Turning back the clock

It’s early summer. Just a few months ago, the U.S. was pulled into World War II. But for now, things really aren’t that much different than last summer.

You just grabbed a bite at the cafeteria across the street. Before you head back to your job at McBride’s, you stop by the newsstand on the corner for something to read after work.

Forget the newspapers, you want a break from the war news. Movie magazines don’t interest you. Neither do the true crime stories.

Ah, over there on the left… the pulps. Just what you were looking for…

You never know what you might find on eBay. Last week, I stumbled across this newsstand photo. (Sorry if I was bidding against you.) It was only a tiny snapshot — 2 inches by 1.5 inches — but it was hard to tell that in the auction.

No matter. It blew up pretty well, as you can see above.

Immediately after scanning, I zoomed in on the pulps on display and tried to place the date. It wasn’t the early ’30s. The Shadow wasn’t digest size, so it wasn’t the mid-’40s.

So I started looking through the Adventure checklist over at Galactic Central. In a few moments, I found what I was looking for: a match for the Adventure cover. It was the July 1942 number.

Moving on to the next pulp back, it was The Shadow‘s July 1, 1942 number. Next, the August 1942 number of Ace G-Man. Then, July 1942’s The Spider.

For 45 cents, you could have picked up all four magazines. But that wasn’t chump change back then.

If you’ve not checked out the collection of newsstand photos we have posted over in the pulp history section, you need to. There’s something about seeing the pulps in their native environment.

One day, I hope to track down a vintage color photo of a newsstand.

(If anyone has a color photo and would be willing to share a copy, I’m sure I’m not the only one who would enjoy seeing all of the vivid pulp covers on display. Also, if anyone recognizes this location, let me know and I’ll add the information.)