Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1375

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

0.5 linear_foot (1 box)

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

"American Pulp Fiction" true crime magazine collection, 1936-1943, Ms. Coll. 1375, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1936-1943 (inclusive)

Form:

Periodicals

Abstract:

This collection contains incomplete annual series of several true-crime magazines from the 1930s and 1940s, including Crime Confessions, Official Detective Stories, Secret Detective Cases, Sensational Detective Cases, and Tru-Life Detective Cases. They are collected in three binders, under the title "American Pulp Fiction, Volumes 1-3."

Evidence of writings about true crime dates to the 16th century; however, according to an article in the Independent, "the birth of what we now accept to be true crime--detailed reportage of real criminal incidents--[was] 1924, when American publishing magnate Bernarr Macfadden unleashed upon the world a magazine called True Detective Mysteries," (Barnett). Magazines like this one became increasingly popular during the 1930s through the 1950s. Examples included in this collection are: Crime Confessions (published by Hillman Periodicals, Inc. from 1939 to 1957); Official Detective / Official Detective Stories (published by Official Detective Stories, Inc. from 1935 to 1995); Secret Detective Cases (published by Starlike Magazines, Incorporated from 1942 to 1943); Sensational Detective Cases (published by Histrionic Publishing Company from 1941 to 1958); and Tru-Life Detective Cases (published by Trysak Publications, Inc. from 1941 to 1948).

Works cited:

Barnett, David. "True crime pays: the history of real-life crime magazines," The Independent, 2017 March 26 (accessed 2018 December 3).

This collection contains incomplete annual series of several true-crime magazines from the 1930s and 1940s, including Crime Confessions, Official Detective Stories, Secret Detective Cases, Sensational Detective Cases, and Tru-Life Detective Cases. They are collected in three binders, under the title "American Pulp Fiction, Volumes 1-3," and are fastened with nylons. These magazines contain stories, purported to be true, of sensational criminal escapades, often with a cautionary or redemptive moral message. As their main audience was female, many of the stories center on women who played a central role in the purported crimes, either as victim or accomplice. In addition, the magazines contain lurid, sensational photographs that pass as documentary evidence of the crimes.