Treasures?
Wed., January 16, 02:08 PM
Treasures, of course, are in the eye of the beholder. I’ll need some time to sort this stuff out. When Husband started moving stuff around in his room, he unearthed — among other things — a huge stock of old Fantasy & Science Fiction magazines.
I first became familiar with F&SF when I was in high school (middle ages), through anthologies in the public library. I seldom had an actual magazine in my hands because the only newstands I knew in our town to buy science fiction were in places where “nice girls” didn’t go. (The assumption, I think, was that girls didn’t read that stuff anyway.) I liked the stories the editor chose, but first I usually read the science column written by Isaac Asimov.
Isaac may have had a lot of shortcomings as a writer, but he taught me a helluva lot. Even now, despite my annoyance with some of his socially inappropriate opinions, I can sit down and enjoy his stories. I loved the robots and continue to do so, even as I know that robot technology has outgrown those early assumptions.
It would be years before I could buy a subscription, so that my magazines would arrive in my mailbox. (Originally, they came in plain brown wrappers, just like those men’s magazines I didn’t read.) It was even longer before I had some place to keep them, rather than throw them away. I must have about ten years’ worth here.
Sitting on the floor, counting and moving piles, I find complete twelve-month collections from 1969 through 1977. There is one month missing from 1978 — the month I went back to work — and a dozen or so assorted issues ending with October 1983. I also found one from 1967 and some from 1968. I wonder whether there are a few loose ones somewhere else in the house…
There are a few anniversary issues and some specials like the Damon Knight issue, the Harlan Ellison issue, and the all-British issue. Samples of some of my old favorites, like Theodore Sturgeon and Zenna Henderson. Heinlein and Asimov, of course. Fritz Leiber! Does anyone remember him any more? I worked with a librarian who was friends with his parents, and she occasionally received a letter from Fritz (Jr.). Despite being printed on cheap paper, they are in rather good condition. I have such an urge, just to stay on the floor and read.
I also considered listing the contents in a database so that I could sort and search. That is, until I realized that there are at least four thousand stories there. There’s no way I would do that unless someone wanted to pay me for it!
I can’t imagine a library wanting them, but a fan who wants to see something from the seventies or eighties just might be interested. The official site offers back issues only as far back as 1990. As I mentioned, value is in the eye of the beholder. Treasures? You decide.
