Uncovered: The Hidden Art Of The Girlie Pulp

Rating:
Summary: History & Art of the Spicy Pulps
Review: As the author of this book, I thought I'd post a brief description of it here. UNCOVERED contains over 400 pulp cover reproductions, all in full color. In addition, the history of these magazines -- their publishers, artists, writers and their struggle to survive -- is examined in 30,000 words of text, covering titles such as SPICY ADVENTURE STORIES, SAUCY MOVIE TALES, GAY PARISIENNE, VICE SQUAD DETECTIVE, LA PAREE STORIES, PARIS NIGHTS, SCARLET ADVENTURESS, SNAPPY DETECTIVE MYSTERIES and many others. Although there were many players in the field, during the 1930's it was dominated by the magazines of Harry Donenfeld, who would later go on to greater success with the company that eventually became DC Comics. Over 100 different titles (many very rare) are pictured, by 50 different artists -- among those artists heavily represented in the book are H.J. Ward, Earle Bergey, H.L. Parkhurst, Enoch Bolles, Peter Driben, Norman Saunders and George Quintana. Others whose work is reproduced include Gene Pressler, Zoe Mozert, Charles Wrenn, Worth Carnahan, Jack Greiner, Allen Anderson, R.A. Burley, Fred Craft, Archie Gunn, Cardwell Higgins, Seymour Marcus and Joseph Sokoli. Unlike the later pin-up magazine cover art of the 1940's and 1950's, most of this art has never been reprinted and has been hidden since its original publication. In choosing images for reproduction, I made an effort to try and avoid duplication of covers reproduced in other pulp histories. Each image was carefully scanned and cleaned, for the best reproduction possible.

I tried to do as much research as possible using period sources, such as the writer's magazines and newspapers of the time, and various books published by censorship groups. In the process, I've corrected some errors that had crept into previous pulp histories. Unlike most books of its kind, UNCOVERED is fully footnoted and indexed.

It examines in depth their war with censorship groups (particularly in New York City) which sought to shut them down, and which were often successful in causing these magazines to be banned from the newsstands and, in some instances, seized by the police as indecent and burned. These groups were ultimately successful, and though the girlie pulps burned bright for awhile, by 1940 their flame had all but been extinguished. Sold "under the counter" when first published, their art and story has remained hidden from then until now.

Though focused on the risque pulps of the day, I think that almost any fan of the pulps will find much of interest in reading UNCOVERED, as many of the publishers, writers and artists crossed over into "traditional" pulps as well. The tale of how some spicy pulp publishers continually changed company names in an effort to stiff their authors on overdue payments is, for example, also typical of some of the more mainstream pulp publishers. And contrary to popular belief, other spicy titles actually were at the top of the pulp food chain in payment rates. The spicy pulps were only one segment of the larger pulp industry that supplied reading material for a significant portion of the population during the 1920's and 1930's, but their heretofore untold story is intertwined with that of this larger industry.

Rating:
Summary: History & Art of the Spicy Pulps
Review: As the author of this book, I thought I'd post a brief description of it here. UNCOVERED contains over 400 pulp cover reproductions, all in full color. In addition, the history of these magazines -- their publishers, artists, writers and their struggle to survive -- is examined in 30,000 words of text, covering titles such as SPICY ADVENTURE STORIES, SAUCY MOVIE TALES, GAY PARISIENNE, VICE SQUAD DETECTIVE, LA PAREE STORIES, PARIS NIGHTS, SCARLET ADVENTURESS, SNAPPY DETECTIVE MYSTERIES and many others. Although there were many players in the field, during the 1930's it was dominated by the magazines of Harry Donenfeld, who would later go on to greater success with the company that eventually became DC Comics. Over 100 different titles (many very rare) are pictured, by 50 different artists -- among those artists heavily represented in the book are H.J. Ward, Earle Bergey, H.L. Parkhurst, Enoch Bolles, Peter Driben, Norman Saunders and George Quintana. Others whose work is reproduced include Gene Pressler, Zoe Mozert, Charles Wrenn, Worth Carnahan, Jack Greiner, Allen Anderson, R.A. Burley, Fred Craft, Archie Gunn, Cardwell Higgins, Seymour Marcus and Joseph Sokoli. Unlike the later pin-up magazine cover art of the 1940's and 1950's, most of this art has never been reprinted and has been hidden since its original publication. In choosing images for reproduction, I made an effort to try and avoid duplication of covers reproduced in other pulp histories. Each image was carefully scanned and cleaned, for the best reproduction possible.

I tried to do as much research as possible using period sources, such as the writer's magazines and newspapers of the time, and various books published by censorship groups. In the process, I've corrected some errors that had crept into previous pulp histories. Unlike most books of its kind, UNCOVERED is fully footnoted and indexed.

