It's too bad that we don't know much about the 1934 Argosy issue behind this wacky Robert A. Graef cover. The Fiction Mags Index doesn't have a table of contents, so we have to infer the serials from surrounding issue and rely on sellers for more information. The battle of the primates, of course, illustrates the cover story, the debut installment of J. Allen Dunn's three-part Forbidden Mountain. The other serials are Fred MacIsaac's Devil and the Deep (conclusion) and Evan "Frederick Faust again" Evans' Montana Rides Again (part three). The Grinstead on the cover is most likely J. E. Grinstead, a western specialist, while "Gardner" is almost certainly Erle Stanley, and Heartwood Auctions identifies his novelette as "Proofs of Death." Heartwood also lists Richard Howells Watkins and Eustace L. Adams among the contributors. The Adams story could be one of his badass adventures or one of his goofy comedies about Fish the drunken test pilot. I'm less willing to guess about the Watkins, though I suppose sports is more likely than anything else. It'd be great is someone who owns this issue can give us more info, but since this is a 1934 Argosy maybe I'll do it eventually.
Did a little looking around, here is a list I found online.
ReplyDeleteComplete in this issue
Ghost Town Feud (novelette) by J.E. Grinstead
Proofs of Death (novelette) by Erle Stanley Gardner
Iron Mike by Eustace L. Adams
Women of Daring (picture feature) by Stookie Allen -- Marthe Richer, flyer and war spy
A Deal in Trucks by Richard Howells Watkins
Men of Parts by Stanley Paul
Serials
Forbidden Mountain (1/3) by J. Allan Dunn
Montana Rides Again (3/6) by Evan Evans (aka Max Brand)
The Devil and the Deep (conclusion, 5/5)
Cover by Robert A. Graef (signed) for Forbidden Mountain
More interestingly, I found that FORREST J ACKERMAN liked to cut up his pulps an assemble serials into 'books'. Someone on eBay wants 30 bucks for the cover story that Forry cut up.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/J-Allan-Dunn-FORBIDDEN-MOUNTAIN-ARGOSY-1934-complete-3-part-pulp-excerpts-/230793245496?hash=item35bc597338:m:mqytqaRXvQOS1eOtk2-T2SA
Joe, I bow to your superior tenacity in research. I also see compiled serials for sale on eBay and I guess I understand the desire to do that -- to save space and keep what you really like -- while it appalls me from a preservationist point of view.
ReplyDeleteThere are tricks for finding info on the net. I should tell you about reverse image search since it might help you find better versions of some covers. Go to https://www.google.com/imghp and click on the camera icon in the search field. You can enter an image URL or upload from your computer and it will find similar images. I work in graphics and this feature is super handy.
DeleteThe practice of cutting up pulps or "breaking" them used to be widespread. Many collectors excerpted stories and made home made books. The Max Brand collectors were notorious for doing this. I even have a copy of the rare and expensive October 1912 ALL STORY where someone has excerpted the Tarzan novel. With the Tarzan novel it's worth over $25,000; without the novel it's worth not much at all.
ReplyDeleteExcerpting was popular before the pulp reprints started. Now there is really no reason to cut up pulps since there are so many being reprinted as story collections. I do know one collector who still excerpts stories and despite my objections, he continues to this day making little books and ruining pulps.