Going to the LA Vintage Paperback show on March 17th 0

[Surfing Alien]

On 3/18/2024 at 7:47 AM, jimjum12 said:

Did you see any "unicorns" at the show, you know, the stuff you never see? GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a freind of jesus)

There were unicorns, mostly of the sleaze and British variety, but unfortunately, not a single one of the books I had on my small "dream list" that I put together to look for there. The dealers who I spoke to (and showed pics of my collection to) were mostly of the opinion that I was going to have a tough time finding those books since I was a pretty good "finder" and the fact that I don't have them yet means they are truly rare books.

 But I did feel very satisfied picking up a few books that were not on my "list" but were unicorns, either generally or in grade.

These Victor Norwood Scion books are really tough to find and with the incredible Ron Turner covers, they get snapped up. I was very far up the line to get in at 9AM and got to the British Dealer's table first and grabbed this bad boy

 

"The Coming of the Rats" can be found but it's scarce and the black cover is brutal on defects. It's a book I've always wanted to get but wanted to wait to get one with nice corners. When I saw this copy I almost fell on the floor and had to pick myself up to grab it before it was gone

 

 

 

[Randall Dowling]

Nice grabs, SA!

[The-Collector]

If anyone sees a nice copy of Narco Nymphos at the show let me know! 

[Randall Dowling]

On 3/18/2024 at 5:02 PM, The-Collector said:

If anyone sees a nice copy of Narco Nymphos at the show let me know! 

Tough book. 

[Darwination]

Looked that one up and then came across Nympho Librarian, too much, man

[Black Cactus]

This was my first year attending, and I thought it was great. It's one of the smaller convention or shows that I've been to, and I really enjoyed that aspect. It was a full house with a lot of energy, but not overly crowded. And so many books to choose from! I easily could have spent a few more hours (and a few more paychecks) finding new books to take home.

I was particularly pleased to discover these Selbee published copies of The Gay Rebels and The Gay Jungle. I wasn't even aware of their existence beforehand, but they published around half a dozen titles at a slightly larger format than standard. The two books measure about 5.25" x 8" instead of the more standard 4.5" x 7", and they have interior illustrations.

Here's my haul. I picked up "Flesh" from the aforementioned Terry. I'd been looking for it, and was happy to find it in person.

[Book Guy]

On 3/18/2024 at 5:53 PM, Darwination said:

Looked that one up and then came across Nympho Librarian, too much, man

One of my favorites...

[OtherEric]

On 3/18/2024 at 7:11 PM, Black Cactus said:

 I picked up "Flesh" from the aforementioned Terry. I'd been looking for it, and was happy to find it in person.

 

 

Nice!  I somehow hadn't realized that Flesh was one of those weird Beacon/ Galaxy books; I was only aware of Farmer's work for Essex House.

[jimjum12]

On 3/18/2024 at 10:11 PM, Black Cactus said:

This was my first year attending, and I thought it was great. It's one of the smaller convention or shows that I've been to, and I really enjoyed that aspect. It was a full house with a lot of energy, but not overly crowded. And so many books to choose from! I easily could have spent a few more hours (and a few more paychecks) finding new books to take home.

I was particularly pleased to discover these Selbee published copies of The Gay Rebels and The Gay Jungle. I wasn't even aware of their existence beforehand, but they published around half a dozen titles at a slightly larger format than standard. The two books measure about 5.25" x 8" instead of the more standard 4.5" x 7", and they have interior illustrations.

Here's my haul. I picked up "Flesh" from the aforementioned Terry. I'd been looking for it, and was happy to find it in person.

 

I collect social relevance titles, not all of them, as there are SO many, just representatives, but it's tricky with the alternative lifestyle stuff. They seem to fetch strong prices but it's difficult to determine which ones are deserving of a premium(and why?...) and which ones are jacked up just because of a fad. Any help would be appreciated. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

This title might be considered offensive to a lesbian today, for example.

Edited March 19 by jimjum12

[Black Cactus]

On 3/19/2024 at 8:05 AM, jimjum12 said:

I collect social relevance titles, not all of them, as there are SO many, just representatives, but it's tricky with the alternative lifestyle stuff. They seem to fetch strong prices but it's difficult to determine which ones are deserving of a premium(and why?...) and which ones are jacked up just because of a fad. Any help would be appreciated. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

This title might be considered offensive to a lesbian today, for example.

Hah, I have a copy of The Abnormal Ones that I recently bought that should ship to me soon. Yours is in great shape! What a beauty!

I’m queer and so that’s a collecting focus of mine. I honestly couldn’t say which deserve a premium and which are hype, or a one-off crazy sale. I’ve only been collecting paperbacks for about a year so I’m still a novice.

I think especially with the sleazier books, pricing becomes rather arbitrary. People make snap decisions, and there’s often not a lot of sales data available for many of the books.

A lot of these books are offensive by today’s standards, but that’s part of what makes it so interesting and fun. It’s also worth noting that lesbian sleaze played a pivotal role in the formation of the feminist movement - and for many queer folks, was their first access to stories about people like themselves. 
 

In regard to queer/lesbian paperbacks, I would think that those written by queer authors would command a special premium. But always, it comes down to the cover!

[jimjum12]

I have several of the Lesbian ones and have an eye on a few others. It's a different but contemporary view of the world I live in. I have mentored two gay kids and both turned into fine adults. Sometimes I think they may have mentored me. They were part of Judy and my "critter club" and was an impromptu scenario of neighborhood kids who walked by and saw Judy putting our reptiles on the porch in the summer. The club consisted of the ones who kept coming around to help with the critters. We always made sure their parents knew they were visiting. Usually they were kids who were bored or felt they didn't fit in. I consider them to be family. I never judged, as I feel God created them to be who they are. One of them took care of me for a couple months while I was recovering from a stroke, and the other offered to move us to Florida with her. Good peeps. Both are grown now. GOD BLESS ...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

 

 

Edited March 19 by jimjum12

[Darwination]

A pal and I were talking about Patricia Highsmith the other day (in regards to her writing for Real Life Comics, inspiring me to look up her early magazine appearances), and the book The Price of Salt came up (and the 2015 movie adaptation, Claire).  I looked around for the original paperback printing and saw some high prices, but this one takes the cake.  Someone's been smoking crack, right?

https://www.biblio.com/book/price-salt-morgan-claire/d/1536729223

Who's holding?  (the book, not crack)

Edited March 19 by Darwination