Sun 9 Aug 2015
COLLECTING PULPS: A Memoir, Part 17, by Walker Martin: WHY ATTEND PULPFEST?
Posted by Steve under Collecting , Columns , Conventions , Pulp Fiction[20] Comments
Why Attend PulpFest?
by Walker Martin
The last couple days I’ve been thinking about PulpFest which will be held August 13 through 16, 2015, in Columbus Ohio. That’s this Thursday coming up! I’ve been deluged by logical and sane looking collectors and non-collectors all asking me the same question. Why bother attending PulpFest? They have shown up at my house; they have called me on the telephone; they have sent me emails.
Enough is enough! Here’s a list of excuses for not attending that I hear all the time, and why none of them are good ones:
1–I have no money! Sorry but I’ve attended many a Pulpcon in the 1970’s, 1980’s, and 1990’s and I went with very little money. Are there no credit cards? Are there no credit unions? Are there no non-collecting spouses to borrow money from?
Even when I had the money, I often blew it before the convention by visiting local bookstores like Bonnett’s and Dragon’s Lair in Dayton, Ohio. If not in the bookstores, then in the hotel rooms of friends who let me see what they were bringing to sell. I learned to go without much cash but I brought a few boxes of pulps to trade and sell at my table.
2–I’m in poor health and too sick to attend. Sorry again! I had a friend who had a terminal illness and came to Pulpcon anyway. Another friend actually collapsed at the convention and died soon after. I myself once threw my back out three days before the show and my doctor and chiropractor both told me to forget making the long drive to the convention.
I felt like I was crippled for life but I managed to squeeze into the car and drive out even though I had to stop numerous times near hotels because I thought I was not going to make it. I could then rent a room and lay there for a couple weeks until I could stand. It took me 16 hours instead of the usual 9 hours but I made it. I spent the entire convention standing because sitting down caused back spasms.
3–I have no space or I live in a small apartment. Collectors always make space for the things they love! When I first crossed the threshold of Bob Lesser’s home in the 1970’s, I found myself immersed in a world where his collection and architectural home styles met. His NYC apartment, although compact, was ingeniously organized—a testament to maximizing small spaces in a city known for its diverse dwelling designs. A path led from the front door to the bed and another to the bathroom, with every other inch occupied by toys, robots, and paintings, all coexisting with the character of his unique urban habitat.
I once ran out of space and I hunted for over a year until I found a bigger house. I went to dozens of open houses and looked at hundreds of houses. I finally found a big house. Unfortunately I soon filled it up with books and now I need a bigger place! The old story…
4–My wife is a non-collector and forbids me to go. Tell me about it! I’ve been married over 40 years and I’ve heard it all. I still go and I still collect. Once Les Mayer told me in 1990 at Wayne, NJ that his wife thought he was a business meeting. If she knew he was at a Pulpcon she might burn his pulps.
Collectors have to become masters of deception and great liars to defeat the non-collector. Many a time I’ve lied and many a time I’ve smuggled books into the house in the dead of night while “she who must be obeyed” slept the innocent sleep of the non-collector. Non-collectors exist to be ignored…
5–I can’t get off from work. Sorry but not a valid reason. My employers always knew I was a rabid book collector who always without exception took off a week during Pulpcon in the summer. I made sure that my vacation request was in as early as I knew the convention dates.
Once they sorrowfully told me I couldn’t go because of some work bullshit. I went anyway and left it to them to ignore my absence without leave or put up with one pissed off book collector. I realize the employment situation is different nowadays but which is more important, your job or your collection, your marriage or your collection? Right, your collection.
6–Who cares about the convention. I can buy my pulps off ebay, etc. Once in the 1920’s and 1930’s the dime novel collectors existed. But they didn’t have a convention and died off. Now I know of only a few in existence and dime novels are just about worthless. If I had a table full of dime novels priced at a buck apiece, most collectors would scurry by in disgust.
We have to support the two big pulp conventions: Windy City in Chicago and PulpFest in Columbus. If we don’t, then one day we will wake up and the pulps might be dead. These shows garner a lot of attention and people keep talking about the pulps because of the efforts of Mike Chomko, Jack Cullers, Barry Traylor, Doug Ellis, John Gunnison, and others.
7–And finally the best reason for attending! They are a hell of a lot of fun. Not only do you get to roam around a gigantic dealer’s room full of books and pulps but you get to meet and talk to some of the greatest collectors and dealers.
These will lead to future deals and contacts. Plus you can eat and drink with these guys! Though I seem to be one of last of the drinkers. And the panels! All day and all night we will be discussing pulps and books. What’s cooler than that?
8–Walker, it’s too late! Like hell. There are hotels with rooms available nearby. What’s the most important thing in a serious collector’s life? His collection without a doubt.
We work, we slave, we march on to the bitter end where we will eat dirt in the boneyard. We live lives of quiet desperation and worry about the afterlife. Go to PulpFest and collect some books and pulps! You only live once…
August 9th, 2015 at 1:24 pm
Hooray!! Steve & I will see you in a few days. Have a safe trip out there.
