First Edition HARDBACKS .... the "Bookie" thread. 3 3

[Pat Calhoun]

[jimjum12]

@Pat Calhoun

It's such a mesmerizing cover, and the color palette is fresh and unexpected. I'm toying with getting a facsimile edition, to handle. They're only around 20 bucks on eBay.GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[asimovpulps]

The book that tricked me into collecting pulps - Foundation first edition/first state by Isaac Asimov. Thought it would be cheaper to collect the original pulp run in Astounding instead of buying the first edition...then I fell into the black hole of pulps....and still bought the first edition 😂.

First state: note the misspelling of "Hari Sheldon" instead of Seldon on the inside cover flap

[OtherEric]

On 5/29/2024 at 7:00 PM, asimovpulps said:

The book that tricked me into collecting pulps - Foundation first edition/first state by Isaac Asimov. Thought it would be cheaper to collect the original pulp run in Astounding instead of buying the first edition...then I fell into the black hole of pulps....and still bought the first edition 😂.

First state: note the misspelling of "Hari Sheldon" instead of Seldon on the inside cover flap

 

 

Awesome addition!  Do you know if it's from the collection of Chad Oliver for sure, or is the name just an interesting coincidence at this point?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chad_Oliver

[asimovpulps]

On 5/29/2024 at 7:35 PM, OtherEric said:

Do you know if it's from the collection of Chad Oliver for sure

It is indeed - or at least that's what the seller had mentioned when I bought it, so I assume he had some provenance. Great eye Eric!

[Number 6]

I was pretty excited to get this in the mail recently.  It’s not in high-grade condition (it’s clear from the spine that it’s a read copy) but I got it for a reader copy and while not cheap was definitely less than copies in collectible condition. 
 

Unlike his previous Tales of Terror volume, this one Karloff actually writes an introduction for each of the stories he selected for this volume (which is why there’s more demand for it) and based on the previous volume I’d say Karloff had pretty good taste in horror stories. Looking forward to digging into this one. 
 

[Number 6]

On 5/29/2024 at 3:28 PM, jimjum12 said:

I'm reading The Codex now, a little diddy about a billionaire who buries himself with his fortune so his 3 spoiled and entitled sons will have to find his tomb and rob it to get their inheritance. I'm reading the actual 1st Edition copy, and I feel a little dirty, but I'm doing it anyway. I also grabbed a copy of this 1st Edition vintage classic, alleged by many to be the source of the X-Men. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

The similarities between the two are pretty strong, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Stan Lee had read this book and either consciously or unconsciously drew "inspiration" from it for the X-Men.

I've noticed recently that the prices some dealers are asking for Fine/Fine copies has ticked up a bit, I wonder if the "X-Men inspiration" angle is starting to get some traction.  Of course, the Kelly Freas jacket art doesn't hurt either.

[Sarg]

On 6/6/2024 at 12:35 PM, Number 6 said:

I was pretty excited to get this in the mail recently.  It’s not in high-grade condition (it’s clear from the spine that it’s a read copy) but I got it for a reader copy and while not cheap was definitely less than copies in collectible condition. 
 

Unlike his previous Tales of Terror volume, this one Karloff actually writes an introduction for each of the stories he selected for this volume (which is why there’s more demand for it) and based on the previous volume I’d say Karloff had pretty good taste in horror stories. Looking forward to digging into this one. 
 

That's a new one on me. The calligraphy is exquisite, and the overall design is superb. I presume this was the same artist who did the DJ for HPL's Great Supernatural Stories, since both were published by World around the same time...1945-46. Does this have the same low-grade, wartime paper that the HPL volume has?

[Number 6]

On 6/6/2024 at 3:21 PM, Sarg said:

That's a new one on me. The calligraphy is exquisite, and the overall design is superb. I presume this was the same artist who did the DJ for HPL's Great Supernatural Stories, since both were published by World around the same time...1945-46. Does this have the same low-grade, wartime paper that the HPL volume has?

I think Tales of Terror was published at same time as Great Supernatural Stories (both are Tower imprint). Tales actually has a Wartime Paper blurb on the copyright page (I don’t think 1st printings of the HPL volume have that) and looks like it has the same really low-quality pulp paper as the Supernatural Stories.

This copy of And The Darkness Falls is a first printing and there’s no blurb on the copyright page. The paper feels like it is better quality, though still a bit on the pulpy side, the binding seems to be not quite as cheap as their Tower volumes. 

[jimjum12]

On 6/6/2024 at 1:51 PM, Number 6 said:

The similarities between the two are pretty strong, it wouldn't surprise me at all if Stan Lee had read this book and either consciously or unconsciously drew "inspiration" from it for the X-Men.

I've noticed recently that the prices some dealers are asking for Fine/Fine copies has ticked up a bit, I wonder if the "X-Men inspiration" angle is starting to get some traction.  Of course, the Kelly Freas jacket art doesn't hurt either.

