by Robert Maguire
This book came out in 1954 and the cover is simply brilliant. From the close-up of the bullets being loaded into the gun to worried expression of the woman in the background, this is an evocative, tough, and unforgettable cover. Not surprisingly, it was done by the legendary Robert Maguire. We’ve shared many Maguire covers in the past and we’ll undoubtedly share many more in the future.
by Rudolph Belarski
That’s definitely one way to end a honeymoon.
This cover for this edition of Murder by Latitude was done by Rudolph Belarski, whose work has frequently been featured on this site.
by Eric Stanton
Yeah, I don’t know what to make of it either. I apologize to anyone who has a thing about clowns. I guess Bozo married Wonder Woman but the marriage has hit a rough spot. This book was first published in 1966. The cover was done by Eric Stanton, who was responsible for some of the best and strangest covers to come out of the pulp era.
Artist Unknown
Wanton For Murder was published in 1961. It was the first in a series of books about Lt. Shomri Shomar, an Israeli detective who was on loan to the NYPD. Personally, I would hope that I could hold as convincing a pose while I was being questioned by the police as the woman on this cover. Unfortunately, the name of the artist responsible for this cover is unknown.
by Rafael De Soto
If a knife’s wandering around, it probably means you’ve found yourself in a really dangerous Disney movie.
There’s been several different editions of this book. I think this Dell edition, with a cover from Rafael De Soto, came out in 1966.
by Clark Hulings
The edition of Waterfront Cop came out in 1956. The book was originally published, as The Darkest Hour, in 1955.
The menacing cover art was done by Clark Hulings.
Artist Unknown
That’s always good advice to take.
This edition came out in 1952. The cover artist is unknown. Whoever it was did a good job of capturing both an attitude and a setting.
by Saul Levine
“The inside story of a women’s prison!”
Female Convict was a popular book that was reissued several times. With each reissue, it got a new cover. This cover is from 1952 and I think it’s from the book’s first edition but I could be wrong. I have to admit that I started laughing as soon as I saw this cover, just because it featured so many typical pulp tropes. Between the tough trustee smoking a cigarette to the prisoner absent-mindedly fixing her stockings in the background, this cover is pretty much a master class in pulp imagery. Would you even be allowed to wear stockings in prison? The other reasons I laughed was just because of all the disgusted facial expressions. These ladies really don’t want to be in prison.
This cover was done by Saul Levine. Future covers would be by R.A. Osborne, Robert Maguire, and others.
by Ernest “Darcy” Chiriacka
This book was first published in 1962. Judging from the blurb, the main message seems to be that women should stay out of Las Vegas. Not only will it cause them to get a quickie divorce but the atmosphere was created to “stimulate their passions and play upon their need for men!” Divorce was still considered to be scandalous in 1962 so it should came as no surprise that it was the topic of several pulp novels during the era. Las Vegas, with its quickie weddings and quickie divorces, was the city of sin. I’m just wondering how they managed to find a beach in Nevada.
This cover was done by Ernest “Darcy” Chiriacka, much of whose work has been shared on this site in the past..
by Robert McGinnis
I’ve always loved horses. When I was growing up, no matter where we were living, I always searched for the nearest horse farm. Horses are wonderful creatures and I’ve always enjoyed riding them but I don’t think I would ever recommend trying to ride a horse while wearing a bikini and smoking a cigarette. Regardless of how nice the filly is, it’s a bad idea.
This book was originally published in 1966 and it was one of the many, many books to deal with the adventures private investigator Mike Shayne. Though the book is credited to Shayne’s creator, Brett Halliday, Halliday actually retired from writing in 1958. All subsequent Shayne books, including this one, were authored by a ghost writer.
Like many of the Shayne books, the cover was done by the legendary Robert McGinnis. We’ve featured many McGinnis covers in the past and we’ll feature many more in the future.
Through the Shattered Lens 