FANTASTIC
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SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY COLLECTIBLES

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HOW I BOUGHT THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATION
and didn't know what it was!

Before we get too far, for those who do not know what I mean by the History of Civilization, here is the Wikipedia entry:

The History of Civilization is a boxed set of science fiction novels by author Edward E. Smith, Ph.D.. It contains the six novels of Smith's Lensman series. The set was published in 1961 by Fantasy Press in an edition of 75 copies. Each volume was printed from the original Fantasy Press plates, but with a new title page giving the name of the set. They were bound in red half-leather, numbered and signed by Smith.

I have some quibbles with the description above, but I'll save for later. This story starts with a letter from a man in Akron, Ohio. He was a long time collector who had just retired from a rubber company in Akron. Actually, retired is not entirely accurate. For those younger people reading this, you might not know that Akron was once the rubber capitol of the world, with several large tire companies located there. The year was 1980, and this was all coming unraveled, with rubber production departing for 3rd world contriesm and people like our long time collector losing their jobs. In his case, it was not a hardship, as he was within a year of retirement, and his company gave him a nice retirement package.

So why did he want to sell his collection? He didn't, but his wife was tired of the sheer volume of the collection taking over two entire rooms. When he was working, she tolerated the collection. But when he retired, she put her foot down and said the pulps had to go. He was looking to sell his collection to have some piece of mind.

This was one of the largest and best condition collections I ever purchased. The collector did not collect all pulps, only the traditional titles like Astounding, Thrilling Wonder, Startling Stories, and similar. No Weird Tales or Terror Tales, etc. But he had a large number of British pulps, including a full run of Scoops, a tabloid type publication from the early 1930's. I wish I had been able to keep Scoops, but my growing family dictated otherwise.

The amazing (didn't have this title) thing about the collection was the condition. He collected two copies of every pulp he was interested in. One he carefully read and put on the shelf. The other he wrapped in wax paper and put in his dry basement. They were in absolute mint condition. I did keep these, replacing the wax paper with mylar. These form the core of my personal collection for a number of titles.

Besides the pulps, he had a small number of paperbacks, and this strange set of boxed, leatherbound books by Doc Smith. I did not know what it was, but made him an offer for his entire collection including these books.

The offer I made was for over $10000. It was a fair offer for the time, but had a a totally unexpected result. I thought his wife was going to have a heart attack when she heard the amount. She had considered the pulps to be complete trash, and had said several times that if he happened to die before he got rid of the pulps, that they would be in the next trash pickup! To say she was astounded would have been an understatement.

Then, somehow, she decided that I was probably out to cheat them, and suggested to her husband that he should not sell, but save them as an investment. This in turn flabbergasted him. My wife and I decided to go out to lunch and let them fight it out. When we got back, he had talked reason into her, and the collection was mine. It took two trips in my van to get the collection home.

I put the History of Civilization box on the top of the piano when I got home, and promptly forgot about them. A year or so later, I was at a convention and thought to describe them to a fellow dealer from Detroit. He asked if he could drive down from Detroit from Toledo just to touch them! Now realizing that I had something special, I did a little research.

My research gave some different answers to the wikipedia description. The set was from 1955. There were 75 copies printed, but fewer than 50 copies sold, due to the high price. I once knew the issue price, but have since forgotten. I also do not know what happened to the unsold copies.

When my oldest son started college, I sold the History of Civilization set for $3000. It paid for a less than half a semester of tuition.


Read about other trips Here

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COLLECTIBLES
FOR SALE
PULP MAGAZINES
Titles starting with letters:
  • A
  • B thru H
  • I thru R
  • S thru Z
    • PAPERBACK BOOKS
    SF and Fantasy books are listed by author.
     Ace Doubles listed by book number.
    SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY HARDCOVER BOOKS
    Authors starting with letters:
  • Science Fiction Bookclubs
    • Pulp Magazine Cover scans
    Over 5000 Hi-definition Pulp Magazine Cover scans
    are available on CD-rom or 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
    REFERENCE MATERIAL
    Beautiful hi-gloss pulp magazine cover posters
    Here are some reference guides to help you understand and appreciate the Science Fiction world of books and pulps better

    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!

    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.