Posts Tagged ‘reference works’

Lawrence Person’s Library: Reference Books (Part 5: Magill’s Sets)

Sunday, September 30th, 2012

Back when I edited Nova Express, I tried to pick up all the important SF reference works I could afford that I could lay my hands on. Among those were two extensive Magill’s references sets: Survey of Science Fiction Literature and Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature. Each covers hundreds of key works, alphabetized by title, providing title, author, year of publication, type (novel, etc.), time, setting, key characters, a summary of the book that touches in some measure on its major themes, and a short secondary bibliography. Several notable science fiction writers, editors and critics contributed entries, including Brian Aldiss, John Clute, David Pringle, Brian Stableford and Jack Williamson.

In some ways, the material in these books have been superseded by the aggregate knowledge contained in the Internet. But it’s still a useful reference source. If i want to know, say, what Harry E. Martinson’s Aniara is about, I can read the short entry here rather than the entire book-length poem and be reasonably sure that it’s accurate.

I kept my eyes out for those sets, and picked them up off eBay when affordable copies appeared. I also picked up two more Magill’s sets at a library sale dirt cheap (I think $10 for each set) and those are on the same top shelf.

  • Magill, Frank N., Editor (series editor). Survey of Science Fiction Literature. Salem Press, 1979. First edition hardbacks, five volume set, Ex-Library copies, otherwise VG with interior library markings, etc.
  • Magill, Frank N., Editor (with bibliographies compiled by Marshall b. Tymn). Survey of Science Fiction Literature Bibliographic Supplement. Salem Press, 1979. First edition trade paperback original, a Fine- copy with slight edgewear. Additional secondary bibliographic material for 295 of the entries in the five volume work. Purchased separately.
  • Magill, Frank N., Editor (series editor). Survey of Modern Fantasy Literature. Salem Press, 1983. First edition hardbacks, five volume set, Ex-Library copies, otherwise VG with library markings, etc.
  • Magill, Frank N., Editor (with Stephen L. Hanson and Patricia King Hanson, Associate Editors). Magill’s Bibliography of Literary Criticism. Salem Press, 1979. First edition hardbacks, four volume set, Ex-Library copies, otherwise VG with library markings, etc. Covers some 2,500 works, listed alphabetically by author. Very little genre coverage.
  • Magill, Frank N., Editor. Materplots II: Juvenile and Young Adult Fiction Series. Salem Press, 1991. First edition hardbacks, four volume set, Ex-Library copies, otherwise VG with library markings, etc. Listed alphabetically by title. Includes some genre coverage, even of books I wouldn’t associate with YA (such as Babel-17, Dreamsnake, Dune, etc.).

    • On the end of the row in the picture is an Ex-Library copy of the first edition of Neil Barron’s Anatomy of Wonder.

    There are two other Magill SF/F reference sets I don’t own: Magill’s Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature from 1996, which culls and condenses the two five volume sets down to a single four volume set, and Classics of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature from 2002, which condenses them down still further into a two volume set with still more additional material, including my own entry on Patrick O’Leary’s Door Number Three. I believe that Classics of Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature is the only thing I’m in for which I lack a contributor’s copy.

    In Anatomy of Wonder 4, Neil Barron calls Survey of Science Fiction Literature “an essential tool, although its price will limit it to larger libraries.” Well, I guess mine qualifies…

    Related Posts

  • Lawrence Person’s Library of Science Fiction First Editions
  • Lawrence Person’s Reference Books Part 1: Key Reference Works
  • Lawrence Person’s Reference Books Part 2: Oversized Books
  • Lawrence Person’s Reference Books Part 3: Contributor Copies
  • Lawrence Person’s Reference Books Part 4: H. P. Lovecraft

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    Lawrence Person’ Library: Reference Books (Part 4: H. P. Lovecraft)

    Sunday, June 3rd, 2012

    Don Webb once said that “If you are obsessed with a writer, you own more in print about him than the total number of words in print by him.” In which case I guess I’m obsessed by H. P. Lovecraft (who is also who Don was talking about). However, while I do like Lovecraft, it’s really only because I’m obsessed about books in general, part of which is obtaining reference books about authors I like. Is it my fault there are just so many books on Lovecraft out there? I don’t have all of them, but I do have a goodly number.

