Cover and interior art by Kris Kuksi
Foreword – S.T. Joshi
Introduction – William F. Nolan and Jason V Brock
“Some Of My Best Friends Are Martians” – Ray Bradbury
“De Mortuis” – John Tomerlin
“Love & Magick” – James Robert Smith
“Madri-Gall” – Richard Matheson & R.C. Matheson
“Hope and the Maiden” – Nancy Kilpatrick
“The Death and Life of Caesar LaRue” – Earl Hamner
“A Certain Disquieting Darkness” – Gary A Braunbeck
“The Boy Who Became Invisible” – Joe R. Lansdale
“Getting Along Just Fine” – William F. Nolan
“The Grandfather Clock” – George Clayton Johnson
“Triptych: Three Bon Bons” – Christopher Conlon
“The Hand That Feeds” – Kurt Newton
“The Central Coast” – Jason V Brock
“Omnivore” – Dan O’Bannon
“Just A Suggestion” – John Shirley
“I, My Father, and Weird Tales” – Frank M. Robinson
“Silk City” – Lisa Morton
“Red Light” – Steve Rasnic Tem
“How It Feels To Murder” – Norman Corwin
“At The Riding School” – Cody Goodfellow

The Deluxe Edition is on sale for $175.00 ($20 off for pre-orders) and features a special handmade binding with textured faux leather, foil stamping, a reading ribbon, individual signed colophon author sheets, 7 art pieces (including 4 inserts), and a color dust jacket.

Here’s the link to order: http://jasunni.com/shop/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=1

There will also be a trade hardcover retailing for $65 ($55 with newsletter coupon or pre-reserve). These will be unnumbered and 400 copies will be done. These will be signed by the editors William F. Nolan and Jason V Brock. If interested you can drop them a note via email or snail mail to reserve a copy and get the discount for it.

The listing includes 126 books covering 82 titles (many titles won both awards), and 95% of the titles are signed or inscribed, and in fine or better condition. When a paperback is the true first edition, then the first hardcover is also included. In some cases, US and UK hardcovers have been included where the paperback is the true first edition, then the first hardcover is also included. In some cases, US and UK hardcovers have been included where the paperback is the true first.”

You can find the full article at AbeBooks.com here.

The late 1940s and early 1050s saw the rapid decline of the old pulp magazines. Formerly the largest outlet by far for short fiction, these cheaply produced magazines suffered from the paper shortages of the Second World War era becoming increasingly more expensive to produce. Many publishers began either to close their doors outright or started phasing out the pulp publications in favor of the mass market paperback or “pocketbook”.

Toward the end of the pulp era a few new publications were produced that straddled the line between the two forms. One favorite of these is the Avon Fantasy Reader. Published between 1947 and 1952 the Avon Fantasy Reader was created by Donald A. Wollheim (who later founded DAW Books) and consisted mostly of reprinted work although Wollheim did include new pieces on occasion.

Like the pulp magazines of the time the Avon Fantasy Readers were produced using cheap newsprint, thin wrappers, stapled bindings and were formatted in the smaller “digest” size that was adopted by the pulp publications to cut costs. Unlike the pulp magazines they had no interior illustrations and the text was laid out in the traditional one-column book format rather than the two column format of the magazines. Though modern collectors now consider these publications pulp magazines rather than books they are widely prized by many who would not normally consider themselves magazine collectors, probably as much for their wonderfully shameless pulp cover illustrations as for their content.

The original Avon Fantasy Reader series ran eighteen issues ostensibly published monthly but in actuality it came out irregularly. In 1952 Wollheim began a companion publication, the Avon Science Fiction Reader which focused on sf reprints. It ran only three issues before Wollheim left Avon for Ace Books and both series were abandoned by Avon. The following year Avon attempted to revive the Reader series combining the two previous series under the title Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader.

The resurrected series was under the editorship of Sol Cohen who focused the content on original work rather than reprints. Only two issues were produced before the project was abandoned.

The series continues to be in demand with prices for individual editions ranging from $20 to $30 and up. For those interested in acquiring these series I have provided a checklist of all three titles complete with contents lists on the Collectingsf.com web site. Cover illustrations will follow.

