A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1889 — all 16 pages of painted-cover fiction magazines that launched science fiction, horror, and hardboiled crime, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.

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A complete issue · 16 pages · 1889

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 686

1889 · Free to read

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 686 — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 686 — page 3 of 16 — 3 / 16

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Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 686 — page 16 of 16 — 16 / 16

About this issue

This issue of Beadle and Adams' weekly story paper features "Sawdust Sam's Last Green Frame" by E. L. Wheeler, author of the Deadwood Dick novels. The narrative follows Kansas farmers Peter and Maria Penn, who receive a letter from their estranged son James claiming wealth and promising financial assistance. A second letter from a stranger named Joseph Reed offers counterfeit currency at cut rates, which the innocent Penns partly mistake for legitimate investment opportunity. Planning to visit James in New York, they sell their mortgaged farm to neighbor Potts for five thousand dollars cash. Aboard a train to the city, they meet a stylish young man revealed to be Deadwood Dick, Jr.—a celebrated detective en route to New York at Inspector Byrnes's request to investigate swindlers. Dick warns the trusting couple about sharpers targeting country visitors. The narrative establishes a confidence scheme targeting the Penns, with their son's letter and Reed's counterfeit proposition as bait.

Browse this issue page by page

Each page has its own page — the cartoon, who’s in it, and what the satire means.