The University of Chicago Library recently completed an inventory of the Popular Literature Collection, a large collection of approximately 2,000 paperback novels and science fiction magazines. The collection represents many of the major paperback publishers of the 20th century, including Bantam, Popular Library, Permabooks, Ace and Dell. It also covers a wide variety of subject matter, from the classic paperback genres (romance, mystery, science fiction) to the … less common, somewhat more lurid titles. The titles date from the 1930s to the 1960s.
As paper rationing ended after World War II, the paperback business boomed in the United States. Many classic works of American literature got their largest exposure from paperback sales, and old favorites were often re-issued over and over again. The low costs of publishing paperbacks also allowed smaller publishing houses to get into the game, and the collection includes many presses that only published a few titles. These include some gay and lesbian literature, always produced by small presses in this era, and erotica.
The most alluring part of these books is the cover art. Paperbacks were designed to attract attention, and these certainly do. The combination of lurid, often sexually suggestive covers with flashy titles (often changed from the hardcover edition to attract more readers), make for entertaining browsing today. Many also capitalize on the American fascination with exotic lands: titles like “Musk, Hashish and Blood” and “Celeste, the Gold Coast Virgin” took readers on a (potentially inaccurate) journey away from their regular lives.
The science fiction magazines in the collection constitute nearly complete runs of some of the major magazines of the era, including Galaxy, Astounding Science Fiction, and Fantasy and Science Fiction. Many of the most famous science fiction writers of the 20th century, including Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Robert Heinlein and others were originally published in these magazines, and the collection extends from the late 1930s to the early 1970s.
A finding aid for the collection will be available online soon.
Comments