The Condrite Out of Space

Previously, we posted on the blog about this fireball. The video links are still working if you want to see or download them: http://chrisperridas.blogspot.com/2008/11/fireball-from-beyond.html

Now an update.



... the hills rise wild ... with deep woods ... dark narrow glens ... farms, ancient and rocky ... It all began, old Ammi said, with the meteorite. Before that time there had been no wild legends at all ... till the strange days. Then there had come ... explosions in the air, and ... by night all ... had heard of the great rock that fell out of the sky and bedded itself in the ground ... {from The Colour Out of Space, HP Lovecraft}


Grad student wins space race: Fragments of fireball that exploded over Prairies found on frozen pond (excerpt from Keith Gerein, The Edmonton Journal; Published: Saturday, November 29, 2008 )

LONE ROCK, SASK. -

...Small, blackish lumps on a frozen pond are the kind of sight easily dismissed while driving along rural roads in Saskatchewan.
Yet the University of Calgary master's student was immediately intrigued, knowing these lumps were in the area where a meteor was thought to have exploded last week. Stopping the car, she and her travel partner -- U of C meteorite expert Alan Hildebrand-- gingerly stepped on the ice for a closer look.

The first lump they investigated turned out to be a leaf. The second was a stone, but of inconclusive origin. But there was no doubt about the third. Hildebrand recognized it instantly as a cosmic treasure -- a 250-gram piece of frozen space rock.

"He looked at me and said, 'Yes, this is definitely a meteorite,' " said Milley, who found the fragment about 3:50 p.m. Thursday in a picturesque valley known as Buzzard Coulee.



... The sloping property a few kilometres from the Alberta border is part of a cattle ranch owned by Ian Mitchell. ... The fragments, which can be worth thousands of dollars, belong to the owner of the land on which they fall. ... Space rocks are typically named after where they are found.

The fireball caused a stir in Alberta and eastern Saskatchewan on Nov. 20. ildebrand estimated the rock weighed 10 tonnes as it descended to Earth, breaking up in a series of spectacular explosions before hitting the ground. The fireball first appeared about 80 kilometres above and just east of Lloydminster, then moved south.
Based on this information, Hildebrand identified an area of about 20 square kilometres near Battle River for a probable impact site. It was in this search area that Milley spotted the first pieces.

A preliminary analysis shows the meteorite to be a fairly common type of space rock, Hildebrand said. It is believed to have originated as part of a larger asteroid that was formed some 4.5 billion years ago.

"We call it an ordinary condrite," he said. "These are mostly stone, with what I would guess is about 20-per-cent iron metal." Further analysis must be done to learn more about it age, composition and place of origin. Hildebrand said he hopes to get more researchers looking for space rocks. The race is on to find as many as possible before the snow falls, he said.

© The Edmonton Journal 2008

30 November 1936

As previously mentioned, Lovecraft wrote a long letter to Mr. Barlow on this date. He was still electrified over seeing Roosevelt. "John L. Lewis might not make a bad candidate in 1940..." he thought. He'd just read "It Can't Happen Here": Sinclair Lewis's 1936 novel about a Fascist takeover of the US. "vivid & interesting ... political caricature ... extreme developments perhaps beyond anything ... in Nazi Germany..." and waxed about Virgil Finlay "...quite a guy If there was ever any real chance for an illustrated book of mine I'd let him do the designs...". He;d heard from REH's father. He was trying to tarck down lost sheets from his misbegotten "Shunned House." He discussed his two fave subjects - cats and astronomy.

In the greater world, here's an issue of Life Magazine he might have glanced over at the newsstand.


BUENOS AIRES ARGENTINE (PAGE 50-57)
STUDEBAKER CAR AD (PAGE 1) ONLY $665 ~
BRAIN OPERATION (PAGES 2-3)
PICTURE LIFE OF STALIN (PAGES 24-25)
REMBRANDT PAINTINGS (PAGES 29-32)
MAPPING THE YUKON (PAGES 33-35)
PAINTINGS OF ADOLPH HITLER (PAGES 42-44)
WEST POINT (PAGES 45-49)

Samuel Loveman's Hermaphrodite On Auction

Description by seller:
"THE HERMAPHRODITE" - By Samuel Loveman
H. P. LOVECRAFT's Personal Copy
Inscribed from Publisher - W. Paul Cook to Howard P. Lovecraft
Books from Howard Phillips Lovecraft's library are heavily prized by collectors and because this title was printed and published by his close friend W. Paul Cook it becomes even more desireable. Willis Paul Cook also printed Lovecraft's stillborn book 1st book -"The Shunned House" - that was not published during either of their lifetimes.

The Hermaphrodite" was written by another of Lovecraft's friends, Samuel Loveman (Loveman lived with HPL in New York). Loveman was a fine poet who and also a friend of Clark Ashton Smith, introducing HPL to Smith's poetry in 1922.

With the multiple associations and the personal inscription from W. Paul Cook to Lovecraft, this makes for an especially desireable volume from Lovecraft's own library!

Providence 28 November 1928

It's highly unlikely that HPL attended this play, but it shows the cultural milieu.

"The Rabbit's Foot (A Musical Extravaganza)" // Lyrics by Grace Sherwood, music by Ruth Tripp

Performed at the Providence Plantations Club, November 28 and 29, 1932

Eighteen songs in the show. The show's plot involved pirates, bootleggers, and Russian dancers. The theme song, "Rabbit's Foot Blues," was written for a female character named Honey Dew Melon Jones, a racial caricature in the minstrel tradition.

Gertrude Pridgett was born into a showbiz family that performed in minstrel shows. She first appeared onstage in 1900, singing and dancing in minstrel and vaudeville stage revues. In 1902 she married the song and dance man William "Pa" Rainey and from then on became known as Ma Rainey. The couple formed a song and dance act that included Blues and popular songs. They toured the country, but primarily the South and became a popular attraction as part of Tolliver's Circus, The Musical Extravaganza and The Rabbit Foot Minstrels

Nikola Tesla on Time Travel

In this excerpt (citation)

... Tesla's first brush with time travel came in March 1895. A reporter for the New York Herald wrote on March 13 that he came across the inventor in a small café, looking shaken after being hit by 3.5 million volts, "I am afraid," said Tesla, "that you won't find me a pleasant companion tonight. The fact is I was almost killed today. The spark jumped three feet through the air and struck me here on the right shoulder. If my assistant had not turned off the current instantly in might have been the end of me."
Tesla, on contact with the resonating electromagnetic charge, found himself outside his time-frame reference. He reported that he could see the immediate past - present and future, all at once. But he was paralyzed within the electromagnetic field, unable to help himself. His assistant, by turning off the current, released Tesla before any permanent damage was done.

