Inspiration : Penny Dreadful Book Covers

Stanford’s Dime Novel and Story Paper Collection consists of over 8,000 individual items. The genre flourished from the middle to the close of the 19th century in America and England (where the novels were known as “penny dreadfuls”). Their subjects included stereotyped yarns of Wild West adventure, complete with lurid cover illustration, and many other genres were represented: tales of urban outlaws, detective stories, working-girl narratives of virtue defended, and costume romances.

Penny Dreadful Covers