 It is generally accepted that a book signed by someone significant to the work, usually the author, increases its value. Frequently that value is considered to be simply the price the book can fetch on the open market but often there is another value that may be even more important – that of personal value.

The personal significance of a book may include many of the traditional factors important to many collectors; that of edition, condition, rarity, subject matter, etc. Other factors are more personal and are very subjective. Perhaps the book was a gift from a close friend or relative. Perhaps the book is a cherished artifact from childhood or one that’s story holds some significant importance to you. These things elevate the personal value of the book.

The recent trend in collecting is for “flat signed books”, that is, for a simple signature without any other inscription such as “To Alan, Best Regards….” This is a fairly recent phenomenon. The traditional convention is that “more is better” and the addition of an inscription by the signer is preferred over a simple signature. The reasons for this are varied but boil down to essentially two factors.

One, the more a signer writes in the book, the more interesting it becomes. Long dedications or pithy quips lend an insight into the author and make the inscriptions more personalized. Two, a longer inscription is harder to forge than a simple signature. The unscrupulous practice of forging signatures to drive up the price of a book is an unfortunate reality in collecting and the more lenghtly an inscription the greater the difficulty of fabrication.

Comparing the signature and writing in question to an verified sample is a common practice when attempting to determine authenticity. Fortunately, there are options available for doing so. Using a signature from your own collection that you personally had the author sign is an unimpeachable source. Publishers will sometimes print facsimiles of author’s signatures in a book. It may appear at the end of an introduction or preface, for example, or underneath the author’s portrait. There are also a number of signature archives online for you to use in your attempt to validate a suspect signature. I’ve listed a few of them below and am planning on compiling a more extensive list which I’ll post on the Collecting SF Books web site.

Be aware that simply because a signature appears in an online gallery does not guarantee that it’s authentic. Some sites will state categorically which signatures have been verified. That assurance is only as valuable as the amount of credibility you give the site’s owner. Caveat lector!

Fadedgiant Books

P. Scott Brown – Latino & Latin American Authors

Purple House Press

TomFolio.com

Zeno Books

Other readings:
BookThink has an excellent article written in 2003 on the value of signed books
Ken Lopez – Bookseller wrote a very cogent argument for preferring an inscription over a simple signature.

There’s always a lot of talk among collectors and booksellers about what a particular book is worth and I’ve spend a fair amount of time both writing and reading about judging a book’s condition and how that effects value.  Scott concludes that, practically, buying books is really not a very sound investment strategy and that their value is primarily personal rather than monetary.  It’s a point worthy of attention.

Also mentioned is the Rare Books and Manuscripts section (RBMS) of the American Library Association who publish a pamphlet titled “Your Old Books“.  The latest version is available online and is certainly worth a read.

Dana of Windy Hill Books fantasized about a dream collection of hard to find juvenile science fiction and fantasy books.  All in fine condition with fine dust jackets, naturally!  Her list included several of my favorites.

• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
• Cat’s Eye by Andre Norton
• Beastmaster by Andre Norton
• Star Man’s Son 2250 AD by Andre Norton
• The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip
• Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
• Have Space Suite, Will Travel by Robert Heinlein
• Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke
• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Among a number of others, I’d add:

• Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
• The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (he considered it a juvenile unlike the famous trilogy)
• The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (along with the rest of the Narnia books, of course)
• The Princess Bride by Wm. Goldman
• A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K LeGuin
• The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
• Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

Of course this is the realm of the imagination so we don’t have to limit ourselves to juveniles. Ever fantasize about a collection you’d like to own? What’s on your list of dream books?

I’ve met a couple of fellow collectors who are considerably less concerned with the contents of the books they acquire than with the artist who created the cover. They showcase the artist and the book is just a vehicle to display the art. For those of us who love the books as well, combining the focus on great artwork and collectible books can make for a truly stellar collection as, for example, in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series of paperbacks which feature some of the best fantasy artwork in the field.

Again, as with my previous post on the Twenty Collectible Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Authors, this list in not meant to be a top artists list nor is it meant to be comprehensive or definitive. It is a list of artists that I feel are truly excellent and have had a significant impact on the genre. Each of them worthy of collecting.

