Quarter Books !

Here we go folks, let me introduce you to 'Quarter Books' , a digest book that started in the late 1940's with number 19, a strange number you would think but was a continuation from an earlier book run under the name 'Astro Books' which ran from #1 - #18 and it was at this point that 'Quarter Books' was born. So after many amazing titles and some superb art the series was completed at number 96 in 1951 . Again you will find breathtaking art, sinful women, virgins and street walkers galore ......here we go .....it's quarter time !

Quarter Books.

Quarter Books Colophon.

19 - Bed-Time Girl - James Clayford (Peggy Gaddis)

Bed Time Girl # 19 - Art by Claude Rodewald

20 - Fighting Horse Valley - Murray Leinster
21 - Shamed - Luther Gordon (James N. Gifford)
22 - Unfaithful - Luther Gordon (James N, Gifford)

Unfaithful # 22 - Art by Fred Rodewald

23 - Texas Gun Law - Murray Leinster
24 - Passion's Mistress - Luther Gordon (James N. Gifford)
25 - Wanted-Dead Or Alive - Murray Leinster.
26 - Respectable Harlot - James Clayford (Peggy Gaddis)

Respectable Harlot # 26 - Art by Fred Claude Rodewald

27 - Sinful - James Clayford (Peggy Gaddis)
28 - Lure For Love - James Clayford (Peggy Gaddis)

Sinful # 27 - 1949

Lure For Love # 28 - Art by George Gross

29 - Immoral ! - Luther Gordon (James N. Gifford)

Immoral #29 

30 - Marriage Can Wait - James Clayford (Peggy Gaddis)
31 - Wicked ! - Luther Gordon (James N. Gifford)
32 - Careless - James Clayford (Peggy Gaddis)
33 - Naughty Virgin - Luther Gordon (James N. Gifford)

Naughty Virgin # 33

34 - Pleasure Girl - Luther Gordon (James N. Gifford)
35 - Ecstasy ! - Luther Gordon (James N. Gifford)
36 - Tempted ! - Luther Gordon (James N. Gifford)

Tempted # 36 - Art by Fred Claude Rodewald

37 - Love Cheat - Luther Gordon (James N. Gifford)
38 - Wolf Trap Blonde - Luther Gordon (James N. Gifford)

Wolf Trap Blonde #38 - Art by George Gross

As you can see from the first part of the list the two predominant writers were Luthor Gordon with 11 books and James Clayford (Peggy Gaddis) with the other 6 titles. Murray Leinster with his wild west cowboy novels wrote the other three titles with # 20, #23 & #25.

39 - Frenchy - Harmon Bellamy (Herman Irving Bloom)
40 - Night Of Passion - John Caldwall (Herman Irving Bloom)

Frenchy # 39 - Art by Bill Wenzel

Night Of Passion # 40

41 - Pick-Up - Harmon Bellamy (Herman Irving Bloom)

Pick-Up # 41 - Art by George Gross - 1949

42 - Midnight Sinner - John Caldwall (Herman Irving Bloom)
43 - Vera Is A Tramp - Gerald Foster.
44 - Bad Woman - Russell Higgins .
45 - Hot Number - Ross Sloane
46 - Call Girl - Gail Jordan (Peggy Gaddis)

Call Girl # 46 - 1949

47 - Sin Child - Norman Bligh (Wlliam Arthur Neubauer)
48 - As Good As Married - Perry Lindsay (Peggy Gaddis)

As Good As Married # 48 - Art by George Gross

49 - Burlesque Queen - Russell Higgins
50 - Overnight Blonde - Charles E. Colohan.

Overnight Blonde # 50

Burlesque Queen # 49 

Well that takes care of numbers 19 up to 50 and we remain in the year 1949 and as you can see the emphasis is on women of the night, call girls and downright dangerous ladies of the street with some superb art by the likes of George Gross and Claude Rodewald.

51 - Wild Passion - Watkins E. Wright

Wild Passion # 51 - 1949

52 - Three Naked Souls - Ross Sloane
53 - Virgin No More - Charles E. Colohan
54 - Illicit Desires - H.M.Appel

Virgin No More # 53 - 1949

Illicit Desires # 54 - Art by George Gross - 1949

55 - Wedding Night Confession - James Clayford (Peggy Gaddis)
56 - Bedtime Blonde - John Wilstach.

Bedtime Blonde # 56 - Art by Fred Rodewald

57 - Virgin & The Barfly - Gerald Foster .(art by George Gross)

58 - Margie Is For Loving - Watkins E.Wright.
59 - Pushover - Joan Sherman (Peggy Gaddis)

Pushover # 59 

60 - Room And Dame - Gerald Foster.

Room And Dame # 60 - 1950

61 - Careless Virgin - James Clayford (Peggy Gaddis)
62 - Everybody Loves Irene - Wright Williams (Watkins E. Wright)

Art by George Gross

63 - One Night With Diane - Harvey Jones

One Night With Diane # 63 art by George Gross - 1950

64 - Bed Time Girl (2nd Edition) - James Clayford (Peggy Gaddis) - (#19)
65 - Passionate Pick-Up - Doug Dupperault.

Passionate Pick-Up - Art by George Gross

66 - Fleash And Females - Harmon Bellamy.

