Existing comment:
Eight anonymous manuscript "Dime Novels," late nineteenth of early twentieth century.
The creator(s) of these miniature "dime novels" clearly had that genre in mind: their alliterative titles, exotic settings, and graphic color illustrations (all drawn freehand!) mimic the adventure-filled serials that sold for ten cents around the turn of the twentieth century. Compare the leopard mauling a man on the cover of Will Wizard: Or, the Young Hunter Afloat (bottom row, second from left), to the lion mauling a man on the cover of A New-York Boy Out with Stanley; Or, A Journey Through Africa, issued in 1901. Although these diminutive works were purposely written by "E.T. Ellis," "Lieutenant T. Mark," "Ned Perce," and "Captain Starbuck," these names are probably pseudonyms for one or two authors who may or may not have copied from existing publications. Unlike most dime novels, which followed the cliffhanging exploits of their characters week to week, these little magazines are each "complete in one number." |