I got a letter from Rick Sneary recently, giving me some more painting ownership statistics. He has the files of the 3rd WesterCon, in 1950, where all those Bonestells went for prices like $5.50 and $8.00, with the names of who got them. "It should be pointed out that these were not all cover paints... but sometimes things that had not sold. There were for example three renders of Palomar Dome, only one of which sold to Collier's.."
After 17 years, I'd want to verify this information before I add it to my list. There're 15 paintings marked down. Walt Daugherty got three; we can check with him on those. E. E. Evans got two; I suppose Thelma Evans still has them -- we could check on that. Who are Hans Rush, "a Frisco fan"; Bill Kuappdeide, of the GGFS of that time; Bill Martin; Don Vassor; or somebody named Liebmann? It's to preserve information such as this; so that this material can be located over the years, that a list like this should be maintained.
Rick goes on to list a lot of the stuff he has, which is mostly Bradbury manuscripts. "'Referent' - published as a 'Brett Sterling' story in TWS.. -- a mix-batch of draft sheets-- i.e., about two dozen sheets, but some two or three versions of the same page.. Historically very important I guess, but hell to read." "'The Baby' -- 3rd draft of 7, of 'The Small Assassin'".
When I get back from the NyCon, I'm going to have to start putting all this information I've been getting down on file cards, so I can locate it without having to leaf through old Apa L's. Ultimately, it should go into a computer. I wonder if the MITSFS would be interested in taking over the project?
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For the king-list fans, here's a list of the rulers of Imerina:
King Andrianampoinimerina, 1787-1810
King Radama I, 1910-1828
Queen Ranavalona I, 1828-1861
King Radama II, 1861-1863
Queen Rasoherina, 1863-1868
Queen Ranavalona II, 1868-1883
Queen Ranavalona III, 1883-1895
Imerina annexed by France in 1895.
By the time you read this, the NyCon III will be over, and you should know who won the WorldCon for 1968. I suspect it'll be the Pan-PacifiCon, and that's not just wishful thinking on my part. As of right now, four days before the NyCon begins, it looks as though both bidders are going to be making an all-out push; and I think we're gonna be able to push harder than Berkeley is. Well, we'll see -- or we will have seen when you read this.
I'm looking forward to the NyCon for several reasons. One is that, when they were bidding, Ted White & crew promised that this Con would have a lot of things that no Con ever had before. As one of the '68 bidders, I'm curious to see if they've come up with any good ideas we'll want to copy at the Pan-PacifiCon. So far, their two big innovations are the comic-book rider with the Progress Reports, and the Fan Achievement Awards. We may or may not have a comic-strip (if we do, it'll probably go in MANEKI-NEKO, rather than in our Progress Reports), and we've already stated our position regarding the Fan Achievement Awards: we'll give 'em only if they're voted in at the Business Session of the NyCon. Ted also promised that their Program Book was going to be something extra-special, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's in it. I haven't heard anything about a published Proceedings of the NyCon, though. I hope Ted follows the series started by the ChiCon III and the DisCon, and which the PacifiCon II is about to follow according to Bruce. Advent will be publishing our Proceedings, if we get the '68 Con.
I wonder if this two-years-in-advance business is going to come up before the NyCon? Probably not; those who were campaigning for the idea at the WesterCon won't be attending the NyCon. Besides, I heard Bruce say that they want to get it passed or killed with regard to WesterCons, before they start trying to apply it to the WorldCons. Fred Lerner, though, has an idea he's been talking up, that I'll bet he proposes. Fred feels that WorldCons are in too great a danger from having their Business Sessions packed by non-fan Con attendees, the off-the-street trade, who'll outvote the regular fan on matters they really know nothing about. Fred has been proposing to remedy this theoretical evil by requiring that Con attendees can't vote at their first WorldCons, but only if they've attended two or more WorldCons. This sounds like a needless precaution to me, as I can't conceive of any subject of business on which the "non-fans" would be willing, or capable, of outvoting the regular fans. Before the rotation system came into existence, yes; then fans and non-fans would want to keep the next year's Con as close to their home ground as possible, so that they'd have a better chance of getting to it. But to the average non-fan in New York, say, Los Angeles and Berkeley are equally far away. Fred's idea would also involve too much work in checking to make sure who is & who isn't eligible to vote; and would set up a barrier dividing the Con attendees into a privileged and an unprivileged group, which would be bad public relations. I expect that Fred will propose his idea, but I don't think it's going to get anywhere.
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"It was in the year 1976 that the trouble between the world and China reached its culmination."
... Jack London
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