The Shocking Covers of Crime Detective


April, 1943. By Delos Palmer

Crime Detective was a true crime pulp magazine that was published from 1938 to 1953.  Today, it is best remembered for its covers, all of which featured women who were either in trouble or about to create some trouble of their own.  Here is just a small sampling of the covers of Crime Detective!

December, 1938, by Edward Dalton Stevens

March, 1939. Artist Unknown

July, 1940. Artist Unknown

January, 1941. By Allen Gustav Anderson

July, 1941. By Allen Gustav Anderson.

February, 1942. Artist Unknown.

January, 1943. By Sam Cherry.

February, 1943. By Albert Fisher.

November, 1943. By Albert Fisher.

December, 1947. By Sam Cherry.

Artist Profile: Albert Fisher


Like many artists from the pulp era, there isn’t much biographical information to be found about Albert Fisher.  I did several searches online for him and I did come across a painter named Albert Fisher.  That Fisher, though, was born in 1940 and since Albert Fisher’s pulp covers were all published in the 40s and the 50s, it’s safe to say that they are two different artists.

We know of Albert Fisher’s work because he was one of the few pulp artists to sign his work.  Almost all of his work that I’ve seen was done for true crime magazines like Inside Detective and Front Page Detective.  As was typical of the era, all of the covers below feature women who are either in trouble or who are about to make trouble.  My favorite is “the woman who cheated at love,” who appears to be preparing to hide a time bomb underneath a bed.

The Salacious Covers of Inside Detective


by Albert Fisher

For over 60 years, Inside Detective Magazine provided the readers with the salacious details of true life crime.  Every story was advertised as being true and many were said to come straight from police files.  From the 1930s until it ceased publication in the 90s, Inside Detective was one of the most popular true detective magazines.  The publishers understood that nothing sells like sex and violence and the covers of Inside Detective promised both.  Below, we have a few of them:

by Albert Fisher

by Albert Fisher

Artist Unknown

by David Berger

by Harwood Forgsen

Artist Unknown

by Norman Saunders

Artist Unknown

by Peter Driben

by Peter Driben

Unknown Artist