Golden Age Collection

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do own these 3 great 1950s Harlequins published in Winnipeg... Cover of first is by 'Star' artist...

One of my favorites too - I have the second one somewhere as well, but never managed to lay my hands on the third!

Having recently read EC Tubb’s ‘The Resurrected Man’ in the Dec 1958 Satellite SF mag where it was reprinted I liked it so much I decided to buy the original PB as

‘homage’… Ordered this copy from my UK buddy Phil today. (1954 Scion with Turner cover) Am including scan of the Satellite splash by old pro Leo Morey.

Nice books.. Never saw any of them before. GREAT stuff thanks for sharing!

Having recently read EC Tubb’s ‘The Resurrected Man’ in the Dec 1958 Satellite SF mag where it was reprinted I liked it so much I decided to buy the original PB as

‘homage’… Ordered this copy from my UK buddy Phil today. (1954 Scion with Turner cover) Am including scan of the Satellite splash by old pro Leo Morey.

I read the Dumarest novels when I was young and loved 'em. Kalin and Derai in particular.

Tony Strobl ... Superman artist?

I am in the middle of my annual catch up with Didier Ghez' Walt's People, reading Volume 3 and in his interview with Klaus Strzyz in 1980, Tony Strobl, the Duck artist (Strobl in-betweened at Disney from 1937 to the time he was drafted into WWII; he worked on Fantasia, Pinocchio and Dumbo) made this statement which I knew not:

Strobl: "[..] Next to me sat, I think, Hank Ketcham, who was later to draw Dennis the Menace, and on the other side Virgil Partch [scrooge note: one more reason this fits in this thread]. But since you ask about names: back in Cleveland at art school, in my last year there (Note: 1937), I met Siegel and Shuster, who asked us at the school for help and suggestions in developing their Superman strips. I went to their apartment and spent a day or two drawing Superman on their kitchen table, but the series didn't seem at all promising to me, so I didn't bother with them any further. I should have been a little smarter then!"

Since my mushroom jungle input has slowed down (part of ‘the collecting curve’), I’ve taken to posting my ‘newbies’ even before they get here.

Won this on ebay at nice low opening bid.

Am attaching seller’s pic and the Harbottle & Holland entry from their “British SF PB’s 1949-1956’, an essential tool for the mycologist.

The Amazon Strikes Again 1954 World’s Work

#5 in the series, appeared in Star Weekly in 1948. The 1950s hardback editions included #1 through #6.

Bought this as memorial gift for the collection, celebrating my deceased bro’s 98th b-day 9/7/14. Thanks JCC. Pat

Tri-Planet by Von Kellar, Curtis 1953. Cover by Gordon C. Davies. The decision to evacuate Earth came at eleven o'clock on the morning of June 12th, 2115-

and soon the alien hordes appeared, giant milky globes with twenty-foot tentacles. “An action-packed space opera.” –H&H

This is my second ‘Anonymous’ MJ PB in a row, as Global Blackout’s ‘Karl Vallance’ is a man of mystery

as is the identity of whoever wore the ‘Von Kellar’ house moniker for Tri-Planet.

These are great! Thanks for posting them!

Awesome!

The Amazon Strikes Again 1954 World’s Work

#5 in the series, appeared in Star Weekly in 1948. The 1950s hardback editions included #1 through #6.

Bought this as memorial gift for the collection, celebrating my deceased bro’s 98th b-day 9/7/14. Thanks JCC. Pat

 

Some brilliant art in that!

When ‘Across the Ages’ showed up yesterday weighing in at a cool 96 pages it looked like an easy read. And old JR, with workmanlike prose and wondrous plotting, weaves quite a yarn.

 

The Star Weekly was THE entertainment source in rural Canada those days, and was such a big hit with the womenfolk that editorial choice and packaging catered to them. Fearn, with his Golden Amazon tales and others like Glimpse, brought SF to a new audience that responded with great enthusiasm…

 

Wow! I love old SF art.

..and this one perhaps.

 

Me too! Very art deco.

Here's a 1924 book by another author I've been meaning to read...

"Talbot Mundy's famous metaphysical novel is set in the Himalayas. The central figure is a Lama, wise, winning, compassionate, whose story -- told in his own words -- on a crag by the roaring Brahmaputra will capture the imagination and reveal for some readers occult truths."

 

Another one I've never heard of - and the date is surprisingly early. Love the cover!

This is some great stuff!

I was going to wait on this until after I’d finished reading it (read once before in early seventies and loved it), but after the first ten (of 90) pages- too excited. This unassuming volume, Authentic Science Fiction #31, early 1953, is a mushroom jungle supernova. Some MJ books reprinted good SF from Startling, etc, but this is the first publication of a CLASSIC fifties novella- by an ‘American’ author. After his brilliant ‘The Paradox Men’ in 1949 Startling, and a few exceptional stories and novelettes (in Astounding, Planet, Thrilling Wonder) including the incredible ‘The New Reality’ from Dec 1950 TWS, Charles Harness was gathering steam to become a frontrunner. It’s likely that the non-acceptance of ‘The Rose’ by the US market was a major factor in his not writing any more SF until 1968. A lamentable hiatus, but it has left ‘The Rose’ as an obscure but commanding highlight of the loftiest peak of the GA. (First time I read was in 1969 Berkley PB -don’t have now- that also had ‘The New Reality’ and one other yarn. Covers: John Richards on Authentic & Richard Powers on Ace.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wish I'd seen this post sooner.

 

"The Rose" is an absolutely stunning piece of writing unlike anyone else. If one blended the best qualities of Alfred Bester and Cordwainer Smith one might get something like Charles Harness, but his is a unique voice.

 

His characters are as doom-laden and fated as any in mythology.

 

Harness has a fascinating take on the seeming appearance of handicap leading to transformation. I wont spoil the -unforgettable - ending of "The Rose" by revealing it here, but I cant recommend it highly enough. Very powerful and heartbreakingly moving.

 

"The Paradox Men" has strong echoes of "The Rose" and is almost as emotive.

 

[font:Book Antiqua]'She was standing alone on the steps of the Geographical Museum regarding him gravely. A light cape was thrown about her shoulders and she appeared to hold it together with the fingers of her right hand, or possibly a barely visible metal clasp.

 

'The lamps on the museum porticoes threw an unearthly blue light over her bloodless face. Her translucent cheeks were drawn and lined and her body seemed very thin. There was now a streak of white in her hair, which was knotted unobtrusively at the side of her neck.

 

'To Alar she was completely lovely. For a long time he could only stare, drinking in the moody, ethereal beauty of the composition of light and blue shadow. His tortured frustration was forgotten.

 

"Keiris!" he whispered. "Keiris!"[/font]

 

How much we lost when he gave up writing for so long - but at least we have these, and they are to be treasured.

Thanks Brad!!!

Lorelei of the Red Mist by Leigh Brackett and Ray Bradbury is a story with a lot of backstory. In the mid ‘40s Hollywood was filming ‘The Big Sleep’ and discovered that scriptwriter William Faulkner’s tough-guy dialog was not working. Howard Hawks had just read Brackett’s ‘No Good From a Corpse’ and- struck by her command of the hardboiled style and lingo- suggested they hire this guy to help…

Lorelei was then half-written. Leigh was also coaching a young Ray Bradbury, and when called to tinseltown she gave the draft to Ray to complete. It was something of a homage to Robert E. Howard, with a main character named Conan and a key location in the yarn is the city of Crom Dhu…

Ray wrote the second half, and the story was cover-feature for the Summer 1946 Planet. Amazingly enough, that issue also debuted one of Ray’s classic Mars tales, ‘The Million Year Picnic’.

Although Ruben Moreira’s illustrations are memorable, it was in a 1953 reprint that artist Frank Kelly Freas really knocked Lorelei out of the park, with a super cover (& logo!) and interiors in a uniquely romantic style. I don’t own the reprint, but Freas fan Thom Buchanan was nice enough to post cover and illos on his site http://mydelineatedlife.blogspot.com/2010/04/lorelei-of-red-mist.html

Wow! I love the cover of the reissue! Not to mention the awesome interior work. Of course, the original is pretty good as well.

I'm going to have to read this story. It's a Ray Bradbury tale with which I am completely unfamiliar. What a backstory, too. I wonder if Leigh suspected just how gifted Bradbury was? Thanks for this post!

