The Elusive, Weird World of Pulp Premiums 0

[Robot Man]

[Robot Man]

Just think, if you bought this pulp...

[Robot Man]

You could become a member of the G-Men Club!

[detective35]

Two nice copies of “The Shadow” from January and April 1932 (Cowl covers)

 An early April 1932 black-and-white promo copy of “Mobsmen on the Spot”.

The earliest and only known example of this cardboard Shadow advertising sign (circa. Either January or April 1932....framed).

Edited August 31, 2020 by detective35

[Robot Man]

Not particularly exciting but a cheap flea market buy. Sky Cadet membership certificate from 1930. Very early pulp premium.

[detective35]

Just picked up my second example of the ultra rare late 1930’s  Shadow Hypno-Coin sponsored by Blue Coal.

 

 

[Robot Man]

8 minutes ago, detective35 said:

Just picked up my second example of the ultra rare late 1930’s  Shadow Hypno-Coin sponsored by Blue Coal.

 

 

Cool item! Have heard of it but never seen one. Too bad they didn't picture his face.

[detective35]

I was very fortunate to pick up this rare 1940 Shadow Cardboard a Advertising sign.  
 

Many of these advertising signs nearly one of a kind as most have been destroyed.

This one is 10 1/2” x 22” and is cardboard.

It is the only known example!

I now have 19 original Shadow advertising signs in the 1930s and 40s.

I will post a better picture when I get it properly framed etc.

[detective35]

Even though it’s more radio, than pulp the piece below does pertain to “The Shadow”.

Just picked up a cornerstone piece for my Shadow collection!   I think I way, way overpaid for it, but for my collection, I had to have it!

A huge (7.5ft x 3ft) Shadow Blue Coal Radio Banner (circa. 1937).   The banner is made from a heavy nylon/canvas material!

- The 1937 episodes of The Shadow were Sponsored by Blue Coal.

Through research I believe that the banner would have been hung somewhere close to the stage (or behind the actors) in the WOR studios, where the live performances were carried out!

At this time, Orson Welles would’ve played the The Shadow on the radio during these live performances.
 

 

[Robot Man]

[BitterOldMan]

On 12/30/2021 at 7:18 PM, Robot Man said:

The weed of crime bears bitter fruit.

The Shadow Secret Society kit from seventies purchased directly from Jim Steranko.  I used to keep the card in my wallet, just in case the Shadow needed to contact me.

 

[Pulpvault]

In the spirit of the season, a pulp Christmas anecdote…
 

Competition was always fierce among the pulp publishers when it came to soliciting stories from authors. The top chains always wanted the best writers to think of them first, and for authors to submit their manuscripts to them first. Obviously, factoring into an author’s decision on where to send a manuscript were such things as the payment rate, whether payment was on acceptance or on publication, and the response time back from an editor with respect to acceptance. Since it was a fairly small universe of editors and established authors, personal relationships developed over time also played a role. As did how a publisher might treat its authors well in other ways, particularly in the mid to late 1920’s, pre-Crash, when word rates were high and publishers had the money available to show authors in other ways that they were valued.

One of the leading chains in that mid to late 1920’s period was The Clayton Magazines. Around 1927, Clayton got the idea of sending its authors a specialized Christmas gift. So they commissioned one of their regular artists, Charles L. Wrenn, to create a sculpture which they sent to their authors (as well as presumably distributors and others that they wanted to curry favor with) as a Christmas present.

They did this for at least two different Christmases, which I suspect were for 1927 and 1928. It’s possible the tradition continued for longer than that (or began earlier) and that there are others as well. For the one I believe was for 1927, the sculpture was a cowboy on a bucking bronc, for the other (which I think was 1928), it was a cowboy wrestling a steer. These were fairly heavy, cast in some sort of metal that was bronzed, with bases over one foot long. Along the base of the bucking bronc sculpture were the Clayton titles “Ace-High Magazine”, “Ranch Romances” and “Cowboy Stories” (joined by “Rangeland Stories” on the 1928 sculpture), which represented their western pulps at the time. These were pretty impressive presents, and certainly would have kept Clayton in the mind of any author who received one. I don’t know if other pulp publishing houses did something similar, though it wouldn’t be surprising if they had. I’d love to hear of any other items of this nature that folks know of.

I don’t have the sculpture of the cowboy on the bucking bronc, but I do have one of the cowboy wrestling the steer. That is posted here, nearly 90 years after it would have been delivered as a present from the Clayton pulp chain.

[Robot Man]

Wow, that is unique. Never heard of those. Might be about the only one still existing.   

[Pulpvault]

Here's a felt change pad that the Clayton pulp chain distributed to newsstands circa 1927.  Given how fragile the felt is, I suspect that few of these have survived.  This is the only one I've ever seen, but it wouldn't surprise me if other pulp publishers also issued these.

[Robot Man]

On 1/4/2022 at 7:07 PM, Pulpvault said:

Here's a felt change pad that the Clayton pulp chain distributed to newsstands circa 1927.  Given how fragile the felt is, I suspect that few of these have survived.  This is the only one I've ever seen, but it wouldn't surprise me if other pulp publishers also issued these.

Wow, some super rare, probably one of a kind items. How did you ever come across them? 

[Pulpvault]

A combination of lots of looking, and having friends who know what I collect who alert me when they find stuff like this.  The sculpture I got at auction; the felt change pad I got in a trade with a friend, who'd found it and did a trade with the other collector who had it.

 

[Pulpvault]

Here are a few Argosy All-Story Weekly linen display banners I've picked up over the years. These were given to newsstands to put on display, promoting the issue.

[Pulpvault]

A few promo pieces I picked up several years ago for the All-Fiction Field, which was a group of pulp publishers who sold ads together on an aggregate basis.  One is a poster sent to potential advertisers; the other (2 photos) is a map sent to potential advertisers.

[FoggyNelson]

On 10/3/2020 at 2:42 PM, detective35 said:

 

I was very fortunate to pick up this rare 1940 Shadow Cardboard a Advertising sign.  
 

Many of these advertising signs nearly one of a kind as most have been destroyed.

This one is 10 1/2” x 22” and is cardboard.

It is the only known example!

I now have 19 original Shadow advertising signs in the 1930s and 40s.

I will post a better picture when I get it properly framed etc.

Too 😎 cool 

[Randall Dowling]

@Pulpvault That is some amazing material you have.  Museum quality items, really.