Farnsworth Wright, Member of Amateur Journalism

The Laurel from march of 1904 published and edited by FARNSWORTH WRIGHT. A recent Ebay auction. This time around the price was $150.00.

Tryout (1925) Vol 10 No 6

TRYOUT, THE. November 1925 (volume 10, number 6). Edited by C. W. Smith. Plaistow, N. H.: C. W. Smith, November 1925 (volume 10, number 6). Small octavo, single issue, folded sheets. Includes "In the Vault" by H. P. Lovecraft, the first printing of this macabre story of supernatural vengeance, based on a plot idea by C. W. Smith. It was submitted to WEIRD TALES editor Farnsworth Wright in 1925, but was rejected in November for its "extreme gruesomeness." Ultimately, it was reprinted in WEIRD TALES, April 1932. This was the last time Lovecraft would allow a new story (as opposed to an older, professionally rejected story) to appear first in an amateur journal. Lovecraft's copy with numerous penciled corrections in his hand throughout. Joshi I-B-i-32. The first four gatherings, each four pages on a conjoined sheet, print the complete Lovecraft story; the final gathering of four leaves following Lovecraft's story is not present, nor are the self wrappers. Faint paperclip stains on recto of first leaf and verso of last leaf, else a fine copy. Provenance: Barlow/Derleth papers.

Lovecraft's Legacy: 1944 (W Paul Cook)

Item just noted. These items come and go in and out of collector's hands, so it's nice to see glimpses of them. They make great history. Despite these brilliant and creative people having lives of their own, it's still fascinating that HPL plays a tangential part of their careers. He seems to flit ina nd out of people's lives like a ghostly character in one of his stories.

This one is interesting becasue of Hoffman's article on Farnsworth Wright, who by now was probably really sufering from his illness.

***

GHOST, THE. July 1944 (number 2). Edited by W. Paul Cook.
Bookseller: Currey, L.W. Inc. ABAA/ILAB(Elizabethtown, NY, U.S.A.) Bookseller Rating:
Price: US$ 350.00 [Convert Currency] Quantity: 1
Shipping within U.S.A.:US$ 4.00 [Rates & Speeds]

Book Description: [North Montpelier, Vermont: W. Paul Cook], July 1944 (number 2), 1944. Large octavo, single issue, printed wrappers. W. Paul Cook, an important member of the Lovecraft inner circle, and an ardent member of the amateur press movement, issued five numbers of this periodical between Spring 1943 and July 1947 (making it a defacto annual). The fifth number was not distributed, and none of the numbers were offered for sale. The magazine was devoted to weird literature and featured fiction, poetry, essays and, in one number, a short play. Most of this issue comprises "Book of the Dead Chapter 1: Farnsworth Wright" (pp. [5]- 17), a long article by E. Hoffman Price on Farnsworth Wright and WEIRD TALES, and "The Sphinx" (pp. [19]-41), a play by Samuel Loveman, "Cook's final major publishing effort was THE GHOST. Five issues appeared from 1943 to 1947, each containing fifty pages that emphasized Lovecraft and collectors. It contained almost every type of verse, fiction, biography, and literary reminiscing, turning it into one of the rarest, most sought- after bits of Lovecraftiana." - Warner, All Our Yesterdays, p. 16. Quite a valuable source of information. Pavlat and Evans, Fanzine Index (1965), p. 49. Clute and Grant (eds), The Encyclopedia of Fantasy (1997), p. 804. A bit of light wear to spine panel, still a fine copy. Quite scarce. (#102133). Bookseller Inventory # 102133

Anatomy of a Lovecraft Auction: Henry Kuttner Letter

Followers of Lovecraft: Beware! The marketplace is a treacherous mistress.

Here is a recent auction for a relatively minor (though as yet unpublished) bit of Lovecraft Ephemera. Kuttner writes to Adolphe de castro about a number of issues, including that HPL helped him, that Weird Tales took his stories, and a bit of other chit chat.

The seller stated:
1936 LETTER FROM WRITER HENRY KUTTNER SIGNED HENRY TO WRITER ADOLPHE DE CASTRO IN IT HE WRITES ABOUT HP LOVECRAFT HELPING HIM WRITE, FARNSWORTH WRIGHT BUYING HIS WORK,WRITING WEIRD TALES AND MORE.

