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April 22, 2014,

gardner_1982_001

"The Case of the Velvet Claws" by Erle Stanley Gardner. 1948. Like many genre authors of his generation, mystery writer Erle Stanley Gardner got his start by publishing stories in pulp fiction magazines such as "Black Mask" and "Detective Fiction Weekly." These magazines were known for their low-quality paper, inexpensive prices, and escapist, sensational tales featuring tough-talking heroes, pretty girls, exotic settings, and mysterious villains. Eventually the pulp magazines of the 1920s and 1930s would be replaced by new media such as radio, TV, comics, and films—and, in particular, cheap paperbacks. Gardner was one of the first of the pulp writers to make the switch to paperbacks, a move that quickly increased his popularity and finances. Other writers that successfully transitioned from pulp magazines to paperbacks include Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ray Bradbury, H. P. Lovecraft, Raymond Chandler, and Dashiell Hammett. The Erle Stanley Gardner collection at the Ransom Center houses pulp magazines and novels that span the author’s nearly 50-year career as a crime and mystery writer.

About Jane Robbins Mize

Mize was an undergraduate intern who studied English and Latin at The University of Texas at Austin. She also worked in the Rare Books Collection at the Benson Latin American Collection and was Deputy Editor of Foxing Quarterly.

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Ransom Center Magazine Spring 2026

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