A few days ago, reporting on the existence of two states of the dustjacket on my book — as ghost-editor — Feast of Fear I wrote:
And I cannot say with certainty that some of the numbered copies may not have gone out into the world in the first state wrapper.
But now I can annouce that some of the run in fact did go out covered in the first state wrapper, because Paul Dobish just nabbed one. I offered to hold back doing the post until Dobish had secured an example, if an example could be secured. He said, “Thanks for the offer of ‘secrecy’ but I wouldn’t feel right about that. Feel free to post and give everyone a ‘fair’ chance at finding one. Although I would rather find one first, of course.”
Dobish, who ran Other Worlds Bookstore in Providence for many years, collects variants, ephemera and any incidental flourishes associated with the early fantasy & science fiction presses — and no doubt more recent such imprints. He was a major booster and source of info the long years John D. Haefele and I labored toward compiling Arkham House Ephemera: The Classic Years.
With Eph Book in hand, he says “No new Herron-Haefele #ed Arkham House/Mycroft & Moran/Stanton & Lee ephemera added recently.” I wonder, would it be of interest to other Arkham ephemera collectors to know which Item numbers neither Dobish, Haefele nor I have yet found — after decades of searching?
Are those Items the rarest of the rare? Or have we three been really, really unlucky?
Dobish also gave me an update on his continuing quest for Arkham House Review Slips:
On the subject of Arkham House review slips, I now know which was the earliest title to have one: The Outsider and Others. Alas, that one is missing from my collection, but I did see an example briefly offered on-line.
I have been able to add only a few slips to my collection beyond what I had at the time we posted about them.
And increased by several more titles the ones reported to exist that I don’t have.
Not all is stasis or disappointment in his library, however. “I did just obtain,” Dobish tells me, “the promotional postcard for the Hadley edition of John W. Campbell’s The Mighiest Machine. The first such that I have seen for sale. I have not seen any similar promotional item for any of the other Hadley titles.”
Hadley Publishing Company — like Donald M. Grant a.k.a. Grandon — operated out of Dobish’s Providence. Or should that be H. P. Lovecraft’s Providence?
Hadley did a run of Skylark of Space, following an earlier Buffalo Book Company edition. Dobish has “a promotional piece” for the Buffalo edition — which he notes “exists in at least four differently colored bindings.”
Want proof? Check out this image straight from the Dobish collection:
