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Post by andydecker on Jul 6, 2019 11:34:29 GMT
Robert Weinberg - The Weird Tales Story (1977 – this edition Wildside Press 1999, 134 pages) This is a short introduction to the "unique" magazine, written by Robert Weinberg. The format is 8,5x11 inches. All illustrations and reproduced covers are b/w. Weinberg does a compact history of the three editors reigns, Baird, Wright and McIlwraith. There a memories of writers like Belknap Long,, Bloch, Greye La Spina. Jacobi and others. A chapter is about the covers, another about the illustrations (which I thought great. Dem's many postings of illustrations whet my appetite on this topic) . There is also a chapter about the letter-page. This is a lot of fun. Weinberg is even-handed in his approach and spares the reader another in-depth introduction to Lovecraft, Howard & co, which is a good thing. I thought it interesting to learn more about writers like La Spina, Hamilton or Counselman.
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Post by dem bones on Jul 6, 2019 15:04:36 GMT
A chapter is about the covers, another about the illustrations (which I thought great. Dem's many postings of illustrations whet my appetite on this topic) . There is also a chapter about the letter-page. I'm almost certain it was this book inspired those postings in the first place. It's huge favourite of mine, I just wish Robert had gone into even more detail about the stories. I guess my dream history of 'Weird Tales' would compile Weinberg's book, Stefan Dziemainowitz's Scream Factory columns, various items from Paperback Fanatic and Pulp Horror and the best of Weinberg, RAWL & Co's 'zine, Weird Tales Collector.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jul 8, 2019 13:08:15 GMT
A chapter is about the covers, another about the illustrations (which I thought great. Dem's many postings of illustrations whet my appetite on this topic) . There is also a chapter about the letter-page. I'm almost certain it was this book inspired those postings in the first place. It's huge favourite of mine, I just wish Robert had gone into even more detail about the stories. I guess my dream history of 'Weird Tales' would compile Weinberg's book, Stefan Dziemainowitz's Scream Factory columns, various items from Paperback Fanatic and Pulp Horror and the best of Weinberg, RAWL & Co's 'zine, Weird Tales Collector. This book is a treasure. I've read it cover to cover several times, and Weinberg's tantalizing notes have sent me searching for many obscure WT stories.
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Post by dem bones on Jul 9, 2019 19:06:03 GMT
I had a copy of the FAX 1977 hardcover to begin with, had to sell it back to the Fantasy Centre during a particularly grim period. If I'm not misremembering stuff, the original gave the TOC's for every issue from March 1923 through to Sept. 1954. Other than this, and cover design, they're identical?
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Post by cromagnonman on Jul 9, 2019 22:27:03 GMT
I had a copy of the FAX 1977 hardcover to begin with, had to sell it back to the Fantasy Centre during a particularly grim period. If I'm not misremembering stuff, the original gave the TOC's for every issue from March 1923 through to Sept. 1954. Other than this, and cover design, they're identical? No, there's no complete TOCs in the hardcover Dem, just repros of a couple of them. Doesn't feature in WT50 either from which RW recycled some of the contents for the FAX book. To add to your list for sources for an ultimate Weird Tales history I'd add the Jade Pagoda columns of E. Hoffman Price from Witchcraft & Sorcery. Now, personally, I can't abide the self-important old buzzard but fact remains there is almost no one connected with WT that he hadn't either met or knew personally. And, God knows, he dined out on the fact for decades afterwards.
