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Friday, October 2, 2009

1940's Art (Unknown Artist)




Original 1940s full color science fiction fanzine art

The seller of this item stated: Original 1940s science fiction fanzine art. I don't know if this art was ever published. Art is in very good condition (it is not yellowed, the old paper just scans that way as the paper is still clean and white). 7" x 10 1/2". Art is signed on the lower right but I can't make out the signature.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

More 1953 AUTOGRAPHS

Notes are from the seller of the document










Up for auction is something both rare and quite unique, something of which may never appear again. Introducing the Eleventh World Science Fiction Convention. It was held at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel on Sept 5-7th in Philadelphia, 1953. This tradition of gathering authors began back in 1939 and continued onward like a shooting star. 639 members consisted of the Committee, some of which were Forrest J. Ackerman, L. Sprague de Camp, Robert Bloch, Al Feldstein, Al Williamson and Arthur C. Clarke.

This convention program has within its pages 9 autographs of some of the worlds most recognized authors of our time. Both pen and pencil were used to sign the book. Each signature is easy to see.

Willie Ley, Guest-of-Honor {1906-1969 died age 62}. German-American Science writer, who helped popularize rocketry and spaceflight. He also cowrote with Wernher Von Braun. Signature is in black ink.

Theodore Sturgeon {1918-1985 died age 67} Written screenplays for star Trek. "More than human", New Twilight Zone "Killdozer" Signiture is in light pencil

Isaac Asimov {1920-1992 died age 72} Foundation series, Galactic Empire series, Robot series. 14 honorary doctorates from various universities. Signature is in light pencil.

Samuel Mines {?} Editor for Thrilling Wonder Stories in 1951-1953 Bought "The Portable Star" from Isaac Asimov. Signature is in light pencil

L. Sprague de Camp {1907-2000 died age 93} Sword and Sorcery, Historical fiction. "Hand of Zei", "The Glory that Was" Various Conan tales. Signature is in blue ink.

Murray Fletcher Pratt {1897-1956 died age 59} "Land of Unreason" w/ L. de Camp, "Well of the Unicorn", "Blue Star", "Alien Planet" Wrote several books on historical wars. Signiture is in blue ink.

Dr. Edward E. Smith {1890-1965, died age 75} Wrote for Amazing Stories in 1930. "Lensman", "Skylark" Is known as the Father of Space Opera. Signature is in black ink.

Formula written by perhaps one of the signatures in the book.

Philip Jose Farmer {1918-2009 died age 91} "Riverworld", Tarzan, Doc Savage, many, many more. Hugo award winner. Signature is in blue ink.

Robert Bloch {1917-1994 died age 77} Author of Psycho and Psycho 2, several scripts for Star Trek, "American Gothic", "Yours truly, Jack the Ripper", "The Thing" Signature is in black ink.

You will not find such dignitaries of the Science Fiction realm ever collected like this before. It is indeed a treasure to find one, perhaps two autographs but 9 in one book? As for the mysterious formula, perhaps it is the good Dr. Samuel Mines or even Willie Ley who, with a keen sense of humor, added their own brand of humor. Be that as it may, you are bidding on a very special and extremely rare program.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

William Godrich

Recently seen on ebay:


GODRICH, W. J. [William John, 1926-2000]. TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL: AN INDEX, by A.E.R.M. Stevens and W.J. Godrich (unpublished), plus a substantial archive of correspondence concerning the collecting of Weird and Supernatural Fiction, plus miscellaneous notes, dealers catalogues, etc., etc.

William “John” Godrich lived in Swansea, Wales. He was a collector of rare books and records, specializing in weird and supernatural fiction, illustrated books, and American blues recordings. H was co-author (with Robert M.W. Dixon) of BLUES AND GOSPEL RECORDS (1964), still in print and considered the ‘bible’ of collecting early blues recordings, as well as RECORDING THE BLUES, (1970), also with Dixon. He spent many years working on a bibliography of Supernatural fiction, based on his own collection and that of his friends and correspondents. Initially, this was co-authored with Anthony Stevens; later he worked with Richard Dalby. The bibliography, tentatively titled TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL: AN INDEX, was never published. Godrich died in 2000. His book collection was sold off before his death and has long ago been dispersed. Anthony Stevens’s collection went to Sothebys in 1996 ( Sale LN6731, 17 December 1996, Lots 372-641, “The A.E.R.M. Stevens Collection Of Detective Fiction, Ghost Stories, Gothic Novels, Science Fiction And Fantasy And Victorian Fiction”).

