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The WEIRD TALES Thread: Collecting The Unique Magazine
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347 posts in this topic

(posted earlier in wrong thread)

So yesterday I was out getting my second Covid shot and it happened to be close to an obscure little store that sometimes has had old comics. So I decided to pop in and see what surprises might await me. I was shocked to be looking through a bin of magazines when a beautiful copy of the Weird Tales below (this is not the actual copy) appeared. It looked to be in Fine condition with a great spine and no problems around the cover edges with the typical wear and tear. I didn't look close enough to see if it looked like it had been trimmed but I suspect that is possible. Anyway it looked unread like it had been found in a stack of other magazines or something.

So I was thinking I was going to score until I turned it over and noted it was marked at $300. which seemed pretty pricey. Anyway, opinions on value? I'm tempted to walk in with two hundred dollar bills and flash them around as an offer.

Anyway to tell if the cover edges are trimmed on these?

Pulps:Horror, Weird Tales - November 1933 (Popular Fiction) Condition: FN....

 

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Make sure it's not a Girasol reproduction or anything, but if it's authentic $300 for a nice copy definitely sounds reasonable.  Weird Tales of that era normally have the side edge trimmed at the printer, and far neater top and bottom edges than most pulps of the era.  I think I've only got one issue of WT that was actually trimmed after the fact, it's far rarer than on other titles.

The issue has the first publication of "Shambleau" by C. L. Moore, it's not the cover story (I don't think the cover references any specific story in the issue), but it's a classic cover with a classic story inside.

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33 minutes ago, OtherEric said:

Make sure it's not a Girasol reproduction or anything, but if it's authentic $300 for a nice copy definitely sounds reasonable.  Weird Tales of that era normally have the side edge trimmed at the printer, and far neater top and bottom edges than most pulps of the era.  I think I've only got one issue of WT that was actually trimmed after the fact, it's far rarer than on other titles.

The issue has the first publication of "Shambleau" by C. L. Moore, it's not the cover story (I don't think the cover references any specific story in the issue), but it's a classic cover with a classic story inside.

I assume the reproduction would have much cleaner and newer looking pages. Any other way to tell?

Edited by 50YrsCollctngCmcs
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1 hour ago, Xaltotun said:

Yeah, they have suspended publication. I don't have a catalog, don't even know if there ever was one.

I'd never seen one if they had one. I only ever realized what they had put out when I saw their display at shows or when it was listed in Bill Thom's Coming Attraction newsletter / emails. I got their Spider doubles reprint out of Previews so knew when those were coming out that way. I do not believe / recall their replica were listed in Previews. I assume that the order # would have been too low to be carried there.

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I read somewhere that they would print between 75 and 200 copies max. They are now really hard to come by, especially the Weird Tales. Cheap plug: I am selling a bunch of those in the pulp marketplace section.:whistle:

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18 hours ago, Scrooge said:

I'd never seen one if they had one. I only ever realized what they had put out when I saw their display at shows or when it was listed in Bill Thom's Coming Attraction newsletter / emails. I got their Spider doubles reprint out of Previews so knew when those were coming out that way. I do not believe / recall their replica were listed in Previews. I assume that the order # would have been too low to be carried there.

I have a single-sheet flyer listing all of Girasol's reproductions available as of 2015. I don't know if they ever put out a catalog. 

They reprinted Weird Tales #1-40, and ALL the Howard Conan issues. Plus various others -- a total of 66 issues. Certainly all the most important ones. 

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4 hours ago, Sarg said:

I think it was established in one of the threads that Weird Tales was factory trimmed starting in 1930.

Not sure of the exact date, but somewhere around then.  It’s just the side, though... the top and bottom aren’t trimmed, although they are a bit tidier than most pulps.

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On 3/28/2021 at 12:23 PM, Xaltotun said:

It was over the counter, except in rural communities, where the covers would often be considered too lurid.

A little anecdote about behind the counter magazines. Back in the 70s the local suburban drug store near me kept magazines like Playboy and Penthouse on a rack behind the counter, with a plastic screen hiding everything but the titles from sensitive eyes. That didn't stop them from selling them to fourteen year olds though. 

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11 minutes ago, rjpb said:

Wow, that looks unread.

The ink is definitely full and it was probably also stored away from sunlight. Dave called it a Fine Plus ....It had a slight premium for all the extra attributes. I'd been watching it and when I was totally blown out of the water in the HA Auction, I decided not to push my luck any further. Not to seem like a cad, but the two femmes on the cover remind me of an "ex-girlfriend" and my "ex-wife".:bigsmile: GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)(thumbsu

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