FANTASTIC
COLLECTIBLES
SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY COLLECTIBLES



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HOW I BOUGHT FIVE SIXTHS OF A COLLECTION

A Lesson For Us All

People have many reasons to sell a collection. The most common is loss of interest; either because they have moved on to other things, or have lost the ability to read easily due to the frailties of old age. Sometimes the cause is economic hardship, and often it is related to a move. Sometimes the collection is too large to move easily; more often there is not enough space in the retirement quarters.

This particular collection in the Cleveland suburbs was owned by a well known member of the Science Fiction community there. The reason he was selling was pure aggravation. This man had an immense collection acquired over a lifetime of collecting. They were all pulps from the 1920's to about 1945. The collection was stored on metal shelves six shelves high in the basement of his suburban home. Behind the house was a large backyard, gradually sloping down to a small stream.

About a month before I showed up to look at the collection, they had torrential rains for three days. The stream behind the house became swollen, coming part way up the lawn toward the house. This had happened many times before, with no adverse effects. What was different this time was that the sump pump that should have taken care of the water seepage through the ground had a failed check valve. This didn't stop the pump from working, but greatly impaired its effectiveness. Consequently, the basement partially flooded, taking out the bottom shelf all around the basement. What I purchased was the 5/6ths that was above the water level.

The real aggravation was that this gentleman had a rider in his insurance to cover the loss of his collection, in this case about $45000 worth. The insurance company would not pay off. They would only pay for sudden destruction. If a tree fell on the house, they would pay. If termites slowly eat away the foundation and the house falls down, they would not pay. This slow seepage was akin to the termites. If he had broken a window to let water pour in, they might have paid off!

His first inclination was to rebuild the collection. On second thought, he decided to chuck it all and he contacted me.

I called him back about 15 years later, just to check in with him. I guessed he would have resumed collecting at some point. I was wrong. He never returned to collecting Science Fiction, and said he had not given it a thought in years. This was a person who had written several non-fiction books on the subject.

This incident had a big impact on my life. When I moved several years later, we had a difficult time finding a house. That was because I insisted on a walkout basement, with good drainage all around. That combination is hard to find in central Indiana, but I persisted until I found one. I wanted to keep 6/6ths of my collection.

RECENT UPDATE. My brother-in-law known onebay as Pulpsguy tells me this individual won several of hisauctions this past spring. So it seems we all eventually come back to pulps at some time.


Read about other trips Here

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COLLECTIBLES
FOR SALE
NAME THAT BOOK!
  • Can you help a collector remember the title of a book or movie?
  • check here
PLASTIC BAGS ARE BACK!
  • We have found a new supplier for plastic bags to protect your collectibles
  • check here
PULP MAGAZINES
PAPERBACK BOOKS
SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY HARDCOVER BOOKS
Note: We have decided to drop hardcover books to concentrate on Pulp Magazines and Paperback books. We have sold our hardcovers to my brother-in-law known on Amazon as Pulpsguy. (he also has some pulps). You may find our hardcover books plus many other items at his store which can be reached on Amazon with the following link: Pulpsguys Store
Pulp Magazine Cover Scans
Over 6000 Hi-definition Pulp Magazine Cover scans
are available on DVD
The largest collection of hi-definition scans available anywhere. Buy this collection and see it all at once, or view it on this page- it will only take 15 years to see it all!
POSTERS!!
Beautiful hi-gloss pulp magazine cover posters
suitable for framing- you will be proud to display these
Worlds Best Pulp Magazine Priceguide
Read Here

The bible of pulp magazine priceguides. Place a value on most any pulp, no matter how obscure
Here are some reference guides to help you understand and appreciate the Science Fiction world of books and pulps better
REFERENCE MATERIAL

PULP ARTICLES

How to Collect Pulp Magazines
Read Here
Useful information if you are considering starting a collection
Worlds Best Pulp Magazine Priceguide
Read Here
The bible of pulp magazine priceguides. Place a value on most any pulp, no matter how obscure
Grading Pulp Magazines
Read Here
Accurate grading is essential in pricing Pulp Magazines
Travels in Search of the Elusive Pulp Magazine
Read Here
A series of articles about traveling around the country in search of Pulp Magazine collections- the weird characters, the strange collections the odd homes and locales
What will be the Treasured Collectibles of the Future
Read Here
to find which items lying about today may become the valuable collectibles of the future

PAPERBACK ARTICLES

Read our standards on
 PAPERBACK GRADING
Read a useful article on
 COLLECTING PAPERBACKS
to see what a pro thinks about the subject.
Looking For a Great
 PAPERBACK PRICE GUIDE?
Read a review of what I consider to be the most up to date and perhaps the best Collectible Price Guide ever printed.

INTERESTING LINKS

Visit our companion page
 Pulp Magazine Cover of the Day

to view the daily updated Pulp Magazine Cover. You can purchase the CD or DVD above and enjoy all 5500 pulpcovers in high resolution glory, or you can see then in low resolution one at a time over the next 15 years!
Here are links to previous Pulp Magazine of the Day Covers
Visit our companian Paperback Cover page
Slightly Sleazy Vintage Paperbacks

to find a daily pulpish paperback cover from my collection
SCIENCE FICTION DVD's
Here I list my selection for the 10 most underrated Science Fiction Movies of all Time. Do you agree? Use the email link at the bottom of the page to add your favorites.