May/June 2010 - Big Little Books

The
BIG
LITTLE
TIMES®
_______________________________________________________________________________
VOLUME XXIX, NUMBER 3
BIG LITTLE BOOK COLLECTOR’S CLUB
P.O. BOX 1242
Danville, California 94526
MAY/JUNE 2010
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
CHANDU THE MAGICIAN - (Back cover)
Saalfield Little Big Book #1093 (1935)
CHANDU THE MAGICIAN - (Front cover)
Saalfield Little Big Book #1093 (1935)
Back
Front
Cover
Cover
FOR SALE
BIG LITTLE BOOK DUST JACKETS
Our BLB Club has several celebrities in its membership.
Mel Torme, who passed away several years ago, was an active
collector of BLBs. In the 1930s, his Dad worked for Whitman, and
every time a BLB came off the presses, his Dad would bring home a
copy for Mel. Mel told me some great stories about those printing days.
Between the last issue of the BLT and this one, another celebrity in our Club
passed away. Robert Culp (Member #306) loved BLBs and had an extensive
collection until he had to downsize when he relocated. He grew up in the Bay Area
and went to the high school my wife attended –– Berkeley High near the University of
California.
Culp was born in Oakland California in 1930. After college and for more than 50
years, he was active as a writer, producer, director, and actor in movies and on
television. He is best remembered for his TV role as secret agent Kelly
Robinson, who operated undercover as a touring tennis professional, for
three years on the hit NBC series I Spy (1965–68), with co-star Bill Cosby.
Culp wrote scripts for seven episodes, one of which he also directed. One
episode earned him an Emmy nomination for writing. For all three years of the
series he was also nominated for an acting Emmy, but lost each time to Cosby.
Culp passed away of a massive heart attack on March 24, 2010. He had just completed
writing a screenplay titled Terry and the Pirates which was scheduled to begin shooting
later this year in Hong Kong with Culp directing. Terry and the Pirates was Culp’s favorite
comic strip as a child and it was his lifelong dream to make a film based on it.
Many Club Members have written to me about the significant drop in
membership - mainly due to age. In this issue of the BLT there is one suggestion that
several members think might help revitalize the Club. Read the first letter to the Editor
–– and if the idea works, perhaps the Club will be revitalized.
•
•
•
In several recent issues of the BLT, Club
Members have provided information on H. J. Ward,
the artist who created definitive portraits for the Lone
Ranger and the Green Hornet. Author David Saunders,
preparing a biography on Ward, knew that Ward did
a definitive Superman painting, but no one seemed to
know what happened to it. The original painting was
recently located in a library at Lehman College. The New
York Times published an interesting story about how the
“lost” painting was tracked down:
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/
the-mystery-of-the-missing-man-of-steel/
The H. L. Ward
Superman painting
LARRY LOWERY
Editor
High quality full color dust jackets are now available for some Big Little Books.
They can be used to enhance and protect BLBs or be used on any BLB to make
it look great!
Each costs $6.00 plus $2.00 postage for the first
dust jacket. No additional postage is needed for 2
or more dust jackets. Send check or Money Order
made out to The Big Little Book Club, P.O. Box 1242,
Danville, CA 94526.
The following are the BLB dust jackets that are available. If you have a book not
on this list for which you want a dust jacket, one will be made for you - cost is
$10.00 per dust jacket.
Alley Oop and Dinny
Mickey Mouse and Bobo the Elephant
Alley Oop in the Jungles of Moo
Mickey Mouse and Pluto the Racer
Buck Rogers and the Planetoid Plot
Mickey Mouse Runs His Own Newspaper
Buck Rogers on the Moons of Saturn
Mickey Mouse and the Bat Bandit
Buck Rogers and the Doom Comet
Mickey Mouse the Detective
Buck Rogers and the Depth Men of Jupiter
Mickey Mouse in Blaggard Castle
Buck Rogers in the City Below the Sea
Mickey Mouse Sails for Treasure Island
Flash Gordon on the Planet Mongo
Mickey Mouse and the Sacred Jewel
Flash Gordon and the Witch Queen of Mongo
The Phantom
Flash Gordon and the Tournaments of Mongo
Popeye in Quest of his Poopdeck Pappy
Flash Gordon and the Monsters of Mongo
Tarzan of the Apes
Flash Gordon in the Water World of Mongo
Tarzan Twins
The Lone Ranger and the Vanishing Herd
Tiny Tim and the Mechanical Men
Mickey Mouse (first printing with skinny Mickey on cover)
Tom Mix in the Fighting Cowboy
Mickey Mouse (second printing with traditional Mickey on
the cover)
Wash Tubbs and Captain Easy Hunting for Whales
Received a copy of the Alley Oop and Dinny
Big Little Book dust cover. Looks terrific,
such a quality reproduction. I’m very
pleased! Thank you very much for offering
Alley Oop in your selection of dust covers.
It shall sit on my curio cabinet shelf along
with my Oop BLB’s. The idea is really a
great idea. I would say most collectors
would love to add such an item to their
collection. Back in the 1940’s I would have
loved to have these to wrap around my
BLB’s, then I had a whole book shelf full
of the Disney and Flash Gordon and many
others. Thanks again.
