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Post by mrhappy on Apr 29, 2017 15:20:40 GMT
Gratified you approve Dem. On reflection I believe the exercise was worth the effort. If for no other reason than the fact that the process of putting it together flagged up several errors that had embedded themselves into the original numerical listing. Name and number crunching on this scale invariably invites error of course, and so I'm sure that for every mistake that I've now rectified I've doubtless perpetuated others or created new ones entirely. It goes without saying that I'd be profoundly grateful for anyone pointing these out to me. I hope anyone interested in researching and/or collecting the series will find it useful. I looked in vain for such a resource when I first became interested in the set and so know how beneficial I would have found it. Incidentally, I've only made a point of identifying pseudonyms where the pseudonyms themselves feature as part of the contributors roster. One closing observation which I think is worth making. Although, as mentioned previously, Harry Patterson was the champion contributor with twelve novels used, closely followed with ten apiece by James Hadley Chase, Andrew York and Dick Francis (poor DF, runner up again); in terms of duration of contribution no one can hold a candle to Michael Gilbert. His five novel haul spans a period of seventeen years with an incredible 155 volumes published between his first appearance in the series and his last. His only serious challenger in this context is Geoffrey Jenkins with 123 seperating the use of A TWIST OF SAND IN 1960 and A CLEFT OF STARS in 1975. Remarkable testaments to both men's period popularity, but who reads them now? Greatly appreciate the additional information with regards to the Arthur Williams story. The bonus material listing has now been amended to reflect it. Cheers. Amazing work! Any research like this is a labor of love and should be greatly appreciated! Mr. Happy
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Post by mrhappy on Apr 29, 2017 0:49:07 GMT
Michael Arlen's Ghost Stories - I think this is my only remaining Arno title. I do have a xeroxed copy of the Blayre papers around her somewhere. This series was the only way that I was reading any Burrage, Wakefield, Onions and many others for quite a long time. Attachments:
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Post by mrhappy on Apr 28, 2017 23:57:13 GMT
And what Arno Press title is that in the bottom right of your last photo? I can almost make it out... Well spotted! That's Erckmann-Chatrian, The Man-Wolf. One of my favorites and still amazingly readable. Those tales have aged remarkably well! Mr. Happy
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Post by mrhappy on Apr 28, 2017 23:04:14 GMT
Just wonderful! I can seriously look at pictures of user's sci-fi/fantasy/horror bookshelves for hours. You can just feel the love and dedication pouring off the screen. Look at those Ace Doubles! You can be scanning an aerial view of the Library of Congress and those would stick out! And what Arno Press title is that in the bottom right of your last photo? I can almost make it out...
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Post by mrhappy on Apr 27, 2017 23:25:10 GMT
A few shots of my library in progress. I am (finally) getting close to completion. Mr. Happy Looks like a bookshop! Unlike many bookstores (here is the States at least) I actually have a horror section and it comprises probably 3/4 of the books. Seriously though, that is most likely from those center bookshelves. The attached picture gives you an idea of what it looked like before I switched out the pool table with 8 additional bookshelves. It was definitely more open before but I enjoy the somewhat claustrophobic yet cozy sensation of being surrounded by books. Trying to convince my wife of this was another matter all together. She has come around but I was Mr. Unhappy for a little while. Mr. Happy Attachments:
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Post by mrhappy on Apr 26, 2017 21:19:23 GMT
Unfortunately, this will probably be the case. Unless they are blessed (or cursed) with the biblio-loving gene, they will probably look at it with slightly less disdain than they would a garbage hoarder. Ah, but then this gives me hope that I will one day find the mother load of rare paperbacks that someone had thought were just junk at a boot sale / charity shop / eBay. I can dream... Wow, MrHappy, what an amazing collection you have. What are your highlights? I'm curious. I have always been a fan of short stories more than novels so my collection is slanted in that direction. If you have sharp eyes and study the solitary bookshelf photo that I uploaded then you might be able to pick out complete sets of Fontana Horrors, Fontana Ghost, Pan Horror, Ghost Books, Year's Best Horror Stories and some other series. Highlights are more difficult. I own a fair number of Ash Tree, Tartarus, Sarob, Midnight House, Swan River and various other small press titles. However, I am not the type of collector that has to have a signed traycased copy of a book that has already been released 30 times before. Nothing against people who collect that particular type of release - it just isn't my thing. I prefer a collection of stories by an author that is typically represented in anthologies by a single story. I would much rather buy a collection of, say, Shamus Frazier's work than a nicely repackaged collection by E. F. Benson. More bang for your buck. But buying books is a gamble as well. I typically buy one high dollar book per year - one year it was Reggie Oliver's Dramas from the Depths, another was the The Complete Strange Stories of Robert Aickman and yet another was the complete short fiction of Basil Cooper. While those are all nice, two of those have been released in paperback since my purchase. If those were available as paperbacks I would have been just as happy with those and saved quite a bit of cash. I passed up on some of the Ash Tree Wakefield titles and those still have not been reprinted. But those original purchases along with some others (the Sarob Press Mistresses of the Macabre series, Bob Leman's Feesters in the Lake, a couple Jean Ray titles) would probably be my highlights. Mr. Happy P.S. - I also love horror fiction reference works! There is a thread around here titled something like "Best/Worst reference guides" in which I uploaded a picture of some of my reference materials. While not really a highlight to most people (many are battered old library discards) they are very special to me personally and have influenced my purchases more than almost anything else. But The Vault is getting close!
