DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Jinx, v. 1, issue 3, June 1942

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Jinx, v. 1, issue 3, June 1942

Page 3

Ethics OF AMATEUR PUBLISHING
by Donald A Wollheim
Members of the FAPA may have noted a brief reference in the 11th FAPA FAN to Bill Groveman and the National Amateur Press Association. I warned fans that a certain danger might devolve from NAPA carryings-on and particularly from the facts that fan Groveman was in too deeply with certain NAPA characters. To most fans this reference meant nothing. It is nonetheless of importance. I shall explain why.
Almost anything goes in fan publishing. Possibly it would be true to say that we enjoy a greater freedom of the press than any other group in America. Nonetheless all order and structure in amateur journalism whether in fantasy or not is based upon one unwritten but absolutely vital law - recognition of title rights.
If a fan published a magazine with a certain title, no other fan considers himself to knowingly use that title. We connect the title with the fan publisher. It remains his whether it appears a second time or not. It remains his even if years pass and it is unpublished. Charles D. Hornig published THE FANTASY FAN in 1935. Since then no other fan has used the name because it is understood to be his. Yet the title is not registered or copyrighted. It is fan ethics to allow the title to remain identified with the person.
This ethic is found everywhere that people publish magazines for their own amateur pleasure. It is generally observed in amateur journalism and amateur press clubs everywhere even as it has always been rigidly observed in fandom --- with one exception.
That exception is a New York group of the NAPA known as the Amateur Printers Club (APC). It is headed by one George Trainer and one Burton Crane, both printers and big-wigs of the NAPA. In the past year there has been a sort press battle going on between this outfit and a lady named Marion Blodgett. What the cause or nature of the fight is, is unimportant save that Miss Blodgett feels that the NAPA is not so hot. She published several amateur magazines to say so. Crane answered her back in others. In the course of this fight, I received one of her items and wrote her a note saying I generally agreed with her. My letter was published.
Around December last year I received in the mail a printed magazine post-marked New York. This had the same type faces and format of one of Miss Blodgett's. It bore the title of her magazine and carried a statement supposedly written by her taking everything back she had said about the NAPA. One of the other items was a clumsily written letter supposedly from the head of another amateur press group alleging that several of those who had agreed with Miss Blodgett were just "fifth-columnists" for this rival group. My name was listed among them for no good reason. 
 This publication constituted the most flagrant violation of fan ethics I have ever seen. The magazine was a forgery, it had been written and printed by members of the APC. It bore no mark identifying its true sponsors and authors and in every respect was a thoroughly disgusting type of attack.
Fans have called each other some terrific things in fan feuds. But in the worst fan feuds, we have never taken to forging each others' magazines. Each of us have instinctively realized that to do so is to invite chaos into fandom and to undermine the whole basis of amateur publishing.
This type of violation has now turned up, outside the FAPA in the nature of this recent act of a group of the NAPA. In this group, Bill Groveman, an active FAPA member is also active. Groveman takes part in the works of the APG and has no dispute with them.
Under the circumstances it must be clear that Bill Groveman must be considered as responsible for the actions of the APC as any other member. He is thus equally guilty with them of violating title rights and carrying on unsigned and anonymous attacks on persons who are usually in no position to fight back or even to know what is going on.
Until Groveman renounces the APC for these tactics, he does remain a potential menace to fan publishing. He has allowed himself to acquiesce in the vile acts of Trainer and Crane. Unless he clears himself, he must be a source of suspicion. To introduce robbery of titles in fandom would rapidly develop into complete disorganization. Every fan publisher must be aware of this. Every fan publisher has a duty to be on guard against this!

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Ethics OF AMATEUR PUBLISHING by Donald A Wollheim Members of the FAPA may have noted a brief reference in the 11th FAPA FAN to Bill Groveman and the National Amateur Press Association. I warned fans that a certain danger might devolve from NAPA carryings-on and particularly from the facts that fan Groveman was in too deeply with certain NAPA characters. To most fans this reference meant nothing. It is nonetheless of importance. I shall explain why. Almost anything goes in fan publishing. Possibly it would be true to say that we enjoy a greater freedom of the press than any other group in America. Nonetheless all order and structure in amateur journalism whether in fantasy or not is based upon one unwritten but absolutely vital law - recognition of title rights. If a fan published a magazine with a certain title, no other fan considers himself to knowingly use that title. We connect the title with the fan publisher. It remains his whether it appears a second time or not. It remains his even if years pass and it is unpublished. Charles D. Hornig published THE FANTASY FAN in 1935. Since then no other fan has used the name because it is understood to be his. Yet the title is not registered or copyrighted. It is fan ethics to allow the title to remain identified with the person. This ethic is found everywhere that people publish magazines for their own amateur pleasure. It is generally observed in amateur journalism and amateur press clubs everywhere even as it has always been rigidly observed in fandom --- with one exception. That exception is a New York group of the NAPA known as the Amateur Printers Club (APC). It is headed by one George Trainer and one Burton Crane, both printers and big-wigs of the NAPA. In the past year there has been a sort press battle going on between this outfit and a lady named Marion Blodgett. What the cause or nature of the fight is, is unimportant save that Miss Blodgett feels that the NAPA is not so hot. She published several amateur magazines to say so. Crane answered her back in others. In the course of this fight, I received one of her items and wrote her a note saying I generally agreed with her. My letter was published. Around December last year I received in the mail a printed magazine post-marked New York. This had the same type faces and format of one of Miss Blodgett's. It bore the title of her magazine and carried a statement supposedly written by her taking everything back she had said about the NAPA. One of the other items was a clumsily written letter supposedly from the head of another amateur press group alleging that several of those who had agreed with Miss Blodgett were just "fifth-columnists" for this rival group. My name was listed among them for no good reason. This publication constituted the most flagrant violation of fan ethics I have ever seen. The magazine was a forgery, it had been written and printed by members of the APC. It bore no mark identifying its true sponsors and authors and in every respect was a thoroughly disgusting type of attack. Fans have called each other some terrific things in fan feuds. But in the worst fan feuds, we have never taken to forging each others' magazines. Each of us have instinctively realized that to do so is to invite chaos into fandom and to undermine the whole basis of amateur publishing. This type of violation has now turned up, outside the FAPA in the nature of this recent act of a group of the NAPA. In this group, Bill Groveman, an active FAPA member is also active. Groveman takes part in the works of the APG and has no dispute with them. Under the circumstances it must be clear that Bill Groveman must be considered as responsible for the actions of the APC as any other member. He is thus equally guilty with them of violating title rights and carrying on unsigned and anonymous attacks on persons who are usually in no position to fight back or even to know what is going on. Until Groveman renounces the APC for these tactics, he does remain a potential menace to fan publishing. He has allowed himself to acquiesce in the vile acts of Trainer and Crane. Unless he clears himself, he must be a source of suspicion. To introduce robbery of titles in fandom would rapidly develop into complete disorganization. Every fan publisher must be aware of this. Every fan publisher has a duty to be on guard against this!