We offer here Godrich’s original unpublished typescript for the bibliography, plus his notes and subsequent drafts, plus his correspondence with other collectors and dealers over a multi-year period concerning the identification and acquisition of books of supernatural fiction, including a substantial archive of letters with important bibliographical information. Over 200 pages of original typescript and letters are included, forming an in-depth look at researching, collecting and cataloguing supernatural fiction in these formative years.

TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL: AN INDEX. (Preliminary checklist. 2nd draft. March 1975) by A.E.R.M Stevens and W.J. Godrich. 23 pp., carbon-copy typescript on rectos only, with numerous manuscript additions and notes. “Items owned or inspected by us are designated by either one or two asterisk following book titles. Complete details of other listed titles urgently needed….” Thanks are given to Richard Dalby, Bob Yates, John Melville and George Locke. Approx 1200 titles are listed. Unbound.

TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL (Third draft) April 1976 (by John Godrich and Richard Dalby). Unfinished. 4 pages, original typescript on rectos only, carbon copies included.Covers authors from A.P. Barker - E.F. Benson. A more proper bibliography, with author, title, publisher, date and a plot synopsis. Also included are three pages on Herbert Russell Wakefield: A biography (photocopy of typescript) and 2 pages of bibliography (original typescript, carbons included). Also included is one extra sheet of stories from the pulps, random, with plot outlines; plus short checklists of magazine appearances of stories by Philip Jose Farmer, Otis Adelbert Kline, Laurence Manning, C.L. Moore, Eric Frank Russell, Jack Vance, Roger Zelazny, Leigh Brackett, George Allen England, Ray Cumings, J. Rousseau, C.B. Stilson, Tod Robbins, Frances Stevens, Philip M. Fisher, Perley Sheehan, W.C. Morrow, Ralph Milne Farley, Jack Mann (E. Charles Vivian), John Taine, E. Hoffman Price and others.

Biographies of Algernon Blackwood, Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune and Edith Nesbit, 2 leaves, typescript, first leaf printed on recto and verso, 2nd leaf printed on recto only. Penned by Godrich, these are amateur but original biographical sketches, with some first hand knowledge, i.e.: …”Frieda Harris, who thought Crowley the most wonderful man she had ever met and after his death wore his huge jade ring, once told me that he felt an overwhelming pity for women thus afflicted (with alcoholism)” .

18 pages of typescript (9 pages printed on rectos and versos) by Godrich, reprinting stories from the pulps: THE MALIGNANT INVADER by Frank Belknap Long (Weird Tales Jan 1932); THOSE WHO SEEK by August Derleth (Weird Tales Jan 1932); THE KELPIE by Manley Wade Wellman (Weird Tales July 1936); THE NECRONOMICON by Lin Carter (from The Shuttered Room, Arkham House, 1959); Extracts from THE BOOK OF THE DEAD: FARNSWORTH WRIGHT by E. Hoffmann Price (from W. Paul Cook’s “The Ghost”; reprinted in Anubis. No. 3. 1968); and THE SEALED CASKET by Richard Seawright (Weird Tales March 1935).

CORRESPONDENCE:


ANDREW STEVENS. To John Godrich. 8 Autograph Letters Signed, dated 12th January 1975 ­ 24th April 1977. 21 pages on 11 leaves. Mostly dealing with bibliographical matters, books traded or sold between them, etc.