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Post by mrhappy on Apr 26, 2017 18:50:48 GMT
I have pretty much held on to every book I've acquired since I've been collecting. This will probably really please my kids when I die and they sell it off piece by piece. I do not mean to upset you, but they are probably more likely to just throw it all away. In particular any paperbacks, as normal people are unable to imagine that paperbacks could be of any value. Unfortunately, this will probably be the case. Unless they are blessed (or cursed) with the biblio-loving gene, they will probably look at it with slightly less disdain than they would a garbage hoarder.
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Post by mrhappy on Apr 26, 2017 18:21:45 GMT
Thank you! I have been collecting books for 30+ years and I am finally able to start organizing the damn things. I'll post better pictures when it is finished. However, don't ever think a library puts yours to shame. Every collection begins with a single book. Take a look at this photo from the late 80's - not nearly as impressive, is it? And that was pretty much all of it. Mostly King and Koontz. Your collection is much more impressive than mine (to me at least) when they were of similar size. I would have given anything to have a single Pan! They were legendary. Just keep reading and collecting! Mr. Happy Thank you! I've been collecting (well, keeping books I really like) for 30+ years too. If I'd kept every one I'd bought, I'd have at least as many as you have. I only started collecting Pans thanks to this Vault; it's costing me a fortune in books I'd never really heard of before . I have pretty much held on to every book I've acquired since I've been collecting. This will probably really please my kids when I die and they sell it off piece by piece. Sigh. Mr. Happy
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Post by mrhappy on Apr 26, 2017 18:03:28 GMT
A few shots of my library in progress. I am (finally) getting close to completion. Mr. Happy (bowing down in front of the pc) I am not worthy.... What a wonderful library you've built; it puts mine to shame.... Thank you! I have been collecting books for 30+ years and I am finally able to start organizing the damn things. I'll post better pictures when it is finished. However, don't ever think a library puts yours to shame. Every collection begins with a single book. Take a look at this photo from the late 80's - not nearly as impressive, is it? And that was pretty much all of it. Mostly King and Koontz. Your collection is much more impressive than mine (to me at least) when they were of similar size. I would have given anything to have a single Pan! They were legendary. Just keep reading and collecting! Mr. Happy Attachments:
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Post by mrhappy on Apr 26, 2017 16:41:01 GMT
A few shots of my library in progress. I am (finally) getting close to completion. Mr. Happy
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Post by mrhappy on Apr 16, 2017 1:51:36 GMT
Hi Andy, Almost nothing is known of Professor Swann's personal life. According to an amazing website Steven Saylor hosts on his own space, there is one print interview with Swann, and it was in a really obscure Louisville Kentucky fanzine for which no library in North America has recorded holdings. Professor Swann died in his 40s of cancer. He produced quite the prolific body of work, publishing several literary monographs and other books in addition to his novels and short stories. Best, H. I will keep an eye out for a copy of this fanzine (The Tyrrean Chronicles #4 1974) and will let you know if I turn anything up. I live in Louisville and there are a couple of odd places that something like this might be found in. Mr. Happy
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Post by mrhappy on Apr 7, 2017 13:54:03 GMT
Said the Traveller, knocking on the moonlit door. (Couldn't resist)
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Post by mrhappy on Apr 6, 2017 23:11:11 GMT
While reading an anthology the other day I came across one of John Gordon's stories and I am always amazed that he is not better known than he is. I thought I would try and list every short story of his that I knew of and see if anyone here can fill in some gaps. I have read that he has written over 50 short stories so that would leave a handful unaccounted for.
Note: everything marked with a "*" appears in Left in the Dark: The Supernatural Tales of John Gordon released by Medusa Press in 2006. This rare 500 copy collection features 30 stories and only contains one previously unreleased story - The Night Watch - which, thankfully, was included in Best New Horror 18. Also, some of the anthologies I list may not be the original or only appearance of a story.
