by Erin Nicole
I took this photograph many years ago, while watching the sun set in May. It was a very peaceful moment and I think this pictures that. One reason why I love this picture is that I didn’t even realized that I had also taken a picture of a bird flying across the sky until I looked at this image many months later. That’s one of the thing that I love about photography. You not only capture what you’re seeing but often, you discover what you previously missed.
by Erin Nicole
I took this black-and-white photograph at a church that sits a few miles away from my house. It was an overcast day but that cross really stood out. A bird landed on top of the cross right when I snapped the picture, which was a nice touch.
by Erin Nicole
Always be ready and prepared. I just happened to be outside when our neighbor brought out his red couch and left on the curb and so I was able to get this picture of a discarded piece of someone’s life. I’m not sure why he threw out the couch. It was old but it still looked like it was in perfectly good condition. Of course, I didn’t sit on it or anything like that. I’m not that brave.
The next morning, the couch was gone. Someone came and got it and since I wasn’t woken up by the sound of municipal trucks rumbling down the street that morning, I can be sure that it was saved from going to a landfill. It’s probably sitting in someone else’s house now.
Whatever happened to it, I’m glad I was able to get this picture before it went away.
Artist Unknown
This is from October of 1938. The artist is not known but the message is pretty clear. Don’t mess with the G-Men.
by Ernest “Darcy” Chiriacka
Phillip Race was the pen name for Elmer Parsons. Born in 1926, Parsons spent much his early life in and out of prison. When he was 23, he stole a car and was arrested after a lengthy police chase. He served three years for that. Three years later, he was arrested a second time and charged with writing 22 bad checks. He was sentenced to five years, which he served in San Quentin. While imprisoned, he edited the prison newspaper and he wrote and published his first three novels, including Johnny Come Deadly. After he was released in 1960, he wrote westerns under his own name and was a prolific television writer.
Johnny Come Deadly was about a card shark named Johnny Berlin, who cops hated and women loved. The cover above, which done by Ernest “Darcy” Chiriacka, is from 1960.
Artist Unknown
I wrote about the lengthy history of Real Detective here. This cover is from June of 1936. Though the cover artist is unknown, I like the way the man on the cover is grabbing that money. It looks like he either just won it in a card game or maybe he lost it and he’s trying to keep the winner from taking it away from him. Either way, something big is about to happen.
Artist Unknown
I’m worried she’s going to drop that cigarette.
This cover is from April of 1948. Unfortunately, the artist is not known. I wrote about the history of Detective World in 2019.
by Oliver Brabbins
At first glance, I thought this was a novel but it turns out that Murder! was a pulp magazine from the 50s. I’ll give you three guesses what most of the magazine’s stories were about. This issue came out in 1957 and I especially like the way the gun has been casually packed in the suitcase. Hopefully, it’s not loaded.
Artist Unknown
This was published in 1957. One thing that always amuses me about covers like this one is how surprised we’re supposed to be that a woman can have a job. It’s not enough that this is a book about the love life of a disc jockey. The cover makes sure that we know it’s about a “girl disc jockey.”
She’s also a “Big-Town Hellcat,” which I guess is better than being a “small town hellcat’ but not up to the level of being a “city hellcat.” I can’t help but notice the man on the cover is offering her a cigarette but not a light. Maybe that’s why they’ve got that fire roaring in the fireplace.
Unfortunately, the identity of the artist of this cover is unknown.
by Harold W. McCauley
“I flew in a flying saucer and all I got was a new pair of boots!”
They are pretty nice boots, though. They go with the cape, the gun, and Santa’s elves. If I was looking through a store’s magazine racks in 1951 and I saw this cover, I’d probably buy this edition of Other Worlds. I’d want to know who the woman is and who her servants were. I’d really want to know about Captain A.V.G. and his flying saucer trip.
This cover was done by Harold W. McCauley, who did a lot of pulp covers. I’ve always felt that McCauley and his work deserves more attention from collectors than it seems to get.
Through the Shattered Lens 