I Am Providence: The H.P. Lovecraft Thread 3 3

[Xaltotun]

here is one nice HPL/REH/CAS item. The first (of two) issue of Leaves, published in 1937 by R. H. Barlow in an edition of just 100 copies.

Edited April 23, 2021 by Xaltotun

[RedFury]

55 minutes ago, Xaltotun said:

here is one nice HPL/REH/CAS item. The first (of two) issue of Leaves, published in 1937 by R. H. Barlow in an edition of just 100 copies.

Lewis Theobald is actually H.P. Lovecraft, I think, right?

[Xaltotun]

Yep.

[OtherEric]

1 hour ago, Xaltotun said:

here is one nice HPL/REH/CAS item. The first (of two) issue of Leaves, published in 1937 by R. H. Barlow in an edition of just 100 copies.

 

Wow.  I think I've shared enough items throughout the pulp threads to show I've got a respectable collection... but I am completely out of my league compared to people like you or @RedFury or so many others here.  Just amazing.

[RedFury]

3 minutes ago, OtherEric said:

Wow.  I think I've shared enough items throughout the pulp threads to show I've got a respectable collection... but I am completely out of my league compared to people like you or @RedFury or so many others here.  Just amazing.

We all started somewhere.  Some of us just have a few years head start, is all. 

Keep up the good posts and enthusiasm! 

[Xaltotun]

16 minutes ago, OtherEric said:

Wow.  I think I've shared enough items throughout the pulp threads to show I've got a respectable collection... but I am completely out of my league compared to people like you or @RedFury or so many others here.  Just amazing.

My field of interest is quite narrow, which explains that. I don't have that large a collection at all, just very focused.

[IngelsFan]

Does anyone have a copy of “The National Amateur” from December 12, 1920? Can anyone confirm/deny that there are any illustrations? The issue has my favorite HPL short story but I’ve never seen one for sale.

[OtherEric]

26 minutes ago, IngelsFan said:

Does anyone have a copy of “The National Amateur” from December 12, 1920? Can anyone confirm/deny that there are any illustrations? The issue has my favorite HPL short story but I’ve never seen one for sale.

Which story?  I'm guessing from the date it's "The Picture in the House", which is normally quoted as being written on that date. The National Amateur issue with the story came out in 1921 but was misdated July 1919.  The New Annotated HP Lovecraft, which is normally very good about tracking down the original illustrations that went with a story, doesn't show any from the original publication (or either of the Weird Tales reprinting, for that matter.)

If I've got the wrong story, none of that will help, of course; and nothing is ever as good as checking the primary source.

[IngelsFan]

6 hours ago, OtherEric said:

Which story?  I'm guessing from the date it's "The Picture in the House", which is normally quoted as being written on that date. The National Amateur issue with the story came out in 1921 but was misdated July 1919.  The New Annotated HP Lovecraft, which is normally very good about tracking down the original illustrations that went with a story, doesn't show any from the original publication (or either of the Weird Tales reprinting, for that matter.)

If I've got the wrong story, none of that will help, of course; and nothing is ever as good as checking the primary source.

That’s the one. I really like that it’s based on an actual book (Pigafetta’s 1598 Relatione delreame del Congo), and HPL does a great job of building dread and atmosphere. The only real negative is the ending, which is a bit of a cop-out, but I can also see how it works.

[OtherEric]

The October 1931 Weird Tales has "The Strange High House in the Mist" by Lovecraft, a story that doesn't seem to get that strong a reaction either way... it's not generally considered either a highlight or lowlight of Lovecraft's work.  It is the earliest Weird Tales I have with a Lovecraft story published under his own name, rather than a revision:

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

Does anyone know if recognition of Lovecraft declined substantially in the forties and fifties. I became aware of his work in high school in the mid seventies and remember reading one of his tales on the school bus; they proved an apt metaphor for a nerd surrounded by hormone fueled adolescents! As I recall they were never very accessible and I must have read a tale in some anthology and probably became aware of his tales reading the Comics Buyer's Guide.

I can't recall any films based on his work that are memorable though I know there are some out there.

Just curious about this most unusual author.

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

On 4/21/2021 at 9:42 AM, Surfing Alien said:

What a wondrous artifact to have! Congrats! I grew up near Parkside Avenue where he lived for a while in the 1920's & played on Parkside many a time. I can imagine him haunting the old Dutch 17th & 18th century farmhouses that dotted Brooklyn back then (including Martense family homes, of "The Lurking Fear" name  fame) Even now about a dozen remain but there were probably a hundred of them back then.

Here's a great site with a lot of pics, including others from this trip. Eerie...

https://www.hplovecraft.com/life/gallery.aspx

 

I know that neighborhood as well. My first ancestor to arrive in America in 1705 was a minister at the Dutch reformed church at Flatbush and Church. I have wandered the churchyard there looking at the gravestones of long dead relatives. I'm sure Lovecraft would have enjoyed an evening's sojourn in the cemetery. He wrote that one tale where he wanders the city late at night witnessing the past come back to life and wandering into one evil home. Your comment about the old Dutch farmhouses is rather apt!

[OtherEric]

28 minutes ago, 50YrsCollctngCmcs said:

Does anyone know if recognition of Lovecraft declined substantially in the forties and fifties. I became aware of his work in high school in the mid seventies and remember reading one of his tales on the school bus; they proved an apt metaphor for a nerd surrounded by hormone fueled adolescents! As I recall they were never very accessible and I must have read a tale in some anthology and probably became aware of his tales reading the Comics Buyer's Guide.

I can't recall any films based on his work that are memorable though I know there are some out there.

Just curious about this most unusual author.

I think it's not so much that recognition of Lovecraft declined in the 40's and 50's as it was just never that high in the first place until later.  There was always a group of dedicated admirers, but he was largely obscure for a very long time.

