Sun 1 May 2016
WINDY CITY PULP CONVENTION 2016 REPORT, by Walker Martin.
Posted by Steve under Collecting , Conventions , Pulp Fiction[31] Comments
by Walker Martin
Here it is about a week later after the convention, and I’m still limping around with back and leg pains. How did I survive another voyage? I’ve been asked by friends and relatives why do I sign up each year for another 14 hour drive to Chicago? I guess you have to be a collector to understand. Flying would be more convenient but then I would be limited in what I could buy and carry back. The rental van is quite large and roomy enough for all of us, dealers and collectors alike.
My life has revolved around my book and pulp collection now for 60 years. I cannot imagine not attending Windy City and Pulpfest. One of these days I physically will not be able to make the trip, but hopefully that time is still off in the future somewhere. Attending these conventions is important not only because of the books and artwork available, but also because of the friendships that I value. These friendship lead to more books and art!
This trip I did find some books I needed but not a single pulp magazine. I’ve been to so many conventions that there is not much I need, just a few scattered issues. But I did talk to two friends about possible deals involving large numbers of pulps. If these plans work out I’ll be able to continue one of my favorite occupations, the comparing of two issues of the same pulp, same date.
However I did find eight pieces of original art from the pulps, paperbacks and digest SF magazines. The biggest find was a beautiful 1929 cover painting used for Western Story. The art is by George Wert and titled “Come Out With Your Hands Up.” It shows three hardboiled bank robbers caught in the act. These guys look tough as hell.
Arriving home I immediately took down a Rafael Desoto painting and hung the Western Story in the family room. Unfortunately my wife did not appreciate it as much as I did, and when I went upstairs to read a book, she actually had the nerve to move The Three Tough Guys to a less conspicuous spot. Since she replaced it with a Walter Baumhofer painting, I managed to control myself. At least she did not replace it with a Walmart decoration, which has been known to happen.
Actually when I first entered the dealer’s room I found an Earle Bergey painting within one minute. True it’s not from Startling or Thrilling Wonder, but it’s an early cover from a 1929 Popular Biography. Later on a found a weird drawing by one of my favorites, Lee Brown Coye. Then two drawings from Galaxy by Emsh.
Another big art find was my discovery of not one, but three cover paintings for Raymond Chandler paperbacks. You can’t go wrong with anything connected with Chandler, and they were not expensive. The artist is Richard Waldrep.
Speaking of art, Windy City is known for it emphasis on original art. There must of been a dozen dealers with art for sale, and as usual there was the large room devoted to an art exhibit. Mostly SF cover paintings, but also on display was the art of Jon Arfstrom. I met and talked to this fine artist at last year’s Pulpfest, but since then he unfortunately passed away. He was the last of the Weird Tales artists.
The dealers’ room was amazing. Over 100 tables with at least 465 attendees in a large room. On sale were books, pulps, digests, vintage paperbacks, slicks, reprints, new pulp fiction, DVDs, and many pieces of original art. The hospitality room had plenty of beer and snacks.
Ed Hulse put on his usual excellent film program, this time the theme was SF from the pulps. There also were three panels: paperback art collector Robert Wiener discussed The Art of Jeff Jones; artist David Saunders discussed The Art of Frank R. Paul; and I participated in a panel about Argosy‘s 120th Pulp Anniversary. Also on this panel were Ed Hulse, publisher of Blood n Thunder magazine, and Tom Roberts and Gene Christie from Black Dog Books. Somehow, in 45 minutes we managed to talk about a magazine that lasted over 2,000 issues and almost a hundred years. Several people told me they enjoyed the discussion, which is great because there is nothing I enjoy more than talking about the old back issues of the pulps!
Tom Roberts must be congratulated for once again editing Windy City Pulp Stories. In 182 pages there are several excellent articles including Bob Weinberg talking about his 1979 tribute to Astounding project. I remember Bob telling me about this back then, and part of it actually did see the light of day. Mike Ashley’s index to Astounding was published but the book of essays never came out. Now finally after all these years we get to see two interviews with A.E. Van Vogt and Poul Anderson plus some other material.
I also found two other articles to be of interest: The Story of the Argosy and The Making and Marketing of Munsey’s Magazine by Frank Munsey. This book is available from Black Dog Books.