These little blurbs would have followed Tesla and perhaps 15 years or so later be encountered by Lovecraft to incorporate into his fiction.

Happy Thanksgiving!

10 year old Lovecraft was getting used to living in a new century. He, his Mom, and Grandfather may have seen this issue at the newsstand in Providence. Life, November 29, 1900, Thanksgiving Issue.

(Provenance of this copy according to the seller: This issue is unread and uncirculated. Purchased from the accountants for the old Life magazine years ago. Well illustrated. Inside: Gen. Weyler and Cuba, Puritans and Thanksgiving, Turkeys Things we are thankful for, Charles Dana Gibson, Turkey and the little African American boy, McKinley. Lots of other items and some advertising.)

Lovecraft 1936 (Autographed) Document

Description:

"To the Members of..." - Signed "Report of the Executive Judges " Signed by H. P. Lovecraft, Vincent B. Haggerty, and Jennie R. Plaiser

Published in "The National Amateur", June, 1936

It's not often you get the opportunity to add an original "H. P. Lovecraft" signature to your collection as he most often signed himself "HPL" or "E'ch-Pi-El", and signed amateur documents are especially rare! This six-page document dated April 25, 1936 was published in the June, 1936 issue of "The National Amateur" and signed not only by HPL but by the noted amateurs Jennie R. Plaiser, Vincent B. Haggerty.

Despite the professional rise in sales and the fame of Howard Phillips Lovecraft, he could never fully sever his ties to amateur journalism and less than a year later Lovecraft would be dead from cancer.

Included along with the six-page signed typed documentation is a copy of "The National Amateur" in which it was published.

A fascinating grouping of Lovecraftiana!

Not Everyone Loved Lovecraft

The Seller's Description:

"THE BEAR CAT" - December, 1919

William Dowdell, editor

William Dowdell was one of the more colorful characters in Amateur Journalism and his own amateur journal - "The Bear Cat" reflects that; it was well produced and controversial. H. P. Lovecraft and William Dowdell never seemed to see eye-to-eye on much of anything so HPL has no direct contributions in this issue but he is humorously caricatured with the quote "Amateur journalism is o.k. Nothing is wrong, I'm in it". Dowdell also comments "For several years this paper and others ...have opposed Lovecraft rule in the "United". Dowdell goes on with another half-page of commentary attacking Lovecraft and calling him guilty of "Boss rule in the United".

Excellent condition never folded for mailing!

Fireball From Beyond

In honor of HPL's love of astronomical phenomena, here's the latest exciting blast from space.

It came from outer space: Fireball streaks across Canadian Prairie, crashes

The Canadian Prairie is still buzzing about a giant fireball that roared across the sky last night and slammed into the earth with a bright flash. Witnesses described the fireball as red, green, white or blue. "It's a massive fireball; it's one of the brightest that we've seen in the area. And it almost certainly dropped meteorites," said Dr. Christopher Herd, a University of Alber

Serendipity and HPL's Beast in the Cave

As I've stated a few times on the blog, I believe that Lovecraft wrote Beast in the Cave as an homage to Alphaeus Spring Packard, Jr. of Brown University (d. 1905), a famous biologist whose life study was centered around his discoveries in Mammoth Cave of Kentucky.

In any event, the story is of a person who gets lost on a cave tour (a near impossibility in 1904, as Mammoth Cave was one of the regions largest tourism site and well staffed with many safeguards).

*** Spoiler Warning***


The lost wanderer discovers a retro-human which played in much of Lovecraft's fiction in the years to come. It also played with Neo-Lamarkian themes, especially Lovecraft's belief in de-evolution (or devolution.) If standards were not maintained and upheld (whatever the definition of those standards) then civilization would fall apart. Thus his paranoia and xenophobia of the infiltration of adverse elements into society, and particularly Providence.

He warily eyed foreign migrations, opposed change, upheld the antiquarian standard of the American and British mid-1700's, and often chimed to the defence of the noble, but felled, South.

In any event, at the writing of this blog entry, I just finished listening to Sunday's Coast to Coast AM that talked about Big-Foot in Kentucky. Philip Spencer is an interesting Kentucky character. He lives in Anderson County, Central Kentucky, a bit between my hometown of Louisville, and Lexington. His haunts are "the Frazier Land" where many paranormal events are said to have taken place. Listening to the descriptions, I'd say they were more Fortean than paranormal.

However, it is cave country and I'm sure Mammoth Cave tendrils snake underground into Anderson County. Spencer claims that the center of many of the strange events occur near Panther Rock (down Harry Wise Road - no I haven't been there.) It's historical and legendary claim to fame was that In 1773, one Elijah Scearce, a hunter and trapper out of Fort Harrod, was saved from death, when the pursuing Indian Chief Arrowhead was killed by a panther (probably a Kentucky Wildcat). Scearce found the dead man, and buried him near a large rock - hence Panther Rock.

I'm sure that whatever research materian Lovecraft used to concocy his story was filled with stuff like this. Panthers (species lynx) were very prevalent in the mid-18th century, but were quickly eradicated. Still, many legends and hair-raising adventures were written and told about these felines.

Lovecraft wrote: I was now convinced that I had by my own cries aroused and attracted some wild beast, perhaps a mountain lion which had accidentally strayed within the cave.

Yet more to the point, during the latter hours of that Coast to Coast AM broadcast the interviewee was another Bigfoot Hunter, David Paulides. As the call-in portion of the show ensued, a caller asked if Bigfoot could be a "feral" tribe of humans. As dogs or cats become feral after several generations, couldn't the same happen to humans?

Paulides debunked that idea.

