A complete, restored issue of Pulp Fiction from 1892 — 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 · 1892

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796

1892 · Free to read

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796 — page 2 of 16 — 2 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796 — page 3 of 16 — 3 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796 — page 4 of 16 — 4 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796 — page 5 of 16 — 5 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796 — page 6 of 16 — 6 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796 — page 7 of 16 — 7 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796 — page 8 of 16 — 8 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796 — page 9 of 16 — 9 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796 — page 10 of 16 — 10 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796 — page 11 of 16 — 11 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796 — page 12 of 16 — 12 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796 — page 13 of 16 — 13 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796 — page 14 of 16 — 14 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796 — page 15 of 16 — 15 / 16

Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 796 — page 16 of 16 — 16 / 16

About this issue

This 1892 Beadle and Adams dime novel, Broadway Billy's Queer Bequest, by J. C. Cowdrick, features the detective protagonist Broadway Billy (William Weston) in a mystery inheritance case. Lawyer Bryland visits Billy's office with news that the deceased Elijah Santvoord, whom Billy never knew, has left him a thousand dollars—contingent on recovering a hidden iron box containing sealed papers and bequests for two other legatees: Baptist Hodgerson and Abiel Trotterman. The letter in the box, to be opened publicly, holds the clues Billy needs. At the will-reading, held at Santvoord's residence before his three adult children and the interested parties, the conditions are explained: Billy must locate the box and act as custodian, with all sealed papers to be read aloud before witnesses. The story involves mystery, detection, and the puzzle of why Santvoord selected an unknown young detective for this peculiar task.

Browse this issue page by page

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