August 9th, 2015 at 1:51 pm
Paul and Steve, I’m looking forward to seeing you. Steve has missed two or three in a row and needs a pulp fix to help his addiction.
August 9th, 2015 at 2:13 pm
Walker, thanks for your continued support.
Like Walker says, there are still hotel rooms available. In fact, if you write to jack@pulpfest.com, you’ll be able to land a room at the convention’s host hotel, the Hyatt Regency. A few rooms have become available in the last few days, due to last minute cancellations.
You can also get rooms at close by hotels by visiting https://www.pulpfest.com/2015/06/16872/ where I have a link that will get you to a list of hotels with available rooms.
I hope to see all of you over the coming weekend at “Summer’s Great Pulp Con.” Remember, “Ctuhlhu is getting impatient for your arrival.”
August 9th, 2015 at 2:28 pm
I have my bags packed, and I’m ready to go.
August 9th, 2015 at 2:39 pm
I’ll be there, but more importantly the new issue of BLOOD ‘N’ THUNDER and assorted other goodies from Murania Press will be there.
As official chauffeur for Walker Martin, I can tell you that every year he gets more excited about making the trip and demands an earlier departure time. At this rate, by 2017 we’ll be leaving at midnight on Wednesday night before the convention instead of Thursday morning. That’s how eager he is to get to a pulp show.
August 9th, 2015 at 3:44 pm
This is a must attend event. Books, pulps, vintage paperbacks, panels on WEIRD TALES, movies, and Cthulhu, who is expected to attend and wreak havoc.
August 9th, 2015 at 5:58 pm
I have to admit that Ed Hulse is right about my enthusiasm for the pulp conventions. I still remember as though it was yesterday the first Pulpcon in 1972. My wife and I arrived after a two day drive to St Louis to find the organizer, Ed Kessel, practically having a nervous breakdown at the hotel registration desk. He had no advance registration to speak of and thought that no one was coming. Despite attendance of less than a hundred, it was a big success. True Kessel lost money but the collectors found thousands of pulps and beautiful Baumhofer cover paintings.
August 9th, 2015 at 6:13 pm
I thought you were there, Walker. I was too. I drove down from Minnesota with my best friend, Ed Lauterbach, and left with just enough money to drive home again! Those were the days!
August 9th, 2015 at 6:15 pm
Correction, Ed Lauterbach got there ahead of me and was waiting in our room when I arrived.
August 9th, 2015 at 6:16 pm
God, I wish, but right now I don’t even have a car and there is no bus to catch — and yes, I am in the third world USA style, but damn I wish I could get there even if it is a hell of a walk from the backwaters of Hell (aka Oklahoma).
August 9th, 2015 at 6:17 pm
I’m looking forward to seeing you there, Walker!
August 9th, 2015 at 6:25 pm
Randy, actually spent all my money at the first Pulpcon and had to borrow money from my wife to buy a couple Baumhofer paintings and get home. I’m still paying her off!
August 9th, 2015 at 6:28 pm
David, I wish you could attend the convention. I know you would enjoy meeting Steve and me. We would have a lot to talk about.
Scott: It’s always a pleasure to see you and your brother at the show. We’ve had some good meals together over the years.
August 9th, 2015 at 10:26 pm
Walker, I’m glad to learn that I wasn’t the only one to spend all my money at the first Pulpcon. For some reason I remember going home with 35 cents. When I got home I got in touch with someone from Chicago who had had a table full of Street & Smith’s Detective Story Magazine and bought everything remaining.
August 10th, 2015 at 5:10 am
PulpFest and before it Pulpcon has always been my escape from my mundane life for a few days. I enjoy seeing and talking with friends I’ve made over the years at the conventions. Just think of this, I can ignore the news on tv for a few days!
August 10th, 2015 at 6:35 am
Barry is right, it’s a great excuse for a vacation. I’ve always scheduled my vacations to take advantage of the conventions. For a reader or collector of books, it’s a great way to relax because what’s better than a room full of books and pulps?
August 11th, 2015 at 3:32 am
Will they let just anyone in?
August 11th, 2015 at 7:02 am
Dan, if they let the great god Cthulhu in I guess they will let anyone in. But Pulpfest is a lot different from the old Pulpcon which had many rules about what dealers could sell and display. The recent years under the new committee has improved attendance quite a bit. There are walk ins and local citizens attending. There is also some type of gamer convention scheduled at the hotel and I believe they can get a discount on a Pulpfest membership.
Details are at pulpfest.com
August 11th, 2015 at 1:31 pm
Walker,
If you had a table full of Dime Novels selling for $1 I would not walk by.I would leap at you,grab every item on the table and stuff your pockets with $1 bills.
August 11th, 2015 at 3:28 pm
Digges is one of the very few dime novel collectors still around. We both have seen the subscription list of THE DIME NOVEL ROUND UP shrink as many old time collectors bit the dust. When we both joined the Dime Novel Happy Brotherhood in the early 1970’s, we were high in the subscription numbers, over 300 as I remember. Now Digges is very low at number 9 and I’m number 13. I think Randy Cox is still ahead of us and I hope his name and ours continue for many years.