Skip to Main Content

In the Shadows: American Pulp Cover Art

April 13–July 9, 2017
The Wolfsonian–FIU @ 1001 Washington Avenue

Investigating gender, crime, and other social issues in the United States, this installation developed by The Wolfsonian Library explored pulp magazine and paperback cover art of the 1920s–1950s. Designed to appeal to male readers, the glossy cover illustrations of pulp featured stereotypical, often lurid, images of stereotypical gun-wielding gangsters, tough detectives, seductive or vulnerable women, and foreign enemies.