TRASHY TUESDAY: AUSSIE PULP PAPERBACK BOOK HAUL

My recent trawling through bookstores and bookfairs has uncovered an interesting array of pulpy Australian paperbacks and digests. From medical romance to westerns to war stories to faux American PI tales, my recent haul illustrates the range of Australian paperback publishing in the 1950s and 1960s

Horwitz was arguably the premier Australian publisher of popular paperbacks in the 1960s, and not surprisingly their books feature heavily in my recent finds.

The prolific J. E. Macdonnell was Horwitz’s leading provider of war fiction, as well as spy stories and medical novels, and he produced 147 books in his Sea Adventure Series alone. Macdonnell mainly wrote fiction, but towards the end of his career for Horwitz he provided a very readable account of The Battle For Midway, (Horwitz, 1976), complete with black and white photos. It is also adorned with a very nice cover illustration, which unfortunately is uncredited.

Here is a link to some other J. E. Macdonell war books and covers:  https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/trashy-tuesday-july-book-haul/

War stories were an important part of Horwitz’s fictional output in the late 1950s and early 1960s, with the involvement of Australians in the war against the Japanese a particularly rich field. Macdonnell and W. R. (William) Bennett were Horwitz’s main provider of war fiction, but there were also plenty of others drawn into service.

Graeme Cronin’s Timor Target, (Horwitz, No. 8, 1962), was part of their Commando series, which ran for most of the 1960s and was typical of the output. Revolving around attempts by Australian commandos to harass Japanese forces in Timor it is pretty standard fare.

The cover, for once acknowledged, is by well respected cartoonist John Dixon. It is quite a good cover, although the proportions and the perspective seem a bit out.

Medical romance was another popular and lucrative field for Horwitz. They had a number of different books, including the Shane Douglas, Rebecca Dee and Karen Miller series, and 12 medical books by J. E. Macdonnell. The Kerry Mitchell series of medical romances started in 1960 and finished in 1964. Apart from two books, the author(s) of the series are unknown.

Condition Critical, (Horwitz, 1960), was the fourth book in the series and features a terrific eye catching cover.

Here is a link to another article on Australian medical romances: https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/trashy-tuesday-smoking-doctors-sexy-nurses-and-the-outback-australian-medical-paperbacks-in-the-1960s/

In addition to a dazzling array of books by local authors, who churned them out at an astonishing rate, Horwitz also reprinted books from overseas. Again, these books covered a wide range of interests from westerns and romances to more serious fare. Regardless of the origins of the books, or their subject matter, Horwitz were always quick to give the books striking covers that usually featured thrusting breasts, bikinis, possible violence and the suggestion of sex.

Above, John Burke’s novelisation of the Richard Burton movie, Look Back In Anger, is given the typical spicy treatment by one of Horwitz’s illustrators. The artist is not credited, although I suspect it is the same one who did the illustration for Danger Circuit below.

The Marc Brody Crime Reporter series (actually written by W. H. Williams) was one of several attempts by Horwitz to cash in on the extraordinary success of the Carter Brown crime novels. Offering a similar faux American hardboiled style, the Brody books were reasonably popular, although they never matched the international sales of Carter Brown.

Late Final Blonde, (Horwitz, 1958), was number 11 in the series and featured a typical cover of a skimpily dressed woman in the foreground imposed over scenes of action, this time involving a two boats colliding.

Here is the link to one of the posts on the site about Marc Brody: https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/trashy-tuesday-baby-your-types-murder-by-marc-brody-horwitz-1958/

Cleveland was one of Horwitz’s main competitors and they are probably best known for their western and Larry Kent digests, which could be found in news agencies around Australia.

Above is a Larry Kent book from the late 1960s featuring a generic cover by Spanish comic artist Salvador Faba (1936). Best known for his horror and western art, including the German covers for Vampira, Faba produced a lot of syndicated art for books covers and his work can be seen on other Larry Kent covers: https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/trashy-tuesday-more-larry-kent-spanish-covers/

Below is a typical Cleveland western from the late 1950s. The dramatic action illustration is probably by Stanley Pitt.

Here are some links to other Cleveland posts: https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/trashy-tuesday-cleveland-westerns/; https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/trashy-tuesday-australian-pulp-cleveland-digests-and-books/;

So some interesting finds. I also came across some others, which I will try and share over the next few weeks.