''Detective Story Magazine'' was an American magazine published by

Street & Smith Street & Smith or Street & Smith Publications, Inc. was a New York City publisher specializing in inexpensive paperbacks and magazines referred to as dime novels and pulp fiction. They also published comic books and sporting yearbooks. Among t ...

from October 15, 1915, to Summer, 1949 (1,057 issues). It was one of the first

pulp magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...

s devoted to

detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

and consisted of short stories and serials. While the publication was the publishing house's first detective-fiction pulp magazine in a format resembling a modern

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...

(a "thick book" in dime-novel parlance), Street & Smith had only recently ceased publication of the dime-novel series '' Nick Carter Weekly'', which concerned the adventures of a young detective. From February 21, 1931, to its demise, the magazine was titled ''Street & Smith's Detective Story Magazine''. During half of its 34-year life, the magazine was popular enough to support ''weekly'' issues.

Ludwig Wittgenstein Ludwig Josef Johann Wittgenstein ( ; ; 26 April 1889 – 29 April 1951) was an Austrian-British philosopher who worked primarily in logic, the philosophy of mathematics, the philosophy of mind, and the philosophy of language. He is considere ...

, the eminent philosopher, was among the magazine's readership.Hard-boiled Wit: Ludwig Wittgenstein and Norbert Davis
Retrieved 27th December 2011.

Radio

Stories from the magazine were first heard on the radio on July 31, 1930. The Street and Smith radio program ''Detective Story Hour'' was narrated by a mysterious character named "

The Shadow The Shadow is a fictional character created by magazine publishers Street & Smith and writer Walter B. Gibson. Originally created to be a mysterious radio show narrator, and developed into a distinct literary character in 1931 by writer Walter ...

." Confused listeners would ask for copies of "The Shadow" magazine. As a result, Street & Smith debuted ''The Shadow Magazine'' on April 1, 1931, a pulp series created and primarily written by the prolific

Walter B. Gibson Walter Brown Gibson (September 12, 1897 – December 6, 1985) was an Americans, American writer and professional magic (illusion), magician, best known for his work on the pulp magazine, pulp fiction character ''The Shadow''. Gibson, under the ...

. The success of ''

'' and ''

Doc Savage Doc Savage is a fictional character of the competent man hero type, who first appeared in American pulp magazines during the 1930s and 1940s. Real name Clark Savage Jr., he is a doctor, scientist, adventurer, detective, and polymath who "rights w ...

'' also prompted Street & Smith to revive Nick Carter as a hero pulp that ran from 1933 to 1936. A popular radio show, ''

Nick Carter, Master Detective ''Nick Carter, Master Detective'' was a Mutual radio crime drama based on tales of the fictional private detective Nick Carter from Street & Smith's dime novels and pulp magazines. Nick Carter first came to radio as ''The Return of Nick Carte ...

'', aired on the

Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...

network from 1943 to 1955.

Authors

Authors published in ''Detective Story'' include: * A. E. Apple *

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

Carroll John Daly Carroll John Daly (1889–1958) was a writer of crime fiction. Early life Daly was born on September 14, 1889, in Yonkers, New York. Career Daly has been credited with creating the first hard-boiled story, "The False Burton Combs", published in ...

Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930) was a British writer and physician. He created the character Sherlock Holmes in 1887 for ''A Study in Scarlet'', the first of four novels and fifty-six short stories about Ho ...

H. Irving Hancock Harrie Irving Hancock (January 16, 1868 – March 12, 1922) was an American chemist and writer, mainly remembered as an author of children's literature and juveniles in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and as having written a fictional de ...

Johnston McCulley John William Johnston McCulley (February 2, 1883 – November 23, 1958) was an American writer of hundreds of stories, fifty novels, numerous screenplays for film and television, and the creator of the character Zorro. Biography Born in O ...

Fulton Oursler Charles Fulton Oursler (January 22, 1893 – May 24, 1952) was an American journalist, playwright, editor and writer. Writing as Anthony Abbot, he was an author of mysteries and detective fiction. His son was the journalist and author Will Ou ...

* Arthur B. Reeve *

Sax Rohmer Arthur Henry "Sarsfield" Ward (15 February 1883 – 1 June 1959), better known as Sax Rohmer, was an English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr. Fu Manchu."Rohmer, Sax" by Jack Adrian in Da ...

* Thomas Thursday *

Edgar Wallace Richard Horatio Edgar Wallace (1 April 1875 – 10 February 1932) was a British writer. Born into poverty as an illegitimate London child, Wallace left school at the age of 12. He joined the army at age 21 and was a war correspondent during th ...

Editors

* Frank E. Blackwell (1915–1938) *

Anthony M. Rud Anthony Melville Rud (11 January 1893 – 30 November 1942) was an American writer and pulp magazine editor. Some of his works were published under the pen names Ray McGillivary and Anson Piper. Biography Anthony Melville Rud was born in Chi ...

(1938) * Hazlett Kessler (1939–1940) * R.B. Miller (1941) * Ronald Oliphant (1942) *

Daisy Bacon Daisy Bacon (May 23, 1898 – March 1, 1986) was an American pulp fiction magazine editor and writer, best known as the editor of '' Love Story Magazine'' from 1928 to 1947. Early life Daisy Bacon was born in Union City, Pennsylvania. One of her g ...

(May 1942–Summer 1949)

References

External links

''Detective Story Magazine''
at Magazine Data File
Collecting ''Detective Story Magazine''
by Walker Martin. Detective fiction Mystery fiction magazines Magazines established in 1915 Magazines disestablished in 1949 Pulp magazines Defunct magazines published in the United States {{Art-mag-stub

Radio

Authors

Editors

See also

References

External links