    For In-print items, I’ve provided links to either the Lame Excuse Books page for things I have in stock, or Amazon links for those I don’t.

    Here’s a long view of everything that would fit laid out on a single tabletop:

  • (Lovecraft, H.P.) Bell, Joseph. Les Bibliotheques Volumes 1-8. Soft Books, 1984-1987. Eight side-stapled A4-sized chapbooks, featuring a miscellaneous selection of Lovecraft material (including fiction, poems, letters, etc. from Lovecraft), the bulk of which is taken up by a chronology of his publications.

  • (Lovecraft, H.P.) Migliore, Andrew, and John Strysik. The Lurker in the Lobby: A Guide to the Cinema of H.P. Lovecraft. Night Shade Press, 2010. First printing trade paperback original of this enlarged and updated edition. Normally sits among my film reference works.

    • Next comes a few Arkham House-related books I’m including here. (I already covered S. T. Joshi’s Sixty Years of Arkham House during my first reference book roundup.)

  • Jaffery, Sheldon. Horrors and Unpleasantries: A Bibliographical History and Collectors Price Guide to Arkham House. Popular Press, 1982. First edition hardback. Largely superseded by Joshi’s Sixty Years, it still has information not replicated there, including how the secret reprint edition of August Derleth’s own Someone in the Dark came to pass.
  • Nielsen, Leon. Arkham House Books: A Collector’s Guide. McFarland & Company, 2004. Trade paperback original. Goes a little farther than Joshi. Mostly superfluous if you have Joshi and Jaffrey, but useful if you don’t.
  • Derleth, August. Thirty Years of Arkham House: 1939-1969. Arkham House, 1970. First edition hardback. The official history up to that date. (I do not own a copy of Derleth’s Arkham House: The First 20 Years; it’s pretty pricey for a superseded paperback reference work, and insanely pricey for one of the 80 hardback copies…)

    • Finally, we get to the actual Lovecraft section, which starts off with several titles by HPL himself:

  • Lovecraft, H. P. Supernatural Horror in Literature. Ben Abramson, 1945. First separate edition, hardback (Currey A), sans dust jacket, as issued. His famous essay.
  • Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz) Lord of a Visible World: An Autobiography in Letters. Ohio University Press, 2000. Hardback first edition. What the title says: chronological autobiographical information culled from Lovecraft’s voluminous correspondence.
  • Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by S. T. Joshi) Collected Essay Volume 1: Amateur Journalism. Hippocampus Press, 2004. Hardback first edition.
  • Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by S. T. Joshi) Collected Essay Volume 2: Literary Criticism. Hippocampus Press, 2004. Hardback first edition.
  • Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by S. T. Joshi) Collected Essay Volume 3: Science. Hippocampus Press, 2005. Hardback first edition.
  • Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by S. T. Joshi) Collected Essay Volume 4: Travel. Hippocampus Press, 2005. Hardback first edition.
  • Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by S. T. Joshi) Collected Essay Volume 5: Philosophy, Autobiography & Miscellany. Hippocampus Press, 2006. Hardback first edition.
  • Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei) Selected Letters I. Arkham House, 1965. Hardback first edition. Many later Lovecratt scholars have criticized the way the letters in these and subsequent volumes have been edited.
  • Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei) Selected Letters II. Arkham House, 1968. Hardback first edition.
  • Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei) Selected Letters IIII. Arkham House, 1971. Hardback first edition.
  • Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by August Derleth and James Turner) Selected Letters IV. Arkham House, 1976. Hardback first edition.
  • Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by August Derleth and James Turner) Selected Letters V. Arkham House, 1976. Hardback first edition.

  • Lovecraft, H. P. and Donald Wandrei (edited by S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz) Mysteries of Time and Spirit: The Letters of H. P. Lovecraft and Donald Wandrei. Night Shade Books, 2002. Hardback first edition.
  • Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by S. T. Joshi and David E. Schultz) Letters from New York. Night Shade Books, 2005. Hardback first edition.

  • Howard, Robert E. and H. P. Lovecraft. A Means to Freedom: The Letters of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. Hippocampus Press, 2009. First edition hardbacks, two volumes. Shelved in my Robert E. Howard section.

  • Lovecraft, H. P. (edited by L. Sprague de Camp) To Quebec and the Stars. Donald M. Grant, 1976. Hardback first edition. (Out of order in the pictures because it’s oversized and shelved one shelf down from where it should be.)

    • Next comes books about Lovecraft by other authors.

  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Joshi, S. T. H. P. Lovecraft and Lovecraft Criticism: An Annotated Bibliography. Kent State University Press, 1981. Hardback first edition, sans dust jacket, as issued. If you haven’t figured out already by the number of times his name has already appeared on this list, Joshi is the Lovecraft obsessive that puts all the other Lovecraft obsessives in the shade. I have several criticisms of his Sixty Years of Arkham House, and disagree with significant bits and pieces of his critical approach to Lovecraft’s. But when comes to excessive knowledge of Lovecraft’s life and work, he has no equal, and this bibliography is ridiculously comprehensive up through the period covered. There were 14 Lovecraft books (including some chapbooks, pamphlets, etc.) printed before The Outsider and Others, each of which is either insanely expensive or simply not available anywhere at any price.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Joshi, S. T. I Am Providence: the Life and Times of H P Lovecraft. Hippocampus Press, 2010. First edition hardback, two volumes. Back in 1996, Necronomicon Press published Joshi’s H. P. Lovecraft: A Life, a definitive biography which was about 700 pages long, with very small margins, in a hardback edition of 250 copies which went out of print before just about anyone knew about it. (You can still get the trade paperback edition.) Well, guess what? Joshi had to leave out about 150,000 words of material for space constraints. That, plus everything he’s learned since 1996, is packed into these two volumse. (I see some people online are asking $550 for this set. I have sets available for $95, which is half-off cover price.)
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Joshi, S. T. and David E. Schultz. An H. P. Lovecraft Encyclopedia. Greenwood Press, 2001. Hardback first edition, in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued. Includes things both in Lovecraft’s fiction and his life.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) de Camp, L. Sprague Lovecraft: A Life. Doubleday, 1975. Hardback first edition, inscribed by de Camp, remainder speckling at heel, otherwise Fine in a Fine dust jacket. Considered the standard biography before Joshi went to work; not so much anymore.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Long, Frank Belknap. Howard Philips Lovecraft: Dreamer on the Night Side Arkham House, 1975. Hardback first edition. Biography of Lovecraft by a close friend and fellow writer.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Cannon, Peter, editor. Lovecraft Remembered. Arkham House, 1998. Hardback first edition with review slip laid in. Collection of remembrances of both Lovecraft and his writing by numerous contemporaries, much of it original published in very obscure journals or small-run pamphlets.
  • (Lovecraft, H.P.) Carter, Lin. Lovecraft: A Look Behind the Cthulhu Mythos. Starmont House/Borgo Press, [1992]. First hardback edition, Fine in decorated boards, sans dust jacket, as issued.
  • (Lovecraft, H.P.) Cannon, Peter. H. P. Lovecraft. Twayne, 1989. Hardback first edition (a reasonably clean ex-library copy). Part of the Twayn’s United States Authors Series.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Joshi, S. T. H. P. Lovecraft: Four Decades of Criticism. Ohio University Press, 1980. Hardback first edition. Variety of essays on Lovecraft’s work.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Mark Owings and Irving Binkin, catalogers. A Catalog of Lovecraftiana: The Grill Binkin Collection. Mirage Press, 1975. Hardback first edition, Fine sans dust jacket, as issued. Catalog of perhaps the most extensive Lovecraft collection ever in existence.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) St. Armand, Barton Levi. The Roots of Horror in the Fiction of H. P. Lovecraft. Dragon Press, 1977. Hardback first edition, Fine sans dust jacket, as issued. Critical work.

    • And a few works on the Cthulhu Mythos more generally:

  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Jarocha-Ernst, Chris. A Cthulhu Mythos Bibliography and Concordance. Armitage House, 1999. First edition trade paperback original.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Harms, Daniel. Encyclopedia Cthulhuiana. Chaosium, 1994. Trade paperback original.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Harms, Daniel. The Cthulhu Mythos Encyclopedia. Elder Signs Press, 2008. First edition hardback, one of 200 signed, numbered copies. “Updated and Expanded Third Edition,” and the first hardback edition.

    • And here are some chapbook that you can’t tell what they are from the spine. I pick up those Necronomicon Press chapbooks when I find them cheap, but usually not otherwise.

