Top 10 scarcest pulps 2 2

[rjpb]

What are considered to be the scarcest pulps? I realize there are some that are probably scarce, but demand is not really there, so I'm wondering about ones which due to cover or content would be more collectible. I've read that the Thrill Books are pretty rare along with some of the early Weird Tales, and esoteric stuff like Zepplin Stories and I'm guessing most truly scarce pulps would be from prior to 1930. 

[htp]

Curious as well.

I've coveted a Submarine Stories for a while, no luck yet.

[RedFury]

On 12/17/2021 at 2:49 PM, htp said:

Curious as well.

I've coveted a Submarine Stories for a while, no luck yet.

I've been after them for several years now and have managed to get two.  I have some Navy Stories as well.  All are very scarce.

 

Edited December 18, 2021 by RedFury

[Bookery]

There are certain publishers whose titles seem to generally be scarce (with a few exceptions).  Hersey, Dell, Ramer, come to mind.  Oddly enough, the titles and issues most sought by collectors are often not the rarest.  There is no such thing as a rare science-fiction pulp... and probably only a few that are truly uncommon.  Early Weird Tales are tough... but there are a number of complete collections out there, so not that rare.  The Spicys are more common than is often realized, though there are issues here and there that are genuinely difficult.  As already mentioned, true rarities would include Submarine Stories, Navy Stories, Zeppelin Stories, Cabaret Stories ( 1 & 2 are the most "common" in this run... for years it was though there were only 6 issues, but awhile back issues 7 & 8 turned up).  I've never seen an issue of Fire Fighters in person.  Clayton's Danger Trail title is pretty scarce.  The Blue Moon has to rank in the top 10.  Other contenders off the top of my head... Newspaper Adventure Stories, New York Stories, The Ocean, Pep Tec Tales (this might be British, however), Popular Engineering Stories, Prize Air Pilot Stories, Red Blooded Stories, Scarlet Gang Smashers, Stage and Screen Stories, Triple-X (they turn up, but since it ran 103 issues, unlike many of the short-run titles above, they seem few and far between), and many more possibilities.  When it comes to the pseudo-pulp girly-style magazines of the 20s and 30s, there are still issues being discovered.

[FoggyNelson]

Submarine stories sweet cover👍‼️😷

[rjpb]

Thanks Bookery, that's the type of info I was looking for. 

[Bookery]

Here's a sampling of some of the pulps I used to own that I'd classify as scarce to rare...

 

[FoggyNelson]

Some of those above a stunning😷👍‼️ Makes me want🥰

[Sarg]

On 12/23/2021 at 9:24 AM, Bookery said:

Here's a sampling of some of the pulps I used to own that I'd classify as scarce to rare...

 

What the heck is happening on this cover? Is that Joan of Arc? Kind of weird to have the protagonist looking away from the viewer.

[FoggyNelson]

Love, crime detective above a photo cover from what movie I wonder?

[jimjum12]

On 12/23/2021 at 10:24 AM, Bookery said:

GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[rjpb]

On 12/23/2021 at 7:24 AM, Bookery said:

Here's a sampling of some of the pulps I used to own that I'd classify as scarce to rare...

 

Thanks for sharing these. Now I'm thinking I should have bid more on a copy of that Snappy Romances I saw at auction recently.  Is it a squarebound pulp, or magazine format like the other Edmar publications I've seen? I love the spicy fiction/pinup magazines from the 30s, and appreciate that they get lumped in with pulps due to the era, cross-over collecting, and ease of buying and selling, but do they really qualify as pulps?

[Robot Man]

Wouldn’t All Story Oct 1912 (first Tarzan), be up at the top of the list? I have heard it referred as the Action #1 of pulps. 

[rjpb]

On 12/24/2021 at 11:43 AM, Robot Man said:

Wouldn’t All Story Oct 1912 (first Tarzan), be up at the top of the list? I have heard it referred as the Action #1 of pulps. 

Most valuable I suspect, but among the scarcest? 

[OtherEric]

On 12/24/2021 at 2:32 PM, rjpb said:

Most valuable I suspect, but among the scarcest? 

I think it's probably slightly more common than the average issue from around then.  But the numbers for any issue of any pulp that's 109 years old are incredibly low.

[RedFury]

I don't have any hard data on the All-Story, Oct 1912, but my sense is it's pretty scarce.  My only hesitation from flat out declaring it "scarce" or "rare" is my suspicion that quite a few are locked up in Burroughs collections.

[FoggyNelson]

On 12/17/2021 at 2:49 PM, htp said:

Curious as well.

I've coveted a Submarine Stories for a while, no luck yet.

I been noticing how cool those are myself😷👍‼️

[Bookery]

On 12/24/2021 at 9:41 AM, FoggyNelson said:

Love, crime detective above a photo cover from what movie I wonder?

I think it's just an art-studio photo-- possibly just purchased for use, or possibly shot specifically for this issue.  I don't recall seeing the image anywhere else.  It's like with photo-cover romance comics... some were from movies (which are often identified) but many are just professional model photo-sets.

[Bookery]

On 12/24/2021 at 1:15 PM, rjpb said:

Thanks for sharing these. Now I'm thinking I should have bid more on a copy of that Snappy Romances I saw at auction recently.  Is it a squarebound pulp, or magazine format like the other Edmar publications I've seen? I love the spicy fiction/pinup magazines from the 30s, and appreciate that they get lumped in with pulps due to the era, cross-over collecting, and ease of buying and selling, but do they really qualify as pulps?

It's been a long time since I owned it... I have it listed in my guide as a bedsheet, which would generally indicate a squarebound format.  But it may have been a large thickish stapled publication... I honestly can't recall at this point.  If it is indeed stapled, it probably shouldn't be technically described as a bedsheet.

[Bookery]

On 12/23/2021 at 9:17 PM, Sarg said:

What the heck is happening on this cover? Is that Joan of Arc? Kind of weird to have the protagonist looking away from the viewer.

Scrap Book is a bizarre publication anyway.  The early issues were released each month in 2 volumes... one volume contained mostly fiction, while the other was primarily non-fiction.  After a couple of years like this, they combined content into a single volume.