Flesh and Females # 66

67 - Shamed (2nd Edition) - Luther Gordon. (James N. Gifford)
68 - Marriage Can Wait (2nd Edition) - James Clayford (Peggy Gaddis) - (#30)

69 - Illicit Wife - James Clayford (Peggy Gaddis)

Marriage Can Wait # 68

Illicit Wife # 69

70 - Naughty Virgin (2nd Edition) - Luther Gordon (James N. Gifford)
71 - Passion's Mistress (2nd Edition) - Luther Gordon (James N. Gifford)

Naughty Virgin # 70 - 1950

Passion's Mistress # 71 - Claude Rodewald - 1950

72 - Respectable Harlot (2nd Edition) - James Clayford (Peggy Gaddis)
73 - Hollywood Mistress - Florence Stonebraker
74 - Leg Art Virgin - Gene Harvey

Leg Art Virgin # 74 - Art by G. Gross

75 - The Sins Of Allie-May - Albert L.Quandt

The Sins Of Allie-May # 75

76 - Quickie ! - Gerald Foster
77 - Red Light Babe - Doug Duperault
78 - Waterfront Hotel - Norman Bligh (William Arthur Neubauer)
79 - Bad Sue - Norman Bligh (William Arthur Neubauer)

Waterfront Hotel # 78

Bad Sue # 79

You will have noticed that there were five 2nd editions between #64 and #72 these were the only ones re-printed by Quarter who pretty much stuck to printing only original novels during the entire series. We are now well into 1950 and even more great books are still to come !

80 - Frisco Dame - Florence Stonebraker
81 - Fast, Loose & Lovely - Norman Bligh (William Arthur Neubauer)

Frisco Dame # 80 - 1950

Fast, Loose And Lovely # 81 - 1950

82 - Illicit Pleasure - Peggy Gaddis.

83 - Four Men And A Dame - Florence Stonebraker.

Illicit Pleasure #82

Four Men And A Dame #83

84 - Born To Be Bad - Norman Bligh (William Arthur Neubauer)

Born To Be Bad # 84

85 - Flesh Is Weak - Florence Stonebraker.
86 - Girl On The Make - Joan Sherman (Peggy Gaddis)

Flesh Is Weak # 85 - 1951

Girl On The Make # 86 - 1951

87 - Ticket To Passion - Albert L.Quandt

Ticket To Passion # 87

88 - Untamed Woman - Amos Hatter (James W. Lampp)
89 - The Lady Is Taboo - Norman Bligh (William Arthur Neubauer)
90 - Flirting Eyes - Florence Stonebraker.

Art by George Gross

Flirting Eyes # 90

91 - Street Girl - Albert L.Quandt

Street Girl #91 - 1951

92 - Three Men and a Mistress - Florence Stonebraker
93 - Thrill Me Suzy - Joan Sherman (Peggy Gaddis)

 # 92 - Art by G. Gross

Thrill Me Suzy # 93

94 - Confessions Of An Artists Model - Norman Bligh (William Arthur Neubauer)

Confessions Of An Artists Model #94 - Art by George Gross

95 - Diary Of A Pleasure Cruise - Anthony Scott (Davis Dresser)

Art by Howell Dodd

96 - Dime A Dance Queen - Doug Dupperault.

Dime A Dance Queen # 96

So there you have it Quarter Books from # 19 right up to # 96 . In my opinion the final part from numbers 73 up to the end is where you find the best titles and certainly the best artwork , the best ones being 'Flesh Is Weak', 'Quickie', 'Bad Sue', 'Fast, Loose & Lovely' and 'Street Girl' these are wonderful books and will go for decent money if you find one on ebay or other book sites.

I will finish up with some variations on back covers, the first two versions below were used on #19 through to # 38.

Back Cover (Version 1)

Back Cover (Version 2)

Version 3 & 4 (below) were used from # 39 up to #74

Back Cover (Version 3)

Back Cover (Version 4)

After the first 4 versions Quarter started to use individual photo models on each back cover, each had it's own synopsis and they used different color surrounds , below I will show you just a few variations .

Back Cover - Frisco Dame # 80

Back Cover - Girl On The Make # 86

Back Cover - Flirting Eyes # 90

Finally here are some B/W pin-up photo's used as inspiration for some great artwork used on Quarter books . The photo below from inside 'Best True Fact Detective' Magazine from May 1952 that I own and spotted this photo model which I instantly recognized as the art work from 'Red Light Babe' Quarter # 77 (I don't own this Quarter Book issue but have added it here for reference purposes)

This photo of male and female model can be found inside Ecstasy book 'Paula Has A Price' and the art by Fred Claude Rodewald on cover 'Unfaithful'

This girl holding the key was the obvious art inspiration for 'Call Girl' - The photo can be found inside Ecstasy novel 'Harlot In Her Heart'

Black and white Male and Female photo with slight changes and used on cover of 'Untamed Woman' - Photo from inside Venus Book # 108 'Cutie'

This photo shows subtle changes that were used as art inspiration for Fred Claude Rodewald for 'Tempted' .

Right, that's your lot for this week, more to come real soon, starting with 'Carnival Books' and they will wow you with great titles and even more staggering art ........keep collecting folks !!