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Post by mcannon on Jul 10, 2019 0:55:02 GMT
I had a copy of the FAX 1977 hardcover to begin with, had to sell it back to the Fantasy Centre during a particularly grim period. If I'm not misremembering stuff, the original gave the TOC's for every issue from March 1923 through to Sept. 1954. Other than this, and cover design, they're identical? No, there's no complete TOCs in the hardcover Dem, just repros of a couple of them. Doesn't feature in WT50 either from which RW recycled some of the contents for the FAX book. To add to your list for sources for an ultimate Weird Tales history I'd add the Jade Pagoda columns of E. Hoffman Price from Witchcraft & Sorcery. Now, personally, I can't abide the self-important old buzzard but fact remains there is almost no one connected with WT that he hadn't either met or knew personally. And, God knows, he dined out on the fact for decades afterwards. The Sheldon Jaffery / Fred Cook "Collector's Index to Weird Tales" contains both issue-by-issue and author indexes for the full run of the original WT - though it's doubtless long out of print. However the Bradford M Day "Index on the Weird and Fantastic in Magazines" (including WT) is available via the Internet Archive at archive.org/details/DayBradfordM.AnIndexOnTheWeirdFantasticaInMagazines1953Mark
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Post by andydecker on Jul 10, 2019 10:00:34 GMT
I had a copy of the FAX 1977 hardcover to begin with, had to sell it back to the Fantasy Centre during a particularly grim period. If I'm not misremembering stuff, the original gave the TOC's for every issue from March 1923 through to Sept. 1954. Other than this, and cover design, they're identical? No, there's no complete TOCs in the hardcover Dem, just repros of a couple of them. Doesn't feature in WT50 either from which RW recycled some of the contents for the FAX book. I'd add the Jade Pagoda columns of E. Hoffman Price from Witchcraft & Sorcery. Now, personally, I can't abide the self-important old buzzard but fact remains there is almost no one connected with WT that he hadn't either met or knew personally. And, God knows, he dined out on the fact for decades afterwards. You are right. I knew the Name E.Hoffman Price of course, but couldn't remember any story by him I may or may not have read over the years. Except the Lovecraft collaboration, of course. But it never interested me enough to check who did what on this. I am no big fan of the Dreamland stories. So I was astounded that he sold so many stories when I stumbled recently on him for research purposes. He also was a fan of the then Yezid=satan worshippers nonsense so beloved by a lot of WT writers. When I read his memoir in the Weird Tales Story it sounded a bit as if he was one of the powers in the background. Not editorily, mind, but being a big influence for his collegues and know it all. A complete WT index is also at the ISFDb. Issue by issue with interior artwork. ISFDb has become a remarkable database, but the search function has its pitfalls. One has to check the drop down menu.
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Post by cromagnonman on Jul 10, 2019 11:38:26 GMT
No, there's no complete TOCs in the hardcover Dem, just repros of a couple of them. Doesn't feature in WT50 either from which RW recycled some of the contents for the FAX book. I'd add the Jade Pagoda columns of E. Hoffman Price from Witchcraft & Sorcery. Now, personally, I can't abide the self-important old buzzard but fact remains there is almost no one connected with WT that he hadn't either met or knew personally. And, God knows, he dined out on the fact for decades afterwards. You are right. I knew the Name E.Hoffman Price of course, but couldn't remember any story by him I may or may not have read over the years. Except the Lovecraft collaboration, of course. But it never interested me enough to check who did what on this. I am no big fan of the Dreamland stories. So I was astounded that he sold so many stories when I stumbled recently on him for research purposes. He also was a fan of the then Yezid=satan worshippers nonsense so beloved by a lot of WT writers. When I read his memoir in the Weird Tales Story it sounded a bit as if he was one of the powers in the background. Not editorily, mind, but being a big influence for his collegues and know it all. A complete WT index is also at the ISFDb. Issue by issue with interior artwork. ISFDb has become a remarkable database, but the search function has its pitfalls. One has to check the drop down menu. He was hugely prolific and very successful with it. Karl Edward Wagner's Carcosa Press issued a massive collection of his work called FAR LANDS OTHER DAYS in the mid 70s. But his career never survived the end of the pulps and his work never accrued the cult following that attached itself to Howard and Lovecraft and Smith. And I've always garnered the impression that he rather resented their resurrected popularity. No one ever wanted to talk to him about his work only the dead WT contemporaries he had known. His memoir BOOK OF THE DEAD is worth getting.
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Post by dem bones on Jul 10, 2019 11:43:55 GMT
No, there's no complete TOCs in the hardcover Dem, just repros of a couple of them. Doesn't feature in WT50 either from which RW recycled some of the contents for the FAX book. Thanks for setting me straight, Crom. Had a feeling I'd got that wrong even as I typed. Otherwise the two editions are identical? Will give the Hoffman-Price columns a go.
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Post by andydecker on Jul 10, 2019 15:39:53 GMT
His memoir BOOK OF THE DEAD is worth getting. Have to confess that I have a problem with a lot of these guys. Hoffman Price, Belknap Long, Wade Wellman, Cave and others, what I read so far from them I found pedestrian. Especially Belknap Long is downright boring. I can enjoy the early Bloch for all his flowery prose, but these I mostly think overrated. The myth of Weird Tales made theit work more interesting as it is.
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Post by Jojo Lapin X on Jul 10, 2019 15:56:51 GMT
His memoir BOOK OF THE DEAD is worth getting. Have to confess that I have a problem with a lot of these guys. Hoffman Price, Belknap Long, Wade Wellman, Cave and others, what I read so far from them I found pedestrian. Especially Belknap Long is downright boring. I can enjoy the early Bloch for all his flowery prose, but these I mostly think overrated. The myth of Weird Tales made theit work more interesting as it is. At least Hugh B Cave's "weird menace" stuff is pretty out there, even by the standards of the genre.