  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) St. Armand, Barton Levi. H. P. Lovecraft: New England Decadent. Silver Scarab Press, 1979. Perfect-bound chapbook.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Barlow, R. H. On Lovecraft and Life. Necronomicon Press, 1992. First edition chapbook.

  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Cook, W. Paul. In Memoriam: Howard Phillips Lovecraft. Necronomicon Press, 1991. Chapbook, second edition.
  • Lovecraft, H. P. A History of the Necronomicon. Necronomicon Press, 1992. Chapbook, sixth printing.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) Barrass, Glynn. A Cthulhu Mythos Bibliography & Checklist: Second Edition. Blackgoat Books, 1996. An extremely barebones checklist (title, publisher, and whether it was issued in hardback). Probably the last thing you would reach for, but it does have a few obscure listings.

  • Lovecraft, H. P. and Anthony Raven. The Occult Lovecraft. Gerry de la Ree, 1975. First edition chapbook.
  • (Lovecraft, H. P.) H. P. Lovecraft: A Symposium. The Los Angeles Science Fiction Society/The Riverside Quarterly, [1964]. First edition chapbook, with Errata sheet laid in.

    • Related Posts

  • Lawrence Person’s Library of Science Fiction First Editions
  • Lawrence Person’s Reference Books Part 1
  • Lawrence Person’s Reference Books Part 2
  • Lawrence Person’s Reference Books Part 3

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    Lawrence Person’s Library: Reference Books (Part 3: Contributor Copies)

    Wednesday, January 25th, 2012

    Here are some pics from the section of my reference library where I keep contributor copies of publications my work has appeared in. Before the contributor copies, there are several book auction catalogs (including from the auctions I covered here), as well as some old S. M. Mossberg and L. W. Currey book catalogs of interest. After that the actual contributor copies start. You should be able to figure out what these are from my bibliography. The exception is the black tape-bound volume on the first shelf, which is a compilation of materials handed out for a Danish class on science fiction which includes my review of Donnie Darko. I have so many copies of Jim Baen’s Universe because FACT had boxes to give away at the 2008 Nebula Awards here in Austin and I snagged some leftovers.

    As usual, click to embiggen.

    I have a few of these available for sale through Lame Excuse Books as well.

    Previous entries on my reference library can be found here and here.

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    New Third Edition of SF Encyclopedia to Be Published Online for Free

    Tuesday, July 5th, 2011

    Underwritten by Gollancz. I assumed something of the sort was in the works, since I’ve heard the likes of John Clute and David Langford muttering about updated material from time to time, but it’s good to know that the rough beast now has a schedule for its slouching. As mentioned before, the second edition is pretty much essential for anyone with an interest in the field, and I expect the third to be no less essential.

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    Lawrence Person’s Library: Reference Books (Part 2: Oversized Books)

    Tuesday, June 21st, 2011

    And here’s the second part of my series on my reference library. The last installment dealt with the books I reach for most often. The reference works listed in this post share only size, being too big for most of my other shelves, which is why they’re filed here. Some of these (the Nevins, the first two Bleilers) get a lot of use, while others almost never get taken down (things that have been superseded by both the Internet and the two Clute encyclopedias).

    (Click to embiggen.)

    I’m not going to do a full run-down of publication dates, etc. for everything, but here’s a general overview of what’s here:

