Pulp Pix: The Bizarre Case of Photography Noir – American Museum of Photography
Chapter Six: The Silver Charm of Doom
Anger. Violence. And (perhaps) a desperate call for help. There’s not much subtlety in a clenched fist, but the photographer wasn’t trying for subtle. The dramatic shadows add harshness to the scene — like crime photos taken at night with a flashbulb. The tabloid style owes a lot to Arthur Fellig, the New York newspaper photographer known as “Weegee” who specialized in the seamy side of Gotham life. There were, however, no actors or models posed in Weegee’s crime-scene photos — the blood was always real.
“The Silver Charm of Doom” is written in pencil on the back of this photograph, along with the notation “Startling – July”. There was a monthly pulp magazine called “Startling Detective Adventures.” In April of 1930, Writer’s Digest took note of this magazine, observing, “Startling Detective Adventures is a Fawcett Publication at Robbinsdale, Minn. They are making a play for true mystery stories illustrated with actual photographs from life.”
Fawcett Publications relocated in 1936, moving its offices from Minnesota to Greenwich, Connecticut… and New York, New York.
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