Tag Archives: Allen Gustav Anderson

The Controversial Covers of Spicy Mystery Stories

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by Delos Palmer

Spicy Mystery Stories was published from 1934 to 1943 and was one of the many “Spicy” magazines of the pulp era.  The Spicy line featured the same stories as the other pulps, just with a lot more sex and violence.  It was a popular magazine but it was also so controversial with the moral guardians of the era that it was eventually forced to tone things down and change its name to Speed Mystery.

Below are some of the controversial covers of Spicy Mystery Stories!  As always, the artist has been credited when known:

by Allen Gustav Anderson

by Allen Gustav Anderson

Artist Unknown

by Harry Lemon Parkhurst

by Harry Lemon Parkhurst

by Harry Lemon Parkhurst

by Hugh Joseph Ward

by Hugh Joseph Ward

by Hugh Joseph Ward

by Hugh Joseph Ward

The Adventurous Covers of Action Stories

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Artist Unknown

Action Stories was published from 1921 to 1950.  It specialized in action-packed stories about men doing manly things and women who knew how to handle a rifle.  Despite the dinosaur featured in the cover above, Action Stories was known for usually turning down horror and fantasy-themed stories and instead specializing in westerns, war stories, and sports fiction.  Among the writers that were published by Action Stories: Robert E. Howard, Walt Coburn, Morgan Robertson, Horace McCoy, Theodore Roscoe, Greye La Spina, Anthony M. Rud, Thomas Thursday and Les Savage, Jr.

Below are a sampling of adventurous covers from Action Stories!

by Allen Gustav Anderson

by Allen Gustav Anderson

by Allen Gustav Anderson

by Allen Gustav Anderson

by Emery Clarke

by H.C. Murphy

by Harry Lemon Parkhurst

by Norman Saunders

Unknown Artist

Unknown Artist

The Covers of Private Detective Stories

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

by Harry Lemon Parkhurst

Private Detective Stories ran from 1937 to 1950 and, over the course of 134 issues, it shared stories of betrayal, murder, and detectives.  The content was no different than what could be found in countless other pulp magazines of the era but, as you can tell by looking below, the covers were surprisingly violent even by the standards of the pulps.

Here’s just a covers from Private Detective Stories.  As always, the artist has been credited when known.

by Allen Gustav Anderson

by Allen Gustav Anderson

by Harry Lemon Parkhurst

by Harry Lemon Parkhurst

by Hugh Joseph Ward

by Hugh Joseph Ward

by Hugh Joseph Ward

by Hugh Joseph Ward

by Hugh Joseph Ward

Unknown Artist

The Covers of North-West Romances

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Artist Unknown

North-West Romances was a pulp magazine that was published, by Fiction House, from 1938 to 1953.  Like many pulp magazines, North-West Romances featured stories that combined adventure with romance.  Much like Ranch Romances, the majority of the stories in North-West Romances could be classified as westerns except, instead of taking place in the Wild West, they took place in the Northland, the famous Yukon area of Canada.  Instead of walking along dusty trails, the heroes in North-West Romances trudged across frozen tundra.  Instead of being ranchers, they were often gold prospectors.  Often times, the only thing standing in the way on the path to true love was a grizzly bear.

The covers for North-West Romances all featured typical western situations, reinterpreted for the Yukon.  Among the those who provided covers for the magazine during its run were notable pulp artists like George Gross, Norman Saunders, and Allen Gustav Anderson.  Below are just a few example of their work:

by Norman Saunders

by George Gross

by Allen Gustav Anderson

by George Gross

Unknown Artist

by Norman Saunders

by Allen Gustav Anderson

by Norman Saunders

by Allen Gustav Anderson

Unknown Artist

The Fast Covers of Speed Mystery

Posted on by Dazzling Erin

Speed Mystery was one of the many magazines of the pulp era that specialized in violence, sex, and crime.  It was originally called Spicy Mystery Stories and was first published in 1934.  It was popular at the time but, after nine years of being known as Spicy, the title was changed in 1944 to Speed Mystery.  The new, more sedate title was probably meant to placate the moral guardians of the time but the magazine’s content remained the same.  Under the title Speed Mystery, the magazine ran another 2 years, publishing its final issue in 1946.

Here are a few of the covers of Speed Mystery.  When known, the artist has been credited.

by Allen Gustav Anderson

by Hugh Joseph Ward

by Hugh Joseph Ward

by Hugh Joseph Ward

by Hugh Joseph Ward

The artist or artists responsible for the rest of these covers is unknown.  If I had to guess, I’d say the majority of them were done by Hugh Joseph Ward, as well.  However, I can’t say for sure: