Picked up a couple more titles over the last couple of days. Both look to be in excellent condition too. They’d Rather be Right by Mark Clifton & Frank Riley and Pohl’s Drunkard’s Walk. They should be here sometime in the next couple of weeks. Also received some much needed Brodart dust jacket covers a week or so ago as well.
Archive for the Uncategorized Category
A Real Rare One…
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Nelson Bond, The Thirty-First of February on June 4, 2011 by AaronI’m feeling mighty pleased as I grabbed a copy of the Limited Edition of Nelson Bond’s The Thirty-First of February (Review, Close Up) off eBay last night. It looks to be a reasonable copy, and for just over $50, I think it’s a great buy. These things are very rare. Goddamn, I wish I was set up to do decent Close Ups at the moment… Speaking of which, I do have a couple I can post that have been sitting over on my Flickr account for a while.
More GP goodness from eFanzines
Posted in Uncategorized on May 2, 2011 by AaronThis is a post from about 10 months ago that I never hit the ‘Publish’ button on. I have several drafts of things lying around that I’ll try to make headway on over the next couple of weeks.
eFanzines.com. What a great site to peruse. There’s stacks of material on early SF.
Something I came across was the recently stocked archive of the Fantasy Review/Science-Fantasy Review – a newsletter for at first Fantasy, and then F/SF fans in the UK. There are some fantastic articles and reviews contained in these magazines, it really is a Golden Age goldmine. You can access the entire archive here.
Of interest to us in the context of this site is that the final few issues coincided with the genesis of Gnome Press. I want to share those particular references (from 1949 & ’50) with you here in their original form, and I also highly recommend you go and check out these publications in their entirety at the eFanzines site.
Fantasy Review Vol. III, No. 13
Fantasy Review Vol. III, No. 14
Fantasy Review Vol. III, No. 15
Science-Fantasy Review Vol. III, No, 16
Science-Fantasy Review Vol IV, No. 17
Science-Fantasy Review Vol, IV, No. 18
There we have it. You will have noticed several book reviews for early GP titles. Contemporary reviews of these books are incredibly hard to come by and it’s very special to have these available.
This is just a small taste of the treasure trove of Golden Age trivia, comment and review that these newsletters are. Go and check them out.
Chalker and Owings: The Science-Fantasy Publishers
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Jack L. Chalker, Mark Owings, The Science-Fantasy Publishers on May 2, 2011 by AaronA few months ago, I got hold of the CD version of The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History 1923-2002 Electronic Edition by Jack L. Chalker & Mark Owings. Here is an image of the Third Edition from which the Electronic Edition is based. It was published by Mirage Press whom seem to be defunct now.
This work is a must for any serious collector of Science Fiction or Fantasy. Speaking from the Gnome Press perspective, there is some fantastic insight into their history and many great little tidbits of information along with the bio on each title. This is true of every other publisher covered in this comprehensive tome. I was going to present the Gnome section of the work here in a post, but I think I’ll start a new page on this blog for third-party GP info such as this.
I just did. You can find it here. I hope nobody minds, it’s here for the edification of all.
Below though, is the preface and introduction to the volume. I thought it worth delivering also as it gives a detailed insight into the reasons and methodology behind the reference. It really is a fascinating read. I really stress once more, if you are a collector of science fiction and/or fantasy, or even just interested in the history surrounding the publishing of these genres, then I unreservedly recommend getting hold of this.
Enjoy!!
Oops…
Posted in Uncategorized with tags George O. Smith, Highways in Hiding on April 29, 2011 by AaronI’m just sitting in a Lotteria (Korea’s McDonalds) in Busan waiting to go to the ferry terminal as the GF and I are off at 9am to Fukuoka in Japan for the weekend. I was messing around with different blog themes and I have screwed things up somewhat. I’ve lost all my widgets, links and formatting in the sidebar. Damn. Anyway, we boarded the train in Seoul last night and arrived here in Busan at about 4am. As I said, off to Japan on the fast ferry soon and returning from there at 4pm tomorrow. We jump on the KTX (Korea’s bullet train) and hit Seoul before midnight tomorrow. Whistlestop.
I’ve brought Highways in Hiding along for the ride…
Busan Train Station at about 4:30am via iPhone
Library Snapshot updated
Posted in Uncategorized on April 27, 2011 by AaronFor the first time in a long while, the Library Snapshot accurately reflects it’s current state.
Purchases…
Posted in Uncategorized with tags Earthman's Burden, Frederik Pohl, Gordon Dickson, Mel Oliver and Space Rover on Mars, William Morrison on December 12, 2010 by AaronPicked up a copy of Earthman’s Burden, a CD of Chalker and Owing’s The Science Fantasy Publishers and what looks to be a very nice copy of Mel Oliver and Space Rover on Mars over the past week.
Earthman’s Burden seems to be a reasonable copy, and I’m very happy with what seems to be a NF copy of Mel Oliver and Space Rover. I’ve been searching for a CD of The Science Fantasy Publishers for a long time now. The hardcover version tends to be quite pricey and I guess the shipping would be high (it’s quite a big heavy book). So I’m pleased to get hold of the digital version and hoping I can learn something new about Gnome Press and some of their publications.
The Sorcerer’s House
Posted in Gene Wolfe, Uncategorized with tags Gene Wolfe, The Sorcerer's House on November 25, 2010 by AaronIt’s very hard to find time these days. I don’t finish work until 10pm, it’s after 10:30 by the time I get home. I took this picture on Monday night using the new lightbox I made on the weekend in combo with my two flashes. I’m not entirely happy with the results. The problem being that I just can’t spend until after midnight messing around rigging up apparatus to vary lighting diffusion and so forth. I do have to get up at about 6:30 in the morning…
Actually, it’s not too bad for a rushed attempt. I really want a pure white background with no shadows – I didn’t achieve that. That aside, as I mentioned in the previous post, it really is a beautifully presented piece of the bookbinder’s art (though no doubt done by a machine..). Once I get the lighting sorted we’ll have a closer look, but for now, here it is.
Mr Wolfe and other stories and other stories…
Posted in Gene Wolfe, Uncategorized with tags Gene Wolfe, The Sorcerer's House, Two Sought Adventure on November 14, 2010 by AaronNo action around here lately. However, I did buy a couple of flashes a couple of days ago. I’m gonna do some experimentation and hopefully get some much needed Close Ups underway. More importantly though, is the need to actually READ. Almost finished Two Sought Adventure, so I’ve started a review and I’m threatening to have it up in a week or so… but we’ve heard that before.
Did something a bit different and bought a non-GP book for the first time in, well… almost two years. I picked up a copy of the Limited Edition The Sorcerer’s House by Gene Wolfe – traycased, signed and one of only 200 copies. A little pricey it was, and it seems to be a trend these days that when authors release a new book, they do a special limited special edition as well. Maybe I’ve succumbed to a bit of marketing, but damn, it looks good and it’ll be a great addition to my collection of signed Gene Wolfe first editions. It was cheaper than any others I could find on the ‘net. There’s one crazily priced on Abebooks.com.
The Great Gnome Press Science Fiction Odyssey 