This, however, is precisely the eclectic Neo-Lamarkian idea of Lovecraft. If a fish, cave cricket, or shrimp could lose pigment, lose it's eyesight, after many generations, couldn't a human being? Adaptive attributes thrust upon an individual tribe would mutate that set of organisms (against the natural selection traits of Darwin).

So, Lovecraft's early ideas are still alive in the public's imagination!

George Sterling

Seller's Description: "To The Hun" - Signed manuscript by George Sterling

George Sterling is remembered today primarily because he was one of the earliest to discover the young poet Clark Ashton Smith, and fostered his talent. Sterling though was one of the last and greatest poets of the Romantic tradition, and his "Wine of Wizardry" influenced Smith's more masterful creation "The Hashish-Eater".

Howard Phillips Lovecraft was also a George Sterling enthusiast.

This manuscript offered is signed in Sterling's beautiful flowing fountain pen.
Manuscripts of George Sterling do not often come on the market.

A Chrispy Doodle ...

Nikola Tesla in Providence

I did find a brief excerpt:

Blower designed by Tesla, manufactured by the American and British Manufacturing Company, and sold to the Corliss Steam Engine Works foundry in Providence, R.I., placed into service November 1909. "The blower is driven by a 75 HP #8-B 'HF' frame motor, three-phase, 220 volts, 60 cycle, 2-pole, with starter." (From Westinghouse letter dated June 28, 1909.) The machine operated at approximately 3,400 RPM. citation.

Lovecraft would not have missed, and been keenly interested (and perhaps scoffed?) at this newsarticle. I don't have a copy of the text, however. How to Signal to Mars : Wireless the only way now, says Nicola Tesla - Mirror plan not practicable - Nikola Tesla NYT News Clipping Editorial written by Nikola Tesla to the New York Times in May 1909.

Tesla believed that Mars was inhabited and his 1899 experiments convinced him that he'd heard some kind of voices on his wireless.

Nikola Tesla (Nyarlathotep)

Many feel that the archtype of Nyarlathotep was Tesla. The fact that Lovecraft refers to him as a bit of a showman, and he either saw Tesla in person, or heard or read a firsthand report.

On Coast to Coast AM (21 Nov 2008) Ian Punnett interviewed a modern expert on Tesla. He's said to have worked with the Army Air Force to invent a death ray and other things:

During the middle two hours, Emmy-Award winning television producer and author Tim Swartz discussed the life, work, and 'lost journals' of inventor Nikola Tesla. Swartz said he first learned about Tesla while on assignment at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. A press liaison there told him the Air Force had been involved in research and development on various things from "that mad scientist, Tesla." Through FOIA docs Swartz discovered the U.S. government had been using notes confiscated from Tesla to build what the inventor referred to as a 'teleforce weapon' or death ray. Swartz spoke about Tesla's experiment in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he reportedly received non-terrestrial radio transmissions. He theorized that Tesla may have been picking up EVPs (Electronic Voice Phenomena), some of which spoke verbally about global warming, Swartz noted. Swartz also touched on HAARP, which he said was based on Tesla's research into the wireless transmission of energy, as well as Tesla's concept of rotating electromagnetic fields, which he suggested may have resulted in the infamous Philadelphia Experiment and could one day lead to invisibility.

I'm constantly amazed at how "plugged-in" Lovecraft was just by reading the newspapers and corresponding with his eclectic friends. It's really unlikely that Lovecraft had any influence on this report, so that we have two independent trajectories of Tesla's eccentricity.

...that he had heard messages from places not on this planet. Into the lands of civilisation came Nyarlathotep, swarthy, slender, and sinister, always buying strange instruments of glass and metal and combining them into instruments yet stranger. He spoke much of the sciences of electricity and psychology and gave exhibitions of power which sent his spectators away speechless, yet which swelled his fame to exceeding magnitude.

... I remember when Nyarlathotep came to my city the great, the old, the terrible city of unnumbered crimes. My friend had told me of him, and of the impelling fascination and allurement of his revelations, and I burned with eagerness to explore his uttermost mysteries. My friend said they were horrible and impressive beyond my most fevered imaginings; and what was thrown on a screen in the darkened room prophesied things none but Nyarlathotep dared prophesy, and in the sputter of his sparks there was taken from men that which had never been taken before yet which showed only in the eyes. And I heard it hinted abroad that those who knew Nyarlathotep looked on sights which others saw not.

Fantasy Magazine 1936 September

Description: This is the special 4th Anniversary issue from September 1936 of the classic fanzine published by Julius Schwartz. Contains the round-robin story THE GREAT ILLUSION by Eando Binder, Jack Williamson, Edmond Hamilton, Raymond Z. Gallun & John Russell Fearn. Also contains the story GRAPH by Stanley Weinbaum, a humorous piece by Robert Bloch & IN MEMORIAM ROBERT E. HOWARD by H. P. Lovecraft. The pages are somewhat brown from age due to the paper quality, but are not brittle. The covers have some dust-soiling

1934 March Fantasy Fan

Description and condition: This is Volume 3 #1 from March 1934 of the classic fanzine published by Julius Schwartz. Contains material by Schwartz, Forrest J Ackerman, Ray Palmer & others. The front cover is somewhat worn around the edges & along the spine, the rear cover is detached & chipped around the edges.

1934 Fantasy Fan #16

This is issue #16 from December 1934 of the classic fanzine published by Charles D. Hornig. It contains one of Robert Bloch’s earliest pieces, THE LAUGHTER OF A GHOUL, as well as material by H. P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith & Duane Rimel.

Fantasy Fan February 1935 (#18)

The seller states: the last issue (#18) from February 1935 of the classic fanzine published by Charles D. Hornig. It is a special short story number, containing fiction by August Derleth, R. H. Barlow & 2 others. The pages are somewhat brown from age due to the paper quality, but are not brittle. The covers have a slight separation along the top of the spine about an inch long.

1945 Lovecraft Story

This is an odd one. Said to have been issued by Bill Crawford in Los Angeles in 1945 under his FPCI imprint. VG condition with light cover wear from handling. Features the title story by Howard, as well as H.P. Lovecraft`s "Celephais". and fiction by David H. Keller, Lloyd Eshbach and others. Undoubtedly, this had to have Mr. Derleth's blessings. Very odd interior article shown !

Loveman Signed Manuscript

Description:"UNDERSTANDING" ORIGINAL TYPED MANUSCRIPT SIGNED BY SAMUEL LOVEMAN & INSCRIBED "FOR CLARK" ASHTON SMITHSamuel Loveman was a noted poet and friend to Ambrose Bierce, H. P. Lovecraft, and Clark Ashton Smith. It was Loveman who first introduced Howard Phillips Lovecraft to fellow poet Clark Ashton Smith in 1922. This typed manuscript I offer is in Sonnet format and entitled "Understanding", published in his book "The Hermaphrodite". Loveman dedicated the poem to Clark Ashton Smith as evidenced by the manuscript, although when published the dedicatee was not noted.

Lovecraft Play (1970)

DATE: 1970

ITEM: Lovecraft's Follies Souvenir Program

COMPANY: Trinity Square Repertory Co. Providence, RI

SIZE: 6 by 9 inches

COMMENTS: A program for the World Premiere of James Schevill's Lovecraft's Follies. The program cover has a facsimile of a "Weird Tales" cover. H.P. Lovecraft was played by James Eichelberger. Contents include The Cast; Who's Who in the Company; Artistic Staff; About the Play.

More Lovecraft Graphic Novelizations

H P Lovecraft's Haunt of Horror by Richard Corben is stated to include explicit content and takes HPL's stories and poems and brings them to visualization.

Here's more about Corben: Richard Corben grew up in Kansas City, where he studied at the Kansas City Art Institute, graduating in 1965. His first work was published 1968 in the Fanzine Voice of Comicdom. Two years later Corben published his own underground comic book entitled 'Fantagor', which consisted of four science-fiction tales that he had conceived and drawn himself. They contained elements of horror, violence and sexuality.

Here is a review that includes excerpts.

http://www.comicsbulletin.com/reviews/121249243081403.htm

Lovecraft Meets Kolchak (2008)

In the back of - all places - Scary Monsters Magazine #68 - I came across this note of interest.

Kolchak The Night Staler and The Lovecraftian Horror.

When I was in High School, I was mesmerized by a little made of TV movie called Kolchak: The Nivht Stalker. I glanced at TV Guide and my first thought is why in the world would ABC take a chance on a vampire movie? I was more of an SF person back then, but I actually tuned in and my jaw dropped. This thing of a TV movie was no disease of the week show. It moved with action, pace, and energy. After the Nixon scandals (I actually spent the summer of '72 watching the Ervin committee on B&W TV) so I knew that our government was conspiratorial, but wow! Kolchak really brought it out. He not only fought a vampire, but the entire Las Vegas county government.

In any event, it was many decades later that I realized that the mastermind behind the words was the fantastic Richard Matheson (no offense to Jeff Rice's original, which I've yet to read.) I understand that he did at least three scripts. Two were filmed, one wasn't.

So it appears that now Mr. C. J. Henderson has coupled HPL and Kolchak under one cover. It sounds like fun, and maybe I'll try to snag one of these on ebay soon. If you don't know Mr. Henderson's Lovecraft work, you should I'm a fan.

Here's what one blurb says of the graphic novel: After 30 years, it's finally time for the first meeting between Carl Kolchak, the Nightstalker, and the black and evil horror which is the Cthulhu Mythos, H.P. Lovecraft's enduring world of gods and monsters! Kolchak has seen it all, from vampires and zombies to witches, ghosts and even the minions of Hell, itself. By rights, nothing should shake this indomitable reporter anymore. But, when he starts to follow the trail begun by the photographing of a strange sea creature, one more reminiscent of the creature from the black lagoon than a shark or tuna, he suddenly finds himself being drawn into a nightmare world so fantastic, so utterly alien and frighteningly dark that even his massive psychic defenses begin to crumble. For once, Kolchak isn't just following a story. This time, he's crossing the threshold into another reality. One which could possibly destroy both his mind, and the entire world!

1943 Lovecraft Bibliography

HOWARD PHILLIPS LOVECRAFT: 1890-1937 – A Tentative Bibliography – by FRANCIS T. LANEY and WILLIAM H. EVANS // [Los Angeles, CA.]: An "Acolyte" Publication/FAPA, 1943 // First edition (Winter 1943). The first Lovecraft bibliography. Foreword by Francis T. Laney. // A NEAR FINE-FINE copy (protected in plastic folder). Stapled. 12 pages.
Front cover slightly cropped (by scanner) in listing photo.

1969 Derleth Letter

OK, this isn't about Lovecraft. However, it is a facinating bit about Derleth. :)

_____

August Derleth
Sauk City, Wisconsin
1 November 1969
Dear Ross Rocklynne:

Forgive my delay, but I've been in the hospital - - 87 days, 4 operations, pneumonia & half a dozen – itises - - I'm just learning to walk again. They thought I was going to cash in my ships, but, as one dr. put it, "he's a tough old bastard!"

Yes, indeed, both Tower and Pyramid owe you money. But this is owed through Farrar, Straus, with whom you made direct finacial arrangements. On all my other anthologies I am responsible to my contributors; on this one, since the stories are original, FS took over personal arrangements with each contributor. Get after FS to whom payment must certainly have been made; and remind them of the finacial arrangements.

Best Wishes, cordially,

August Derleth.

Unusual Edition of Fungi From Yuggoth

The seller is offering this oddity. The images show a glimpse of the artwork inside. At a buy now of $500, Chrispy is not sure what to think. The sellers notes and comments are below.

_____


"In dim abysses pulse the shapes of night,
Hungry and hideous, with strange mitres crowned ;
Black pinions beating in fantastic flight
From orb to orb thro' sunless gulfs profound."

Howard Phillips Lovecraft


RARE! H. P. Lovecraft - FUNGI FROM YUGGOTH - Poems
LIKE NEW, NUMBERED, SIGNED, PAGES UNCUT! 1986 Bilingual
HOWARD PHILLIPS LOVECRAFT
Fungi from Yuggoth - Poems
Fungi de Yuggoth et autres poèmes fantastiques
RARE!
Arkham & NeO, 1986. LIKE NEW, UNREAD, PAGES UNCUT, NUMBERED and SIGNED! First original edition, sold out and very rare. Fine in its Good/VG crispy paper original Dustjacket.
1 volume/1. Bilingual edition, American/French. Limited to 50 HC copies (collaborators), + 450 copies on Ingres d'Arches paper. This one is number 276. Big in-4°(32,8 x 25,5 cm). 223 pages. Poems chosen by Glenn Lord. Superb illustrations by Nicollet, black & white and color. Translated and presented by François Truchaud. Illustrator and translator signatures on the end page. An exceptional book. Have a look at the pictures!

Supernatural Horror in Literature (1945)

Tom found a great copy of Supernatural Horror in Literature (1945) recently. Very cool.

I'd never seen a dust cover before, which appraently makes this a second edition. Who knew?? Anyway, thanks for the scan, my friend. I also included some edited snippets from current editions available, and sellers' comments with how some copies survived the intervening 60+ years or so.. If you have a copy, you can compare notes. Or if you see one, maybe you'll get a bargain one day.

Click on the image and it should expand and show details.

_____

Supernatural Horror In Literature
H. P. Lovecraft
Price: US$ 150.00

Book Description: Bem Abramson, 1945, 1945. Hardcover. Dust Jacket Included. Cloth. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Near fine copy in like jacket. Smallchip on front panel. Missing 1/16 of heel of spine.

SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE
LOVECRAFT, H. P.
Price: US$ 144.00

Book Description: Ben Abramson, New York, 1945. Near Fine, issued without a dustwrapper. First binding of black cloth and first state of text with error on page 66. First Edition Cloth.

SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE.
Price: US$ 135.00

Book Description: New York Ben Abrahamson Publisher 1945, 1945. 1st edition. jacket is d.j. 8vo. 111 pp. The "Introduction" is by August Derleth. Really a compilation of essays on such author's writings as E.A. Poe, M.P. Shiel, R.L. Stevenson, Oscar Wilde along with many others. Very scarce in fine condition.

Supernatural Horror in Literature
Lovecraft, Howard Phillips (H.P.)
Price: US$ 125.00

Book Description: Ben Abramson, NY, 1945. Hard Cover. First. First edition, first issue binding (black cloth with spine lettered in silver). 106 pps. plus unpaginated index. A tight, fine, clean copy, minimally bumped at the spine ends. Issued without dust jacket (correct for the first issue; second issue only had had a jacket.).

SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE.
Lovecraft, H.P.
Price: US$ 125.00

Book Description: Abramson,, New York, NY;, 1945. Hardcover. First edition, first printing. Within this essay, Lovecraft's.. "more lengthy discussions of Poe, Hawthorne, Machen and Hodgson are among the best available." Barron; Horror Literature, *7-7. Introduction by August Derleth. Bound in original black cloth covers. Some toning along inner hinge of rear cover. Front cover mildly scratched along leading edge. About fine, without dust cover as issued. A handsome copy

Supernatural Horror in Literature
Lovecraft, H. P.
Price: US$ 102.80

Book Description: New York: Ben Abramson, 1945, 1945. None as Issued. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Black cloth covers. First state, as indicated by typographical error on first line of page 66. Owner name neatly penned on front endpaper. Spi ne very slightly cocked otherwise

Supernatural Horror in Literature
Lovecraft, H.P.
Price: US$ 100.00

Book Description: Ben Abramson, NY, 1945. Hardcover. Book Condition: Near Fine. First Edition; First Printing. First edition bound in black wove cloth, 1st issue, Curry 'A' with"elft " for left on page 66 . A Nearly find copy wihout DJ as issued. Silver spine lettering bright. Minor tanning to the endpapers. Scarce in 1st state. ; 12mo 7" - 7½" tall; 106 + index.

Supernatural Horror in Literature
Lovecraft, H. P.
Price: US$ 99.95

Book Description: Abramson, 1945, first edition, 1945. The first edition, fine in black cloth with the proper points. It has been joined in unholy matrimony with the dust jacket for the second edition (faded spine, chipped and rubbed). This union, though, is NOT a bad one as the 1st edition WAS NOT ISSUED IN DJ so this is a pleasant addition (edition?) for appearance's sake.

Supernatural Horror in Literature
Lovecraft, H. P.
Price: US$ 90.00

Book Description: Ben Abramson, New York, 1945. First Edition. NF+, very light ep & edge browning, else no wear, bright; 1st state, with "elft" top p. 66. hardback.
SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE
LOVECRAFT, H. P.
Price: US$ 90.00

Book Description: NY: Ben Abramson, 1945. Hardcover. Book Condition: Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Fine. Second binding state, red cloth with spine titles in gilt. FINE fresh copy in NEAR FINE dj with couple tiny chips at spine extremeties.

SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE
Price: US$ 86.25

Book Description: N.Y. Ben Abramson, 1945, 1945. First edition. Currey B state binding. Bookplate on front pastedown, else very fine in fine dust jacket with age-browning of spine panel and crush damage along 3.5 cm. of top edge of rear panel.

Supernatural Horror in Literature
Lovecraft, Howard Phillips
Price: US$ 80.50
Book Description: Ben Abramson, New York, 1945. Red cloth. Book Condition: Demy octavo. First Edition. Very good+, back corner pigeon-toed; Lovecraft, considered the greatestmaster of horror fiction, tells us the history of his genre. , title pageand versa both give 1945 as publishing date; 106 pp pages.

SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE
Lovecraft, H. P.
Price: US$ 78.88

Book Description: Abramson, 1945. First Edition. SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE, Abramson, 1945, first edition (first issue), a fine copy without dust-wrapper as issued.

Supernatural Horror in Literature
Lovecraft, H. P.
Price: US$ 75.00

Book Description: Ben Abramson, 1945, 1945. Hard Cover. Near Fine/No Jacket. First Edition. This is the first state (A). With all points and black boards, no dust jacket as issued.

SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE
Lovecraft, Howard Phillips
Price: US$ 75.00

Book Description: New York: Ben Abramson, Publisher, 1945. First edition, first state. Curry "A": black cloth; "elft" for "left" on page 66; paper watermarked "Suede/D" (within a diamond)/"Finish. Very good plus, a trifle shaken, and showing some minor wear to the extremities; issued without jacket. Lovecraft's slender, elegant and influential essay succinctly chronicles his literary forebears; originally published in 17 installments of The Fantasy Fan (1933-1935), then selected by August Derleth for inclusion in Arkham's THE OUTSIDER AND OTHERS.

Supernatural Horror In Literature.
Lovecraft , H.P.
Price: US$ 75.00

Book Description: Ben Abranson, 1945. Hardcover. Book Condition: Fine. First edition thus, first printing 1945. A near fine solid book in the original binding. In a very good dust jacket which is a bit chipped at the top front edges otherwise a tight book and nice jacket.

Supernatural Horror in Literature
Lovecraft, Howard Phillips
Price: US$ 75.00

Book Description: Ben Abramson, New York, 1945. Book Condition: Fine. First Edition. 8vo. Fine. First edition, first printing published by Ben Abramson; NY, 1945. Error p. 66. Black binding. Former owner's attractive bookplate. Without dj.

Supernatural Horror in Literature
H.P. Lovecraft
Price: US$ 74.25

Book Description: Ben Abramson, 1945, 1945. hc without jacket, stained endpapers: Lovecraft's very literate history of horror in literature, explaining his favorites and his theory of what makes good horror 111 p. Bookseller Inventory # NL-768

Supernatural Horror in Literature
Lovecraft, Howard Phillips
Price: US$ 73.00

Book Description: Ben Abramson, New York, 1945. Hard Cover. Book Condition: Very Good Plus. First Edition. No DJ, error on page 66 "elft", minor edge wear, nice copy.
SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE
Lovecraft, H. P.
Price: US$ 63.00

Book Description: ABRAMSON, 1945. Book Condition: Near Fine. FIRST. Near Fine, issued without a dustwrapper. First binding of black cloth and first state of text with error on page 66. First Edition Cloth.

Supernatural Horror in Literature
Lovecraft, H. P.
Price: US$ 60.00

Book Description: Ben Abramson, New York, 1945. Hard Cover. Book Condition: NFine. First Edition. First Edition in black cloth. NFine/No Jacket. 'elft' for 'left' error pg.66 line 1. One small bump on one lower corner. Some minor soil to rear with no fraying.

Supernatural Horror In Literature
LOVECRAFT, H.P.
Price: US$ 56.25

Book Description: New York: Ben Abramson Publisher, 1945., 1945. Hardcover, 8vo red cloth lettered in gilt on spine. pp.106 + index. No dustjacket. First separate edition, second printing with typographical errors corrected. Minor offsetting to prelims & finals, edges very slightly marked. A very nice firm bright copy.


SUPERNATURAL HORROR IN LITERATURE
Lovecraft, H.P.
Price: US$ 55.00

Book Description: NY: Ben Abramson (1945), 1945. First edition, black cloth, 'elft' for 'left' error pg.66 line 1. Small name/date to front free endpaper, darkened patch to pgs. 20/21 where a once laid in clipping was laid else VG+ with bright silver spine stamping. Not issued in dj.

Parody of Lovecraft (1921)

1921/FALCO OSSIFRACUS/EDITH MINITER/LOVECRAFT PARODY
Description:

"FALCO OSSIFRACUS " - by "Mr. Goodguile"
Published in "The Muffin Man" - edited by Edith Miniter

So significant is this humorous piece by Edith Miniter that S. T. Joshi, in his landmark biography of Howard Phillips Lovecraft "H. P. Lovecraft: A Life", devotes a half page describing the piece and giving its history (p. 197).

Lovecraft at this time was attending a meeting of the "Hub-Club" occupied by the noted women amateurs Winifred Jackson, Laurie A. Sawyer, and Edith Miniter...as Joshi relates - "Edith Miniter issued...a journal entitled "The Muffin Man"...which contained her exquisite parody of Lovecraft - 'Falco Ossifracus' by Mr. Goodguile...this little squib is a clear take-off of "The Statement of Randolph Carter...Miniter manages to get in effective jabs at Lovecraft's heaviy laid-on atmosphere of grue...Lovecraft took the whole thing in good humour as he noted in his memoir of Miniter it being a 'highly amusing parody" (HPL)...

The first parody of HPL ever written and if you are familiar with his literary musings you will catch the tasty cleverness of this piece.

This was the only amateur-zine ever issued by Ms. Miniter and is quite scarce.
Fine condition with string-tie and unfolded!

News from the Mountains of Madness

Very sad - after the fact.

:(

However, notice the resilience of the cthulhu-tribe.

_____

August 10 2006

Two dozen penguins, an octopus and some tropical fish were scattered along a Texan highway this week after a truck transporting zoo animals overturned into a ditch.

One penguin died in the crash (oh no!) and three were killed by oncoming traffic (Ia!) , authorities said. Another penguin broke a wing. Most of the fish survived and the octopus appeared unharmed. The octopus and fish were being transported in plastic bags and some fish died when the bags burst, said public safety trooper Richard Buchanan.

The animals were being moved from the Indianapolis Zoo to Galveston.

_____

And what insidious things happened upon the escape of the cthulhuite? Did the truck driver see a strange, warped, oblique shadow? Were the fish deeply in worship to the multipod, and chanted in round-fish-lipped homage? And what secrets did the penguins know, that they had to suffer for?

Real Cthulhu Science (10 Nov 2008)

Octopus had Antarctic ancestors!
News of 2008 November 10, Monday

Recent surveys by scientists have found interesting facts. Genetic analysis of octopodes indicates that they developed in the ocean around Antarctica. They spread out from that continent when an ice sheet covered it and created cold water currents in all directions to the north.

Many octopuses evolved from a common ancestor that lived off Antarctica (hmm, little cthulhus !!) more than 30 million years ago, according to a $650 million “Census of Marine Life” that is seeking to map the oceans from microbes to whales.

A modern octopus called Adelieledone in Antarctica seemed the closest relative of the original.

Octopuses apparently spread around the world after Antarctica became covered with a continent-wide ice sheet more than 30 million years ago, a shift that helped create oxygen-rich ocean currents flowing north, a report said.

