I'll pound you to a "Pulp" if you don't show off yours! 23 23

[Pat Calhoun]

Astounding Stories of Super Science Vol.1#1 January 1930

[OtherEric]

2 hours ago, PopKulture said:

I don't even know what issue you're referring with first "Call of Cthulhu," but your other nominees are solid. The Tarzan All-Story is a no-brainer. So are the Shadow and Doc for importance. To that I would add the first Spider and Operator 5. If you're expanding the list to 20 or 25, a few other hero pulps like Secret 6 and The Octopus would vie for inclusion. WuFang and Dr. Yen Sin as well. First issue of Weird Tales for sure.

To some extent, the same thing is happening in pulps that happened in comics - the great, in-your-face covers are seeing huge price spikes, like the Saucy's and Spicy's. Contents be damned. Forty years ago pulp collectors cared 95% about what was on the inside.

I think the first Buck Rogers in Amazing Stories has to make the list for importance, and there are the Black Masks with firsts by Chandler and Hammett, etc. that some would justly argue for. The first appearance of Zorro could squeak in there as well.

And then there are the oddballs and esoteric pulps like Zeppelin Stories with the famous "Gorilla of the Gasbags" cover. That's going to make your top 20, and maybe the first Thrill Book.

The February, 1928 issue of Weird Tales for the 1st Call of Cthulhu.  It seems to be the most desirable Lovecraft pulp; and I've got a theory that the issue sold badly because it had such a poor choice of cover story. 

I think most of your choices are good; although I'm not sure any of the Saucy and Spicy's are actually key... they're just popular.  Which is, admittedly, a very narrow line to tread at the best of times.

[OtherEric]

1 hour ago, Pat Calhoun said:

Astounding Stories of Super Science Vol.1#1 January 1930

Not disagreeing at all, but why the 1st issue in particular?  I would have picked either the 1st Campbell edited issue, or the July 1939 "start of the Golden Age of SF" over the first; it seems to me a bit like a Detective #1/ Detective #27 scenario where the later issue is where the book really became the book that mattered.

[Pat Calhoun]

super old school point of view - days of yore Astounding #1 was on every sci-fi fan's top pulp want list. Plus I love the colorful Clayton issues with their wonderful Wesso covers. And it was the first SF alternative to Gernsback - who struck some (don't ask) as a bit stodgy (at least on the interior contents) in presentation. Good Glory! it was the first pulp utterly devoted to Space Opera...and adventure SF. Here's one of the few I own - 1931.

 

Edited October 16, 2017 by Pat Calhoun

[RedFury]

Here's the Feb 1928 Weird Tales with Lovecraft's The Call of Cthulhu.  I rarely see one of these come up for sale.  All the other 1928 issues are readily available, so I don't think they're truly rare, just locked up in collections.  

Edited October 16, 2017 by RedFury

[RedFury]

Not technically a pulp but still a fiction magazine, I'd consider the 1st Sherlock Holmes in Beeton's Christmas Annual 1887 to be hugely important.  Good luck finding one though.  33 known copies, most of which are owned by university libraries.  It's considered the most valuable magazine.

[Pat Calhoun]

not mine but found nice image of Robinson copy

 

[OtherEric]

Thanks for the answers, in addition to being genuinely curious I was trying to distract myself over a package that had been inexplicably delayed a few days. Now I have a different question:  are the bedsheet Amazing Stories normally smooth edge, or has this one been trimmed?  The only other bedsheet pulps I have are some Astounding and Unknowns, and Street & Smith had been going with trimmed edges for years at that point so I have nothing for comparison.

Also:  Grail Acquired:

[PopKulture]

24 minutes ago, OtherEric said:

Thanks for the answers, in addition to being genuinely curious I was trying to distract myself over a package that had been inexplicably delayed a few days. Now I have a different question:  are the bedsheet Amazing Stories normally smooth edge, or has this one been trimmed?  The only other bedsheet pulps I have are some Astounding and Unknowns, and Street & Smith had been going with trimmed edges for years at that point so I have nothing for comparison.

Also:  Grail Acquired:

Smooth edges, without the overhang typical of other pulps. Congrats on a great pick-up!

[OtherEric]

1 minute ago, PopKulture said:

Smooth edges, without the overhang typical of other pulps. Congrats on a great pick-up!

