Episode 40: LA Vintage Paperback Show

Il-wey!  Since learning of the event a few years ago, each spring I look forward to attending the annual Los Angeles Vintage Paperback Show held in Glendale.  A couple of weeks ago (Sunday, March 24) marked its 40^thyear in which attendees could mull through boxes, piles of magazines, and shelves of books, serial titles, memorabilia and other related miscellany items.  Admission was still $5, although this year a parking fee was added, which cost more than the show itself! 

Throughout the day in front the auditorium’s stage, guest authors sat at the ready to autograph fans’ bags of books for free.  Although I have stood in line for Tim Powers, Joe Lansdale, William Nolan and others before, this year I focused on buying.  For me, having at least a cursory list of authors is helpful because I tend to forget what I was seeking once I start going through shelves, stacks and boxes of books.  I first sought out book vendors I had made purchases from in the past because I had success finding titles in my wheelhouse of interest.  After visiting those book sellers, I branched out to the rest of the vendors.  While I did not find everything I had in mind, I did leave with several excellent titles. 

Sax Rohmer: Tales of the Secret Egypt (New York: A.L. Burt Company, 1919)

English writer who is best remembered for his Fu Manchu series, Sax Rohmer’s first published work was a short story “The Mysterious Mummy” which appeared in Pearson’s Weeklyin 1903.  His interest in Egypt was a recurring theme throughout his writing career of novels, short stories, non-fiction, songs and plays and is likely the result of his (claimed) membership in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and Rosicrucians as well as the consistent reporting of Egyptian archaeological finds in London Times.  Rohmer was a contemporary to Algernon Blackwood and Arthur Machen, friends with Harry Houdini and was influenced by Edgar Allen Poe and Arthur Conan Doyle.  

Tales of the Secret Egyptwas originally published in 1918 by London publisher Methuen Publishing.  The collection features twelve short stories divided equally into two sections, Tales of Abu Tabah and Other Tales.  The stories are: 

The Yashmak of Pearls

The Death-Ring of Sneferu

The Lady of the Lattice

Omar of Ispahan

Breath of Allah

The Whispering Mummy

Lord of the Jackals

Lure of Souls

The Secret of Ismail

Harûn Pasha

In the Valley of the Sorceress

Pomegranate Flower

Bram Stoker: The Jewel of Seven Stars (New York: Zebra Books, 1979)

Originally published in 1903 (Heinemann) and later revised in 1912, Bram Stoker’s The Jewel of Seven Starsis about a young barrister who becomes embroiled in a plot to revive an ancient Egyptian mummy, Queen Tera.  Since I have only read an excerpt from the novel, Wikipedia states that the story “explores common fin de sièclethemes such as imperialism, the rise of the New Woman and feminism, and societal progress.”  The story incorporates many tropes of Egyptian Gothic stories written in the later half of the 19^thcentury and into the first two decades of the 20^th(see Roger Luckhurst’s The Mummy’s Curse: The True History of a Dark Fantasyfrom Oxford University Press) such as curses, supernatural elements, look-alike modern character to the story’s featured mummy, and a royal or religious mummy.  Additionally, female mummies appeared in these stories. 

Robert Bloch: The Opener of the Way (UK: Neville Spearman, 1974)

I was looking for the Panther (1976) edition but I found this version of Robert Bloch’s The Opener of the Waypublished by Neville Spearman in 1974.  The Panther edition has a much better cover, but I was not going to pass up a first edition title by Bloch.  Early in Bloch’s writing career, he was an H. P. Lovecraft acolyte playing in Lovecraft’s cosmic horror sandbox.  Bloch emulated Lovecraft’s style and developed his own voice and narrative tempo that I have come to admire.  Most of the 22 stories appeared in Weird Talesand were originally collected and published by Arkham House in 1945.  Borrowing from Lovecraft’s Egyptian motifs, there are at least a handful of Bloch’s stories that segue into that arena that I am anxious to read and report on in a forthcoming blog. 

David Case: The Third Grave (Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1981)

This Arkham House title was published in 1981 with a run of just over 4,100 copies, and I now own two of those copies!  The first copy was procured through Abe Books and when received, was found to be in an inferior state to what was advertised.  Hence, it became a general reading copy and I figured I would purchase another copy in superior condition.  I was surprised to see this familiar title with the cover illustration by Stephen E. Fabian.  Like Bloch’s book above, this was Case’s first book published by Arkham House. Case’s story stems from secrets discovered during an archaeological expedition that is referred to in flashback with the majority of the story set in a mid-20^thcentury rural English village.  I’ll be discussing this story in more detail at a later date. 

Additional books I came home with include: 

Robert Bloch: The Living Demons (New York: Belmont Books, 1966) 

As mentioned above, I am a fan of Bloch.  Although I prefer to collect hardcover first editions, I’m not going to say no to a first edition paperback for five bucks! 

Lin Carter: The Young Magicians (New York: Ballantine Books, 1969)

This is the seventh book from Ballantine Books’ Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, identifiable by the unicorn logo.  This series was launched in 1969 with Lin Carter at the helm as editor and ended in 1974. It capitalized on the growing interest in J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings and fantasy literature in general.   This collection includes stories from Lovecraft, Tolkien, Lord Dunsany, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Carter, and others. The cover is by Sheryl Slavitt. 

H. P. Lovecraft: The Lurking Scar and Other Stores (New York: Beagle Books, 1971)

I have most, if not all of these Lovecraft stories collected in other books, however I was attracted by the little creatures featured on the wrap-around cover. 

Lin Carter: Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Myths (New York: Ballantine Books, 1972) 

Literary critic and an author himself, Lin Carter is an influential individual in the realm of Lovecraft and weird fiction.  With this book, Carter seeks to leave readers with a deeper understanding of the Cthulhu Mythos and differentiate it from Lovecraft’s other cycle of stories that inhabit his Dreamlands (or Dream Cycle).

Wilkie Collins: The Moonstone (New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1965)

This book is not like the others listed above, however it is a story that I read some years ago and as a result, I became a fan of Collins’ novels.  As one of the first modern mysteries, I found Collins’ story to be mysterious, mystical, and thoroughly riveting.  I went on to read some of his other stories, but this is my favorite.  I did not have a copy in my collection and the cover was intriguing, so it was a must have for my collection. 

Senebti!