_____

As Chrispy has often speculated, upon Cthulhu's arrival - before his long sleep - he looked about and found the most compatible intelligent life form, and thus took that form. As transmorphs, the elder gods and their servants assume whatever shape is convenient and most sympathetic to their needs.

Copy of Shunned House surfaces

The signature does look authentic compared to a previous blog post:


Fascinating copy of the mysterious book: Listed to sell starting at $5000.

1975 Lovecraft Still Remembered

Year : 1975
Edition : 1st
Format : Trade Paperback (8.5 x 11, perfect bound) Hardcover, no dust jacket (See Notes) Pages : 64 (Trade paperback)

Illustrations : Robert T. McCall, Ron Miller, Edward Samuels

Contents
"The Guise of Youth" (poem) REH

"The Wine Dark Sea" by Robert Aickman

"New Settings: Villiers de L'Isle-Adam"
by Brian W. Aldiss

"First Patrol" by Joseph Bryan III

"To the House Subcommittee on Space Science Applications" by Arthur C. Clarke

"The Perpetual Honeymoon" by David H. Keller

"Fantasy Film News Bits" by Henry Kuttner

"Last Autumn Last Winter" by H. P. Lovecraft

"Hit and Run" by Joseph Allan Ryan

"In Search of Lovecraft: Caverns Measureless to Man"

"The Duke of Portland" by Villiers de L'Isle-Adam

"Psychology and Characterization" by Jack Williamson

"Odds and Ends" by E. E. Doc Smith

Notes
100 numbered copies with much new material were hardbound after the first World Fantasy Convention. What makes the hardcover edition special is the three manuscript reviews of the first World Fantasy Convention: nine pages by Fritz Leiber (signed by him at the first page), 40 pages by T. E. D. Klein, and 19 pages by Robert Bloch, the Guest of Honor.

There was no second issue of this revival.

From Bill Thom's excellent site:
http://howardworks.com/sciencefantasycorrespondent.html

Rheinhart Kleiner

The seller of the item states: Description: "PEGASUS IN PASTURE: Latter-day Limpings of a Light Versifier" By Rheinhart Kleiner; Printed by W. Paul Cook /// If you have any interest in Howard Phillips Lovecraft you undoubtedly know the name W. Paul Cook - printer & publisher of HPL's stillborn 1st book - "The Shunned House". Rheinhart Kleiner may not be as well known to you as W. Paul Cook, but Kleiner was one of HPL's earliest buddies and helped bring him into Amateur Journalism and out of his sheltered life. /// Paul Cook was a printer by trade and a fine one at that; all his books & booklets are well printed upon good paper and well sewn. Indeed, nearly seventy years later his publications are eagerly sought collectibles in the field of HPLiana! /// "Pegasus in Pasture" is a collection of fourteen poems. /// Handsome booklet with a few minor snags at cover edges.

{Printed After 1943}

Lovecraft in Context (1917)

_____

Lovecraft, as much as we admire, idolize, or scartch our heads over him, was a man of his times. He had a cultural milieu, and this indicates that there was a socio-economic and political group in which he was at home. People knew him, understood him, and he, they. To others, outside, they may have been puzzled at his beliefs and opinions, but not his group. Not yet. Not until his horizons grew, and he became a very big fish in a small pond.
_____

HPL

The Inspiration for April 1917
{p2}
…heart, we ourselves, look out upon the world with eyes that are beneath the fretful surface with hearts that reach out to the innermost hearts of mankind. We are bound to our fellowmen by stronger ties than kinship or ace, by a mightier-than-human Force which holds us together, an all-powerful Something that will not let us go.

In a little poem which has just come to light, Robert Louis Stevenson says:

"Let us wander where we will,
Something kindred greets us still,
Something seen on vale or hill
Falls familiar on the heart;
So at scent of sound or sight,
Severed souls by day and night …
Tremble half the world apart."

The Great War, raging fiercely for almost three years across the wide Atlantic, has "fallen familiar on the heart," – on the heart of us individually, on the heart of our little fraternity collectively. No less than twenty-seven of our number – members of the British Amateur Press Association and our own Canadian constituent – have enlisted and gone to that hazardous, far-reaching Front, and the little band is scattered frm No-Man's Land to Mesopotamia, from London to Zanzibar. Where many of them are, we do not know; perhaps never shall know; but our souls, severed from them in truth, have "trembled half the world apart," and we want Our Boys to know it. We want these brothers of ours, this fraternal kin of ours, to feel that we are with them, that we have been from the beginning, will be to the end.

{3}

And, therefore, are we gathered here – a little handful of us together – to speak for us all; to lay at their feet this little tribute of pride, of love, and affection, though nothing we can do, no words we may speak, no tribute, however great is worthy of them. And when it is all over when they come marching back with blaring trumpets, and flags opf victory, they will find

H C Koenig: Tribute to HPL (1953)

The text should be readable if you click the image above.
_____

The seller states: Description: "BEHIND THE INSCRIPTION" - by H. C. Koenig // Published in "The Fossil" , October, 1953 /// H. C. Koenig's (1893-1959) expertise as a book collector and bibliographer led him to the writings of William Hope Hodgson and his correspondence with Howard Phillips Lovecraft led him to the fabulous fictions of William Hope Hodgson...and as they say the rest is history. In this three-page article Herman C. Koenig recalls some of his favorite book anecdotes and his lengthy career in books hob-knobbing with the likes of HPL - "All these letters, books, and acquaintences revolved around one man, Howard Lovecraft, a man whose death affected me almost as much as the death of a member of my own family"...I corresponded and became acquainted with W. Paul Cook, August Derleth, Donald Wandrei, Frank Long, Clark Ashton Smith, Fritz Leiber, E. Hoffmann Price..." and others.

1946 Controversy!

This fanzine may not look spectacular, but inside, Sam Moskowitz (allegedly) panned Derleth's HPL: A Memoir. Thus fandom's controversy on Lovecraft's legend escalates.

Two C. M. Eddy Letters Uncovered

This is a bit belated, but dates from the week of 25 September, 2008. :)

-Chrispy

_____

Hotel Owyyhee
Boise, Idaho
November 7, 1924
To C. M. Eddy, Jr.