Incomplete listing of John Gordon's short fiction:
Core collections-
The Spitfire Grave (1979)
*All the Children Almost Never *Better the Devil You Know *The Broken O Dowser *The Place The Spitfire Grave Vandal *Without a Mark
Catch Your Death (1984)
*Catch Your Death *The Girl Outside *Half a Crown *If She Bends, She Breaks *Joby's Print *Little Black Pies *Never Grow Up *Oh, My Bairn *The Pot of Basil
The Burning Baby (1992)
*The Burning Baby *Death Wish *Eels *The Key *Under the Ice
Uncollected short fiction
Bewitched (The Young Oxford Book of Supernatural Stories edited by Dennis Pepper 1996) *Black Beads (The Mammoth Book of Dracula edited by Stephen Jones 1997) *The Black Prince (A Quiver of Ghosts edited by Aidan Chambers 1987) *Bone Meal (Bone Meal: Seven More Tales of Terror edited by A. Finnis 1995) Day's End {poem} (Off the Coastal Path: Dark Poems of the Seaside edited by Jo Fletcher 2010) *Grandmother's Footsteps (The Random House Book of Ghost Stories edited by Susan Hill 1991) The Hawk (The Oxford Book of Scary Tales edited by Dennis Pepper 1992) The Ivy Man (The Oxford Book of Christmas Stories edited by Dennis Pepper 1988) *The Kissing Gate (The Young Oxford Book of Christmas Stories edited by Dennis Pepper 2001) *Kroger's Choice (Haunting Ghost Stories edited by Deborah Shine 1980) *Left in the Dark (Ghost Stories edited by Robert Westall 1988) *The Night Watch (The Mammoth Book of Best New Horror 18 edited by Stephen Jones 2007) Sam (Horror at Halloween edited by Jo Fletcher 1999) *The Smile of Eugene Ritter (Beware! Beware! edited by Jean Richardson 1987) The Steel Finger (On the Edge edited by Aidan Chambers 1991) *Uncle Walter (The Young Oxford Book of Nightmares edited by Dennis Pepper 2000) User-Friendly (Twisted Circuits: A Sinister Collection of Hi-Tech Tales edited by Mick Gowar 1987) *Vampire in Venice (13 Again edited by A. Finnis 1995) Whisper to Me (Spook: Stories of the Unusual edited by Bryan Newton 1985) The Whistling Boy (The Methuen Book of Strange Tales edited by Jean Russell 1980)
If anyone knows of any others, please let me know.
Mr. Happy
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Post by mrhappy on Mar 23, 2017 21:13:15 GMT
Dollars safely received this morning. Many thanks. I should get the copy in the post to you either today or tomorrow. Hope you enjoy it - Clive's story has been getting rave comments. Thank you for the update and I am certain that I will enjoy it. The postal service here in Kentucky can be a little erratic at times but it appears that it made its way through the system rather quickly. Mr. Happy The newsletter arrived today and I am looking forward to reading it. In trying to make a listing of all of Mr. Ward's short fiction this is what I have so far: Vengeful Ghosts (Sarob Press 1998) Includes: Old Martin Gunpowder Plot Caveat Emptor Branks's Folly The Spinney Doctor's Orders Mirror Image The Lake Seven Ghosts and One Other (Sarob Press 2010) Includes: The Doorway of St. Stephen's The Game of Bear The Short Cut Not Found Among You The Particular The Guardian Mariner's Rest Behind the Curtain Malevolent Visitants (Sarob Press 2016) Includes: At Dusk The Mound Merfield Hall The Return Squire Thorneycroft One Over the Twelve The House of Wonders The Gift Uncollected short fiction: End of the Line (All Hallows #19) 11334 (The Ghosts & Scholars Book of Shadows Vol. 2) A Wrong Turn (The Silent Companion #10) Twenty Years Afterwards (The Ghosts & Scholars Book of Shadows Vol. 3) Assizes (The Ghosts & Scholars M.R. James Newsletter Issue 31) Autumn Harvest (Ghosts & Scholars 36/37) Have I missed anything? If so, please let me know. Mr. Happy
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Post by mrhappy on Mar 14, 2017 15:34:37 GMT
That's good. I'll let you know when it arrives. Thanks. Dollars safely received this morning. Many thanks. I should get the copy in the post to you either today or tomorrow. Hope you enjoy it - Clive's story has been getting rave comments. Thank you for the update and I am certain that I will enjoy it. The postal service here in Kentucky can be a little erratic at times but it appears that it made its way through the system rather quickly. Mr. Happy
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