As always, I’m interested in artists that you would consider adding to the list. Please add a comment or write me and let me know who you think are collectible artist in the field.

• Alicia Austin
  Characterized by a fresh, simple illustrative style, Austin’s work evokes grandeur of high fantasy like few others. Her illustrations for C.L. Moore’s Black God’s Shadow (1977) have made it one of the most prized volumes on many collectors’ lists. A favorite of fantasy art collectors.
• George Barr
  One of the most under-recognized artists still working in the field. He has been doing excellent cover art both for magazines and novels for the last 30 years. Early work is distinguished by a unique style of using colored ball-point pens as a sole medium, a truly unique style.
• Edd Cartier
  One of the best of the Golden Age illustrators, Cartier is best known for his outstanding science fiction and fantasy drawing for Astounding Science Fiction magazine as well as books published by Fantasy Press and Gnome Press. His appearance on the cover makes those publications particularly desirable by many collectors.
• Vincent DiFate
  Repeatedly awarded for his mastery of technological space art, DiFate has been producing excellent cover art since the late 60s. His work depicts mechanical marvels and far frontiers of a future technocracy built on complicated machinery. In addition to science fiction he has created astronomical and aerospace works for such clients as IBM, The Reader’s Digest, The National Geographic Society, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
• Leo & Diane Dillon
  Introducing a unique modern approach, the husband and wife team’s covers for many of Harlan Ellison’s paperbacks are classics in the genre. A number of the Ace Science Fiction Specials feature their work as well. Their modernistic style is widely popular with both fans and authors and is one of the few examples of such a technique being used in the genre.
• Virgil Finley
  Working mostly in the pulp era, Finley became famous for his painstaking stippled pen and ink technique. A hugely prolific artist despite his time intensive technique, Finley covers of Weird Tales magazine along with his infrequent books cover illustrations are a favorite of genre art collectors.
• Frank Frazetta
  Probably one of the most famous science fiction and fantasy artists, his work is renown for powerful, strong men and stunning women locked in battle with monstrous creatures. Particular favorites for collectors are his covers for the Edgar Rice Burroughs novels published by Ace Books and the Conan covers for the Lancer book series.
• Kelly Freas
  Freas is one of the classic SF illustrators from the 50s. Hugely popular, many of his covers for Astounding magazine, Ballantine Books, Ace, Lancers and Daw are considered legendary. Equally prolific working out of the genre he painted many early covers for MAD magazine and was commissioned to paint the Skylab I insignia design and posters promoting the space program. His penchant for sexy women and amiable aliens has become part of today’s science fiction visual language.
• Jeff Jones
  Jones’ work graced a number of paperback covers in the 60s and 70s. His first works owed much to the popularity of Frazetta at the time but soon his style began to differ from his contemporaries by taking on a more fine art sensibility. His series of covers for Lancer books is particularly popular among fans.
• Tim Kirk
  Kirk’s wonderfully whimsical monsters, mysterious structures, odd alien spaceships and quirky cartoon style have made him a fan favorite for many years. His work appears on many favorite titles from DAW Books, Ballantine Books, Mirage Press and in an alarming array of science fiction convention program books and fan publications.
• Jim Steranko
  Perhaps most famous for his innovative work during the Silver Age of comics, most notably Marvel’s “Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. comics. Steranko also illustrated a number of paperback covers including a series of Pyramid Book reissues of the 1930s The Shadow pulp novels and several of the Lancer series books. His work is highly lauded among fans and fellow artists.
• James Warhola
  A particular favorite of mine. Warhola’s illustrations are full of fantastical whimsy and lighthearted humor. Gary Lovisi says Warhola’s aliens are “probably the greatest aliens outside of Barclay Shaw’s”. He has designed over 300 science-fiction and fantasy covers for the works of such noted authors as Spider Robinson, Robert Heinlein, and William Gibson. A detail of his wonderful piece “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” serves as the banner illustration of this site.
• Michael Whelan
  Another hugely popular cover artist, Whelan’s style of stunning realism makes his works a favorite of authors and fans alike. His art has appeared on over 350 book and magazine covers illustrating most the biggest names in the genre. Always a wonder and highly collectable.

