''Argosy'', later titled ''The Argosy'', ''Argosy All-Story Weekly'' and ''The New Golden Argosy'', was an American pulp magazine from 1882 through 1978, published by Frank Munsey until its sale to Popular Publications in 1942. It is the first American pulp magazine. The magazine began as a children's weekly story–paper entitled ''The Golden Argosy''. In the era before the Second World War, ''Argosy'' was regarded as one of the "Big Four" pulp magazines (along with ''

Blue Book A blue book or bluebook is an almanac, buyer's guide or other compilation of statistics and information. The term dates back to the 15th century, when large blue velvet-covered books were used for record-keeping by the Parliament of England. The ...

'', ''

Adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

'' and ''

Short Stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

''), the most prestigious publications in the pulp market, that many pulp magazine writers aspired to publish in.

Lee Server Lee Server (May 27, 1953 – December 28, 2021) was an American writer. He was a graduate of New York University Film School. Server wrote several books about Hollywood cinema and pulp fiction. His book on Ava Gardner, ''Love is Nothing'' (2006) ...

, ''Danger Is My Business: an illustrated history of the Fabulous Pulp Magazines''. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. (1993) (pp. 22-6, 50) John Clute, discussing the American pulp magazines in the first two decades of the twentieth century, has described ''The Argosy'' and its companion ''The All-Story'' as "the most important pulps of their era."

Launch of ''The Golden Argosy''

In late September 1882, Frank Munsey had moved to New York City to start ''Argosy'', having arranged a partnership with a friend already in New York and working in the publishing industry, and with a stockbroker from Augusta, Maine, Munsey's previous home. Munsey put most of his money, around $500, into purchasing stories for the magazine. Once he was in New York, the stockbroker backed out, and Munsey decided to release his New York friend from involvement, since they were now hopelessly underfunded. Munsey then pitched the magazine to a New York publisher, and managed to convince him to publish the magazine and hire Munsey as editor. The first issue was published on December 2, 1882 (dated December 9, 1882, a common practice at the time), and came out weekly. The first issue was eight pages, cost five cents,Sampson, Robert (1991)
''Yesterday's Faces, Volume 5: Dangerous Horizons''
pp. 10-11. Bowling Green State University Popular Press. and included the first installments of serialized stories by

Horatio Alger, Jr. Horatio Alger Jr. (; January 13, 1832 – July 18, 1899) was an American author who wrote young adult novels about impoverished boys and their rise from humble backgrounds to lives of middle-class security and comfort through good works. His wri ...

, and

Edward S. Ellis Edward Sylvester Ellis (April 11, 1840 – June 20, 1916) was an American author who was born in Ohio and died at Cliff Island, Maine. Ellis was a teacher, school administrator, journalist, and the author of hundreds of books and magazine ...

. Other authors associated with ''Argosy''’s early days include Annie Ashmoore, W. H. W. Campbell,

Harry Castlemon Charles Austin Fosdick (September 6, 1842 – August 22, 1915), better known by his ''nom de plume'' Harry Castlemon, was a prolific writer of juvenile stories and novels, intended mainly for boys. He was born in Randolph, New York, and received ...

, Frank H. Converse, George H. Coomer,

Mary A. Denison Mary Andrews Denison (May 26, 1826October 15, 1911) was an American novelist. She wrote over eighty novels which in total sold more than one million copies. Her writing style was typical of the dime novels popular in the mid-nineteenth century, ...

, Malcolm Douglas, Colonel A. B. Ellis, J. L. Harbour, D. O. S. Lowell,

Oliver Optic William Taylor Adams (July 30, 1822 – March 27, 1897), pseudonym Oliver Optic, was an academic, author, and a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Early life and education Adams was born in Medway, Massachusetts, on July 3 ...

, Richard Handfield Titherington, Edgar L. Warren and Matthew White, Jr. White would become the ''Argosys editor from 1886 to 1928.Eggeling, John. "Argosy, The" in ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction'', edited by John Clute and Peter Nicholls. London, Orbit,1994. (p. 50). Five months after the first issue, the publisher went bankrupt and entered

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in c ...

