Vintage and Pulp Paperbacks

Known for their sexy and outlandish cover art, pulp magazines and paperback books have quite the storied reputation and history. Originally named for the type of paper used in printing, pulp fiction has a large cult following that grew exponentially in the 1940's and 1950's. Pulp and other vintage fiction centered largely on sexualized, over the top exploits and crazy plot twists. There were a few highly popular genres featured in pulp literature, including horror, hard broiled detective mysteries, tales of deranged and misogynistic sadists, and even science fiction and fantasy. Pulp magazines featured ongoing, serialized stories, and pulp paperbacks were often serialized as well. Because of the cheap quality of the paper, pulp magazines and books were very inexpensive to purchase, often priced at 10 or 15 cents. With the rise of men's magazines in the 1950's, pulp literature began to wane, but with its zany and often offensive content, pulp certainly had a deep and interesting effect on American culture.