Saber Books SA-11, true first edition, first printing. In 1959, a trashy paperback was issued by Saber Books. Thirty years ago, when I began to take a collecting and scholarly interest in soft- and hardcore erotic pulp literature, if I paid 50¢ for it I was under the influence of something.Yesterday, I saw a very attractive copy of the true first edition, first printing of Sex Life of a Copy by Oscar Peck (pseud.), Saber Books SA-11, at the Paperbacks Show in Mission Hills in Southern California.The asking price was $200, a record for this book. Ten years ago, copies...
Harlequin Goes Soft On Hard-Boiled
Those who know Harlequin Books only as a major publisher of romance novels will be startled to learn that it has a shady past: It once issued pulp-noir in the murky post-WWII era.Last October they reissued six titles from their Top Secret vault as their Mini-Series Vintage Collection. Hats off.The series’ genesis was as a hip art project in celebration of Harlequin’s 60th Anniversary. The assignment, according to Executive Editor Marsha Zinberg in Harlequin's blog, was to piggy-back onto the success of a recent a 60th Anniversary art exhibition featuring vintage paperback covers from Harlequin's origins and “choose six books...