Read your story, "Weapons of Stone," and liked it very much. I had written a pre-hist love story. I'll show it to you when I get back.

My story, The Charlatan Supreme, is my next "work of art." It's a beaut and true!

How is your song work getting along, and what can I do for you?

On train and it's a' rocking.

_____

The Fort Steuben
Steubenville, Ohio
November 18, 1924
To Eddy

I wrote you I had received the revised copy of my story re the Witch Doctor.

By the way, I have a full Keith tour, starting Jan. 5 in Newark, then two weeks at the New York Hippodrome, and if you wish I'll stick in some of your music. All you have to do is say so and 'tis done. Naturally, you must not let people know that I am doing this to boost the music; if they think so, out it will be thrown. I suppose you get the idea.

_____

I had an opportunity to go to Lexington for a conference Thursday (25 Sept 2008), and made my first trip to their Half-Price book store. A nice store. However, on the way back, about 10:30 PM my wife turned to me, and said, "Did they put the discs in the cd and dvd?" Not a good time to notice, but no they hadn't. Friday when I called, they were so nice, so I asked them to just shuttle the discs to my Louisville store.

Flash forward to Saturday, when I'm in a tiny little place in Southern Indiana at a pumpkin festival (maybe a new pumpkin horror story will come of it). I get intermittent cell service, but I look at my phone and there's a message that the discs are in the store. A one day trip from Lexington for USPS is phenomenal.

We go over to the store (which at this point, is about 50 miles from Huber's, so I could have almost driven back to Lexington to start with!) Anyway, I'm there, and we start perusing the store. My wife grabbed a new romance she's had in mind, along with a few other things, and I spied a ppbk copy of Houdini The Untold Story (circa. 1969) by Milbourne Christopher. It was marked $1, and I had a 15% off coupon, so for 85 cents I thought it would add it to my small Houdini collection. Once home, I flopped in a chair and wondered if Christopher mentioned Lovecraft. Nope. Oh well. Then I flipped to the appendices, and nearly fainted. TWO Houdini letters to C M Eddy Jr were included.

Lovecraft writes quite a bit about Eddy coming to NY to see Houdini who then had some clandestine midnight meeting between Eddy, HPL< and Houdini, but Lovecraft stops short of telling WHY! We know why, for the most part, now. Houdini needed help.

Lovecraft had written a story for Houdini, at the request of J C Henneberger in late 1923 to go in Weird Tales. Houdini was extremely generous to his friends, and once he knew you, he would do anything he could for you – and as wealthy as he was, he usually did plenty. These two letters flesh out the details of how much he liked and wanted to help Eddy. Mrs. Eddy said in a memoir that Howard introduced Cliff to Houdini, and she said that Eddy worked for Houdini for quite a while. We now know that Eddy was a spy. He infiltrated spiritualist séances and made field reports (other people were hired by Houdini for the same work).

Lovecraft, one day, late Summer 1923, walked across town and met Eddy after some correspondence. His 'noblesse oblige' kicked in immediately. Though Lovecraft was in near-poverty, what he saw at the Eddy household made his realize how bad it was for them. (He mentions giving them some furniture, and some hint of a 'note', i.e. Loan?).

Lovecraft immediately rewrote some of Eddy's stories to make them publishable. Eddy, in turn, made reference to Lovecraft to Edwin Baird, a friend and then editor of Weird Tales. (I think many people conspired to let Baird and Henneberger know of Lovecraft). In short order, Houdini (who was then backing Weird Tales, in part), and Henneberger asked Lovecraft to churn out a Houdini yarn. (Lovecraft lost the manuscript, and he and bride Sonia has to retype it from scratch).

Houdini asked Lovecraft to meet him, and it's pretty sketchy what transpired at those first meetings. I think I can guess, based on circumstantial evidence.

Houdini was on a very public and very nasty crusade to expose spiritualists as both frauds and criminals (money laundering, bilking, and such). I'd speculate that Houdini, who was getting rebuked for a weak presentation in his recent book, saw a kindred soul in HPL and may have asked him to help. I'd also speculate that Lovecraft had no interest in "work" of any kind so foisted off Eddy as being more appropriate for it.

What did Houdini see in Lovecraft? They both adored Poe (Houdini bought Poe relics). HPL was a materialist atheist, and loathed spiritualism on any hint of supernaturalism. He was a terrific writer, had become a seasoned pro at ghost writing and revisionism. It was a perfect match. Houdini declared he'd find Lovecraft a great job, and lo and behold, Henneberger pops up to New York and offers HPL the pick of a magazine. (Frank Long thought it was Weird Tales, others though it was a humor magazine, or ghost story magazine). He rejected all of it (no doubt to Sonia's dismay).

What did Lovecraft see in Houdini? He saw that Houdini had a great and clever mind, but HPL was not keen on show business, hard work, or being used by anyone. It looks like the compromise was Eddy. They went on to write a few things for Houdini, and were in the midst of writing a huge expose – The Cancer of Superstition – when Houdini was killed.

Their last meeting was in Providence in 1926, and de Camp declared in his book that Houdini wanted Lovecraft on stage with him in Detroit (where Houdini was to be attacked). Lovecraft, his aunt, Mr. & Mrs. Eddy all laughed at Bess' parrot, but declined the offer.

OK, kind of long winded, but it was fun to find these neat antiquarian letters showing how interested Houdini was in horror stories.

What editorship was HPL offered?

I've senn a few different vesions. One from Frank Long (Weird Tales), and Mr. Joshi indicates it might have been a humor magazine. I don't have a copy of An Epicure in the Terrible, but an excerpt of Will Murray's "Lovecraft and the Pulp Magazine Tradition" states: For a brief period during the Weird Tales upheaval, Henneberger considered the idea of starting a new magazine in the Weird Tales vein, Ghost Stories, and offered the editorship to Lovecraft. (p. 109)

C. M. Eddy, Jr. Musician

_____

Sorry the images are so poor, but it's the best google had to offer.

In the 1929 "Grade Teacher" above, "Thanksgiving Melody" appeared credited to Lucille K. VanScyoc and C. M. Eddy, Jr. It's the first item I've run across confirming Mr. Eddy's musical accomplishment. Google actually showed a snippet of the music.

Far out!