RICHARD DALBY. To John Godrich. 67 Typed Letters Signed and 1 Autograph Letter Signed, total 68 letters 1972-1977: 5 dated 1972, 13 dated 1973 (one is 3-pages); 14 dated 1974; 17 dated 1975; 15 dated 1976; 3 dated 1977. All concern weird fiction: the contents of books (and proposed books) edited by Dalby, extensive lists of titles sold by Dalby to Godrich (and vice-versa); who has what books (Covent Garden Bookshop had Christopher Blayre’s THE CHEETAH-GIRL, one of 20 copies, at £12.50), prices charged by dealers, great finds (Dalby recounts purchasing Timlin’s THE SHIP THAT SAILED TO MARS for £2 in a country bookshop; mentions purchasing a 1st edition of William Hope Hodgson’s MEN OF THE DEEP WATERS, 1914, in d/w), book illustrators, much on collecting M.R. James, H.R. Wakefield, Mervyn Peake, Austin Osman Spare, etc, etc; and, later on, collaborating together on TALES OF THE SUPERNATURAL. Also included is a one-page typescript of the Table of Contents for the proposed work THE SPECTRE SPIDER AND OTHER GHOST STORIES, edited by Dalby (never published as such).

JIM PITTS [ILLUSTRATOR]. To John Godrich. 1 Autograph Letter Signed and one Typed Letter Signed, both dated 1976. The ALS is on Pitts’ illustrated letterhead, with Cthulhu and other weird figures. Concerning the purchase of magazines and publications available.

HUGH LAMB. To John Godrich. 4 Typed Letters Signed & 1 Autograph Letter Signed, all dated 1976. Concerning Lamb’s anthologies, and suggestions for contributions to them (Godrich suggested the story “Finless Death” by R.E. Vernede, it was later included in Lamb’s anthology THE MAN-WOLF AND OTHER HORRORS (1978).

BRIAN STABLEFORD. To John Godrich. Undated. 1 short TLS, mentioning a letter in Science Fantasy No. 78 as well as admitting to the short story BEYOND TIME’S AEGIS by “Brian Craig” in that issue, written by him in collaboration with a school-friend named Craig. Signed simply “Brian”.

EDWARD P. BERGLUND. To John Godrich. 12 Typed Letters Signed. Dated 1972-1977. First 4 are on air mail paper, remainder on 8.5 x 11. Printed rectos only. Discusses Fanzines, supernatural tales, an HP Lovecraft bibliography titled BIBLIOTHECA: HPL and anthologies edited by Berglund, Robert Weinberg’s READER’S GUIDE TO THE CTHULHU MYTHOS (co-edited by Berglund), stories by Brian Lumley and Lin Carter, FROM BEYOND THE DARK GATEWAY (edited by Berglund); work on the proposed HYBORIAN AGE CHRONOLOGY, Cthulhu Mythos tales in the SUPERNATURAL STORIES paperbacks, his anthology DISCIPLES OF CTHULHU, etc, etc.

W. PAUL GANLEY. To John Godrich. 2 Typed Letters Signed. Dated 1975 & 1976. Concerning WEIRDBOOK, and offers for magazines and books.

WAGNER, Karl Edward. To John Godrich. 2 Typed Letters Signed, dated 1975 & 1976, on Carcosa Press letterhead. The first confirms an order for E. Hoffman Price’s FAR LANDS, OTHER DAYS, with some commentary (plus enclosed invoice); the second concerns the return of said book as being mis-bound, and notes the upcoming publication of MURGUNSTRUMM & OTHERS. Quite chatty.

Plus, BRIAN MOODY, 2 long letters; JOHN M. HARVEY, 5 letters, MARTIN STONE, 1 letter, WAYNE WARFIELD, 1 letter, NIGEL SMITH (BFS) 5 letters, EDDY C. BERTIN 2 letters, CHRISTOPHER LOWDER 2 letters (mentioning Dermot Chesson Spence’s LITTLE RED SHOES), VERNON LAY 2 letters, DAVE FLETCHER 2 letters, M.F. CRAWFORD 1 letter (on WITCHCRAFT & SORCERY letterhead)

Approx 15 pages of quotes and book offers from various and sundry;

