To bring the story of fandom in the 1930s to life, the FFE team has been relentless in sourcing the fan-created artifacts that have survived from that decade. From multiple private collections, libraries and historical archives, the project has secured access to:
- Over 1,000 issues of 1930s fanzines, including complete or near-complete runs of the most prominent and impactful publications:
- The Planet, The Time Traveller, Science Digest / Fantasy Magazine, Siegal and Shuster’s Science Fiction, The Fantasy Fan, The Phantagraph, Imagination!, The Science Fiction Fan, International Observer, Novae Terrae, The Brooklyn Reporter, Tomorrow, Spaceways, Science Fiction News Letter, Le Zombie…
- Dozens of original letters exchanged between prominent fans:
- Forrest J Ackerman, Jack Darrow, Robert A. Madle, Charles D. Hornig, Donald A. Wollhein, Otto Binder, Raymond A. Palmer, E.E. Smith, Julius Schwartz, Allen Glasser, Sam Moskowitz…
- Most of the fan material created for and from the very first science fiction conventions, including conference special fanzine issues, convention programs and pamphlets.
- Many original photographs of prominent fans
- Exclusive interviews with “first fans,” through collaboration with John L. Coker III, President and Archivist of First Fandom and Editor of Tales of the Time Travelers.
We welcome assistance in sourcing additional artifacts, articles and remembrances. Contributors will receive complementary copies of any publications in which their material is referenced. Sources will be used only with permissions and presented with attribution as requested by the provider. You can see our highest-priority wants here.