by William George Fix
Are you still having trouble getting into the proper Labor Day mood? Don’t worry, the pulps are here to help!
Below are some pulpy covers celebrating the joys of having a job! If these don’t make you say, “Happy Labor Day!,” I don’t know what will!
by George Rozon
by Harry Schaare
by Ken Barr
by Robert Gibson Jones
by Manuel Ray Isip
by Tom Miller
by Julian Block
by Eric Stanton
by Hubert Rogers
With the 4th of July approaching, let’s celebrate the American city with the pulps! Ever since the early days of the pulp industry, writers and artists have excited readers with stories about the lives of those living in America’s cities. Here, curtsey of some of the best artists to have worked in the industry, is a pulp-guided tour of those cities!
by Rudy Nappi
by Robert Stanley
by Rafael DeSoto
by Robert Stanley
by Victor Olson
by Mike Ludlow
by Lou Marchetti
by Raymond Pease
by Walter Popp
by Robert Bonfils
Unknown Artist
Midwood Books was a publishing house that was active from 1957 to 1968. With a roster of pseudonymous authors, Midwood published “adult” novels that were aimed towards men. Today. their paperbacks are best known for their often racy covers and they are highly prized by collectors as a result.
Here is a small sampling of Midwood covers!
Unknown Artist
by Victor Olson
by Paul Rader
Artist Unknown
by Robert Maguire
by Paul Rader
by Rudy Nappi
by Paul Rader
by Bruce Minney
by Samson Pollen
by Robert Schulz
by John Dulillo
From 1951 through 1958, Imagination magazine brought stories of science fiction and horror to eager readers. Among the writers who appeared in Imagination were Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlien, Robert Sheckley, and John Wyndham. Today, the magazine is well-remembered for its exciting covers, which were done by some of the best artists working in the pulps. You can’t have art without Imagination.
Below is a sampling of The Covers of Imagination: Stories of Science and Fantasy.
1950, October, by Hannes Bok
1951, April, by Malcolm Smith
1952, May, by Malcolm Smith
1953, January, by Harold W. McCauley
1954, June, by Malcolm Smith
1954, July, by Harold W. McCauley
1954, September, by Bill Terry
1955, June, by Harold W. McCauley
1956, February, by Lloyd Rognan
1956, December, by Lloyd Rognan
1957, December, by Malcolm Smith
by Lejaren Hiller
Lejaren Hiller ws born in Wisconsin in 1880. He studied at the Chicago Art Institute and started his career in Paris. Eventually, he returned to America and found found regular work as an illustrator. Hiller would be known as one of the pioneer of photographic illustration, carefully staging his photographs so that they would be as exciting and as full of mystery as any of the more traditional pulp covers.
Even as Hiller found success as a photographer, he also continued to paint and draw. His 1930s covers for Detective Fiction Weekly remain popular amongst collectors. Here’s a sampling of his work for Detective Fiction Weekly:
Hiller passed away in 1969. His son, Lejaren Hiller, Jr., was a prominent chemist and composer.
Artist Unknown
With Halloween rapidly approaching, let’s get ready for the big day with some pulp witchery!
by CC Senf
by Margaret Brundage
by Rafael DeSoto
by Rudolph Belarski
by Tommy Shoemaker
Unknown Artist
Unknown Artist
Artist Unknown
by Margaret Brundage
From the beginning of the pulp era to the modern day, horror has always been a popular genre. And with horror comes the vampires! Vampires were a popular subject for both the writers and the readers of the pulps. Much blood was spilt between the covers. Here are just a few of the vampires of the pulps:
by Paul Lehman
by John Newton Howitt
by Rafael DeSoto
by Sebastia Boada
by Sebastia Boada
By CC Senf
by H. William Reusswig
by Margaret Brundage
by Robert Bonfils
by Robert Maguire
by Rudolph Belarski
Unknown Artist
It’s not really October until a vampire comes tapping at your window, asking to be invited in.
by John Newton Howitt
Are you scared of tentacles?
Whether they’re reaching down from the sky or coming out of the water, the idea of being grabbed and, even worse, squeezed by several slimy tentacles is a scary one! Perhaps that’s why it was such a popular image during the pulp age. Below is just a sampling of some of the era’s tentacle horror, courtesy of some of the best artists to work in the pulps!
by Earle Bergey
by Alexander Leydenfrost
by Edmund Emshwiller
by Hugh Joseph Ward
by L.B. Cole
by Lou Fine
by Rafael DeSoto
by Robert Bonfils
by Ron Embleton
by Rudolph Belarski
Artist Unknown
While recently looking through some old pulp covers, I couldn’t help but notice a recurring theme.
Flight attendants!
During the pulp era, flight attendants were apparently a popular subject. Whether they were thwarting hijackings or trying to land the perfect pilot husband, flight attendants lived dramatic, exciting, and sexy lives! It was enough to make me wonder if maybe I made a mistake when I decided that I didn’t want to go to grow up and be a flight attendant. (I was ten so what did I know?)
Here’s just a sampling of pulp covers featuring flight attendants dealing with everything from hijackers to more earthbound pursuits. Where known the artist has been credited.
by James Meese
by Victor Kalin
Artist Unknown
by Ernest “Darcy” Chiraka
by Norman Saunders
by Norman Saunders
by Rafael DeSoto
by Robert Abbett
by Robert Maguire
Unknown Artist
Unknown Artist
by Arthur Brushnib
Enjoy your flight!
Unknown Artist
In many parts of the country, this week and next will be “back to school week,” so to help everyone get prepared for another academic year, here are some classic paperback covers from the past.
by Al Rossi
by Al Rossi
Unknown Artist
Artist Unknown
Artist Unknown
by Bill Edwards
by Jack Faragasso
by Jack Faragasso
by Paul Rader
by Robert McGinnis
Artist Unknown
Artist Unknown
Through the Shattered Lens 