I think the best movies that I've seen are the ones that aren't directly based on his work but draw from his general style.  "In the Mouth of Madness" was brilliant.  "Ghostbusters", even if it's a comedy, is really extraordinarily Lovecraftian in its underlying story.

[Surfing Alien]

1 hour ago, 50YrsCollctngCmcs said:

I know that neighborhood as well. My first ancestor to arrive in America in 1705 was a minister at the Dutch reformed church at Flatbush and Church. I have wandered the churchyard there looking at the gravestones of long dead relatives. I'm sure Lovecraft would have enjoyed an evening's sojourn in the cemetery. He wrote that one tale where he wanders the city late at night witnessing the past come back to life and wandering into one evil home. Your comment about the old Dutch farmhouses is rather apt!

That's very cool. Although I played on Parkside, I lived just around the corner from the church and it was a landmark of my young life. I went in the cemetary a few times but only later, we were way to spooked to go in there as children! I am sure Lovecraft visited the church as he mentions it in "The Horror at Red Hook". Flatbush Avenue, where the church stands, is only a block away from Martense Street. Here's a view of the church from the graveyard, for old times sake...

[Surfing Alien]

3 hours ago, OtherEric said:

I think it's not so much that recognition of Lovecraft declined in the 40's and 50's as it was just never that high in the first place until later.  There was always a group of dedicated admirers, but he was largely obscure for a very long time.

I think the best movies that I've seen are the ones that aren't directly based on his work but draw from his general style.  "In the Mouth of Madness" was brilliant.  "Ghostbusters", even if it's a comedy, is really extraordinarily Lovecraftian in its underlying story.

To be fair, he did have at least the 3 paperback collections in the 1940's, probably the only horror writer other than Poe to get that wide popular publication, along with appearances in quite a few anthologies. In that sense he was at least able to be stumbled upon in those years, but no doubt the Ballantine pb editions exploded him into prominence in the 1970's. I first heard about him & Howard in Marvel Conan comics and their 2nd Journey Into Mystery horror title, then found the Ballantine editions when I went looking for his books.

Edited April 25, 2021 by Surfing Alien

[FoggyNelson]

20 hours ago, OtherEric said:

The October 1931 Weird Tales has "The Strange High House in the Mist" by Lovecraft, a story that doesn't seem to get that strong a reaction either way... it's not generally considered either a highlight or lowlight of Lovecraft's work.  It is the earliest Weird Tales I have with a Lovecraft story published under his own name, rather than a revision:

Like, but 25 cents was a lot of money in 1931, during the depression it were small fortune☹️

[OtherEric]

The October 1932 issue of Wonder Stories features "The Man of Stone", the first of five revisions Lovecraft did for Hazel Heald.  The Heald stories are interesting; everybody seems to agree that the actual stories as written are almost entirely by Lovecraft.  But she definitely brought something to them at some stage because they're some of the best of the revisions.

Oh, and how cool is the Paul cover for the Clark Ashton Smith story?

 

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

14 hours ago, Surfing Alien said:

That's very cool. Although I played on Parkside, I lived just around the corner from the church and it was a landmark of my young life. I went in the cemetary a few times but only later, we were way to spooked to go in there as children! I am sure Lovecraft visited the church as he mentions it in "The Horror at Red Hook". Flatbush Avenue, where the church stands, is only a block away from Martense Street. Here's a view of the church from the graveyard, for old times sake...

Thanks for posting; that brings back some fun memories of taking my kids there and looking around. The history of this church and of course all of Brooklyn and Manhattan under the Dutch is fascinating. The book, "Island at the Centre of the World," is very good if you like that sort of thing.

When you get off the Church Avenue subway stop the street is now filled with African or Haitian immigrants and their stores. It is amazing how the old Dutch church stands in witness to it all. Across the street is the old Erasmus Academy which has made appearances on the boards in the form of a Mad based pin back I believe. @Robot Man I think has posted that. And a shout out to @Yellow Kid as we were recently corresponding about some of my old ancestors.

[Sarg]

On 4/20/2021 at 10:28 AM, RedFury said:

I figured we could use a Lovecraft thread.

Here's a real rarity, an original photo of Lovecraft signed by himself.  The inscription reads:

To Samuel E. Loveman, Esquire
with the complements & esteem
of H.P. Lovecraft
July 1931

Samuel Loveman was a poet and critic from Cleveland who Lovecraft became close friends with.  Later, when Loveman, who was Jewish, learned the extent of Lovecraft's anti-semitism, he burned all his letters.  Somehow this photo escaped the flames.

The photo was taken on July 11, 1931 in Brooklyn, NY.  It's part of a series of photos of HPL and Frank Belknap Long taken that day by their friend Wilfred Blanch Talman.

    

 

Amazing find. Thanks for posting.

[50YrsCollctngCmcs]

On 4/20/2021 at 8:28 AM, RedFury said:

I figured we could use a Lovecraft thread.

Here's a real rarity, an original photo of Lovecraft signed by himself.  The inscription reads:

To Samuel E. Loveman, Esquire
with the complements & esteem
of H.P. Lovecraft
July 1931

Samuel Loveman was a poet and critic from Cleveland who Lovecraft became close friends with.  Later, when Loveman, who was Jewish, learned the extent of Lovecraft's anti-semitism, he burned all his letters.  Somehow this photo escaped the flames.

The photo was taken on July 11, 1931 in Brooklyn, NY.  It's part of a series of photos of HPL and Frank Belknap Long taken that day by their friend Wilfred Blanch Talman.

    

The really odd thing about Lovecraft's anti-semitism is his wife was Jewish. It didn't sound like it was much of a marriage anyway with most of their time spent apart!