True Crime Detective Magazines

Follow the evolution and devolution of a distinctly American genre: Hundreds of covers and interior images from dozens of magazine titles, True Crime Detective Magazines tells the story, not just of the “detectives,” but also of America’s attitudes towards sex, sin, crime, and punishmentover five decades.

The Golden Age of Bad Girls

Gun-toting femme fatales caught in the action!

At the height of the Jazz Age, when Prohibition was turning ordinary citizens into criminals and ordinary criminals into celebrities, America’s true crime detective magazines were born. True Detective came first in 1924, and by 1934, when the Great Depression had produced colorful outlaws like Machine Gun Kelly, Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face Nelson, and John Dillinger, the magazines were so popular cops and robbers alike vied to see themselves on the pages. Even FBI boss J. Edgar Hoover wrote regularly for what came to be called the “Dickbooks,” referring to a popular slang term for a detective.

As the decades rolled on, the magazines went through a curious metamorphosis, however. When liquor was once more legal, the Depression over and all the flashy criminals dead or imprisoned, the “detectives” turned to sin to make sales. Sexy bad girls in tight sweaters, slit skirts, and stiletto heels adorned every cover.

True Crime Detective Magazines follows the evolution and devolution of this distinctly American genre from 1924 to 1969. Hundreds of covers and interior images from dozens of magazine titles tell the story, not just of the “detectives,” but also of America’s attitudes towards sex, sin, crime, and punishment over five decades. With texts by magazine collector Eric Godtland, George Hagenauer, and True Detective editor Marc Gerald, True Crime Detective Magazinesis an informative and entertaining look at one of the strangest publishing niches of all time.

The author

Eric Godtland is a self-confessed compulsive collector. Working from his bases in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco and Sonoma County, California, Eric obsesses over all things girlie, Hawaiian, musical and modernist. When not lusting after "cool stuff," Eric manages musicians and properties and putters around his farm and warehouse. Originally from Butte, Montana and Coronado, California, Eric traces his interest in 20th century magazine design to the colorful pasts of both of these character-rich towns where the past over-stayed its welcome.

The editor

Dian Hanson is a senior editor and writer for TASCHEN, with over 50 books to her credit. In addition to Hal Foster’s Tarzan, her recent works include ARNOLD, The Art of Pin-up, Masterpieces of Fantasy Art, and The Fantastic Worlds of Frank Frazetta. 

True Crime Detective Magazines. 1924–1969. 45th Ed.Hardcover, 15.6 x 21.7 cm, 1.15 kg, 512 pages

ISBN 978-3-7544-0285-6

Edition: Multilingual (English, French, German)