.Locke, John. "Lost at Sea: The Story of 'The Ocean'". In Locke, John, ed. (2008)
''The Ocean: 100th Anniversary Collection''
pp. 5-7. Off-Trail Publications. By placing a claim for his unpaid salary, Munsey managed to assume control of the magazine. It was a very unlikely financial proposition; subscriptions had been sold that had to be fulfilled, but Munsey had almost no money, and credit from printers and other suppliers was impossible to come by. Munsey borrowed $300 from a friend in Maine, and managed to scrape along as he learned the fundamentals of the publishing industry. Munsey found that targeting children had been a mistake, as they did not stay subscribed for any length of time, since they grew out of reading the magazine. Additionally, children did not have much money to spend, which limited the number of advertisers interested in reaching them.

Shift towards pulp fiction

In December 1888 the title was changed to ''The Argosy''. Publication switched from weekly to monthly in April 1894, at which time the magazine began its shift towards adult fiction, on its way to pioneering the pulp-magazine format and eventually becoming the first home of

pulp Pulp may refer to: * Pulp (fruit), the inner flesh of fruit Engineering * Dissolving pulp, highly purified cellulose used in fibre and film manufacture * Pulp (paper), the fibrous material used to make paper * Molded pulp, a packaging material ...

fiction. It eventually published its first all-fiction issue in 1896. The all-fiction ''Argosy'' launched a new genre of magazines, and is considered the pioneer among pulp magazines. During the period 1906-1907, ''The Argosy'' was selling 500,000 copies per issue. The magazine switched back to a weekly publication schedule in October 1917. In January 1919, ''The Argosy'' merged with ''Railroad Man's Magazine'', and was briefly known as ''Argosy and Railroad Man's Magazine.'' Prior to World War One, ''The Argosy'' had several notable writers, including

Upton Sinclair Upton Beall Sinclair Jr. (September 20, 1878 – November 25, 1968) was an American writer, muckraker, political activist and the 1934 Democratic Party nominee for governor of California who wrote nearly 100 books and other works in sever ...

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American fronti ...

Albert Payson Terhune Albert Payson Terhune (December 21, 1872 – February 18, 1942) was an American author, dog breeder, and journalist. He was popular for his novels relating the adventures of his beloved collies and as a breeder of collies at his Sunnybank Kenne ...

Gertrude Barrows Bennett Gertrude Barrows Bennett (September 18, 1884February 2, 1948), known by the pseudonym Francis Stevens, was a pioneering author of fantasy and science fiction.''Partners in Wonder: Women and the Birth of Science Fiction, 1926-1965'' by Eric Lei ...

(under the pseudonym Francis Stevens), and former

dime novel The dime novel is a form of late 19th-century and early 20th-century U.S. popular fiction issued in series of inexpensive paperbound editions. The term ''dime novel'' has been used as a catchall term for several different but related forms, r ...

ist William Wallace Cook.

''The All-Story''

''The All-Story Magazine'' was another Munsey pulp. Debuting in January 1905 (the word "Magazine" was dropped from the title in 1908), this pulp was published monthly until March 1914. Effective March 7, 1914, it changed to a weekly schedule and the title ''All-Story Weekly''. In May 1914, ''All-Story Weekly'' was merged with another story pulp, ''The Cavalier'', and used the title ''All-Story Cavalier Weekly'' for one year. Editors of ''All-Story'' included Newell Metcalf and Robert H. Davis. ''The All-Story'' is the magazine that first published Edgar Rice Burroughs, beginning with "

Under the Moons of Mars ''A Princess of Mars'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first of his Barsoom series. It was first serialized in the pulp magazine ''All-Story Magazine'' from February–July, 1912. Full of swordplay and dari ...

", a serialized novel eventually published in book form as ''

A Princess of Mars ''A Princess of Mars'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first of his Barsoom series. It was first serialized in the pulp magazine ''All-Story Magazine'' from February–July, 1912. Full of swordplay and dari ...

'', and later ''

The Gods of Mars ''The Gods of Mars'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs and the second of Burroughs' Barsoom series. It features the characters of John Carter and Carter's wife Dejah Thoris. It was first published in ''The All-S ...

