Startling Detective (Vintage crime magazine, Barbara Nichols cover, 1953)
New York: Fawcett Publications, 1953. V44 N255, Jan 1953. B/W throughout, 80pp. Vice & true crime magazine featuring pinup model turned burlesque turned B-movie starlet, Barbara Nichols on the front. Before she made her way to stage and screen, Barbara was a model for major publishing houses who specialized in mature content during the early 1950s. Some of her earliest appearances are vintage paperback & digest covers, w/ great detective/true crime magazine covers leading the way. She would also appear in tiny ads for photo enlarging showing a young Barbara, perhaps an early test photo. SD published by makers of GOLD MEDAL & several photography how-to manuals went well into the 1970s, cover photos increasingly dismal; this middle period showcased excellent staged intro photos for nearly every article & story. Big money did big things for Fawcett, & fresh faces like Barbara's. Willie White, Walter Gibson story, wire-tapping narcos, passion slayers, gun moll bandits, Cafe Society vice, Edwin V. Burkholder, William N. Coffey, hat photographer Frank Reeves, ads for adult novelties, & a small ad for photo enlarging that appears to portray a younger Barbara Nichols, perhaps an early test photo. Very Good, ink to front, creasing, spine wear. Scarce issue. Steve Sullivan, "Glamour Girls: The Illustrated Encyclopedia," #549, 1999. [Book ID: 125717] [Magazines]