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Acolyte, v. 3, issue 2, whole no. 11, Summer 1945
Page 15
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Prelude with Lovecraft STUART M. BOLAND In the spring of 1935 I was making a library survey tour of the European continent. At the quaint little hill town of Orvieto, in Italy, I came upon an amazing mural high on the walls of the local Duomo or Cathedral. The painting represented mighty figures of ebon-hued men(not angels or demons) with great wings, flying through the etheric space carrying beateous pinionless mortals--men and women who were rapturously accompanying them in their voyage through eternity. I photographed the scene and sent a print to Robert E. Howard, telling him it reminded me of one of his Conan stories. With the print I included a colored reproduction of a rare illuminated manuscript of the 10th Century which I had seen in the Royal Archives at Budapest. Howard, for some reason, sent this facsimile to Lovecraft, asking if he thought his Necronomicon would look anything like the reproduction of the parchment. ******* Three months later, when I reached my home by the Presidio in San Francisco, I found awaiting me two letters from Howard and an extensive missive from Lovecraft. I was extremely pleased and surprised to hear from the masters of fantasy. Lovecraft inquired if I had another copy of the illuminated facsimile; then proceeded to give me his version of the history of the Necronomicon. The small and cryptic handwriting interested me considerably, but Lovecraft's statement to the effect that the Necronomicon was not in any way, shape, or form a thing of beauty stirred my imagination. Even the Egyptian Book of the Dead was a testimony to the bibliographical arts and accomplishments of the strange high-priests who produced it, no matter what immortal horror lay locked within its sheets. Lovecraft said that the brightly colored and gilded manuscript was a far cry from what he had in mind; in fact, the Necronomicon was intended to be a tome of stark terror and diabolical utility. "The ultimate horror whose secrets would curdle and boil the seething organ of the brain in its bone-pot as its ghastly mysteries unfolded to the eyes of those who dared to read it." Incidentally, Howard claimed that the name Necronomicon was compounded from the words "Necro", meaning death; "nomi",meaning name; and "con", meaning with--- literally, "With the Name of Death". It should be noted however, that Lovecraft gave me a long explanation about the Necronomicon without thus defining the origin of his word. Lovecraft asked me if I thought that San Francisco's Ambrose Bierce and George Sterling wrote stories under nom de plumes for pulp magazines. He ventured the suspicion that they did, because in certain fanciful stories he had read, he thought he clearly detected the imprint and character of their respective styles. ((So as far as we know, Lovecraft was mistaken in this assumption. --FTL)) In my reply to HPL, I stated that I thought his opinion was well-founded, and furthermore that the references of both men to odd ancient gods were ideas they must have borrowed from Mayan, Toltec, and Aztec mythology. Such references, I suggested, were disguised from their original source by cloaking the identity of the gods in different environments and baptizing them with new names. Lovecraft wrote promptly back to me and asked if I had much knowledge of the history and lore of the ancient Mayan, Toltec, and Aztec civilizations. He also asked if I harbored the thought that he might have gotten some of his ideas about gods from these same sources. In my reply, I mentioned that I had studied first-hand the -- 15 --
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Prelude with Lovecraft STUART M. BOLAND In the spring of 1935 I was making a library survey tour of the European continent. At the quaint little hill town of Orvieto, in Italy, I came upon an amazing mural high on the walls of the local Duomo or Cathedral. The painting represented mighty figures of ebon-hued men(not angels or demons) with great wings, flying through the etheric space carrying beateous pinionless mortals--men and women who were rapturously accompanying them in their voyage through eternity. I photographed the scene and sent a print to Robert E. Howard, telling him it reminded me of one of his Conan stories. With the print I included a colored reproduction of a rare illuminated manuscript of the 10th Century which I had seen in the Royal Archives at Budapest. Howard, for some reason, sent this facsimile to Lovecraft, asking if he thought his Necronomicon would look anything like the reproduction of the parchment. ******* Three months later, when I reached my home by the Presidio in San Francisco, I found awaiting me two letters from Howard and an extensive missive from Lovecraft. I was extremely pleased and surprised to hear from the masters of fantasy. Lovecraft inquired if I had another copy of the illuminated facsimile; then proceeded to give me his version of the history of the Necronomicon. The small and cryptic handwriting interested me considerably, but Lovecraft's statement to the effect that the Necronomicon was not in any way, shape, or form a thing of beauty stirred my imagination. Even the Egyptian Book of the Dead was a testimony to the bibliographical arts and accomplishments of the strange high-priests who produced it, no matter what immortal horror lay locked within its sheets. Lovecraft said that the brightly colored and gilded manuscript was a far cry from what he had in mind; in fact, the Necronomicon was intended to be a tome of stark terror and diabolical utility. "The ultimate horror whose secrets would curdle and boil the seething organ of the brain in its bone-pot as its ghastly mysteries unfolded to the eyes of those who dared to read it." Incidentally, Howard claimed that the name Necronomicon was compounded from the words "Necro", meaning death; "nomi",meaning name; and "con", meaning with--- literally, "With the Name of Death". It should be noted however, that Lovecraft gave me a long explanation about the Necronomicon without thus defining the origin of his word. Lovecraft asked me if I thought that San Francisco's Ambrose Bierce and George Sterling wrote stories under nom de plumes for pulp magazines. He ventured the suspicion that they did, because in certain fanciful stories he had read, he thought he clearly detected the imprint and character of their respective styles. ((So as far as we know, Lovecraft was mistaken in this assumption. --FTL)) In my reply to HPL, I stated that I thought his opinion was well-founded, and furthermore that the references of both men to odd ancient gods were ideas they must have borrowed from Mayan, Toltec, and Aztec mythology. Such references, I suggested, were disguised from their original source by cloaking the identity of the gods in different environments and baptizing them with new names. Lovecraft wrote promptly back to me and asked if I had much knowledge of the history and lore of the ancient Mayan, Toltec, and Aztec civilizations. He also asked if I harbored the thought that he might have gotten some of his ideas about gods from these same sources. In my reply, I mentioned that I had studied first-hand the -- 15 --
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