On this date in 1860 the first dime novel appeared, the genre most often credited with glamorizing the western frontier to city slickers and dirt farmers east of the Mississippi.
The Western melodrama, “Malaeska, Indian Wife of the White Hunter” wasn’t authored by a hard-bitten reporter but by a woman, Ann S. Stephens.
Stephens, born in Connecticut, daughter of the manager of a woolen mill, first made a name for herself editing prim domestic publications such at Goudy’s Lady’s Book, Ladies’ Companion and Peterson’s Ladies’ National Magazine. She received the astounding sum of $250 for the reprint of her story, more than $7,000 in today’s money. It was a small fortune at a time when the average American wage was less than $30 a month.
“Malaeska” was the first of the Adams & Beadle Dime Novels, 321 in all, largely reprints of western adventures from “story papers.” First appearing in the 1850s, these weekly eight-page tabloids had gained enormous popularity.
The dozens of dime novelists that followed Stephens were nothing if not prolific. Edwin S. Ellis, (right) another Adams and Beadle author, published 159 titles under his own name and nearly 100 more under various pen names. His series featuring morally upright frontier hero Seth Jones was said to be favorite reading material for President Abraham Lincoln.
A decade later Edward Zane Carroll Judson, better known to the reading public as Ned Buntline, propelled the frontiersman, William F. Cody, (left) into international fame. Cody’s real-life exploits as a stage driver, Pony Express rider, army scout and buffalo hunter lavishly embellished by Buntline, made him a household name.
Judson’s own life was adequate fodder for a serial. 
Before the age of 25, he’d founded a western literary journal, shot the husband of his teenage lover in a duel, survived an attempted lynching by the husband’s friends, was found guilty of instigating the Astor Place Riot in New York City and served a year in prison for it. (Judson, right)
Publishers became savvy at recycling material under increasingly lurid titles as competition became more fierce. Dime novels eventually evolved into nickel novels, then into pulp magazines by the early 20th century and into paperbacks today.
Some dime novelists went on to produce serious literature. Stephens eventually wrote a two-volume history of the Civil War and Ellis produced “The Life of Colonel David Crockett.” Buntline, not so much. He continued to write extravagant adventures but none as successful as his earlier books. Finally retiring to Stamford, New York, he designed his home, The Eagles Nest, and lived the relatively tame life of a gentleman farmer until his death in 1889 from congestive heart failure at age 60.
Visitors can find the real West that became the legend at the Buffalo Bill Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, Cody Wyoming. Founded in 1927, the exhibits place Cody’s life and times in frontier history including that of the cowboy, ranch life and Western conservation. 
The campus also includes the Whitney Western Art Museum, Plains Indian Museum, Cody Firearms Museum and the Draper Natural History Museum. Open daily 8 to 6 from May 1 to September 15. Inquire for winter hours which vary. Two-day admission, adults: $19 (online: $18); seniors (65 & older): $18 (online: $17); students (18 & older with student ID), $16 (online: $15), children 6 to 17, $12 (online: $11) and 5 and under free. For more information go to centerofthewest.org, call (307) 587-4771 or write 720 Sheridan Avenue Cody, Wyoming 82414. © Text Only – 2017 – Headin’ West LLC – All photos – public domain.