Mine set me back 70 bucks, which is a lot for me nowadays. I think I'd like to read it. I might seek out a facsimile, which is about 20 bucks and appears exact. I really liked the jacket design, there was a crisp economy to many of the jackets from this era, GOD BLESS ... 

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

I'm secretly wanting a Cycle Of The Werewolf 1st edition, but they're getting pricey (... for me).

[jimjum12]

On 5/29/2024 at 10:00 PM, asimovpulps said:

...then I fell into the black hole of pulps

...and what a black, black hole that is.  GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[OtherEric]

On 6/7/2024 at 6:24 AM, Number 6 said:

I think Tales of Terror was published at same time as Great Supernatural Stories (both are Tower imprint). Tales actually has a Wartime Paper blurb on the copyright page (I don’t think 1st printings of the HPL volume have that) and looks like it has the same really low-quality pulp paper as the Supernatural Stories.

This copy of And The Darkness Falls is a first printing and there’s no blurb on the copyright page. The paper feels like it is better quality, though still a bit on the pulpy side, the binding seems to be not quite as cheap as their Tower volumes. 

I just checked my copy of the Great Supernatural Stories, I didn't see a wartime paper notice anywhere.

[jimjum12]

Recent snag, a novel about a Frenchman in a Nazi Concentration camp, published in 1936. Probably going to actually read this one. Relatively cheap. _"Days Of Wrath", by Malraux(sp?). GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

Edited June 26 by jimjum12

[jimjum12]

OK, It's confession time. I've read a LOT of books. I have also NOT read a LOT books. With the exception of comic adaptations, I'd yet to read Bradbury, until this week. I selected a 1st Edition copy of "Farewell Summer" from the library. I selected it, admittedly, because it had print that I could actually read. Most of his work there are paperbacks. I was totally unprepared for the surprise protagonist/antagonist, and after reading it, I must humbly confess that what I thought was prose, doesn't come close to what erupts out of Bradbury's mind. I also have never read "Blades Of Grass". GOD BLESS ... 

jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

Edited June 27 by jimjum12

[jimjum12]

@Norrin's lawyer

My good ole buddy ole pal, Greg, turned me onto this masterpiece by the best author that no one has heard about. This was a gift from my friend, and is the 1st English Edition, from the Spanish. Their are a few volumes in the series, The first being, "The Shadow Of The Wind." I just began "The Labyrinth Of Spirits". They center around The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, secreted somewhere in the heart of Barcelona. Carlos Ruiz-Zafon is a rare talent indeed. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

Edited July 3 by jimjum12

[Sarg]

Anybody got any Mystery League / Fiction League hardcovers from 1932? I was reading about the distributor Paul Sampliner (Eastern Distributing) over at David Saunders' Pulp History Website when I came across this proto-mass market paperback scheme, but with hardcovers:

"On July 14, 1932, The New York Times reported that Eastern Distributing Corporation had signed a contract for the world's largest distribution deal with the publisher Sidney M. Biddell to handle 5,000,000 books for 70,0000 nationwide retail outlets. Each book was written by an established author, but printed in editions of 100,0000, which permitted them to be sold for only fifty cents each. Distribution would blanket the United States, covering every State and over 750 cities, including Canada, England, and the Irish Free State. The books would be sold at newsstands, drug stores, railway terminals, hotels, department stores, novelty shops, and cigar stores. This historic project was all the more remarkable for being launched during the Great Depression, when most publishers experienced poor sales.

"Despite such an ambitious venture, Eastern Distributing was accumulating massive debts as a growing number of clients were lost to Kable News Company. Finally in 1932 Eastern Distributing declared bankruptcy."

I don't recall reading about this before, but maybe I just didn't grasp the significance. Eastern had established pulps at the "mass market" (newsstands, drug stores, railway terminals, etc. -- 70,000 outlets total), and now they were eager to expand that market by offering books, as well. The scheme failed, pushing further experimentation in this direction back another seven years. 

A couple of titles from this venture (not mine):

[Darwination]

A ton of history in the Sampliner entry there, Sarg.  Very typical of Saunders' wiki where you find all sorts of information stuffed under a given bio.  Another good entry that dovetails with that one is under Martin Goodman.  The origins of D.C., Timely/Atlas, Ace, Pines, Macfadden's 20s expansion, all tied together by a shadowy syndicate of famous mobsters.  Eastern's collapse was followed by the formation of Independent a week later as well as Mutual Magazine Distributors and Newsstand Publications the same year and pretty much a shuffling around of ownership and company names by the same players (a move to avoid bankruptcy and stiff creditors).  The same mobsters, publishers, and printers ran the show before and after any given given company went down, and the real power players (*not* the publishers we tend to talk about here on the boards but the money/muscle behind them like the Annenbergs or Angels) never got left holding the bag.