Approx 10 book catalogues & lists from G. Ken Chapman, Ferret Fantasy, Robert Madle, Loompanics, Phantasmagoria, etc. All from the 1970’s.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Autographs Galore (1953)

















Eleventh World Science Fiction
Convention Program Book

Edited by: David A Kyle (signed)
Signed by Many Authors, Artists and Fans

Philadelphia Sept 5-7, 1953

The seller states: Thin (18 page) stapled booklet published as the convention program book for the Eleventh World Science Fiction Convention held September 5th, 6th and 7th, 1953 in Philadelphia, PA. This program appears to have been the property of Dave MacInnes (his name is hand printed on the first page), who usually attended conventions with his wife Pam. For some reason it appears that she was not able to attend this convention, so Dave got the program book signed by many of the attendees with greetings to Pam. Some people signed the program more than once. The signatures are listed below each pair of pictures.

Dave MacInnes
George O. Smith
Joan Skirvin
Ben Singer
Isaac Asimov
Margaret Harrison
E. Everett Evans
Milton Rothman
Lester del Rey
Bill Hamling
Russell Swanson
Joe Gibson
Ric Binkley
Bea Mahaffey
Lester del Rey
Larry Rothstein
Evelyn del Rey
George O. Smith
Pat Mahaffey
Frank Kelly Freas
Tetsu Yano
Bill Hamling
Paul Spencer
Edward E. Smith, PhD (E. E. 'Doc' Smith)
H. J. Campbell
Stephen J. Takacs
Rog Phillips
Katherine MacLean
J. A. Winter, M.D.
Randall Garrett
Wendayne Ackerman
Jean Smith (Mrs E E Smith)
Alex Osheroff
Niel De Jack
Marie De Jack
Al Lopez
Forry (Forrest J. Ackerman)
L. A. Eschbach
Robert Bloch
Malcolm Willits
Earl Kemp
Gerry de la Ree
Dave Kyle
Louis Tabakov
Bob (Wilson) Tucker
Judith Midyette
Marty Greenberg
Andrew Harris
Frank M. Robinson
Sam Moskowitz
Don Ford
Ted Ditkey
Allison Williams

Gerry de la Ree and Hannes Bok




"BEAUTY & THE BEASTS" THE ART OF HANNES BOK! 1978
Hannes Bok and his art! Issued by Gerry De La Ree in 1978. First edition. Limited to only 1300 copies! 128 pages of mostly full page reproductions of Bok`s art, and representative of his entire career as an illustrator. Intro by Ray Bradbury




1976 A Hannes Bok Sketchbook Magazine Fanzine

Friday, September 4, 2009

August Derleth in Scribner's (Sept. 1936)


SCRIBNER'S MAGAZINE * September 1936 *

Sam Moskowitz and Lin Carter Side by Side


Worlds of Tomorrow Nov 1966 featuring Moskowitz & Lin Carter

Carter Story:
Crown of Stars [Hautley Quicksilver], (nv) Worlds of Tomorrow Nov 1966

Includes Stephen Tall story:
Seventy Light-Years from Sol [Stardust], (nv) Worlds of Tomorrow Nov 1966; also as “A Star Called Cyrene”.

Frederick Pohl:
The World of Today, (ed) Worlds of Tomorrow Nov 1966

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Patrick Stewart Sees Ghost


Patrick Stewart, right, saw a ghost while performing Waiting for Godot with Sir Ian McKellen, left
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Chrispy is a major Trek fan. And it's an antiquraian story to a certain extent.
_____

Patrick Stewart saw ghost performing Waiting for Godot

Patrick Stewart has told fellow actors that he saw a ghost in what is reputed to be one of Britain's most haunted theatres.
_____

He saw the apparition while performing Waiting for Godot with Sir Ian McKellen.

Stage hands believe he saw the ghost of John Baldwin Buckstone, who was actor-manager of the Theatre Royal Haymarket in the mid 19th century and a friend of Charles Dickens.

Upon coming offstage for the interval, Stewart told his co-star that he saw a man standing in the wings wearing what looked like a beige coat and twill trousers.