The auction is always a highlight of the convention and was held on Friday and Saturday nights. For many years I have listened to John Gunnison as the auctioneer, and I have to say he is excellent and keeps things moving with a sense of humor. This year will be the last year of the items from the Jerry Weist Estate Auction, and there was a nice booklet listing the auction items. There were hundreds of lots ranging from SF digests to Weird Tales. There plenty of SF pulps, Argosy‘s, and men’s adventure magazines. I’ve never seen so many Nazis menacing damsels in distress… After WW II the returning vets loved these covers. I still can’t read the “articles,” however, but I’m trying!
Several books made their debut at the show including Ed Hulse’s second volume on the silent serials, Handsome Heroes and Vicious Vilains. If you love the old movies this book and Distressed Damsels and Masked Marauders are must buys. This new volume is 400 pages large size crammed with rare movie stills. and photos. You can get copies from amazon or Ed’s website, Murania Press.
Also new at this show were the latest books from the big pulp reprint firms: Altus Press and Black Dog Books. Matt Moring and Tom Roberts are doing excellent work and I wouldn’t say this if it wasn’t true.
Finally, I would like to thank Doug Ellis and Debbie and John Gunnison and Maureen for another great convention, the 16th! What’s next? We have to rent another van! Here comes Pulpfest in Columbus, Ohio July 21 through 24. Collectors and Readers, I’ll see you there!
Editorial Thanks: Both Walker and I would like to thank Sai Shanker for allowing the use of all of the photos above taken at the convention. A fine job, indeed!
May 2nd, 2016 at 4:18 am
Ahhhh…. Each one is a bit like Christmas was when you were a child!
May 2nd, 2016 at 7:00 am
Dan: Yes it is like Christmas. As a child I was always hoping for more books to read. I did not discover the fiction magazines until 1956 when I started buying the SF digests.
There was one pulp on the newsstands: SCIENCE FICTION QUARTERLY. I remember wondering about the different format and size. Little did I know that I would accumulate thousands of them!
Here it is 60 years later and I’m still at it.
May 2nd, 2016 at 11:07 am
Walker, once again a great report, and once again I’m sorry to have missed it. Next year for sure. Keep writing!
May 2nd, 2016 at 11:55 am
Michael, thanks for your encouragement. Feedback is always appreciated.
May 2nd, 2016 at 12:14 pm
Thanks for the great article Walker! It is indeed a great show.
May 2nd, 2016 at 12:36 pm
One of these days I’ve got to get to Windy City. Thanks for the excellent — as usual — roundup, Walker!
May 2nd, 2016 at 12:49 pm
Maureen, I love the Windy City Pulp convention and you and John are a big reason why it’s so successful, along with Doug and Deb.
May 2nd, 2016 at 12:54 pm
Bill, I know you like Pulpfest, so you would like Windy City also. Both shows are great and so much fun to attend. There are differences of course and the two conventions are not the same.
May 2nd, 2016 at 1:06 pm
Hi Walker,
A very nice anecdote about Windy City. Thanks for writing!
May 2nd, 2016 at 1:22 pm
Thanks Darci. It’s fun writing about such a great book and pulp convention.
May 2nd, 2016 at 2:18 pm
I wish I had been there, but I can afford only one pulpcon this year. I will see you at Pulpfest in July, Walker.
May 2nd, 2016 at 2:34 pm
Another great report, Walker. Lots of great information.
May 2nd, 2016 at 3:22 pm
Lohr: I’ll have my usual table at Pulpfest. See you there.
Richard: Thanks. It was a busy weekend, packed with things to do, books to buy and friends to talk to. There were alot of nice restaurants within walking distance also.
May 2nd, 2016 at 6:08 pm
That looks like it was a fun convention. Thanks for the report and those great photos!
May 2nd, 2016 at 8:25 pm
A great report Walker. I’m looking forward to seeing you in Columbus at PulpFest 2016.
May 2nd, 2016 at 10:22 pm
Jack, I hope to see you at Pulpfest. I know you would enjoy it!
May 2nd, 2016 at 10:59 pm
Mike, I’m already preparing for Pulpfest in July and I’ll have 3 tables which I’ll be sharing with Scott Hartshorn. Pulpfest is always the highlight of my summer and the one event I simply cannot miss.
