Here’s a picture of the man who kept Lovecraft in steady revision work through the mid 1920s. Lovecraft revised a whole lot of Bush’s poetry, and sometimes also wrote whole chapters of Bush’s homespun popular psychology pamphlets and books — such as two or three chapters for Applied Psychology and Scientific Living.
Ad in the front pages ads section of Popular Science, Jan 1924.
Presumably Lovecraft wasn’t invited to ghost Bush’s sex manuals such as Psychology of Sex: How to Make Love and Marry (c.1924), with chapters such as “What To Do On The Wedding Night, And Why Not To Be Ashamed Of One’s Sexual Urges”. One does, though, wonder if Bush may have felt Lovecraft eminently suited to ghost-write his pamphlet Spunk (How to Lick Fear) (c. early 1924). Here it is noted that it is “declared to be the masterpiece” of Bush’s work. Hyperbolic sales talk, perhaps, but if Lovecraft had tackled it — writing on a subject he was expert on — then it might indeed have been rather a good read…
Popular Science, July 1926.
“…secrets to real, he-man courage.” Ha! I can see Lovecraft scoffing at that sentence alone. Then he turns to his writing desk and begins writing, “Under the Pyramids”.
Bush apparently had the services of a small staff. But one wonders if Lovecraft may even have ghosted the advertising copy for Bush, too, around this time?
That truly would be incredible.
It was nice to finally see a picture of Bush and read example’s of “his” writing.
Actually, the magazine copy reminds me of the writings of another ad man/religious figure from slightly later: Herbert W. Armstrong (yes he has a wiki page) except HWA was more fond of capital letters.
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