How to Grade a Pulp Magazine
Pulp magazines were the mass media entertainment system before TV, before the Internet and when radio was in its infancy. They had brightly colored, sometimes gaudy covers, quick action stories--sometimes novels serialized--and were cheap. They were printed on cheap, acidic paper called “pulp,” so they degrade over years, become browned, brittle and fall apart.Yet today they are collectible. The condition they are in 60 or 70 years later often determines the price, along with the quality of the original material. It’s essential to know how to grade pulps to collect them.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Take a look at various levels of pulp magazines. If they were kept well, they still will have white pages, bright covers and won’t fall apart as you handle them. A slightly lesser grade will have some yellowing pages, a few cover scratches or minor problems with the spine. Lesser still grades will have pieces missing from the cover or tears in the pages. Low-end copies might have covers missing, ads cut out and whole stories missing.
-
2
Look at a pulp as if you just walked into a magazine store in the year it was printed. Imagine you just have walked into a candy shop in the cold Depression January of 1930. On the shelf you see "Astounding Stories of Super-Science" Vol. 1, No. 1. The cover is brightly colored because it just was printed a few weeks ago. Pick it up and flip through the pages. They will be supple, white and rough-edged. This was normal for many early pulps. They rarely were “face-trimmed” to give smooth top, right and bottom edges. If this issue looks like you could have bought it previously untouched brand new, it is in Mint Condition.
-
-
3
Don’t expect a glossy or “slick” cover as you would see on a magazine printed today. They were, at best, semi-gloss covers. To be Mint, Near Mint or Fine Condition, the covers still should have a slight sheen to them. The spine should be clear and look nearly new.
-
4
Look for tape repairs. Often people who originally bought pulps, or those who bought them used, repaired rips with regular transparent tape. This yellows over time. Sometimes, the repairs are with brown packing tape or even duct tape. All of these repairs lower the quality and collectibility of the magazines.
-
5
Check the contents page and look for each story to be in the magazine in its entirety. A longer story--like a novelette or novella--may be noticeable if it’s missing just by looking at the closed pulp. Really short stories may not be the noticeable if missing, so check through before you buy.
-
6
Decide what level of pulp collection you want. If you want a complete collection of "Weird Tales," you may have to get some issues, especially early ones from the 1920s, that are in Good, Fair or Poor Condition. You can always upgrade your collection later if you find better copies. If you want a short-run pulp such as "Dynamic Science Fiction" (six issues) from the early 1950s, chances are you can get all of them in Fine to Near Mint Condition.
-
7
Find a dealer who strictly follows pulp grading guidelines you trust and stick with that person.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
The standard grades for pulp magazines are, from best to worst: Mint, Near Mint, Fine, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor and Reading Copy.
Prices for pulps most often are determined by grade. The average price will be for Good Condition. If a Good pulp costs $10, Very Good could cost $15, Fine, $20, Near Mint, $35, Mint $50. Fair might cost $7, Poor, $4 and Reading Copy $1 or $2.
Be wary of a dealer who lists a pulp as in “very good condition for its age.” This generally means the dealer has little knowledge of pulp magazine condition, quality and value.
Resources
- Photo Credit Shawn M. Tomlinson
