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Browne Popular Culture Library

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Pulp Magazines

Pulp magazines began in the 1890s and were popular for about 60 years. They were made of wood pulp paper with untrimmed edges and were about 7" X 10" in size. Additionally, they had richly illustrated color covers and covered such topics as: adventure stories, detective stories, westerns, romance, sports, and science fiction. They launched the careers of Dashiell Hammett, H.P. Lovecraft, and Isaac Asimov.

This is a selective list of bibliographies, checklists, histories, and critical sources for information about popular fiction in pulp magazines.

Individual pulp magazine titles can be found by performing a title search for the title of the magazine in the BGSU Libraries Catalog.

You could also browse through magazine titles using the following subject headings:

The following select subject headings (there are additional headings that could be used) are combined with the subject heading pulp literature:

You could also search for items by searching in subject headings by publisher, writer, or some series ficticious characters. For example, Black Mask, Street and Smith, Smith, E.E.--Criticism & Interpretation, Chandler, Raymond--Bibliography, Hammett, Dashiel--Characters, or Tarzan.

Additionally, the Sheldon R. Jaffery and the Carl Jacobi Manuscript Collections contain correspondence, manuscripts, research files and notes, manuscript drafts, and specialist catalogs to review.

Bibliography

The following sources are available here at BGSU, most in the Browne Popular Culture Library. Click on the linked title to determine location.

Albert, Walter.: 1985. Detective and Mystery Fiction: an International Bibliography of Secondary Sources.
Ash, Brian.: 1976. Who's Who in Science Fiction.
Ashley, Mike with Terry Jeeves: 1981. The Complete Index to Astounding/Analog.
Autralian Science Fiction Society: 1977. Index to British Science Fiction Magazines, 1934-1953, 2 vols.
Barron, Neil (ed.): 1987. Anatomy of Wonder: A Critical Guide to Science Fiction.
Bleiler, Everett F.: 1983. The Guide to Supernatural Fiction.
____.: 1972. The Checklist of Fantastic Literature, a Bibliography of Fantasy, Weird, and Science Fiction Books Published in the English Language.
____.: 1978. The Checklist of Science-Fiction and Supernatural Fiction.
Clareson, Thomas.: 1984. Science Fiction in America, 1870s-1930s: an Annotated Bibliography of Primary Sources.
Cockcroft, TGL.: 1964. Index to the Weird Fiction Magazines: Index by Author.
Cole, Walter.: 1964. A Checklist of Science Fiction Anthologies.
Cook, Michael L.: 1982. Monthly Murders: A Checklist and Chronological Listing of Fiction in the Digest-Size Mystery Magazines in the United States and England.
____.: 1983. Mystery, Detective, and Espionage Magazines.
____.: 1983. Dime Novel Roundup: Annotated Index, 1931-1981.
Cook, Michael L. and Stephen T. Miller: 1988. Mystery, Detective, and Espionage Fiction: A Checklist of Fiction in U.S. Pulp Magazines, 1915-1974, 2 vols.
Cottrill, Tim.: 1986. Science Fiction and Fantasy Series and Sequels: A Bibliography.
____.: 2001. Bookery Fantasy's Ultimate Guide to the Pulps and Related Magazines.
Day, Bradford M. (ed.): 1961. The Complete Checklist of Science Fiction Magazines.
____.: 1975. The Checklist of Fantastic Literature in Paperbound Books.
Day, Donald B. (comp.): 1952. Index to the Science Fiction Magazines, 1926-1950.
DeAndrea, William.: 1994. Encyclopedia Mysteriosa: a Comprehensive Guide to the Art of Detection in Print, Film, Radio, and Television.
Eisgruber, Frank.: 1985. Gangland's Doom: The Shadow of the Pulp.
Ellis, Doug, John Locke, and John Gunnison.: 2000. The Adventure House Guide to the Pulps.
Gallagher, Edward.: 1985. The Annotated Guide to Fantastic Adventures.
Gammell, Leon L.: 1986. The Annotated Guide to Startling Stories.
Greenslade, Lyndsey (comp.): 1991. Boardman Crime and Science Fiction, 1942-1957: A Checklist of the First Editions.
Hagemann, E.R. (comp. & ed.): 1982. A Comprehensive Index to Black Mask, 1920-1951: With Brief Annotations, Preface and Editorial Apparatus.
Hall, Hal. W. (comp.): 1984. The Science Fiction Magazines: A Bibliographical Checklist of title and Issues Through 1982.
Hall, Hal W. (ed.): 1987. Science fiction and Fantasy Reference Index, 1878-1985, 2 vols.
Hoffman, Stuart (ed.): 1955. An Index to Unknown and Unknown Worlds.
Jaffrey, Sheldon with Fred Cook.: 1985. The Collector's Index to Weird Tales.
Locke, John.: 1987. The Pulp Magazine Quick Reference Guide.
Metcalf, Norman (comp.): 1968. The Index of Science Fiction Magazines, 1951-1965.
Mundell, E.H.: 1968. A List of the Original Appearances of Dashiell Hammett's Magazine Work.
New England Science Fiction Association [NESFA] (comp.): 1971. Index to the Science Fiction Magazines, 1966-1970.
Nicholls, Peter (ed.): 1979. The Science Fiction Encyclopedia.
Okada, Masaya (comp.): 1973. Illustrated Index to Air Wonder Stories, Vol. 1 No. 1, July 1929 - Vol. 1 No. 11, May 1930.
Parnell, Frank H. with Mike Ashley: 1985. Monthly Terrors: An Index to the Weird Fantasy Magazines Published in the United States and Great Britain.
Reilly, John M. (ed.): 1985. Twentieth-Century Crime and Mystery Writers. (Second Edition.)
Strauss, Erwin S.: 1965. The MIT Science Fiction Society's Index to the S-F Magazines, 1951-1965.
Tuck, Donald H. (comp.): 1974. The encyclopedia of science fiction and fantasy through 1968: a bibliographic survey of the fields of science fiction, fantasy, and weird fiction through 1968. 3 vols.
Tymn, Marshall B. and Mike Ashley (eds.): 1985. Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Weird Fiction Magazines.
____.: 1977. A Research Guide to Science-Fiction Studies: an Annotated Checklist of Primary and Secondary Sources for Fantasy and Science-Fiction.
Weinberg, Robert and Lohr McKinstry.: 1971. The Hero Pulp Index.
Wysocki, R.J. (comp.): 1985. The Science Fiction, Fantasy, Weird Hero Magazine Checklist.