Sir Ian asked him: "What happened, what threw you?"

"I just saw a ghost. On stage, during Act One," Stewart replied.

The episode was related in a documentary about the Theatre Royal Haymarket, produced by television channel Sky Arts.

However, it appears cameramen failed to capture images of the ghost itself.

Buckstone had a long association with the Theatre Royal, first as a comic actor, then as a playwright and finally as its actor-manager from 1853 to 1877, during which time it put on some 200 productions. The house became the leading comic theatre of the day.

He did not die in the building, passing away peacefully at home in Sydenham, Kent, after a long illness in 1879 aged 77. But theatre lore professes that he nevertheless haunts the place to the present day.

Nigel Everett, a director of the theatre, said: "Patrick told us all about it. He was stunned. I would not say frightened, but I would say impressed."

Appearances of Buckstone were not that frequent, Mr Everett said, with the last being by a stage hand about three or four years ago.

He added: "The last time an actor saw him would have been I think Fiona Fullerton, playing in an Oscar Wilde, 10 or 12 years ago.

"The ghost tends to appear when a comedy is playing."

While he said he did not consider Waiting for Godot to be a comedy, he thought their production did have comic aspects.

"I think Buckstone appears when he appreciates things," he added. "We view it as a positive thing."

Friday, August 21, 2009

C M Eddy, Jr. Writer, HPL & Houdini Friend.

Thanks, C, for mentioning this article to me. :)
_____

Pulp-era horror is resurrected in book of tales
By Doug Norris/Features Editor

NARRAGANSETT - A close friend to H.P. Lovecraft and Harry Houdini, lifelong Rhode Islander C.M. Eddy Jr. is perhaps best known for his stories in Weird Tales. Eddy's tales of horror, the supernatural and detective mystery appeared in several pulp magazines in the early 20th century.
Just in time for Halloween, a partial collection of his work, "The Loved Dead and Other Tales," consisting of 13 stories from the pulps, has been compiled and published by his grandson, Jim Dyer, owner of Fenham Publishing of Narragansett."He was a pack rat," said Dyer of his grandfather. "He kept all of his stories, letters, notes. It's something that runs in the family."This is the second collection of Eddy's tales that Dyer has published. Fenham Publishing's first venture into the Eddy oeuvre was "Exit Into Eternity, Tales of the Bizarre and Supernatural," a collection of five stories, including one novelette and one unfinished fragment titled "Black Noon." Dyer later edited and published "The Gentleman from Angell Street, Memories of H.P. Lovecraft," which included writings from his grandfather and his grandmother, Muriel, who both knew Lovecraft well."My grandparents became friends with Lovecraft in the early 1920s," Dyer said. "He used to walk to their house in Fox Point and stay late into the night. My grandfather and he would take late-night walks in the streets of Providence, looking for interesting places or just talking about ideas for stories. My grandmother typed some of his manuscripts."Dyer said that Lovecraft encouraged Eddy's writing, offering advice and editing, as he did with many writers of the day."He wasn't competitive at all," Dyer said, adding that, according to his grandmother, "Lovecraft had a hand in a lot of stories that he never got any credit for. He had a circle of friends, who would mail each other different stories and make comments.""The Loved Dead," the opening story in the new collection, was so controversial in its day that it almost didn't get published. It deals with the subject of necrophilia."His agent said no one would touch it in America," Dyer said. "He told my grandfather to try to publish it in France. He thought it might find an audience in Paris, where they had the Grand-Guignol, a theater of the bizarre. Eventually Weird Tales published the story in 1924, even though the editor still had his doubts. As it turned out, the controversy helped sell more copies of the magazine." The story is even credited with helping Weird Tales avoid bankruptcy.Seven stories first published in Weird Tales make up part of the new collection. Dyer's favorite of these is a tale titled "The Ghost-Eater.""It's a werewolf story," Dyer said, "but it's an offbeat werewolf story, about a ghost werewolf."Eddy wrote horror and supernatural tales, along with detective mysteries such as "Sign of the Dragon," first published in Mystery Magazine in 1919 and re-published here. Other stories describe mad scientists, Neanderthals, phantoms and ancient curses."Supernatural had to do with something not of this world, like werewolves, vampires," Dyer said. "The horror story was more based in real life, but just scary. But I don't think they differentiated back then with all of the subcategories. That came later.""It's the kind of writing he liked to do," Dyer added. "Magazines like Weird Tales published stories that didn't fit into the other magazines of the day. My grandfather called his stories his 'brainchildren.' "In addition to pulp fiction writing, Eddy was a composer of lyrics and melodies, whose songs included "Dearest of All," "When We Met by the Blue Lagoon," "Underneath the Whispering Pine," "Sunset Hour" and "Hello, Mister Sunshine (Goodbye, Mister Rain).""People used to send him their poems and he'd put them to music," Dyer said.Eddy became a theatrical booking agent in Providence, which was his residence throughout his life (except for a short stint in East Providence). He befriended a number of famous vaudevillians and performers, including the great Houdini, one of the most popular entertainers of his time."He worked as a ghostwriter and an investigator for Houdini," Dyer said. "Houdini paid writers to write stories that had his name on them in popular magazines. He also used to go around the country breaking up seances and exposing mediums as fakes. My grandfather would travel to a town ahead of him and find out everything he could. He'd figure out how the voices were coming from the walls, how the table might be moving. Then he'd type up a report for Houdini, who would show up with all of the newspapers and expose the act as if he was doing it on the spot.""The Loved Dead and Other Tales" costs $16.95 and is available at local bookstores or through the publisher's Web site, www.fenhampublishing.com.