''. Other ''All-Story'' writers included

Rex Stout Rex Todhunter Stout (; December 1, 1886 – October 27, 1975) was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. His best-known characters are the detective Nero Wolfe and his assistant Archie Goodwin, who were featured in 33 novels and ...

, later a famed mystery writer, and mystery writer

Mary Roberts Rinehart Mary Roberts Rinehart (August 12, 1876September 22, 1958) was an American writer, often called the American Agatha Christie.Keating, H.R.F., ''The Bedside Companion to Crime''. New York: Mysterious Press, 1989, p. 170. Rinehart published her fir ...

, Western writers

Max Brand Frederick Schiller Faust (May 29, 1892 – May 12, 1944) was an American writer known primarily for his Western (genre), Western stories using the pseudonym Max Brand. He (as Max Brand) also created the popular fictional character of young ...

and

Raymond S. Spears Raymond Smiley Spears (1876–1950) was an author of western and adventure stories. He was born in Belleview, Ohio in 1876. The son of John Randolph Spears (1850–1936), a naval historian and Celestia Colette Smiley Spears, a teacher. Raymond w ...

, and horror and fantasy writers Tod Robbins,

Abraham Merritt Abraham Grace Merritt (January 20, 1884 – August 21, 1943) – known by his byline, A. Merritt – was an American Sunday magazine editor and a writer of fantastic fiction. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inducted him in 1999, ...

, Perley Poore Sheehan and Charles B. Stilson. ''All-Story'' also published poetry. One notable writer who published poems in the ''All-Story'' was

Djuna Barnes Djuna Barnes (, June 12, 1892 – June 18, 1982) was an American artist, illustrator, journalist, and writer who is perhaps best known for her novel ''Nightwood'' (1936), a cult classic of lesbian fiction and an important work of modernist liter ...

. The now largely forgotten Eldred Kurtz Means (March 11, 1878 - February 19, 1957) was a constant and prolific contributor to pulp magazines such as ''

All-Story Weekly ''Argosy'', later titled ''The Argosy'', ''Argosy All-Story Weekly'' and ''The New Golden Argosy'', was an American pulp magazine from 1882 through 1978, published by Frank Munsey until its sale to Popular Publications in 1942. It is the first ...

'', ''Argosy'' and its predecessors, often featuring blackface minstrel show dialogue. In 2006, a copy of the October 1912 issue of ''The All-Story'', featuring the first appearance of the character

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

in any medium, sold for $59,750 in an auction held by

Heritage Auctions Heritage Auctions is an American multi-national auction house based in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1976, Heritage is an auctioneer of numismatic collections, comics, fine art, books, luxury accessories, real estate, and memorabilia from film, mu ...

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

''Argosy All-Story Weekly''

In 1920, ''All-Story Weekly'' was merged into ''The Argosy'', resulting in a new title, ''Argosy All-Story Weekly'', which published works in a number of

literary genres A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from more abstract, encompassing classes, which are then further sub-divided i ...

, including

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

and

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

. Edgar Rice Burroughs published some of his

and

John Carter of Mars John Carter of Mars is a fictional Virginian soldier who acts as the initial protagonist of the Barsoom stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. A veteran of the American Civil War, he is transported to the planet Mars, called Barsoom by its inhabita ...

stories in the magazine; other science fiction writers included

Ralph Milne Farley Roger Sherman Hoar (April 8, 1887 – October 10, 1963) was an American state senator and assistant Attorney General, for the state of Massachusetts. He wrote and published science fiction under the pseudonym of Ralph Milne Farley. Family Hoar w ...

Ray Cummings Ray Cummings (born Raymond King Cummings) (August 30, 1887 – January 23, 1957) was an American author of science fiction literature and comic books. Early life Cummings was born in New York City in 1887. He worked with Thomas Edison as a ...

Otis Adelbert Kline Otis Adelbert Kline (July 1, 1891 – October 24, 1946) born in Chicago, Illinois, USA, was a songwriter, an adventure novelist and literary agent during the pulp era. Much of his work first appeared in the magazine ''Weird Tales''. Kline was an ...

and

A. Merritt Abraham Grace Merritt (January 20, 1884 – August 21, 1943) – known by his byline, A. Merritt – was an American Sunday magazine editor and a writer of fantastic fiction. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inducted him in 1999, ...

