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Scienti Snaps, v. 1, issue 4, Fall 1938

Page 11

             SCIENTI-SNAPS  Page 11

title COSMOLOGY as the first fan magazine, but in all honesty such a term as “fan magazine” is decidedly out of place when applied to this magazine.  Some might call COSMOLOGY a club magazine, for it was the organ of the original “International Scientific Association”.  Yet the curious mixture of material contained in the magazine certainly cannot be labeled as club notes.  Science was predominant it must be admitted; but the insistent creeping In of science-fiction, and very occasionally pure fan material, was most disconcerting to some of the original founders of the organization (Ray Palmer, Walter Dennis, etc.).  Way back in this early publication we find the first traces of the “Knock ‘Em Down and Drag ‘Em Out” tendency among the fans.  Do you think that some of the fan magazines of today are conducted informally?  Well, then you have never seen copies of COSMOLOGY.  Some of the editorial comment made in all seriousness was simply a scream, and there was apparently no censorship as to choice of words in those days either.  And you should have read them when they really meant to be funny.  IF you had, your opinion of the intellects of science-fiction would have taken an abrupt drop.  To read some of the cracks made by Ray Palmer and Walter Dennis cause one to repeatedly glance at the title of the magazine reputed to be one of the driest of all time despite contributions from such members as Miles J. Bruer (“Do Sex and Science Mix), Willy Loy, P. Schyler Miller, A. W. Bernal, Captain Meek, Jack Williamson, etc.  Evidently the comparatively youthful editors were not the only offenders.

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SCIENTI-SNAPS Page 11 title COSMOLOGY as the first fan magazine, but in all honesty such a term as “fan magazine” is decidedly out of place when applied to this magazine. Some might call COSMOLOGY a club magazine, for it was the organ of the original “International Scientific Association”. Yet the curious mixture of material contained in the magazine certainly cannot be labeled as club notes. Science was predominant it must be admitted; but the insistent creeping In of science-fiction, and very occasionally pure fan material, was most disconcerting to some of the original founders of the organization (Ray Palmer, Walter Dennis, etc.). Way back in this early publication we find the first traces of the “Knock ‘Em Down and Drag ‘Em Out” tendency among the fans. Do you think that some of the fan magazines of today are conducted informally? Well, then you have never seen copies of COSMOLOGY. Some of the editorial comment made in all seriousness was simply a scream, and there was apparently no censorship as to choice of words in those days either. And you should have read them when they really meant to be funny. IF you had, your opinion of the intellects of science-fiction would have taken an abrupt drop. To read some of the cracks made by Ray Palmer and Walter Dennis cause one to repeatedly glance at the title of the magazine reputed to be one of the driest of all time despite contributions from such members as Miles J. Bruer (“Do Sex and Science Mix), Willy Loy, P. Schyler Miller, A. W. Bernal, Captain Meek, Jack Williamson, etc. Evidently the comparatively youthful editors were not the only offenders.