Bradbury Manuscript Seen


Bradbury, Ray. "Watchful Poker Chip of M. Matisse, The" [Short Story]. TYPED MANUSCRIPT SIGNED (TMsS). 17 leaves of letter-size bond, typed on rectos only, signed by Bradbury on first leaf. The setting copy, with many minor edits in pencil, as well as typographical instructions. One of Bradbury's better-known stories, appearing first in Horace L. Gold's BEYOND in 1953, and collected in THE OCTOBER COUNTRY (1955). The story concerns a "terrifyingly ordinary man" named George Garvey, whose very banality makes him a camp darling of the avant garde -- but they watch in true horror as he unconsciously manifests one genuinely hip trend after another, the final phase being his decision to replace his body parts, one by one, for artistic objects: a bird cage in an artificial leg, a hand of jade and copper, and, most notably, a false eye consisting of a poker chip with an eye painted on it by Matisse. "Bradbury's target in this uncharacteristic excursion into cultural satire is trendy intellectualism, which finds itself always one step behind the ingenious banality of George Garvey, as he moves from campy nostalgia to florid romantic decadence." - Mogen, Ray Bradbury (1986), p. 55. It belongs to the period, from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, that most critics consider Bradbury's most fruitful. On the front page is a pencil notation: "Vouchered 8/17/53 $400." Gold's BEYOND lasted for just ten bi-monthly issues from 1953-1955. Bradbury's story is a good example of the ironic tone that Gold preferred. A bit rumpled and smudged, with a ragged hole in upper right corners of each leaf from former brad binding, generally very good. (#128346)
Price: $4,500.00

Monday, August 10, 2009

The Damn Thing Fanzine






The notes from the seller:

THE DAMN THING - #1, #2, #3 & #4 - Nov 1940, Dec 1940, Feb 1941 & Mar 1941. Editor: T. Bruce Yerke. Contents: #1 (18 pages)- Assailing The Pro-Scientists by Damon Knight, Bedlam on 9th Street by Lothar Penguin, Is Ackerman A Schizophrenatic? by Prof. Carlton Fassbeinder, Over Hill and Dale to Pomona! by T. Bruce Yerke, The Last Man by Ray Douglas Bradbury, Boosting the Editor, List of Persons Attached in This Issue: Forrest J. Ackerman, Raymond Van Houten & Co, Chas. D. Horning, Price System Justice, Morojo, Bill Crawford, Futuria Fantasi, The Rocket, Shangri-La, T. Bruce Yerke, All Pro-Sceintists, All Fan Feuders. #2 (20 pages)- Cover drawn by Bradbury, The Editor Sits on His Platform, Genie Trouble by Ray Bradbury, Archibald was a Fan Mag Editor, Van Houten Says--, After Armagedddon by Fywert Kinge, Prof. Fassbeinder's Corn-Or, The Newark Convention by TBYerke, The Sucker Bites by Readers; #3 (20 pages) -The Editor Sits on His Platform, Hollorbochen by Lothar Penguin, Column Left! by Rigour Fungus, The Black Supreme br Eustance Bildgewater, The Demise of Clifton's Cafe by Thornton Craymyre, A Dispatch frm Shangri-La by Yerke, Scientifictionurserymes by Prof. Stinkywitz, "How Am I Today, Doctor?" by Ray Bradbury, The Sucker Bites by You & Yoy & You, Notes on Local Mags by Editor; #4 (20 pages) - Contents - Right in Front, The Editor Sits on His Platform, Illustration by Ewing Brown, Hodgkins, The Enigma by Lothar Penquin, The Trouble With Humans Is People by Ray Bradbury, For Fans by Walt Daugherty.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Robert Bloch Remembrance

Uncle Robert, I hardly knew you
August 6, 11:30 AMMilwaukee Horror Movies ExaminerAaron W. Tellock

One of Wisconsin's most infamous writers actually has little association with his own claim to fame. Mr. Robert Bloch wrote the story that horror/mystery legend Alfred Hitchcock would later turn into one of the greatest horror films in the history of horror, although Bloch is a name seldom associated with the film. It also just so happens to be that Robert Bloch took an interest in my great aunt Marion Holcombe and in 1940 they were married. Together they raised a daughter and moved to Weyauwega, Wisconsin where he would later write the story for which he was best known. Psycho is by far his most notable work partly because of the great success of the film adaptation, but Robert Bloch wrote numerous short stories and even episodes for a radio program as well as his many novels.

I never met him, partly because his marriage to my great-aunt Marion dissolved in the mid-1960’s but mostly because he had moved out to Hollywood to pursue a career in screenwriting some years before that. I’ve heard stories about my mother and her siblings going to visit his home in Weyauwega when they were younger. He was a humorous man despite his chilling horror stories and fantastic science fiction adventures. I’ve read in all of his biographies on the net and in his book about how nice he was and how much loved his family, and from what I’ve heard he truly did. The most common story is about his desk, a giant slab of oak that he sat behind creating his masterworks including one of my favorite stories, Terror.

I think about everything that I was told about the great-uncle that I never met and the most renowned feature about him was his attachment to reality. Success never tainted him or changed him; he took everything with quiet dignity and respect for the craft that he so delicately evolved into what it is today. He was one of the first to take horror outside of the supernatural during a time when the supernatural was the topic of most horror tales. His stories influenced generations of writers to follow just as H.P. Lovecraft influenced Bloch himself when he first began penning stories for Weird Tales literary magazine. I think that all authors are influenced by someone, their favorite author, having read a lot Bloch’s work in my teens and early twenties; I guess my own work was probably influenced by him.

Robert Bloch passed away in September of 1994 after a long battle with cancer.

Reference:
http://www.examiner.com/x-11159-Milwaukee-Horror-Movies-Examiner~y2009m8d6-Uncle-Robert-I-hardly-knew-you

Derleth in Redbook



REDBOOK Jan1941 - in same issue as Disney's Fantasia; A Derleth novel. he Novel of the Month at the end of the issue (pgs 113-146) is a rare novel by noted fantasy writer August Derleth. (Some silverfish damage shown in image, a fitting homage to he who revels in arcane and musty nefarious books).

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Virgil Finaly Illustrations (1947)

Here are a couple of Virgil Finlays from March 1947 Startling Stories (illustrating Murray Leinster's "The Laws of Chance").