Maybe the hardcovers were at too high of a price point in the heart of the Depression?  Maybe the cost of production was too high?  Maybe the public still preferred the episodic nature of pulps?  When paperbacks took over (c.1950?), I think it's fair to say they had some key characteristics that made them more newsstand friendly than these hardcovers.  They had garish and scenic covers like the pulps, a price point the public was used to paying of a quarter, and were small, digestible books you could easily fit into a pocket.  Interesting, too, that the paperbacks weren't necessarily written by "established" authors but often by newer authors with maybe new styles of writing.

Edited July 7 by Darwination

[Sarg]

On 7/6/2024 at 10:24 PM, Darwination said:

A ton of history in the Sampliner entry there, Sarg.  Very typical of Saunders' wiki where you find all sorts of information stuffed under a given bio.  Another good entry that dovetails with that one is under Martin Goodman.  The origins of D.C., Timely/Atlas, Ace, Pines, Macfadden's 20s expansion, all tied together by a shadowy syndicate of famous mobsters.  Eastern's collapse was followed by the formation of Independent a week later as well as Mutual Magazine Distributors and Newsstand Publications the same year and pretty much a shuffling around of ownership and company names by the same players (a move to avoid bankruptcy and stiff creditors).  The same mobsters, publishers, and printers ran the show before and after any given given company went down, and the real power players (*not* the publishers we tend to talk about here on the boards but the money/muscle behind them like the Annenbergs or Angels) never got left holding the bag.

Maybe the hardcovers were at too high of a price point in the heart of the Depression?  Maybe the cost of production was too high?  Maybe the public still preferred the episodic nature of pulps?  When paperbacks took over (c.1950?), I think it's fair to say they had some key characteristics that made them more newsstand friendly than these hardcovers.  They had garish and scenic covers like the pulps, a price point the public was used to paying of a quarter, and were small, digestible books you could easily fit into a pocket.  Interesting, too, that the paperbacks weren't necessarily written by "established" authors but often by newer authors with maybe new styles of writing.

"On January 30, 1937 The Chicago Daily Tribune reported the Congressional House Ways and Means Committee, in an effort to combat organized crime syndicates, had disclosed a list of large payments made by Illinois corporations during the 1935 calendar year. Among that list was a payment of $19,700 to W. A. Angel, Vice President of the Kable News Company of Mount Morris, IL."

William Randolph Hearst was probably ultimately responsible for turning newspaper/magazine distribution into a racket. Annenberg worked for Hearst. During Prohibition, there was plenty of opportunity for money laundering in the publishing and distribution business ("news companies"). Profits from illegal booze were funneled into pulp publishing. The whole thing was a criminal enterprise, and many people in pulps were in on the conspiracy. But only occasionally would their criminality be prosecuted or publicized. The Chicago Daily Tribune article is a rare example. Pulps after 1925 are gangster literature, produced by actual gangsters. Note that none of the thousands of detective stories published ever expose "the magazine distribution racket." 

[Sarg]

More along these lines from Saunders' website, regarding the activities of Tewje "Teddy" Epstein:

"On December 31, 1939 Theodore Epstein and Milton Michael Bleier (1900-1956) formed Crestwood Publishing Company ... After a few years Crestwood Publishing was investigated by the IRS for tax evasion. The case resulted in an audit that revealed the complex financial arrangement under which some pulp magazines were produced. The most important financial factor revealed by this audit was the role of credit extended by the distributor to fund the publisher's costs for production, printing, and paper. According to the U.S. Tax Court legal brief, Crestwood Publishing vs. the IRS, 'the company was formed for the purpose of publishing pulp magazines of the type sometimes referred to as 'girlie' and 'gag & cartoon' magazines ... Crestwood began business with no paid-in capital. Its method was to obtain paper, printing, and editorial matter on credit to publish the magazines. The publications were distributed by national distributors who perform the function of a circulation department and collection agency for publishers of pulp magazines.'"

Saunders: "Since the distributor handled all proceeds from advertising and newsstand sales, as well as provided credit for operating funds, the question arises as to whether the magazine is actually owned by the publisher or the distributor."

The distributor owns the magazine -- just not directly. Crestwood, et al., are shell companies for the distributor. Teddy Epstein, Martin Goodman, Ned Pines, Harry Steeger, all work for the distributor. They own the publishing company, but this is a legal fiction, since their company is worthless without the distributor. They are pawns in the racketeering game, cogs inside an organized crime syndicate, which largely goes unmentioned in pulp histories. Similar to writing a history of alcohol distribution and making the label designs and brewing techniques the only point of interest. 

 

Edited July 7 by Sarg
typo

[Surfing Alien]

On 7/6/2024 at 11:24 PM, Darwination said:

(c.1950?)

1939 in the USA.  Pocket Books began in earnest with print runs of 100k per title after sold out trial runs of 10k for the first 10 titles.