Vintage Pulp

June 24 2019

PHOTO FINISHED

A constant clicking noise? I don't hear anything. Anyway, state your full legal name then let's get into some compromising positions.

The cover for Arnold Marmor’s Ruthless Fraternity features possibly the least hidden camera in paperback history, but you have to love the art anyway. We’ve seen several blackmail covers, and they’re tricky in that the artists are constrained by having to show both the camera and the intended victim of the set-up. It always turns out ridiculous in terms of believability, but they’re always fun covers. The fraternity of the title is not literal. It refers to the proverbial journalistic boys club, and the story deals with the ins and outs, double-dealing, and machinations of a scandal magazine called Tell. We’ve featured Arnold Marmor books twice before, but had no idea how prolific the guy was. He wrote such sleazers as Bed Bait, Lust Lodge, and Boudoir Treachery, but also dabbled in spy novels and short stories. We’ll probably run into him at a later date. This effort was 1960 and the art is by Bill Edwards.

Saber Books, Arnold Marmor, Bill Edwards, cover art, literature

Vintage Pulp

March 6 2019

WANTON SOUP

A flavorful stew of mid-century paperback covers.

This post was long overdue. Most pulp oriented websites do a collection of covers that have the word wanton in the title, so we’re following suit. Basically because we couldn’t think of anything else to do today. Numerous examples below. Enjoy.

Vintage Pulp

January 19 2019

ROOM WITH A VIEW

When you say "enormous", what you mean is he’s really overweight, right?

Our American vacation continues as we leave Denver behind and head to San Francisco. In the meantime here’s a random sleaze paperback we spotted yesterday, a little something from Vega Books called All for One. Author Arnold Marmor worked during the ’50s and ’60s, producing titles such as Boudoir Treachery, Abnormal Desire, and Lust Lodge. He also wrote a couple of books in the Nick Carter series. This particular effort, with its voyeur-themed cover art by unknown, appeared in 1962.

Vega Books, Nick Carter, Arnold Marmor, cover art, literature

Vintage Pulp

March 14 2015

FAIR TRADE

An equitable exchange of services.

Are you old enough to have experienced the swinging craze? We aren’t, and we wouldn’t have taken part anyway (are you reading this, Pulp Intl. girlfriends?), but it does look kind of fun on vintage paperbacks (you aren’t reading this are you, Pulp Intl. girlfriends?). We’ve shared a few covers in the past dealing with the subject of swapping, and you can see a few here, here, and here. For today we decided it was finally time to do what every pulp site must—put together a large, swap-themed collection of sleaze paperback covers. So above and below is a vast assortment for your enjoyment. The trick with these was to make sure they weren’t all from Greenleaf Classics, which is a company that through its imprints Companion, Candid, Adult, Nightstand, et al, published hundreds of swapping novels. That means we had to look far afield to avoid having the entire collection come from that publisher. We think we’ve done a good job (though we will put together a Greenleaf-only swapping collection later—it’s mandatory). Want to see even more swapping books? Try the excellent sleaze fiction website triplexbooks.com.

Vintage Pulp

February 18 2009

SOMETHING IN THE AIR

That's a lovely compliment, but I haven't showered since yesterday. I did make some muffins earlier.

This is an interesting cover for the 1962 novel Sweet Smell of Lust by Arnold Marmor, with its mirror perspective and extra large Oscar standing on the bureau. Basically, it’s the story of two women vying for the same plum film role. One woman is older, desperate, and ruthless enough to pull dirty tricks for the role, while the other is young and naive to the point that she’ll do whatever she’s asked, even if it means ending up on her back. There’s something in the air indeed—pheromones. Agents, directors, criminals, hardcore partiers, and the obligatory oversexed lesbian round out the cast. There are numerous vintage books in this Hollwood sleaze category, so many that the genre cries out for a cover collection. Maybe we’ll put one together.

Intimate Editions, Hollywood, Arnold Marmor, cover art, literature, lgbt

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

October 15

1945—Laval Executed

Pierre Laval, who was the premier of Vichy, France, which had collaborated with the Nazis during World War II, is shot by a firing squad for treason. In subsequent years it emerges that Laval may have considered himself a patriot whose goal was to publicly submit to the Germans while doing everything possible behind the scenes to thwart them. In at least one respect he may have succeeded: fifty percent of French Jews survived the war, whereas in other territories about ninety percent perished.

October 15

1966—Black Panthers Form

In the U.S., in Oakland, California, Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale form the Black Panther political party. The Panthers are active in American politics throughout the 1960s and 1970s, but eventually legal troubles combined with a schism over the direction of the party lead to its dissolution.

October 14

1962—Cuban Missile Crisis Begins

A U-2 spy plane flight over the island of Cuba produces photographs of Soviet nuclear missiles being installed. Though American missiles have been installed near Russia, the U.S. decides that no such weapons will be tolerated in Cuba. The resultant standoff brings the U.S. and the Soviet Union to the brink of war. The crisis finally ends with a secret deal in which the U.S. removes its missiles from Turkey in exchange for the Soviets removing the Cuban weapons.

October 13

1970—Angela Davis Arrested

After two months of evading police and federal authorities, Angela Davis is arrested in New York City by the FBI. She had been sought in connection with a kidnapping and murder because one of the guns used in the crime had been bought under her name. But after a trial a jury agreed that owning the weapon did not automatically make her complicit in the crimes.

October 12

1978—Sid Vicious Arrested for Murder

Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious is arrested on suspicion of murder after the body of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen is found in their room at New York City’s Chelsea Hotel. Vicious and Spungen had a famously stormy relationship, but Vicious proclaims he is innocent. He is released on bail and dies of a heroin overdose before a trial takes place.

October 12

1979—Adams Publishes First Hitchhiker's Book

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the first of five books in a series, is published by Douglas Adams. The novels follow on the heels of the tremendously successful British television series of the same name.