Some really nice Astounding came my way, just love reading these awesome issues from March, July Aug , Nov, Dec, 1940 and Jan. 1941. Some excellent stories from Heinlein's If this Goes On, to Slan by A E van Vogt ( with a drawing by Schneeman). I have only gotten though the March 1940 issue with the conclusion to the Heinlein story which was excellent. It also has what I thought was the best story in the mag Chapter from the Beginning by Alexander M Phillips a story of early man and a later evolution of same, hunting him. Excellent tale of possible historical cross-over of the species, very cool.
Seems that according to Fictionmags excellent site that he did work for Top Notch in 1936, some Shortstories in the 40's, probably more Astounding than is listed. The Wiki mentions work for Amazing, Wonder and Unknown. It also mentions his being a president of the Phily SF society. I thought the tale was very good, but, me, I just am a sucker for this kind of yarn.
Some really nice art here from The Stars look Down drawn W A Koll, whom I don't know much. Nice work though
And one of my favorite guys illustrating pulps Edd Cartier. Pulpartists says he went to Pratt and studied under Harold Scott ( who influenced a lot of pulp artists and was a very prolific one himself) and William James ( who was an art director at Street and Smith) gave him his start at S and S. He went on to do over 800 illo's for The Shadow mag.
Another Cartier, he did say that he likes to put humor in his work and he does come across and does a nice light job of it.
Some more nice illos's...
Possibly some of the most excellent reading you can get in a pulp magazine, plus some of the better pulp drawings in one mag. You really got you 20 cents worth of entertainment back in the day! You can't exactly end without mentioning John Campbell the editor who made it all happen, and had a real lively letters section too! Wonderful stuff!
I have the original Slan drawing done by Schneeman hanging im my bathroom with 5 other framed drawings from ASTOUNDING. I won them at auction at the Toronto World SF contention back in the 1970's. $30 each.
ReplyDeleteMan, Walker, ya gotta love the old days, I Know a buck was a buck then, but 30 bills is great! I bought a lot art back in the day for a song and sold it when I should have kept it! And, framed too! Nice hanging in you bathroom, hey, we had our kid's art and pottery stuff in there.
ReplyDeleteAstounding was a great SF magazine, and van Vogt one of my favorite authors. Of the SF pulps, Astounding was king, but by the 1950s Galaxy F&SF, and other digest magazines were becoming more popular with me.
ReplyDeleteYeah, SF was in a golden age in the digests you mention, all my favorite writers, Phil k Dick etc. Am having a blast reading what I think was the best of Astounding the 40's, classic pulp SF. Hate to think what my basement would be like IF I got into buying digests too...
ReplyDelete