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Popular conceptions of the Wild West were shaped primarily
by the Western Dime novels which Erastus Beadle began publishing in 1860. These dime novels had brightly coloured and often
illustrated covers. New stories appeared at the rate of one a week, and by 1865, American readers had spent $50 000 in dimes
while buying close to 5,000,000 "dime novels".
However, the West only became a popular setting for the dime
novel in the 1880's. This is when actual western figures like Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill and Calamity Jane started starring
in numerous "adventures" which were devoured by readers.
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These books were so popular because they contained stories of
the West, and the West possesed symbolic and mythical qualities, seeming to be the real, genuine America that every American
dreamed their country was.
The West was romantisized to emphasize the qualities Americans admired
most: manliness, individualism, and self-reliance.
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