Orbiting Satellites

Confessions of a Bookplate Junkie has a number of wonderful science fiction bookplates.

Locus Online has over 500 pix you can peruse in their 2006 Cover Art Gallery.

The Visual Index of Science Fiction Cover Art has a large selection of cover art indexed by artist.

SF Cover Explorer is a wacky but addictive interactive montage of genre covers that you should check out. Notice I said “interactive”!

As you might expect the set is extremely collectible and very pricey. Currently Barry R. Levin has volume 6, Children of the Lens available priced at $995.00 for the single volume and Fathead Books has volume 5, Second Stage Lensman listed at $500.00. The Fine Books Company is listing all the books together but state that two of the six volumes are signed trade editions while the other four are the subscribers editions with the limited bookplates. They list the set at $2343.32. (Now where did they get that number?)

Fred also pointed me to a web page with an excellent picture of the six books of the set (the above is a thumbnail); however the web site appears to have a severe bandwidth limit and is not always available. Or perhaps I was just unlucky in my timing. You can try your luck here.

Now if I only had a spare $2,400.00 lying around!

Fantasy Press

Many of the Fantasy Press titles are readily available with prices for F/F copies generally running in the $200-$300 range as of this writing. A number of titles were also issued as a special signed limited first edition.

Fantasy Press also published three titles in a trade paperback format. Each book featured gold wrappers with an illustration by Edd Cartier:

• Smith, E. E. “Doc”. Galactic Patrol ($1.00, 1950, 273pp, cvr illustration: Edd Cartier, 500 copies so issued.)
• Campbell, John W. John W. The Moon is Hell! ($1.00, 1957, cvr illustration: Edd Cartier, 500 copies so issued.)
• Leinster, Murray. Operation: Outer Space ($1.00, 1954, 208pp, cvr illustration: Edd Cartier, 500 copies so issued.)

I have not found a complete checklist of the Fantasy Press titles so have begun to compile my own on the Collecting SF Books site. I believe the list to be incomplete and would appreciate any information on titles I may be missing. You can find the list on the Resources page under “Series Title Checklists” or go directly to the Fantasy Press Checklist page.

• Ace Doubles – The original Ace Books series that began in 1952. Mostly comprised of titles in the science fiction, mystery, and western genres in the dos-à-dos format. Between 1952 and 1968, the books had a letter-series identifier; after that date they were given five digit numeric serial numbers. The “D” series in particular is highly collectible for SF fans as it includes many excellent paperback originals (PBO).

• Avon Fantasy Readers – A digest anthology series of 18 magazines published between 1947 and 1952, the series featured reprints of classic stories from the pulps and wonderful cover art.

• Ballantine Originals- Created in the early 1950s Ballantine Books published a large number of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror PBOs. A number of seminal works from authors including Pohl Anderson, James Blish, Arthur Clarke, Phillip Jose Farmer, Larry Niven and a whole raft of others were published under this imprint. The series is also coveted for the many wonderful Richard Powers covers.

• Ballantine Star Series – A series of six (as far as I know) anthologies edited by Frederick Pohl from 1953 to 1959. I’ve found it cited by a number of sources as the first original SF anthology series.

• DAW Books – An imprint of New American Library started by Donald A. Wollheim in 1972. Until July-1984 all DAW books were characterized by yellow spines and a prominent yellow cover box containing the company’s logo as well as a chronological publication number. When the design was changed the chronological number was retained but moved to the copyright page and renamed the “DAW Collectors’ Book Number”. (Source: Wikipedia) Collecting this series would be a massive undertaking as there are currently more than 1300 titles under the imprint. A title list can be found here.

• Laser Books – An imprint of Harlequin Books, the series is comprised of 58 PBO books published between 1975 and 1977. Featured books include early work from Tim Powers and K.W. Jeter. Collectible also for the wonderful cover paintings of Hugo Award winner Kelly Freas. I’ve posted a Title Checklist on the Collecting SF website.

• Timescape Books – A 1980s imprint of Pocket Books. The series published a number of PBOs from authors like Keith Laumer, Barry Malzberg, Jerry Pournelle, Norman Spinrad and others.

Any particular favorites I didn’t mention? Let me know.