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Post by dem bones on Jul 10, 2019 16:31:02 GMT
His memoir BOOK OF THE DEAD is worth getting. Have to confess that I have a problem with a lot of these guys. Hoffman Price, Belknap Long, Wade Wellman, Cave and others, what I read so far from them I found pedestrian. Especially Belknap Long is downright boring. I can enjoy the early Bloch for all his flowery prose, but these I mostly think overrated. The myth of Weird Tales made theit work more interesting as it is. I prefer Hugh B. Cave's shudder pulps and spicies to his Weird Tales, though I get along with most of his work well enough. FBL: his 'twenties and 'thirties horrors do it for me, his post WWII stuff (what little I've read of it) not so much. E. Hoffman-Price I can take or leave. Keep meaning to read The Infidel's Daughter which, I believe, he later apologised for - to the KKK. I love Manly Wade Wellman. From the very early, adorable full-on pulp likes of Back to the Beast through the horror Westerns and Appalachian folk tales, he had it.
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Post by cauldronbrewer on Jul 11, 2019 19:30:17 GMT
Have to confess that I have a problem with a lot of these guys. Hoffman Price, Belknap Long, Wade Wellman, Cave and others, what I read so far from them I found pedestrian. Especially Belknap Long is downright boring. I can enjoy the early Bloch for all his flowery prose, but these I mostly think overrated. The myth of Weird Tales made theit work more interesting as it is. I prefer Hugh B. Cave's shudder pulps and spicies to his Weird Tales, though I get along with most of his work well enough. FBL: his 'twenties and 'thirties horrors do it for me, his post WWII stuff (what little I've read of it) not so much. E. Hoffman-Price I can take or leave. Keep meaning to read The Infidel's Daughter which, I believe, he later apologised for - to the KKK. I love Manly Wade Wellman. From the very early, adorable full-on pulp likes of Back to the Beast through the horror Westerns and Appalachian folk tales, he had it. My favorite Cave stories are two he wrote for Strange Tales: "Murgunstrumm" and "Stragella." Long has his moments, though I like a story about him (or at least a fictionalized version of him) better than any story he wrote himself: T.E.D. Klein's "Black Man with a Horn." I adore Wellman, particularly his Appalachian tales, as I've gone on and on about. As for Price, I used to admire him for writing an anti-KKK story back in the 1920s--that is, until I read his apology to the KKK. Speaking of him... Karl Edward Wagner's Carcosa Press issued a massive collection of his work called FAR LANDS OTHER DAYS in the mid 70s. But his career never survived the end of the pulps and his work never accrued the cult following that attached itself to Howard and Lovecraft and Smith. And I've always garnered the impression that he rather resented their resurrected popularity. No one ever wanted to talk to him about his work only the dead WT contemporaries he had known. I've read Far Lands, Other Days cover to cover, and it confirmed my impression that Price was always a hack (not necessarily an insult, in my book).
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Post by dem bones on Aug 2, 2021 8:23:47 GMT
Being approx five decades behind the times, I only recently learned of an updated and extended edition of Robert Weinberg which, from what I can gather, takes in some of the increasingly desperate revivals (it also - rather pointlessly - reprints Ooze from the debut issue)? Any additional info to that which can be obtained via the Am*z*n uk 'look inside' feature appreciated. Robert Weinberg - The Weird Tales Story: Expanded and Enhanced (Pulp Hero Press, April 2021) Blurb: The Weirdest Story Ever Told
In this definitive history and analysis of Weird Tales magazine, Robert Weinberg’s original narrative is expanded and enhanced with contributions from a who’s who of pulp scholars, including S.T. Joshi, Darrell Schweitzer, Mike Ashley, Rob Roehm, Bobby Derie, Jason Ray Carney, Adrian Cole, Morgan Holmes, and Terence E. Hanley.
The new material includes chapters on the most influential contributors to Weird Tales, as well as contemporaneous authors who should have been contributors to Weird Tales but who were not.
The history of the magazine is extended past its initial demise in 1954, and the cover story of the first issue, Anthony Rud’s “Ooze,” is reprinted in its entirety.
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Post by jamesdoig on Aug 2, 2021 9:47:00 GMT
A friend told me about that new edition of The Weird Tales Story, and also this history of swords and sorcery, Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery, which looks good.
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