Black Mask was a pulp magazine first published in April 1920 by the journalist H. L. Mencken and the drama critic George Jean Nathan. The magazine was one of several money-making publishing ventures to support the prestigious literary magazine The Smart Set, which Mencken edited, and which had operated at a loss since at least 1917.
Covers of Black Mask magazine in the 1930s and 1940s
Under their editorial hand, the magazine was not exclusively a publisher of crime fiction, offering, according to the magazine, “the best stories available of adventure, the best mystery and detective stories, the best romances, the best love stories, and the best stories of the occult.”
The magazine’s first editor was Florence Osborne (credited as F. M. Osborne). Here below is a set of vintage photos that shows covers of Black Mask magazine in the 1930s and 1940s.
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