A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1891 — all 16 pages of painted-cover fiction magazines that launched science fiction, horror, and hardboiled crime, free to page through at ComicBooks.com.

Home › Exhibition › Pulp Fiction › Read

A complete issue · 16 pages · 1891

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717

1891 · Free to read

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717 — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717 — page 3 of 16 — 3 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717 — page 4 of 16 — 4 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717 — page 5 of 16 — 5 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717 — page 6 of 16 — 6 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717 — page 7 of 16 — 7 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717 — page 8 of 16 — 8 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717 — page 9 of 16 — 9 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717 — page 10 of 16 — 10 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717 — page 11 of 16 — 11 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717 — page 12 of 16 — 12 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717 — page 13 of 16 — 13 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717 — page 14 of 16 — 14 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717 — page 15 of 16 — 15 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library No. 717 — page 16 of 16 — 16 / 16

About this issue

"Move-On, the Grand Catch" by Jo Pierce appears in this 1891 weekly issue (Vol. XXVIII, No. 7). The serial depicts Randolph Fenton, disowned by his wealthy father Colonel Andrew Fenton over missing business secrets and financial losses, wandering into a tenement district where he meets Mosquito Jack, a street gamin who secures him a room from his aunt Mrs. Sarah Brown. The plot introduces complications when a young woman, Lena Dalton, appears claiming Randolph is her missing husband Bertram. She relates her backstory: formerly a shop-girl, she met an aristocratic, well-dressed man who courted and married her, promising to support her. The narrative establishes mistaken identity as a central device while juxtaposing Randolph's fall into poverty with his encounter with working-class characters. Mosquito Jack provides comic relief through his elaborate, digressive speech patterns and practical wit as he attempts to unravel the confusion.

Browse this issue page by page

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