Robert Bloch in german editions

[andydecker]

Here are a few scans of Bloch´s german editions, spanning 30 years.



This is "Tales in a Jugular Vein", (1972) containing 8 stories.



This is "Dragons and Nightmares", (1973), containing 3 stories. It is quite possible that this is a kind of best of. Both books have only 150 pages, and at the time of publishing size did matter. (Long, complicated boring story)



This is the first edition of Psycho from 1960. This was a crime imprint from Desch Publishing, doing anything from Agatha Christie to Carter Brown.



This is a later edition of Psycho from 1999. It is a re-issue movie-tie-in to the godawful Van Sant remake with movie stills. Publisher Heyne printed different editions of this over the years; ironically they bought the translations rights from Desch, so this is the same translation as the 1960 edition.



This is "The Night of the Ripper" from 1987. Published by Heyne in a mass market edition. "Psycho" and "Psycho2" were also done in this edition.



Okay, this is more of an curiosity. It is "This crowed Earth/The Star-Stalker" from 1984. Kelter is primilary a Heftroman outfit sold at newsstand. But they tried to establish paperback imprints, which all were cancelled.



Now this is from the Bloch edition from german/swiss publisher Diogenes. Diogenes had a crime imprint doing "literary" crime, anything from Raymond Chandler to Eric Ambler, Ross MacDonald, John Buchan, George Simenon. (Crime for the snobs who wouldn´t have wanted to be caught dead with a Carter Brown ) For years the cover concept was the same, muted and tasteful. Yellow background, black sketch. This is "Night-world" from 1986, when they tried to broaden their approach.

[andydecker]

D´oh, if I had checked the board I would have seen that most of these books are already covered. Which also means I have the wrong category.

So, Tales in a jugular vein is missing two stories. Go figure.

[dem bones]

Thanks so much for posting these Andy. I'm particularly taken with the Night Of The Ripper cover and the tribute to the Cramps' Eyeballs in My Martini that is Horror Cocktail. Not sure what the girl struggling to remove her blouse has to do with Dragons & Nightmares (which i seem to remember slaughtering!), but that's certainly the edition i'd go for. The Psycho's are class.

Here's a couple of German editions for you!

Friend Olivaro writes:

Charles Birkin is one author who never 'made it', at least in Germany.
There were only two books (published by Wilhelm Heyne Verlag). You've already mentioned Der Finger Der Furcht and there's also So Bleich, So Kalt, So Tot, 1972 (So Pale, So Cold, So Fair, 1970)

I must confess I'm no fan of Birkin, most of his stories are 'contes
cruels', I consider them rather disturbing than thrilling.

[andydecker]

Thanks Dem!

I don´t have the Birkin´s. But they are from the same batch as the Bloch´s.
To round things up, here is a cover for Matheson´s Legend of Hell House also from the same period. My scanner isn´t good enough for those black tones, so the scan is rather bad. And I hope censorbucket doesn´t mess up things.

At least the editor back than had the right idea about what should be on a cover

[dem bones]

Hey, I thought you said the German covers weren't up to much? The ones you've been posting have been ace. I even like the Dark Shadows one you're not keen on. But this Matheson is something else! Shades of those old John Newton Howett covers for Terror Tales and Horror Stories don't you think? Best since the girl having a totally gratuitous blouse problem on Dragons & Nightmares!

[Middoth]

inhalt

 So bleich, so kalt, so tot ( «So Pale, So Cold, So Fair» )
 Das Gottesgeschenk ( The Godsend )
 Bello (Rover)
Das Kinderfest ( Circle of Children)
 Lots Weib ( Lot's Wife )
Gideon
 Eine faszinierende Schönheit ( A Haunting Beauty )
Der Gott der Zuflucht ( Lords of the Refuge )

"The Road " for some reason is absent. too sadistic maybe.

[Middoth]

inhalt

Der Tod aus dem Meer (The Terror on Tobit)

Charles Birkin. Kitty Fischerin (Lucy Locket)
Charles Birkin. Das Brandmal (King of the Castle)
Charles Birkin. Besuch aus einer anderen Welt (Parlez Moi d'Amour)
Charles Birkin. Wer ist deine Freundin ? (Who's Your Lady Friend?)
Charles Birkin. Der Finger der Furcht (The Finger of Fear)

Charles Birkin. Die Unnahbare (Hard to Get)

Where is " Hosanna! "? The gentle feelings of belivers of course.

[andydecker]

May 20, 2019 16:45:52 GMT Middoth said:

"The Road " for some reason is absent. too sadistic maybe.

Not necessecarily. At that time the paperbacks had a fixed length which determined the retail price. Which was one of the reasons why the first incarnation of Herbert's Dune in its translation had appr. 320 pages instead of appr. 700. The Birkin's clocked at 140 and 125 pages. So something had to give.

[cauldronbrewer]

May 20, 2019 18:23:56 GMT andydecker said:

Which was one of the reasons why the first incarnation of Herbert's Dune in its translation had appr. 320 pages instead of appr. 700.

I wonder how comprehensible the result was. Probably about as confusing as the David Lynch film (for which I have a sneaking fondness, even if I can't defend it).

[andydecker]

May 23, 2019 16:48:49 GMT cauldronbrewer said:

May 20, 2019 18:23:56 GMT andydecker said:

Which was one of the reasons why the first incarnation of Herbert's Dune in its translation had appr. 320 pages instead of appr. 700.

I wonder how comprehensible the result was. Probably about as confusing as the David Lynch film (for which I have a sneaking fondness, even if I can't defend it).

I never read the abridged version. But I guess the plot was more or less intact. It's like those Reader's Digest novels. As the editor (or translator) you have to know what is important and what is not. If, say, the writer uses one page for the description of landscape, you can easily cut this or sum it up in one sentence. In the case of Dune the appendices alone are 50 pages in the unabridged version. Of course at the end you only have a shadow of the real novel.

Ramsey Campbell is right as he wrote in his bibliography About the German edition of The Doll Who Ate his Mother: Butchered in German.