History and Criticism, Including Works on Pulp Art

Aldiss, Brian W.: 1973. Billion Year Spree: The True History of Science Fiction.
Ash, Brian (ed.): 1977. The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction.
Ashley, Michael (ed.): 1974-1976. The History of the Science Fiction Magazine, 3 vols.
____.: 2000. The Time Machines: the Story of the Science-Fiction Pulp Magazine from the Beginning to 1950.
Brians, Paul.: 1987. Nuclear Holocausts: Atomic War in Fiction, 1895-1984.
Blieler, Evrett.: 1951 & 1956. The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels.
Carr, Nick.: 1992. The Other Detective: Pulp Heroes.
____.: 1989. The Western Pulp Hero.
Carter, Paul A.: 1977. The Creation of Tomorrow: Fifty Years of Magazine Science Fiction.
Cave, Hugh B.: 1994. Magazines I Remember: Some Pulps, Their Editors, and What it Was Like to Write for Them.
Cawelti, John G.: 1999. The Six-Gun Mystique Sequel.
Dinan, John A.: 2003. The Pulp Western: A Popular History of the Western Fiction Magazine in America.
Elliot, Jeffrey M.: 1983. Pulp Voices : Interviews with Pulp Magazine Writers and Editors.
Frank, Jane.: 1999. The Frank Collection: A Showcase of the World's Finest Fantastic Art.
Gruber, Frank.: 1967. The Pulp Jungle.
Gunn, James E.: 1975. Alternate Worlds: The Illustrated History of Science Fiction.
Haining, Peter.: 1976. Terror! A History of Horror Illustrations from the Pulp Magazines.
____.: 1985. A Pictorial History of Horror Stories.
____.: 2001. The Classic Era of American Pulp Magazines.
Hoppenstand, Gary C.: 1987. In Search of the Paper Tiger: A Sociological Perspective of Myth, Formula and the Mystery Genre in the Entertainment Print Mass Medium.
____.: 1985. More Tales of Defective Detective in the Pulps.
Jones, Robert Kenneth.: 1978. The Shudder Pulps: A History of the Weird Menace Magazines of the 1930s.
Kyle, David.: 1976. A Pictorial History of Science Fiction.
____.: 1977. The Illustrated Book of Science Fiction Ideas and Dreams.
Lesser, Robert.: 1997. Pulp Art: Original Cover Paintings for the Great American Pulp Magazines.
____.: 1998. American Nightmare Art: Pulp Magazine Cover Paintings From the Nineteen Thirties and Forties.
Lundwall, Sam J.: 1978. Science Fiction: An Illustrated History.
Murray, Will.: 1980. The Duende History of The Shadow Magazine.
Nolan, William F.: 1987. The Black Mask Boys: Masters in the Hard-Boiled School of Detective Fiction.
Parente, Audrey.: 1988. Pulp Man's Odyssey: The Hugh B. Cave Story.
Reynolds, Quentin.: 1955. The Fiction Factory or from Pulp Row to Quality Street: The Story of 100 Years of Publishing at Street & Smith.
Roberts, Tom.: 1997. Tom Lovell: A Memorial.
Robinson, Frank, and Lawrence Davidson.: 1998. Pulp Culture: The Art of Fiction Magazines.
Rottensteiner, Franz.: 1975. The Science Fiction Book: An Illustrated History.
Sadoul, Jacques.: 1975. 2000 A.D.: Illustrations from the Golden Age of Science Fiction Pulps.
Sampson, Robert.: 1983-1987. Yesterday's Faces: A Study of Series Characters in the Early Pulp Magazines, 4 vols.
Server, Lee.: 1993. Danger is my Business: An Illustrated History of the Fabulous Pulp Magazines.
____.: 2002. Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers.
Siegel, Jeff.: 1993. The American Detective: An Illustrated History.
Stryker, Susan.: 2001. Queer Pulp: Perverted Passions From the Golden Age of the Paperback.
VanHise, James.: 1994. Pulp Heroes of the Thirties.
Warner, Harry, Jr.: 1969. All Our Yesterdays: An Informal History of Science Fiction Fandom in the Forties.
Weinberg, Robert.: 1977. The "Weird Tales" Story.

Anthology

Ashley, Mike (ed.): 1995. Mammoth Book of Historical Detectives.
Dziemianowicz, Stefan (ed.): 1991. Famous Fantastic Mysteries: 30 Great Tales of Fantasy and Horror from the Classic Pulp Magazines "Famous Fantastic Mysteries and Novels".
Goodstone, Tony (ed.): 1976. The Pulps: Fifty Years of American Pop Culture.
Hoppenstand, Gary C.: 1983. The Defective Detective in the Pulps.

Completed by Dana Sergent, September 1989. Editorial assistance provided by Holly Roddy, Kelly Roddy, Teresa McComber, and Brenda McCallum. Revised and updated by Jenny Piasecki, October 2002, and Regeena Morgan, April 2003. Further revisions by Stefanie Hunker, June 2007.