It examines in depth their war with censorship groups (particularly in New York City) which sought to shut them down, and which were often successful in causing these magazines to be banned from the newsstands and, in some instances, seized by the police as indecent and burned. These groups were ultimately successful, and though the girlie pulps burned bright for awhile, by 1940 their flame had all but been extinguished. Sold "under the counter" when first published, their art and story has remained hidden from then until now.

Though focused on the risque pulps of the day, I think that almost any fan of the pulps will find much of interest in reading UNCOVERED, as many of the publishers, writers and artists crossed over into "traditional" pulps as well. The tale of how some spicy pulp publishers continually changed company names in an effort to stiff their authors on overdue payments is, for example, also typical of some of the more mainstream pulp publishers. And contrary to popular belief, other spicy titles actually were at the top of the pulp food chain in payment rates. The spicy pulps were only one segment of the larger pulp industry that supplied reading material for a significant portion of the population during the 1920's and 1930's, but their heretofore untold story is intertwined with that of this larger industry.

Rating:
Summary: A risque presentation of erotic art
Review: Compiled by Douglas Ellis and an enthusiastically recommended addition to personal and academic American Popular History reference collections, Uncovered: The Hidden Art Of The Girlie Pulps is a risque presentation of the erotic art of the "girlie pulp magazines" the were published in the 1920's and 1930's. The predecessors to the "girly magazines" of today, some of these pulp magazine titles were so racy (according to the standards of the time) that they were seized in police raids. The informatively presented story of these magazines (printed and marketed simply because sex sells), is enhanced with an extensive gallery selection of full-color pin-up images and is what distinguishes Uncovered: The Hidden Art Of The Girlie Pulps as a unique book of erotica images that pushed the envelope of social mores of their era.

Rating:
Summary: Spicy History
Review: This is an outstanding anthology of cover art from the depression-era "girlie pulps" by such highly worthy (and undeservedly obscure) artists as H.J. Ward, Norm Saunders, and Enoch Bolles, among many others. To the best of my knowledge there's no other great source of their work in print (especially Bolles), but they're very well served here, and very little of the work seen here is reprinted elsewhere. The text is diligent, thorough, well-written, and interesting, covering the rise and fall of the magazine niche-industry that produced these amazing visual works; it is scholarly and will be of great interest and service to students of the subject, but the broader appeal- pun intended- is in the more than four hundred color images. These are beautifully reproduced at a generous size, and on slick, high quality pages. The overall design of the book is also excellent.

I'd like to see another volume, perhaps including some of the interior art, if it's worth seeing. I've also been waiting for years for someone to do "The Art Of Enoch Bolles"- how about it, Mr. Ellis?

The author's review below is very informative and interesting, with much more information about this worthy book.

Rating:
Summary: Spicy History
Review: This is an outstanding anthology of cover art from the depression-era "girlie pulps" by such highly worthy (and undeservedly obscure) artists as H.J. Ward, Norm Saunders, and Enoch Bolles, among many others. To the best of my knowledge there's no other great source of their work in print (especially Bolles), but they're very well served here, and very little of the work seen here is reprinted elsewhere. The text is diligent, thorough, well-written, and interesting, covering the rise and fall of the magazine niche-industry that produced these amazing visual works; it is scholarly and will be of great interest and service to students of the subject, but the broader appeal- pun intended- is in the more than four hundred color images. These are beautifully reproduced at a generous size, and on slick, high quality pages. The overall design of the book is also excellent.

I'd like to see another volume, perhaps including some of the interior art, if it's worth seeing. I've also been waiting for years for someone to do "The Art Of Enoch Bolles"- how about it, Mr. Ellis?

The author's review below is very informative and interesting, with much more information about this worthy book.

Rating:
Summary: "Uncovered: The Hidden Art of the Girlie Pulp"
Review: UNCOVERED is the kind of book that revives that old line people used to use with PLAYBOY magazine: "I don't know about you, but I just buy it for the writing." In fact, UNCOVERED is a perfect balance of pulp-magazine scholarship and wild pin-up style cover illustrations, impeccably reproduced in full color.
I've been following Douglas Ellis' work for quite a long time now, and it's always been first class. With this one, he's achieved the perfect balance of art and story, sharing the history of the '30s girlie fiction magazines and their creators with a breeziness that belies what must've been an incredible amount of research, and sharing also some of the rarest and most appealing pulp covers I've ever seen.
You don't have to know anything about pulp magazines to enjoy UNCOVERED. Anyone who enjoys classic pinup art or weird American pop culture will find this opulent book to be a great addition to his or her home library as well. Highly recommended.