Munsey's Magazine pioneered the mass-market pulp formula that dominated American popular fiction for three decades. This 1907 issue features a portrait of James J. Hill, railroad magnate, accompanying Arthur Reed Kimball's article on American millionaires. The cover announces its subject matter in bold serif typography: "Our American Millionaires: Who Are They, and How Many Are There of Them?" Munsey's mixed serious reportage with serialized adventure and fiction, selling millions of copies at ten cents each. The magazine's accessible price and illustrated covers made it a cultural force that influenced the development of comic books, which would inherit both Munsey's visual language and its appetite for larger-than-life narratives of wealth, power, and ambition.
About this artifact
- Date
- July 1907
- Rights
- Public domain — free to view, share, and reuse.
- Restoration
- Digitally restored and hosted by comicbooks.com.
Part of our mission to preserve and restore the public-domain heritage of the medium.