Michael J. Walsh, Hero of the Galactic Patrol; E.E. Smith reprints!

[B5JMS Poster]

Subject: Michael J. Walsh, Hero of the Galactic Patrol; E.E. Smith reprints!
-----+-------------+--------------------------------------------------
 No. | DATE        |  FROM
-----+-------------+--------------------------------------------------
+  1: Jun 28, 1996: gharlane at ccshp1.ccs.csus.edu (Gharlane of Eddore)
+  2: Jun 28, 1996: al680 at FreeNet.Carleton.CA (C. W. Clark)
*  3: Jun 28, 1996: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

From: gharlane at ccshp1.ccs.csus.edu (Gharlane of Eddore)
Lines: 97

Frabjous day!   Calloo, callay!  

This just came in the mail:

======================================================================
| 
| From mwalsh at MAIL.PRESS.JHU.EDU Fri Jun 28 07:51 PDT 1996
| Subject: Whistle A Happy Tune....
| To: gharlane at ccshp1.ccs.csus.edu
| 
| Curious subject line, eh?  
| 
| Well, you'd be whisling a happy tune too if you just received a signed
| contract from the agent for the E E Smith Estate granting you (well,
| actually me...) reprint rights to the six Lensmen books.
| 
| Yup, it's official!
| 
| What few details there are.... are that I will probably commence
| reprinting the series in 1997, issuing the titles on a semi-regular
| basis from January (at the Boston convention named Arisia...) ending
| at the Worldcon.  All six books at once might be too big of a hit on
| the wallets of most folk.  Unless Lloyd has changed his mind about
| taking money from me, I will be offseting the FP text and using the
| same jacket art.  Very retro, but cool, too.
| 
| Cost?  Tentatively $15 a book, there will probably be a *Special Price*
| for a pre-paid set, possibly even a box for all six at the conclusion
| of this crazed project.
| 
| All of this is subject to change, alteration and tweaking.
| 
| So, spread the word.
| 
| I'll log onto the 'net tonight and babble a bit about this project.
| 
| Hope this makes your Friday!
| 
| Cordially,
| Michael J. Walsh
| 
======================================================================


Notes to folks who might not be entirely "up" on this subject;
"Lloyd" refers to Lloyd Arthur Eshbach, a long-time fan, writer
and publisher, who founded Fantasy Press, probably the first 
decent-quality publishing company aimed at specializing in 
Fantasy and SF, in 1946.   (his "Gates of Lucifer" fantasy 
trilogy, finished in 1990, was completed at about the same 
time he turned 80.  LAE is one of those ageless SF types who 
keep proving that having been around for a few decades doesn't
curtail the ability to tell a competent story.)

Note that Michael J. Walsh is considering the possiblity of 
producing a boxed set of "Lensman" hardbounds, something that
hasn't been done since LAE did it at Fantasy Press.  (In 
1956, they ran off 75 leatherbound, boxed sets, which only
rarely appear on the collectors' book market today, usually
offered at prices in the thousands of dollars.)

Since MJW is talking about a "special price" for a pre-paid
set, it occurs to me that any hardbound collectors out there
who want a nice set of the "Lensman" books could facilitate
his project by getting in on the ground floor and pre-paying.
Wouldn't YOU be willing to write a check for less than a 
C-note to have a nice, uniform, hardbound set, produced
with loving attention to detail by a long-time fan who will
be using *good* materials to make books your great grand-children
can sell for a bundle when they get short of cash?  *grin*

Even nicer, once the Estimable Mr. Walsh gets this project 
moving and proves there *is* a demand out there for E.E. Smith
books, maybe we can get a paperback reprint series moving again!
I don't think there's been a paperback print run of the "Lensman"
books since the early eighties, at least in the U.S......

Okay, Mike, was this good enough to count as fulfilling your 
injunction to "Spread the word!"  ??

*Happy Grin*


"Lensman" FAQ page:    http://168.150.253.1/~zlensman/lensfaq.html


-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|                                                   __      __        |
| We are dreamers, shapers, singers and makers.    /  |    /  \       |
| We study the mysteries of laser and circuit,       -|---+----+-     |
| Crystal and scanner, holographic demons,            |   |    |      |
| And invocations of equations.                       |_/  \__/       |
|                                                                     |
| These are the tools we employ.   And we know... many things.        |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

From: al680 at FreeNet.Carleton.CA (C. W. Clark)
Lines: 17

It won't be any great grand-child of mine who sells a book just because of
a shortage of cash.  Not if I'm around anyway.

A nice pre-ordered (how can one pre-order something?) hardbound set would
be nice.  Something to do while B5, to stay on topic, reruns are shown.

CWC.

Gharlane of Eddore (gharlane at ccshp1.ccs.csus.edu) writes:
> Wouldn't YOU be willing to write a check for less than a 
> C-note to have a nice, uniform, hardbound set, produced
> with loving attention to detail by a long-time fan who will
> be using *good* materials to make books your great grand-children
> can sell for a bundle when they get short of cash?  *grin*
> 



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

From: jmsatb5 at aol.com (Jms at B5)
Lines: 10

Cool.  I have all the Lensman books, mainly in first editions, but that
makes them fragile and difficult to read sometimes.  I'd love to see a new
series of editions, it's long past due.



 jms



-***
-*** B5JMS SUBSCRIBERS: Messages to this list come from various sources.
-*** Replies to them, automatically to go the maintainer of this list
-*** <b5jms-owner at majordomo.cs.columbia.edu>.  If you want to reply to
-*** someone else, make sure the "To:" header line is correctly set.