Collecting the Golden Age: Early Arkham House and Fantasy Press Sci-fi Books
For collectors of twentieth-century science fiction, fantasy, and weird fiction, few publishers have the appeal of Arkham House and Fantasy Press. Their books belong to an era when much of the best imaginative fiction was making the transition from the ephemeral pages of pulp magazines to the permanence, and prestige, of the hardcover book.
Today, early books from both presses remain highly collectible. Their attraction goes well beyond the authors represented. Original dust jackets, striking mid-century artwork, small printings, and the fascinating history of American specialty publishing make these books a collecting field unto themselves.
Arkham House: From Lovecraft to the Collector’s Shelf
Arkham House was founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei, initially for a remarkably specific purpose: to preserve the work of their late friend H. P. Lovecraft in hardcover. Its first publication was Lovecraft’s The Outsider and Others in 1939. [en.wikipedia.org], [sf-encyclopedia.com] It is difficult to overstate how important that decision became.
Lovecraft had died in 1937, and much of his fiction remained scattered through pulp magazines. Derleth and Wandrei attempted to interest established publishers in a collection without success. Instead, they created their own publishing house. The Outsider and Others appeared in an edition of 1,268 copies, with a dust jacket by Virgil Finlay. [en.wikipedia.org]
That book effectively established the pattern for Arkham House: beautifully produced hardcover editions devoted to writers who frequently operated outside the literary mainstream.
Lovecraft naturally remains at the center of Arkham House collecting, but the press soon expanded. Its list included such important writers of weird and fantastic literature as Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Frank Belknap Long, William Hope Hodgson, Algernon Blackwood, and Henry S. Whitehead. Arkham House also published early books by writers who would become enormously important, including Ray Bradbury, Fritz Leiber, and A. E. van Vogt. [en.wikipedia.org], [sf-encyclopedia.com]
For the collector, this creates an unusually rich field. One can build an Arkham House collection around Lovecraft, a particular author, the earliest years of the press, jacket artists, or the publisher itself. And the early books have something increasingly difficult to reproduce: atmosphere. The typography, binding, paper, and often extraordinary dust-jacket artwork make an early Arkham House book immediately recognizable on the shelf.
The Dust Jacket Matters
As with many twentieth-century first editions, the survival of the original dust jacket can dramatically change the desirability of an Arkham House book.
This is especially important with early titles. The books were intended to be read, and jackets were easily chipped, faded, torn, discarded, or lost over the decades. Consequently, collectors should look carefully not only at the book itself but also at the condition and authenticity of its jacket.
The earliest and scarcest Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith collections are recognized as some of the most valuable collecting material associated with the press. [sf-encyclopedia.com]
Condition matters. So do edition, printing, binding state, inscriptions, signatures, and provenance.
In other words, two copies of apparently the same Arkham House title may be very different books from a collector’s perspective.
Fantasy Press and the Golden Age of Science Fiction
If Arkham House helped give permanent form to American weird fiction, Fantasy Press performed a similar service for Golden Age science fiction.
Lloyd Arthur Eshbach organized Fantasy Press in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1946. Eshbach was himself a science-fiction writer and fan who had published fiction in the pulps before turning his attention to publishing. [findingaid....upenn.edu]
Among the authors associated with Fantasy Press were some of the defining names of early American science fiction, including E. E. “Doc” Smith, Robert A. Heinlein, John W. Campbell Jr., and John Taine. The surviving Fantasy Press archives at Temple University contain manuscripts and correspondence relating to Smith, Campbell, and Taine. [scrcarchiv...temple.edu]
Fantasy Press's first book was Smith’s Spacehounds of IPC, and the press became particularly associated with Smith’s work. It went on to publish books from his famous Skylark and Lensman sequences. [en.wikipedia.org]
These books represent an important transformation in science-fiction publishing.
Stories and novels that readers had encountered through magazines could now take their place on bookshelves as substantial hardcover volumes.
For the modern collector, that transformation is part of their charm.
Books That Look Like the Future
There is another reason to collect Fantasy Press: the jackets.
The distinctive visual language of mid-century science fiction is wonderfully represented in these books. Spacecraft, distant planets, futuristic cities, strange machines, and vividly imagined astronomical landscapes made the dust jacket almost as important to the identity of the book as the typography on its title page.
Fantasy Press employed artists including Edd Cartier, Hannes Bok, and Ric Binkley, whose artwork contributes significantly to the appeal of surviving jacketed copies. [thequillan...chment.com] A shelf of jacketed Fantasy Press books is consequently both a literary collection and a miniature gallery of Golden Age science-fiction illustration.
What Should a Beginning Collector Look For?
A collector entering this field should resist the temptation simply to buy the oldest copy available.
Start with edition and printing. Learn how the first edition of the particular title is identified. Specialty publishers sometimes present bibliographical puzzles that cannot be solved by looking only for a statement of “First Edition.”
Next comes the dust jacket. Is it original to the book? Has the price been clipped? Has it been restored? Is there fading to the spine? Are there later states or variants?
Then examine condition. A sound, attractive copy with an original jacket will generally make a much more satisfying addition to a collection than a technically scarce copy suffering from serious defects.
Finally, look for the unusual. Signed copies, presentation copies, association copies, inscriptions, variant bindings, and meaningful provenance can transform an otherwise familiar title into something special.
For Arkham House in particular, there is excellent bibliographical literature available to collectors. August Derleth documented the early publishing history himself, while later bibliographical studies extended that work. S. T. Joshi's Sixty Years of Arkham House covers the publisher's output through 1999. [gutenberg.org], [lovecraft.fandom.com]
Two Publishers, Two Complementary Collections
Arkham House and Fantasy Press make particularly interesting companions on the shelf.
Arkham House leads the collector toward Lovecraft, the Weird Tales tradition, supernatural fiction, fantasy, horror, and the emergence of weird fiction as a serious collecting field.
Fantasy Press leads toward the great pulp science-fiction writers, interplanetary adventure, the Golden Age, and the development of science fiction as a hardcover publishing category.
Together, their books document an important moment in American publishing: the point at which literature once considered too specialized for mainstream publishers found dedicated publishers, dedicated readers, and eventually dedicated collectors.
That accomplishment may be the most compelling reason to collect them.
These were small presses created by people who believed certain writers and stories deserved to exist between hard covers. Decades later, collectors are still proving them right.
Collecting Arkham House and Fantasy Press at Barron Rare Books
At Barron Rare Books, we have a particular appreciation for the early publishers, authors, and illustrators who helped transform science fiction, fantasy, and weird fiction from ephemeral popular entertainment into a serious field of book collecting.
When evaluating early Arkham House and Fantasy Press titles, we pay close attention to edition, issue, dust-jacket condition, signatures, inscriptions, provenance, and bibliographical points that distinguish an ordinary copy from an exceptional one.
Whether you are searching for Lovecraft and the early Arkham House writers, the great Fantasy Press science-fiction titles, or simply an exceptional jacketed first edition from the Golden Age, these books offer a collecting field with considerable history, visual appeal, and personality. Check out our newest Sci-Fi titles here at BarronRareBooks.com
Barron Rare Books Rare books, first editions, and collectible literature.
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