Thank you!  It's definitely a copy with pros and cons; the big con is the spine is pretty much gone, replaced with tape.  On the plus side, the page quality is great and it was crazy cheap for such a famous book.

[Cat-Man_America]

3 hours ago, OtherEric said:

Thank you!  It's definitely a copy with pros and cons; the big con is the spine is pretty much gone, replaced with tape.  On the plus side, the page quality is great and it was crazy cheap for such a famous book.

Absolutely & congratulations! The first Nowlan Buck Rogers story precedes the famous newspaper comic strip & serial.  It's also one of Paul's finest covers for Amazing.  Here is the second and final Buck Rogers Amazing, this Paul cover actually features Buck (this 3/29 issue came out just prior to Hugo Gernsback's forced departure as editor and publisher of the pulp)...

[Matthew42383]

I'm too lazy to get dates, but here are the issues that are most sought after for whatever reason. Most are pricy.

 

Weird Tales Issue 1

Weird Tales Issue 2

Weird Tales Spear and Fang

Weird Tales Ghost Table issue

Weird Tales First Conan

Weird Tales Batwoman Cover

Doc Savage 1

Shadow 1

Shadow 2 Eyes Cover

Shadow Creeping Death

All Story October 1912 First Tarzan

Amazing Stories First Issue

New Story Issue First Return Tarzan

Amazing Stories First Buck Rogers

Amazing Stories Second Buck Rogers

Amazing Stories War of the Worlds Cover

Amazing Stories 3^rd Issue Center of the Earth Cover

Fantastic Adventures 2^nd Issue ERB written nowhere else

Several All Story ERB Covers (Mucker, warlord of mars, etc)

Astounding King Kong-ish Cover

Astounding 1

Adventure Early POV Cover (Farmer)

Argosy issue from 1895 First pulp ever

Any WT Bedsheet

Astounding 4 HPL Issues from 1936

Zeppelin Gorilla and the Gas Bags

First Terror Tales

First Horror Stories

First Spider

First Operator 5

The Four “Spicy” Ashcan’s

First Planet Stories

First Jungle Stories

Lone Ranger Ashcan

Lone Ranger First Issue

Ghost stories 1

Ghost stories REH issue

Weird Tales 1924 Triplesized Houdini Issue

Harlem 1 (only black oriented pulp)

First G-8, and several early g-8 zombies/werewolves/etc in biplanes covers

Oriental Stories Nipple Cover

First Captain Future

Marvel First Kirby Human Torch interior

First Kazar (includes first kazar and first app of some comic that also appeared in action comics)

And a bunch of WT REH and BM RC Serials

Saucy Romantic ADV 1 First Domino

Wu Fang/Yen sin/Doc Death sets

New York stories Famous Early motorcycle issue

Film Fun Famous Early motorcycle issue

Tales of magic and mystery HPL Issue

Stage and Screen Bathtub Issue

Thrill book shadow cover

Saucy Movie Tales Shark Cover

Saucy Movie Tales Fireman Cover

Magic carpet First Red Sonja

Sheena Queen of Jungle First Sheena

[Robot Man]

I would also add

Strange sucides

Zepplin Stories

[Hap Hazard]

On 10/16/2017 at 9:58 PM, OtherEric said:

Thank you!  It's definitely a copy with pros and cons; the big con is the spine is pretty much gone, replaced with tape.  On the plus side, the page quality is great and it was crazy cheap for such a famous book.

A tougher book to find in higher grades.

[OtherEric]

And, as mentioned already in other threads, I made my roughly annual visit to KAYO books today.  And while snagging some undergrounds is fun, the pulps are always the highlight 

[Pat Calhoun]

nice - re: bottom right above: Hail Belit !! (thx KK for image)

 

Edited October 28, 2017 by Pat Calhoun

[RedFury]

Just got another of the scarce Crimson Clown issues.  He's a very early costumed hero by Johnston McCulley, the creator of Zorro.

Detective Story Magazine, Oct 29 1927

[Pat Calhoun]

that is sweet

 

[RedFury]

Happy Halloween!

Rangeland Romances, Dec 1945

[RedFury]

Happy Halloween!

New Love Magazine, Nov 1948