Thanks Brad!!!

 

Lorelei of the Red Mist by Leigh Brackett and Ray Bradbury is a story with a lot of backstory. In the mid ‘40s Hollywood was filming ‘The Big Sleep’ and discovered that scriptwriter William Faulkner’s tough-guy dialog was not working. Howard Hawks had just read Brackett’s ‘No Good From a Corpse’ and- struck by her command of the hardboiled style and lingo- suggested they hire this guy to help…

 

Lorelei was then half-written. Leigh was also coaching a young Ray Bradbury, and when called to tinseltown she gave the draft to Ray to complete. It was something of a homage to Robert E. Howard, with a main character named Conan and a key location in the yarn is the city of Crom Dhu…

 

Ray wrote the second half, and the story was cover-feature for the Summer 1946 Planet. Amazingly enough, that issue also debuted one of Ray’s classic Mars tales, ‘The Million Year Picnic’.

 

Although Ruben Moreira’s illustrations are memorable, it was in a 1953 reprint that artist Frank Kelly Freas really knocked Lorelei out of the park, with a super cover (& logo!) and interiors in a uniquely romantic style. I don’t own the reprint, but Freas fan Thom Buchanan was nice enough to post cover and illos on his site http://mydelineatedlife.blogspot.com/2010/04/lorelei-of-red-mist.html

 

 

somewhere on web ran across this version...

UNDERWORLD OF ZELLO, Robert Sharp, Panther 1952, Gordon C. Davies cover. A war between two amphibian civilizations of the planet Zello is the driving action in this entry from a popular series. I have one other and will buy more if I get around to reading one of them and enjoy it. I like Davies and Panther, so jumped on this since the rest of my MJ want list is currently unavailable or too $.

Threw in the other book from the series that I have.

Also – it’s taken me decades- to forgive Chip Delaney for making a successful novel (Nova) out of what was almost a rewrite of (my all-time fave) Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination. But I’ve always loved Chip’s ‘The Star Pit’ (1967), and read ‘Empire Star’ few years back and liked…all crowned by a recent reading of his 1966 Nebula winner ‘Babel-17’ where cosmic poetess Rydra Wong becomes a superwoman after learning an alien language. That hooked me good and all was forgiven Yeah, Nova’s cool too… So picked up these. Einstein was Nebula winner for 1967. I appreciate the lean aspect of his early work: Beta around 90 and Einstein 140 pages… Ed Valigursky on Beta, Jack Gaughan on Einstein, George Ratcliffe on Antro.

UNDERWORLD OF ZELLO, Robert Sharp, Panther 1952, Gordon C. Davies cover. A war between two amphibian civilizations of the planet Zello is the driving action in this entry from a popular series. I have one other and will buy more if I get around to reading one of them and enjoy it. I like Davies and Panther, so jumped on this since the rest of my MJ want list is currently unavailable or too $.

 

Threw in the other book from the series that I have.

 

Also – it’s taken me decades- to forgive Chip Delaney for making a successful novel (Nova) out of what was almost a rewrite of (my all-time fave) Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination. But I’ve always loved Chip’s ‘The Star Pit’ (1967), and read ‘Empire Star’ few years back and liked…all crowned by a recent reading of his 1966 Nebula winner ‘Babel-17’ where cosmic poetess Rydra Wong becomes a superwoman after learning an alien language. That hooked me good and all was forgiven Yeah, Nova’s cool too… So picked up these. Einstein was Nebula winner for 1967. I appreciate the lean aspect of his early work: Beta around 90 and Einstein 140 pages… Ed Valigursky on Beta, Jack Gaughan on Einstein, George Ratcliffe on Antro.

 

 

Babel 17 is a great novel. Was he 17 when he wrote the Jewels of Aptor? Nova as his last great novel - after that he just seemed to lose it the way Heinlein did.

Wrote Aptor at 19 (published 1962)- it took many years to forgive him for having the good luck and sense to have set things up so that his wife’s job was manuscript reader for Ace Books. Talk about spearing fish in a barrel. But she helped him imagine Rydra Wong, so…

Here’s my funky reprint of Babel-17 (Jerome Podwil cover) and the 1962 Aptor (Jack Gaughan). Haven’t read Aptor yet but plan to not too far down the road.