In a private communication, the seller indicated that these were found at a flea market some time ago. They are unauthenticated, yet it's sure they are original. Sorry the text is so poor, but it was the best image I could acquire at the moment.

Yet, this modicum of ephemera of ancient days has sold for a small king's ransom. No, not to Chrispy, heh. Though I did do some early bids. Sooo, next time you want some Lovecraft stuff, bring deep pockets, dear readers.

$205.50 Nov-03-07 11:44:25 PDT (winning bid)
$205.50 Nov-03-07 11:44:13 PDT
$203.00 Nov-03-07 10:25:02 PDT
$150.00 Nov-03-07 11:44:13 PDT
$103.50 Oct-29-07 13:42:13 PDT
$55.99 Nov-02-07 12:28:30 PDT (hidden bid)
$49.99 Oct-29-07 15:16:42 PDT
$41.15 Oct-29-07 15:16:01 PDT
$24.99 Oct-28-07 05:37:52 PDT
$9.99 Oct-27-07 11:44:31 PDT (starting bid)

Letter to CM Eddy, Jr by Farnsworth Wright

(Lovecraft, Howard Phillips) Wright, Farnsworth. TYPED LETTER, SIGNED (TLS). 2 pages, dated 6 November 1924, to "Dear [Clifford M.] Eddy, signed "Wright" [in a secretarial hand] on two sheets of 7 1/2 x 10 1/2-inch stationery with WEIRD TALES letterhead. Wright (editor of WEIRD TALES from November 1924 to December 1939) writes about reader reaction to Eddy's short story, "The Loved Dead," a Lovecraft revision. The story, a horrific tale of the exploits of a murderous necrophile, appeared in the first anniversary issue of WEIRD TALES, May-June-July 1924. Wright comments that Eddy's story "did not draw the number of complaints that Miller's story ['The Hermit of Ghost Mountain'] drew; but it was 'The Loved Dead' that caused the Parent-Teachers' Association to take action that is keeping us off many stands in Indiana." According to Joshi and Schultz, "the story reads as if Lovecraft had written it from beginning to end, although it clearly was based on a draft by Eddy. The tale is manifestly a self-parody and in its florid language brings to mind 'The Hound'... When the tale was published in WEIRD TALES, it elicited a protest from authorities in Indiana, who sought to have the issue banned. Subsequently, editor Farnsworth Wright became hesitant to accept any stories from Lovecraft that featured explicitly gruesome passages of the kind found in 'The Loved Dead,' and as a result several of Lovecraft's later tales were rejected." (An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia, p. 156). Wright suffered from a form of Parkinson's disease which made it impossible for him to write his name, except with a typewriter. This letter is signed "Wright" in black ink in a secretarial hand. Approximately 300 words. Old mailing folds, paper a bit darkened, very good. (#109164) Price: $1,000.00

Henry Kutner Letter to Adolphe de Castro (HPL mentioned).

1936 LETTER FROM WRITER HENRY KUTTNER SIGNED HENRY TO WRITER ADOLPHE DE CASTRO IN IT HE WRITES ABOUT HP LOVECRAFT HELPING HIM WRITE, FARNSWORTH WRIGHT BUYING HIS WORK,WRITING WEIRD TALES AND MORE.

Lovecraft's Legacy: 1975 (Whispers)

Whispers Vol. 2, No. 2-3 (June 1975) Double-Issue Stuart David Schiff (Editor)
Stuart David Schiff, Fayetteville, NC, 1975. Perfect Bound Wraps. Book Condition: Near Fine. First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.
Cover art by Frank Utpatel.
Solid contents include: One Day in the Life of H.P. Lovecraft by Frank Belknap Long; An Autobiographical Letter by Robert E. Howard; A Letter to H. Warner Munn by Farnsworth Wright; Story-writing, a letter from H.P. Lovecraft; Anthropology, Folkways of Fandom by E. Hoffman Price. Also, fiction by Fritz Leiber, Carl Jacobi, Hugh B. Cave, Henry Hassee, Manly Wade Wellman, Karl Edward Wagner, Joseph Payne Brennan. Poetry by James Wade, Mary Elizabeth Counselman, L. Sprague de Camp, H. Warner Munn. Art by Virgil Finlay, Denis Tiani, Lee Brown Coye, others. 132 pages!