Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-12-11
HASKLN,S
LETTER
THE DIME NOVEL-DECEAS
BY Frederic j. Haslxin

WASHINGTON Dec. 10.-A few
months ago, Tom Harbaugh, we'll
known to our fathers generation a!
writer of dime novels, sold his en-
tire possessions at auction for the
J sum of $1,000, and went to live a.
the county poorhouse near his home
in Ohio. Only a short time before
! that, Frederick Van Rensselaer, Day
author of the famous Nick Garter
stories. which used to sell by the
millions, committed suicide in >lew
York hotel rather than accept a
similar fate.
These tragedies constitute an elo-
quert epitaph to tRe dime novel
Both of these men rose to wealth
land fame on the wave of dime novels
that swept the country during the
last century. Their names were we'll
known then and the characters
which they created we're as familiar
to the Americans of that period as
Mutt and Jeff and Andy Gump are
to the Americans of today. Some of
F, Harbaugh's work, it is said, even at
tracted the favorable comment of
| Abraham Lincoln. from whom he
| received a letter of con graduation.
+, Then came a new invention, which
caught the popular fancy, and both
men lived to see the extinction OF
their market.
With the advent of the moving
picture, the popularity of the dime
novel rapidly declined until nova
DAYS it is in the same class of nine
teenth century curiosities as ham
som cabs and whiskers. Occasion
ally such volume is found in
secondhand bookstore, but usually
its price is no lonLer a dime but
much more, because it is now in
demand by collectors. The only
place where dime novels may be
viewed en- masse is in the reference
rooms of a few libraries, where the
attendants watch the readers care
fully to see that he does not mar the
fiimsy pages. At the New York Pub
lie Library, for instance, these class
les of a bygone age-Nick Carter,
Old Cap Collier, Deadwood Dick
and the like-are regularly con-
signed to the tender mercies OF the
same old time fans, who have evil
dently failed to find the movie an
adequate substitute for the dime
novel and the nickel library.
Sometime ago, the collection of
the New York Public Library was
greatly enlarged by the gift of DR..
Frank p. O'Brien, New York phys
ician, who presented the institution
with more than 1900 publications of
the once-famous house of Beadle
and Adams, together with some hum
dreds of specimens of their follow
ers and imitators. For awhile, these
volumes were exhibited behind glass
cases to large crowds of former ad-
mirers. some of whom went about
the room exclaiming joyfully over
the familiar characters pictured on
the front covers. Many Of these
books are now available in the ref
erence room, but they may not be
taken out of the building.
The rise and fall of the dime novel
| is one of the most interesting fea-
lures in the development of Amerl-
can literature. 1t began, we are told,
as a rather good historical novel,
and at it's worst it was no more than
an exciting story written sometimes,
| but not always, in careless English.
1t had three standard locales-the e
| America of the Revolutionary War
period; the sea, in the days OF the
early American merchant marine
when the Atlantic coast was sup
posed to swarm with pirates; and
| the West of the covered wagon
period.
| All of these periods of American
history were handled by the dime
novelists in an extremely sketchy
and romantic manner. Some of the
most popular sea yarns were writ
ten by Mr.. Harbaugh from the quiet
of his small, inland home town,
while most of the cowboy stories
were evolved by authors who obvi-
ously had never been west of the
Mississippi. But then were not Coop
ers Indians described by mark
Twain as IAN extinct race which
never existed?"
The dime novel of the best-known
series was never immoral; on the
contrary it was saturated with NOR
ality. Yet it had a bad reputation
with parents, so that, for the mos'
part, 1t was read clandestinely IN
such delightful retreats as the attic
stable loft, or under the bed. In
the light of present-day movies
i which are viewed Unfortunately by
children, this parental objection
seems altogether without foundation
Perhaps. as had been suggested, the
wicked reputation of the dime noVel
NAV have been due to the earnest
efforts of the respectable" pupiisn-
ing houses to whom any book whicn
sold for ten cents was flagrantly I'M
moral.
The originator OF the dime novel
and the most famous of all its pup
fishers was the firm of Beaole ana
II Adams, which also issued popular
and thrilling weekly, THE Satur-
day Star Journal" between the years
1870 and 1897. 1t had a long lis'
of authors, among whom were the
creators of the valiant characters
OF Deadwood Dick and Jack Hark-
away. street and Smith was an
other publishing firm having sew
era1 characters with large popular
bappeal, chief of these pelnS Nlch
Carter. Then there was trahN
Tousey, who published the Ola hlhe
Brady series and weekly thrlliel
entitled Happy Days; and the
house of Munro that brought ou'
thrillers and more pretentious book:
in/ paper covers. Several CLEVELAND
publishing houses also were In th'
field.
The first essential for dime nov.
elist was a character that woule
stand the long and ardous strain o.