. In 1922 ''Argosy'' missed a chance to launch the career of

E. E. Smith Edward Elmer Smith (May 2, 1890 – August 31, 1965), publishing as E. E. Smith, Ph.D. and later as E. E. "Doc" Smith, was an American food engineer (specializing in doughnut and pastry mixes) and science-fiction author, best known for the '' ...

. Bob Davis, then editor of ''Argosy'', rejected the manuscript of ''

The Skylark of Space ''The Skylark of Space'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Edward E. "Doc" Smith, written between 1915 and 1921 while Smith was working on his doctorate. Though the original idea for the novel was Smith's, he co-wrote the first part o ...

'', writing to Smith that he liked the novel personally, but that it was "too far out" for his readers. This "encouraging rejection letter" did encourage Smith to try further, finally getting his novel published in ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearances ...

''. ''Argosy'' published a number of

adventure stories Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction. History In the Introduction to the ''Encyclopedi ...

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 ...

(including the

Zorro Zorro ( Spanish for 'fox') is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles in Alta California. He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante w ...

stories), C. S. Forester (adventures at sea), Theodore Roscoe (

French Foreign Legion The French Foreign Legion (french: Légion étrangère) is a corps of the French Army which comprises several specialties: infantry, Armoured Cavalry Arm, cavalry, Military engineering, engineers, Airborne forces, airborne troops. It was created ...

stories), L. Patrick Greene, (who specialized in narratives about Africa), and George F. Worts' tales about Peter the Brazen, an American radio operator who has adventures in China. H. Bedford-Jones wrote a series of historical

swashbuckler A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, guile and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, daring, ...

stories for ''Argosy'' about an Irish soldier, Denis Burke. Borden Chase appeared in ''Argosy'' with

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...

. Two humorous mystery-adventure serials by

Lester Dent Lester Dent (October 12, 1904 – March 11, 1959) was an American pulp-fiction writer, best known as the creator and main writer of the series of novels about the scientist and adventurer Doc Savage. The 159 Doc Savage novels that Dent wrote over ...

appeared in ''Argosy's'' pages. More serious mystery stories were represented by

Cornell Woolrich Cornell George Hopley Woolrich ( ; December 4, 1903 – September 25, 1968) was an American novelist and short story writer. He sometimes used the pseudonyms William Irish and George Hopley. His biographer, Francis Nevins Jr., rated Woolrich th ...

Norbert Davis Norbert Harrison Davis (April 18, 1909 - July 28, 1949) was an American crime fiction author. Norbert Davis was born in Morrison, Illinois, where he grew up. At the end of the 1920s his family moved to Southern California and by the end of 19 ...

, and

Fred MacIsaac Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Rodr ...

Clarence E. Mulford Clarence Edward Mulford (3 February 1883 – 10 May 1956) was an American writer, best known as the creator of the character Hopalong Cassidy. Biography Mulford was born in Streator, Illinois. He created Hopalong Cassidy Hopalon ...

, Walt Coburn,

Charles Alden Seltzer Charles Alden Seltzer (August 15, 1875 – February 9, 1942) was an American writer. He was a prolific author of western novels, had writing credits for more than a dozen film titles, and authored numerous stories published in magazines, most p ...

and Tom Curry wrote Western fiction for the magazine. Other authors who appeared in the original run included

Ellis Parker Butler Ellis Parker Butler (December 5, 1869 – September 13, 1937) was an American author. He was the author of more than 30 books and more than 2,000 stories and essays and is most famous for his short story " Pigs Is Pigs", in which a bureaucratic ...

Hugh Pendexter Hugh Pendexter (1875–1940) was an American journalist, novelist, and screenwriter. Biography For much of his life, Pendexter lived in Norway, Maine.Stotter, Mike, "Pendexter, Hugh" in Sadler, Geoff (ed.), ''Twentieth Century Western Writers ...

