Tue 10 Jul 2007
Last night I dreamed I went to Pulpcon again. In retrospect, getting on the hotel shuttle bus on early Sunday morning on the way back to the Dayton airport, it seemed as if the four preceding days had simply flown by, and it still does.
Attendance was down once again, but not significantly, I’m told, from last year. The convention began the day after July 4th, and that was suggested as having a good deal to do with it. Sales were down also, or so I heard, but perhaps that was due to prices generally being up, on the pulps at least. With eBay as a backup, no dealer wants to sell his wares too low.
And the selection was limited, mostly because the supply of pulp magazines not already in collectors’ hands is diminishing at an ever-increasing rate. But there were plenty of pulp reprints in the dealers’ room, for those who want only to read the odd-ball titles, and tons of paperbacks, hardcover books (mostly science fiction), and other reading material in the room. When I say tons, I am not exaggerating.
Martin Grams had his usual pair of tables filled with DVDs of vintage TV shows, of which I resisted and bought only three: an obscure series on ABC in 1960, Dante, starring Howard Duff. I ought to look, but I believe that means I have 24 of the 26 total episodes. It’s a crime show in which night club owner Willie Dante (Duff) is trying to go straight, but his past keeps interfering.
Coincidentally enough, as you’ll see in a minute, Martin has just published his latest book on Old Time Radio, this one a history of the Sam Spade series, starring (for the first part of the run) none other than Howard Duff. I bought a copy, and if you were to happen to ask me, I’d tell you that you should too.
Most of the time at the show itself, disregarding periodic intervals for eating and visiting area bookstores, is spent by most everyone by walking around the dealers’ room and stopping for long talks with people on either side of the tables, fellow collectors you see perhaps only once or twice a year. Lots of discussion going on about what author’s works are going to be reprinted next, what big finds were made, how’s the family, and what are you looking for now?
Randy Cox (editor of Dime Novel Roundup) made his first appearance in three years. Six of us, Randy, Jim Goodrich, Paul Herman, Walter and Jim Albert, and I, spent much time dining out and catching up with each other’s lives at great lengths. By the way, one piece of crushingly bad news was the demise of the Breakfast Club, a small café we’d discovered and frequented many mornings over the past five or six years.
Mike Nevins also appeared, as full of bountiful energy as ever and promising me a new column for this blog as soon as he can do it. I also talked at length with Walker Martin, John Locke, Al Tonik, Ed Hulse and many others, including Jim Felton, whose enthusiasm for Robert Martin continues unabated and without bounds. Ed Hulse, publisher of Blood ’n’ Thunder magazine, won this year’s Lamont Award for his outstanding contributions to the hobby of pulp collecting. It was a popular choice.
Guests of honor were David Saunders, son of famed pulp artist Norman Saunders, and Glenn Lord, a long time administrator of Robert E. Howard’s estate.
And believe it or not, I bought a pulp, the one whose cover you see here. I was sorely tempted many many times, with hundreds of others I thought about, thought again, but did not buy. Every time I almost pulled the trigger, I thought of all the boxes of unread pulps I have in my basement and garage, and asked myself (foolishly, I know), do I really want to buy more?
In all but one case the answer was no, but the one case is an example of one that I do not have boxes and boxes of, Black Mask for April 1930. You can’t tell from the cover, which mentions only Frederick Nebel and J. J. des Ormeaux, but this issue also contains two Raoul Whitfield stories, one as by Ramon Decola, and an installment of “The Glass Key,” by Dashiell Hammett.
The condition is fairly iffy, but the stories are good. Maybe I’ll pick up Part Three next year. One can only dream, can’t one?
July 10th, 2007 at 11:34 pm
Steve, I had the same dream about Pulpcon. In fact I’ve been having it now for 35 years. Often I wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat because of a recurring nightmare. I’ve been dreaming about pulps again. What wakes me up has nothing to do with the pulps I bought. My nightmares concern the boxes and sets of pulps that I decided to not buy. My feeling is that you can never have too many pulps or old paperbacks. So in answer to your question do I really want to buy more, yes buy more! I really don’t see any downside. The good pulps like Black Mask, Adventure, Short Stories, Blue Book, Dime Detective, etc, are full of good stories, the covers are great, they smell nice, and they keep their value for resale. I’m glad you got the April 1930 Black Mask, it looks great!
July 11th, 2007 at 8:46 pm
Walker
Yes, of course, you’re absolutely right. As the old saying goes, you only regret the books and magazines you don’t buy. Looking back at the first few Pulpcon’s I attended, that is most certainly true. Wouldn’t it be great to go back 10 or 20 years ago and scoop up all of those titles you just mentioned for no more than a few dollars each, many of them only one or two?
I can still see the stacks and boxes of them now.
The other regret is that many of the older collectors I knew back then are no longer with us. Richard Minter, Fred Cook, Lynn Hickman, Howard DeVore, Robert Sampson and many many others. I miss them all.
July 12th, 2007 at 9:28 am
Steve, I am so thankful for the stacks of pulps I accumulated over the years. I tend to binge on reading pulps and a good supply on hand is great.
Since I can no longer travel well, seeing the dealers tags on each reminds me of the dealers I enjoyed so much — Gunnison, Devaney, Hackathorn and more. Looking at the prices that I once groaned about, I now smile. Pulps continue to increase in value!
Buy them while you can and when you can to assure years of enjoyment is my advice.
July 12th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
You make me wish I had been there. But, too far away and not enough money. I spend money on pulps on Ebay, instead. Glad to hear you enjoyed the convention.