Volume Three: 1941
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Selected for the 2024 Locus Recommended Reading List
Michael Dirda in The Washington Post, May 31 2024:
“Fan conventions are the lifeblood of science fiction, so it’s no surprise that the latest installment of ‘The Visual History of Science Fiction Fandom’ is huge — nearly 500 pages devoted to a scrapbook-history of the third World Science Fiction Convention, held in Denver in 1941. Edited and written by David Ritter, Daniel Ritter, Sam McDonald and John L. Coker III, the resulting mix of nostalgia and scholarship doesn’t just memorialize, it re-creates the buildup, the infighting and the experience of attending what came to be called Denvention. Packed with photographs, cartoons, lists, correspondence, extracts from fanzines, and sections on the Futurians, Ray Bradbury and Arthur C. Clarke, this is a must-have for any student of sf’s golden age.“
First Fandom Experience is pleased to announce the immediate availability of our next major work.
The third volume of The Visual History brings to life a remarkable year of transitions for science fiction fandom.
Cover art by Mark Wheatley
Science fiction fandom in 1941 played out in a panoply of wisdom, foolishness, belief and incredulity. Less mired than previous years in the economic shackles of the Great Depression, fans let loose in ways both expected and surprising.
The year began with a bang – the noisy implosion of the ascendant Queens Science Fiction League, torn apart by rancor among New York factions stewing since 1938. In early December, fans in America were forced to face the threat of imminent dystopia as insidious products of science and engineering rained down on sailors at Pearl Harbor.
Between these bookends, fans read and wrote and gathered and argued and published in profusion – mostly in good humor.
The perennial questions persisted. What’s the purpose of the fiction we inhale like oxygen? What role do fans play in the world? Are we somehow better than others? What’s the point of organizing? Perhaps these debates were reason enough to come together.
The 1941 World Convention in Denver would be the last until 1946. Fans didn’t know this at the time, but they debauched as though they did. Traditions established the prior year in Chicago did more than survive the trip, highlighted by an extravagant masquerade. As Guest of Honor, Robert Heinlein led the audience to “The Discovery of the Future.” Forrest J Ackerman would later dub this the most outstanding conference address he heard in his fifty-plus years as a fan.
More than ever, the experience of fans in 1941 offers a view of the human experience of that time. In the US, journeys from the coasts to the heartland and back were set amidst evolving attitudes regarding the present and the future. In Britain, the terrible potential of science came in the dark – yet fans’ inherent optimism survived. Young fans were inspired by those who came before, evidence of the enduring appeal of hope, imagination, speculation and the camaraderie of like-minded fellows.
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The Visual History of Science Fiction Fandom, Volume Three: 1941
A stunning 480-page hardcover, exhaustively researched and profusely illustrated. Price includes Media Mail shipping to the continental United States. Contact us for other shipping preferences. Click “Pay with Paypal” below.
$149.00