGEROUS GROUND. I looked for more information on Francis Sill Wickware, but information is scarce. She has many bylines in national magazines and did a couple of articles for Harpers.

It must be noted that the model in this photo session was rewarded generously with treats after the shoot was completed.

Sapphires, Rubies and Pulp, Oh My!

Majorie Fischer's Embarrassment of Riches on sapphires and rubies at the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee.