Dime Novel Collection

Collection

Identifier: SpC MS 0140

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Dime Novel collection is a well rounded collection of dime novels. It contains runs of titles including Liberty boys, Tip top weekly, Pluck and luck, Beadle's frontier series, Beadle's half dime library, New magnet library, Old Sleuth, Seaside library, Good news. These stories are of thrilling tales of adventure, history, love, war, and romance, set in America during the Revolution, Civil War, or frontier period. The collection also includes scattered issues of Dime Novel Round-up, bibliographies, and brochures about collecting dime novels.

Dates

Creation: 1842-1930

Restrictions on Access

Kept at Fogler Library's offsite storage facility. One week's notice required for retrieval.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Information on literary rights available in the repository.

Historical Note

Irwin Beadle is credited with first conceiving the idea of printing entire novels, complete under one cover, to be sold for a dime, and to be issued in continuous series. In June 1860, Irwin P. Beadle & Co. released the first dime novel, which sold 65,000 copies within a few months. Wild West novels were the most popular during this period. Later other publishers entered the field - George Munro, Norman Munro, Frank Tousey, and Street & Smith. In 1885 George Munro introduced the first great dime novel detective, Old Sleuth, and dime novels changed from Wild West type to sleuth stories.