  • Harris-Fain, Darren, editor. British Fantasy and Science-Fiction Writers before World War I (Gale Dictionary of Literary Biography Volume 178). Eclectic selection, but a very solid work for the writers (about half the volume) who aren’t well-covered in other references.
  • Bleiler, Everett F. Science Fiction: The Early Years and Science Fiction: The Gernsback Years. Kent State University Press, 1990/1998. Absolutely essential for anyone with an interest in the early years of the field.
  • Bleiler, Everett F. Science Fiction Writers. First and second editions. Superseded by the two Clute Encyclopedias.
  • Smith, Curtis S., et. al. (editor) Twentieth Century Science Fiction Writers. Ditto.
  • Vinson, James and D.L. Kirkpatrick, editors. Twentieth Century Western Writers. It was cheap. Like, $2 at a library sale cheap…
  • Tuck, Doanld H. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and Fantasy. Two volumes. Another book set superseded by the two Clute Encyclopedias.
  • Nevins, Jess. The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Victoriana. MonkeyBrain Books, 2005. Extremely useful work, but not quite worth the $2,000 some people are asking for online…
  • Bell, Joseph. Les Bibliotheques Howard Phillips Lovecraft (Volumes 1-8). Soft Books, 1984-1987. Weird, eight volume, stapled paper-wrappers collection of various H. P. Lovecraft-related bibliographic tidbits. Huge overlap with the Joshi bibliography and the catalog of the Grill-Berkin collection (both of which I have), but some odd and interesting information for the Lovecraft fanatic (of which there are many). I will probably do a separate post on my collection of Lovecraft reference works sometime in the indeterminate future…
  • Sidney-Fryer, Donald. Emperor of Dreams: A Clark Ashton Smith Bibliography. Donald M. Grant, 1979. If this isn’t the most irritatingly organized single-author bibliography of all time, it’s not for want of trying…
  • Grant, Donald M. Talbot Mundy: Messenger of Destiny. Donald M. Grant, 1983. Just picked this up, so it’s still in the shrinkwrap…
  • Day, Bradford M. Materials Toward a Bibliography of the Works of Talbot Mundy. Science-Fiction & Fantasy Publications, 1955. My copy was beat to hell when I got it, and it was regarded as not entirely accurate even when it was produced. A historical curiosity only.
  • Pringle, David. St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers. St. James Press, 1998. A lot less superseded than the SF & Fantasy works, but unless it’s something quite modern, I’ll generally reach for Bleiler’s The Guide to Supernatural Fiction instead.
  • Hall, Hal. Science Fiction Book Review Index, 1974-1979. Gale, 1981. If you need it (and you know who you are), you need it.
  • Spignesi,Stephen J. Shape Under the Sheet: The Complete Stephen King Encyclopedia. Popular Culture Ink., 1991. A mixture of the really useful and the completely worthless.
  • Wiater, Stanley, Christopher Golden and Hank Wagner. The Stephen King Universe: A Guide to the Worlds of Stephen King. Cemetery Dance, 2001. Signed, slipcased edition. I don’t have too many King reference works, but I’ve got these two. (Plus Hank use to do a lot of reviews for me back in the Nova Express days.)
  • Hawk, Pat. Hawk’s Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Series & Sequels. Hawk’s Enterprises, 2001. Not perfect, but nothing else really covers so much information for this particular area.
  • Stableford, Brian. The Dictionary of Science Fiction Places. Simon & Schuster, 1999. A solid work, but I almost never find myself consulting it.
  • Turner, George R. (Bruce Gillespie, editor) SF Commentary 76: The Unrelenting Gaze: George Turner Non-Fiction: A Selection. A hefty selection of commentary, reviews, etc. from the dean of Australian SF writers. The full text is available online.
  • Wright, H. Stephen. Philip K. Dick: A Secondary Bibliography, 1960-1983. Just what it says. Bound pages. Not a particularly common work. Like Lovecraft, I plan on doing a future post on my Philip K. Dick reference works.
  • Shoaf, Eric C. Collecting William S. Burroughs in Print: A Checklist. Ratishna Books, 2000. Bought this off eBay back around 2001, and was initially disappointed that it was just bound pages, but this actually a really solid bibliography. For example, there’s an in-depth history of the Grove Press publication of Naked Lunch.
  • Bradbury, Ray. Futuria Fantasia. Graham, 2007. Hardback reproduction of four issues of an early fanzine Bradbury published. I’m guessing the green ink is designed to matched the original look of the fanzine, but man, it’s really hard on the eyes…
  • Collins, Paul, editor. The MUP Encyclopaedia of Australian Science Fiction & Fantasy. Melbourne University Publishing, 1998. Felt compelled to pick this up after I published a very scathing John Clute review of it in Nova Express.
  • Science Fiction Bibliography, Volume 1, Number 1 (and only). Science Fiction Syndicate, 1935. A curiosity, being the first published science fiction bibliography on record (and published here in Austin, no less). Mainly reviews fanzine and magazines you’ve never heard of, condemning some as complete worthless. No author listed, but it was apparently a D. R. Welch, the first used SF book dealer in Austin. Picked up for $35 back when Currey was asking $100 for it. Mainly useful as something to pull out for guests and go “Look! The first published SF bibliography!” and watch them nod indulgently.