May 3rd, 2016 at 9:56 am
Great report, Walker. I look forward to seeing you in July!
May 3rd, 2016 at 10:08 am
Walker,
A marvelous report! I’ve been attending for years, and this year I finally got a booth. Jason Waltz (publisher of Rogue Blades Entertainment) and I had two tables at the back, right across from the entrance. I was the guy selling copies of my magazine, BLACK GATE, plus a few hundred vintage paperbacks. Did you have a booth?
I took about 45 pictures of the show, and hope to have my show report (with pics) up at Black Gate this week. But I have my work cut out for m to top this one. 🙂
John O’Neill
May 3rd, 2016 at 10:23 am
Laurie, I heard someone bidding on the LOVE STORY lots (Jack?) and I figured that must be for Laurie.
See in July at Pulpfest.
May 3rd, 2016 at 10:36 am
John, I’m looking forward to the BLACK GATE report on Windy City. We need to keep documenting these conventions or they might disappear. I didn’t have a booth at Windy City but I’ll have tables at Pulpfest.
May 3rd, 2016 at 11:04 am
“Arriving home I immediately took down a Rafael Desoto painting and hung the Western Story in the family room. Unfortunately my wife did not appreciate it as much as I did…she actually had the nerve to move (it)to a less conspicuous spot” and “One of these days I physically will not be able to make the trip, but hopefully that time is still off in the future somewhere.”
You do know that your wife is hungrily looking forward to that fine day ?
I know mine now dreads that we got our first computer and I found eBay, HaHa.
ENJOY PULPS – David Lee Smith
May 3rd, 2016 at 12:09 pm
Geeze David you would think that after 45 years of being married to me that my wife would finally start to understand all about me.
But no, the non-collector will never be able to understand the collector. All we can do is soldier on and keep collecting. Someone has to do it…
May 6th, 2016 at 5:32 am
Excellent report as always Walker. Looking forward to seeing you in Columbus in July.
May 6th, 2016 at 7:12 am
Thanks Barry. Pulpfest in July looks to be a great book and pulp convention. I’m looking forward to it not only for the books but also to see some old friends that missed Windy City.
May 6th, 2016 at 10:15 am
Count me as among the latter, Walker. I couldn’t get to Chicago again this year, but if things work out OK, I’m planning to be there at PulpFest time.
May 6th, 2016 at 12:20 pm
I envy you the ability to buy a painting and then actually find a place to put it up on the wall. Living as I do in a one bedroom apartment, my walls are getting really full, with the bookshelves, and the artwork.
I should send you a couple of photos, so you can see what I mean. At least I live by myself, so don’t have to contend with the artistic tastes (or lack of same) from having married what we in the SF field call a “mundane” (weirdly, the same thing as a Harry Potter “muggle”).
May 6th, 2016 at 12:42 pm
Steve I’m glad you are attending Pulpfest. It’s a great place to get away from everything and relax in a gigantic room full of books. It’s Heaven for a pulp and book collector!
May 6th, 2016 at 12:45 pm
Andy, thanks for the photos of your paintings. The only way I managed to hang more paintings was because my son moved out of the house and I took over his room. I now have books, pulps, paperbacks and art in every room. It’s every book collector’s goal!
May 8th, 2016 at 3:10 pm
Walker, thanks for your usual fine report. I’m glad that original pulp art fascinates you, since you already have most of the pulps you want.
The people are always the highlight of any pulp show, but at this year’s Windy I also found a few dozen pulps and comics. Like you, I began collecting 60 years ago, as soon as I began reading comics at age 8. Two years later, I bought my first pulp at a second-hand book store and have also collected pulps along with comics ever since!
I found only one pulp on my primary want list of about 200 issues — but I did find in the room and at auction 40 attractive pulps at cheap prices, including a complete two-part Frank Merriwell serial in the two February 1930 issues of Top Notch (for only $20 total) — among this American icon final original appearances!
I urge anyone who has never attended PulpFest or The Windy to consider attending the upcoming PulpFest July 21-24 in Columbus. Just to show how much fun these two shows are, I drive more than 5,000 miles both of them every year from the Far Northwest!
May 8th, 2016 at 3:16 pm
Thanks Michelle. You have been doing this long drive to the pulp conventions for several years now. Pulp collecting is a great addiction and just about the only vice that is good for you…