Saturday, 8 August 2009

Oh, Chrispy is flying high. Not only did I get three more 1940's era Startling Stories pulps (for my Young Lin Carter research and sheer enjoyment of reading those old tales when they were new) but just came back from watching on the big screen in glorious black and white The Wolfman (1940) and Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954). They were just as much fun - and sometimes as corny - as I remember.

A great Saturday!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Hannes Bok Illustrations, 1948



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L Sprague De Camp, author, Wheels of If Shasta. Hannes Bok, Illustrator. 1948, with brilliant dustjacket art by Hannes Bok (Wayne Woodard).

From wikipedia:

Wayne Woodard (the name is sometimes mistakenly rendered as "Woodward") was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the first stop in a peripatetic youth. His parents divorced when he was five; and his father and stepmother, strict disciplinarians, discouraged his artistic efforts. Once he graduated high school, in Duluth, Minnesota, Bok cut off contact with his father and moved to Seattle to live with his mother. There he became active in SF fandom, including the publication and illustration of fanzines. It was in connection with these activities that he originated his pseudonym, first "Hans", then "Hannes", Bok. The pseudonym derives from Johann Sebastian Bach (whose name can be rendered both as "Johann S. Bach" and "Johannes Bach").

Henry Kuttner (1958)





Recently seen on the "ebayeum" (for about $85 starting bid). The seller states:

This is a copy of Henry Kuttner—A Memorial Symposium, edited and published by Karen Anderson in August 1958. It consists of 36 well-mimeographed pages, brad-bound in a stiff cardstock folder. Only about 100 copies were produced. This copy is in excellent condition.

Contributors to the symposium include Poul and Karen Anderson, Robert Bloch, Anthony Boucher, Ray Bradbury, Fritz Leiber, and Kuttner himself (a story reprinted from a 1948 fanzine and excerpts from a letter). Donald H. Tuck also contributed a bibliography of Kuttner’s work. There is artwork by Edd Cartier and John Grossman.

Henry Kuttner was born in Los Angeles, California in 1915. He sold his first story, “The Graveyard Rats,” to Weird Tales in early 1936. Kuttner was known for his literary prose and worked in close collaboration with his wife, C. L. Moore. They met through their association with the “Lovecraft Circle,” a group of writers and fans who corresponded with H. P. Lovecraft. Their work together spanned the 1940s and 1950s and most of it was credited to pseudonyms, mainly Lewis Padgett and Lawrence O’Donnell.

Kuttner wrote a number of stories in the ‘30s in the world of the Cthulhu Mythos, which was invented by Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, and others. His work influenced quite a few other writers including Ray Bradbury, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Richard Matheson and Roger Zelazny. He died of a heart attack at age 42 in February 1958 (referred to in science-fiction fandom as “The Year of the Jackpot,” because it also saw the premature deaths of Cyril M. Kornbluth and Francis Towner Laney).

Proof: Sam Moskowitz Edited "Horror Times Ten"


Recent auction on ebay:

HORROR TIMES TEN // TEN CHILLING TALES OF HORROR
BY SUCH MASTERS AS RAY BRADBURY, AUGUST DERLETH, ROBERT BLOCH AND H.P. LOVECRAFT
Edited and with an introduction by ALDEN H. NORTON
With special notes by Sam Moskowitz
A BERKLEY MEDALLION BOOK

Actually Ghost Edited by Sam Moskowitz
Signed by the real editor, Sam Moskowitz

New York. 1967. Berkley Books x1414. First edition Paperback original (PBO) anthology with "Berkley Medallion Edition, June 1967" stated on the copyright page. Standard size paperback, approximately 7" tall by 4 1/4" wide. 175 pages. 60 cent cover price.

Signed on the front endpaper, inscribed:

To Joel:
Another volume
I ghost edited
Sam Moskowitz

Monday, July 27, 2009

Rare Leo Margulies Book(1949)





Margulies was a powerful and influential editor for many decades. This book has a "Who's Who" of scietifiction writers spanning the end of Lovecraft's era to the start of the Hydrogen Bomb era.

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