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Sun Spots, v. 5, issue 1, whole no. 17, April 1941

Page 18

April, 1941. SUN SPOTS Page 18.

knew as much as I did about most of the stories, but there were always some an individual hadn't happened to get hold of, and wanted to get the low-down on. I came back to my office much better informed on the fantastic field than I had been before the meeting. What other editors get breaks like that?

On another occasion an informal initiation into fandom took place at the Ivory Tower, presided over by Doc Lowndes, and at that time the Futurians meet away out in the Bedford Ave. section of Flatbush. If you want to know how it feels to go down Louis Carroll's Rabbit Hole, you should attend one of these meeting. The place was lined with famous books of classic fantastic fame. Doc wore a Russian smock and carried a fencer's rapier as symbol of authority. The purpose of the meeting was to accomplish nothing, which was done with wit and humor of no mean quality.

There were several charming young girls there. Of course everyone knows fandom is not monopolized by the boys. Everyone did as they pleased- two played cats' cradle and two others played chess. There were some mock challenges and mock quarrels. It was, in short, a getoff on serious club meetings that might well have ended all club meetings (except that kind).

The writers of for these readers of fantasy fiction are fascinating in somewhat the same way. One gets the feeling that they are fans who have turned writer as well as fan, I was strongly impressed with the outstanding popularity of Abe Nerritt.

Mr. Merritt with his wife and daughter live out Queens way, in a cottage type house perched high on a tree-obscured street, and almost hidden itself in trees and garden shrubs. As the fans all know he is editor of the Sunday Magazine Section of a great metropolitan paper. From the trying responsibilities of this work, he relaxes by polishing rare stones on an electrically run lapidist's wheel.

Ko-ko, his African grey parrot, which lives in an enormous wicker cage, punctuates all conversations of guests with strange derisive sounds, one of which is no other than the Bronx cheer.

Mr. and Mrs. Merritt have curios collected from all over the world, charmingly arranged, and among their collections of oddities are gifts from Mr. Merritt's readers- one mimiature "set" from one of the his great fantasies.

Among the other author-fans is Ray Cummings, a popular old timer, who is tall, slender, and a dignified looking personage, who looks all the world like the romantic conception of a great writer. Ralph Milne Farley, another enthusiast, is also tall and lean. He is dark, good looking , and very youthful.

The man who encouraged these writers and also authors like George Allan England, Homer Eon Flint, Austin Hall, Otis Adelbert Kline, Victor Rousseau, etc, is Bob Davis. His office is two doors from that of FAMOUS FANTASTIC MYSTERIES and he writes the famous column "Bob Davis Reveals" for the New York Sun. The Munsey classics were chosen, bought, and edited by Mr. Davis, and the writers, great in their own right, always got greater inspiration from the one and only "Bob." It is because Bob Davis knew a fine story and George Alan England could write one, that we now have "Darkness and Dawn" and its sequels, "Beyond the Great Oblivion" and "The Afterglow", to give you in FAMOUS FANTASTIC MYSTERIES.

THE _ END

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April, 1941. SUN SPOTS Page 18. knew as much as I did about most of the stories, but there were always some an individual hadn't happened to get hold of, and wanted to get the low-down on. I came back to my office much better informed on the fantastic field than I had been before the meeting. What other editors get breaks like that? On another occasion an informal initiation into fandom took place at the Ivory Tower, presided over by Doc Lowndes, and at that time the Futurians meet away out in the Bedford Ave. section of Flatbush. If you want to know how it feels to go down Louis Carroll's Rabbit Hole, you should attend one of these meeting. The place was lined with famous books of classic fantastic fame. Doc wore a Russian smock and carried a fencer's rapier as symbol of authority. The purpose of the meeting was to accomplish nothing, which was done with wit and humor of no mean quality. There were several charming young girls there. Of course everyone knows fandom is not monopolized by the boys. Everyone did as they pleased- two played cats' cradle and two others played chess. There were some mock challenges and mock quarrels. It was, in short, a getoff on serious club meetings that might well have ended all club meetings (except that kind). The writers of for these readers of fantasy fiction are fascinating in somewhat the same way. One gets the feeling that they are fans who have turned writer as well as fan, I was strongly impressed with the outstanding popularity of Abe Nerritt. Mr. Merritt with his wife and daughter live out Queens way, in a cottage type house perched high on a tree-obscured street, and almost hidden itself in trees and garden shrubs. As the fans all know he is editor of the Sunday Magazine Section of a great metropolitan paper. From the trying responsibilities of this work, he relaxes by polishing rare stones on an electrically run lapidist's wheel. Ko-ko, his African grey parrot, which lives in an enormous wicker cage, punctuates all conversations of guests with strange derisive sounds, one of which is no other than the Bronx cheer. Mr. and Mrs. Merritt have curios collected from all over the world, charmingly arranged, and among their collections of oddities are gifts from Mr. Merritt's readers- one mimiature "set" from one of the his great fantasies. Among the other author-fans is Ray Cummings, a popular old timer, who is tall, slender, and a dignified looking personage, who looks all the world like the romantic conception of a great writer. Ralph Milne Farley, another enthusiast, is also tall and lean. He is dark, good looking , and very youthful. The man who encouraged these writers and also authors like George Allan England, Homer Eon Flint, Austin Hall, Otis Adelbert Kline, Victor Rousseau, etc, is Bob Davis. His office is two doors from that of FAMOUS FANTASTIC MYSTERIES and he writes the famous column "Bob Davis Reveals" for the New York Sun. The Munsey classics were chosen, bought, and edited by Mr. Davis, and the writers, great in their own right, always got greater inspiration from the one and only "Bob." It is because Bob Davis knew a fine story and George Alan England could write one, that we now have "Darkness and Dawn" and its sequels, "Beyond the Great Oblivion" and "The Afterglow", to give you in FAMOUS FANTASTIC MYSTERIES. THE _ END