, Robert E. Howard,

Gordon MacCreagh Gordon MacCreagh (1889 in Perth, IndianaEllis, Doug. ''The Best of Adventure, Volume 2 - 1913-1914''. Black Dog Books, 2012. (p.13,18-9). – 1953) was an American writer. MacCreagh was the son of Scottish parents, possibly born in Perth, Ind ...

and

Harry Stephen Keeler Harry Stephen Keeler (November 3, 1890 – January 22, 1967) was a prolific but little-known American fiction writer, who developed a cult following for his eccentric mysteries. He also wrote science fiction. Biography Born in Chicago in 1 ...

. Brand's character

Dr. Kildare Dr. James Kildare is a fictional American medical doctor, originally created in the 1930s by the author Frederick Schiller Faust under the pen name Max Brand. Shortly after the character's first appearance in a magazine story, Paramount Pictur ...

first appeared in 1938. ''Argosy's'' covers were drawn by several noted magazine illustrators, including Emmett Watson, Edgar Franklin Wittmack, Paul Stahr, Modest Stein and Robert A. Graef. In November 1941 the magazine switched to biweekly publication, then monthly publication in July 1942. The most significant change occurred in September 1943 when the magazine not only changed from pulp to slick paper but began to shift away from its all-fiction content. Over the next few years the fiction content grew smaller (though still with the occasional short-story writer of stature, such as

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

), and the "men's magazine" material expanded. By the late 1940s, it had become associated with the

men's adventure Men's adventure is a genre of magazine that was published in the United States from the 1940s until the early 1970s. Catering to a male audience, these magazines featured pin-up girls and lurid tales of adventure that typically featured wartime fe ...

genre of "true" stories of conflict with wild animals or wartime combat. In the late 1940s and 1950s ''Argosy'' experienced a significant boost in sales when it began running a new

true crime True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 pe ...

column, ''The Court of Last Resort''. Lawyer-turned-author

Erle Stanley Gardner Erle Stanley Gardner (July 17, 1889 – March 11, 1970) was an American lawyer and author. He is best known for the Perry Mason series of detective stories, but he wrote numerous other novels and shorter pieces and also a series of nonfiction b ...

(the creator of

Perry Mason Perry Mason is a fictional character, an American criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner. Perry Mason features in 82 novels and 4 short stories, all of which involve a c ...

) enlisted assistance from police, private detectives, and other professional experts to examine the cases of dozens of convicts who maintained their innocence long after their appeals were exhausted. The popular column appeared in ''Argosy'' from September 1948 until October 1958, and was adapted for television as a 26-episode series by

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. By the 1970s, it was racy enough to be considered a softcore men's magazine. The final issue of the original magazine was published in November 1978.

Revivals

The magazine was revived briefly from 1990 to 1994 by Richard Kyle. Kyle had intended to revive the publication in the mid 1980s, but his financing collapsed. He had, however commissioned

Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comic book artist, writer and editor, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He gre ...

to create a strip based on his early life in New York. Although Kyle was unable to secure fresh financing, he pushed ahead with publication in 1990. Issue 2 of the revived magazine included Kirby's " Street Code", shot as intended from the finished pencils. Kyle's revival lasted only five issues, published sporadically. A quarterly published slick revival began in 2004. It briefly went on hiatus before resuming publication in 2005 as ''Argosy Quarterly'', edited by

James A. Owen James A. Owen is an American comic book illustrator, publisher and writer. He is known for his creator-owned comic book series ''Starchild'' and as the author of ''The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica'' novel series, that began with ' ...

. The focus of that version was on new, original fiction. It was only published into 2006. Starting December 2013, the ''Argosy'' name has been revived again as a digital and print-on-demand publication, with the emphasis on pulp fiction by modern writers. In 2016,

Altus Press Altus Press is a publisher of works primarily related to the pulp magazines from the 1910s to the 1950s. History Founded in 2006 by Matthew Moring, Altus Press publishes collections primarily focussed on series characters, although they also publ ...

revived ''Argosy''.

Launch of ''The Golden Argosy''

Shift towards pulp fiction

''The All-Story''

''Argosy All-Story Weekly''

Revivals

See also

References

External links