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    Lawrence Person’s Library: Reference Books (Part 1)

    Tuesday, June 14th, 2011

    I haven’t posted much the last week because I’ve been busy doing this and that, and one of the things I’ve been busy with is a long-overdue cleanup of my office, including doing something about those Nova Express review copies cluttering it up. Now that I’ve finally finished moving books around, and gotten a new camera (a Kodak Slice) to replace the one that died, I thought I would put up some long-overdue pictures of the books in my office, starting with the reference shelf right next to my computer, which contains the reference works I tend to reach for most often.

    (Click to embiggen.)

    Going left to right (left being the side closest to the computer, and thus the books I reach for most often) are:

  • Currey, L.W. Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors: A Bibliography of First Printings of Their Fiction. G. K. Hall, 1978. The bible of the field, and absolutely essential for any serious collector of science fiction first editions. Only goes up to 1978. For dates after 1983, you can use The Locus Online Database. Currey also sells a slightly updated CD-ROM version, which still only goes up to 1978. (Now if only someone would compile a book that covers 1979-1983…)
  • Chalker, Jack & Owings, Mark. The Science Fantasy Publishers: A Critical and Bibliographic History. Mirage Press, 1991 (“Third Edition Revised and Enlarged”). If you’re a serious SF collector, you need this. The problem is, you can’t trust it. No other reference work offers the wealth and scope of knowledge of SF small press publishers that this one does. There’s a lot of good information in here. The print edition shown above had major errors and omissions, and a very odd organizational structure, not to mention several sneers and the constant sound of ax-grinding for SF figures the authors disagree with; the CD-ROM version is more accurate, but no longer up to date as both Chalker and Owings have died. What this book is best for is the chatty, informative histories of the various publishing houses listed here. (If nothing else, I can unstintingly recommend this book for anyone thinking of starting up their own small press, as it provides numerous examples of what not to do.) It’s also quite useful for uncovering titles and publishers you might not have known existed before. In summary: A valuable tool for those who possess enough experience in the field to know which parts to take with a grain of salt.
  • Clute, John, & Nichols, Peter. The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. St. Martins, 1993 (first U.S. edition, offset from the same plates as the Orbit (UK) first). An absolutely essential general reference work.
  • Clute, John, & Grant, John. The Encyclopedia of Fantasy. St. Martins, 1997 (first U.S. edition). Slightly more scattershot than the above, but still an essential guide.
  • Reginald, Robert. Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature: Indexes to the Literature, Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature:Contemporary Science Fiction Authors, and Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature: 1975 to 1991. Gale Research, 1980, 1981, 1992. Not the first reference work I reach for, but contains a lot of information that has slipped through the cracks of other works.
  • Levack, Daniel. Amber Dreams: A Roger Zelazny Bibliography. Underwood Miller, 1983. The first of the single-author bibliographies.
  • Levack, Daniel. PKD: A Philip K. Dick Bibliography. Underwood Miller, 1981. I have a copy of the trade paperback edition for sale over on the Lame Excuse Books page.
  • Hewett, Jerry. The Work of Jack Vance: An Annotated Bibliography & Guide. Borgo Press/Underwood Miller, 1994. I know Jerry pretty well, and not only has he signed my copy, he crossed out “Borgo” and wrote in “Bozo” on the title page. I think he had some problems dealing with them…
  • Bleiler, Everett F.. The Checklist of Science-Fiction and Supernatural Fiction. Firebell, 1978. Slightly updated edition of Bleiler’s classic Checklist of Fantastic Fiction (which I have on another shelf), and an absolutely essential reference work for older SF/F/H books.
  • Joshi, S. T. Sixty Years of Arkham House. Arkham House, 1999. Not 100% accurate, but essential none the less.
  • Bleiler, Everett. The Guide to Supernatural Fiction. Kent State University Press, 1993. Very good, and very solid, as a general reference work, but not really concerned with first edition points.
  • Locke, George. Spectrum of Fantasy I-III. Ferret Fantasy, 1980-2002. Perhaps the only SF dealer as knowledgeable as Currey. These are Locke’s descriptions of his own personal library of fantastic fiction. Quite enjoyable works, and George is a nice guy.

    • One guideline I’d offer aspiring SF/F/H book collectors is: Don’t skimp on the reference works. Some of these books can be expensive, but all it takes is one real find (or one expensive dud avoided) for a good reference work to pay for itself.

    More pictures of my reference library when I have the time…

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