26 Monday Jul 2021
Posted in Scholarly works
New to me, the open access journal Victorian Popular Fictions, with a noticeable tilt toward mystery and the supernatural. The latest issue offers “Science and Stories in the Work of Grant Allen”. There are also book reviews and calls-for-papers for the next four issues.
24 Saturday Jul 2021
Posted in Historical context, New discoveries
An article on special effects in movies, by Lovecraft’s friend and Kalem member Arthur Leeds. In the Writer’s Digest for July 1922, recently uploaded to Archive.org.
He had a number of practical and market-survey articles in Writer’s Digest from summer 1921 and into 1922, plus an interview-based article on George Allen England.
23 Friday Jul 2021
Posted in Scholarly works
S.T. Joshi’s blog has updated and brings the welcome news that…
Mark Griffin … is assembling a combined index to all the Hippocampus Press Letters volumes — a very useful undertaking!
22 Thursday Jul 2021
Posted in Historical context
New on Archive.org in public PDF, The Pulp Jungle (1967) by Frank Gruber. A pithy and entertaining memoir of writing for the New York City pulps from 1927 and through the 1930s, as recalled in the mid 1960s. The uploader notes…
It’s now a rare book, long out-of-print and increasingly difficult to find on the second-hand market.
Frank Gruber, pulp writer.
22 Thursday Jul 2021
Posted in Lovecraftian arts, Scholarly works
Four more scans of Derleth’s 1940s Arkham Sampler, added to Archive.org as public PDFs. These do not duplicate the existing scans.
22 Thursday Jul 2021
Posted in Historical context
Phil Hine on H.P. Lovecraft and Pan, the ancient mythic figure. The young Lovecraft was enraptured by the 18th century’s sylvan poetic evocations of Pan. Hine also discusses the story “The Temple” from a pagan perspective.
21 Wednesday Jul 2021
Posted in Lovecraftian arts
“The Cats of Ulthar” has been adapted as an indie videogame, albeit with the game-mechanics offering what appears to be a horrible motion-sickness inducing camera. Not sure Ulthar has electric lighting either, but it looks like a good low-budget try at making the story into a game.
20 Tuesday Jul 2021
Posted in Lovecraftian arts
A portrait of Lovecraft, published in issue 27 of the early videogame magazine ACE (December 1989) and new on Archive.org. A bit fuzzy, it has not been scanned well and it does not up-scale well. But it appears to be by “D.C. Designs”. Which makes it by Dave Carson of south London, in the UK, who apparently also sold limited edition prints and t-shirts of the design.
See also a NecronomiCon 2001 cover and some details on the British zine Dagon.
Possibly based on this photo…
19 Monday Jul 2021
Posted in Historical context, Scholarly works
Now being loaded onto Archive.org from microfilm, the U.S. Popular Astronomy journal, 1893-1951.
18 Sunday Jul 2021
Posted in Odd scratchings
Currently for sale, Tryout for September 1934, which has with it the Mrs Miniter memorial chapbook.
18 Sunday Jul 2021
Posted in New books, REH, Scholarly works
Now available to order, The Collected Letters of Robert E. Howard, Volume 1, the first of three planned volumes. This the collectable hardback. Due soon is a more affordable and perpetually in-print paperback edition with new cover-art.
While you’re waiting for a mighty-thewed delivery-man proffering your Vol. 1, this week DMR has a long consideration of the ‘decadent’ and ‘gothic’ traces to be seen in Howard’s “Spear and Fang”.
16 Friday Jul 2021
Posted in Lovecraftian arts, Picture postals
Early 1930s ‘sinister’ woodcuts of Newport, a favourite haunt of Lovecraft. They appear to have been produced for the Chamber of Commerce. Perhaps a fundraiser booklet, at a guess? A Halloween Ball?
Someone may wish to have the church steeple woodcut as a book cover (H.P. Lovecraft in Newport or suchlike). I’ve rectified and enlarged it.