Ray Snodgrass #1142
Wimpy, The Hamburger Eater
Alley Oop and Dinny
dust jacket
Popeye in Quest of his
Poopdeck Pappy
dust jacket
3
CHANDU
THE MAGICIAN
by
Larry Lowery
Frank Chandler is a fictitious character who learned the secrets of the
Yogi’s in the Far East. He used his special powers and a crystal ball to
thwart the enemies of mankind. He became well-known as Chandu, the
Magician.
Roxor and Chandu
“Chandu the Magician” Republic Pictures 1932
The popular juvenile radio program Chandu the Magician, began on
October 10, 1932 on the West Coast Don Lee Network, radio station KHJ,
Los Angeles. It soon expanded to the East on Mutual. The 5-day series of
15-minute episodes was sponsored by White King Soap in the West and
by Beech Nut Gum in the East.
The title character was American-born Frank Chandler who learned occult
secrets in India. He acquired supernatural skills, including astral projection,
teleportation, and the ability to create illusions. Calling himself Chandu,
he intended to fight any “evil that threatens mankind.”
The original show was created by Raymond Morgan and Harry Earnshaw.
Vera Oldham who worked for them, wrote several hundred episodes in
which Chandler’s sister, Dorothy Regent, and her two children, Betty and
Bob, try to find Dorothy’s husband, Robert Regent, who disappeared in a
shipwreck. Suspecting foul play, Chandler takes the family to Egypt where
they encounter dangerous adventures and the evil Roxor. Chandler has
a mild romance with Nadji, an Egyptian princess, and he discovers that
Roxor had kidnapped and holds Robert prisoner in an attempt to get his
plans for a powerful ray gun.
Princess Nadji
“The Return of Chandu the Magician” Republic Pictures 1934
4
Although the program came to an end in 1936, it was revived for another
run beginning June 28, 1948. The original scripts were reworked by Vera
Oldham, and the episodes were again sponsored by White King Soap on
ABC, Saturday nights at 7:30 p.m. The spooky theme music was provided
by organist Juan Rolando under his Hindu pseudonym, Korla Pandit.
Then on February 2, 1949, the serialized episodes were dropped, and the
program became a 30-minute, self-contained story each week. The last
broadcast was heard on September 6, 1950.
5
In the year that the radio program Chandu the Magician, first aired, the
first of three Chandu movies came to theaters. The first film, Chandu the
Magician, starred Edmund Lowe as Chandu and Bela Lugosi as the evil
Roxor. The film contains interesting visual tricks for its day: Using his
eyes, Chandu changes rifles into hissing vipers; a rope rises into the air,
is climbed to the top, and the climber disappears; ghost-like souls float
from their bodies.
Chandu
(Edmund Lowe)
and
Princess Nadji
(Irene Ware)
Actor Lowe is impressive
in Oriental clothing, but his
acting is weak compared to
Lugosi. He does evade poison,
trapdoors, collapsing floors, and
tear gas and chases the evil Roxor
all over Egypt to save the world
from extinction. Roxor is played
with relish by Bela Lugosi who
was in his prime. Along the way
Chandu is smitten by the beautiful Princess Nadji (a damsel in
distress). Irene Ware plays the
very attractive princess.
Movie Poster
The movie was photographed by the notable James Wong Howe and
was co-directed by James Cameron Menzies whose talent can be seen in
the elaborate sets and miniature model effects, especially the camera pan
through an Egyptian tomb.
In 1934, The Return of Chandu appeared on the screen as a 12-part serial.
For this film, Lugosi takes over the role of the great Chandu, and the
story tells of the Black Magic cult of Ubasti that believes that Nadji is a
reincarnation of their long-dead goddess Ossana. The cult intends to
sacrifice Nadji so that Ossana can be resurrected.
Nadji seeks help from Chandu in California. He places a White Magic
protection around her, but when the cult’s high priest learns of this he
puts Nadji in a trance that Chandu cannot break. Chandu takes her to
safety at the Port of Suva in the South Seas. There, aided by Dorothy,
Betty, and Bob, he revives her. However, the Voice of Ubasti, the highest
of the high priests, spirits Nadji through magic to the Circle of Ola on the
mystic Island Lamuria.
Irene Ware
The movie follows the main story
line of the radio program. Wouldbe world dominator Roxor has
kidnapped Robert Regent, along with his
powerful ray invention, in hopes of
using it to force humanity to follow
his bidding. Faced with revealing
the machine’s secrets or allowing his
family to die a horrible death at the
hands of Roxor, Regent’s only hope lies
with the intervention of his brother-inlaw, the turbaned yogi and magician
Chandu, who has the power to make
men see what is not there. The movie
has a “blooper” in it. During a scene,
Chandu enters a slave auction by luring
the guard away with an astral projection.
The guard chases the illusion, corners it
only to see it disappear. In a shot over
his shoulder we see him raise his hands
in amazement and drop his rifle. Then a
cut to a new angle shows the guard from
the front still holding the gun.
6
Using his crystal ball, Chandu and his family try to reach her, but are
shipwrecked on the island. His family is captured and held for sacrifice.
Chandu is plunged into a maze of endless caverns beneath the temple
with his powers weakened by the forces of Black Magic. But he becomes
invisible and rescues the princess and his family.
This 12-part serial was adapted by Saalfield to make a movie-size Little
Big Book. Although the book is titled Chandu the Magician, the story is
actually taken from the second Chandu film and not the first. This 160
page book contains 61 motion picture stills from the Principal Pictures
serial. It was published as both a hard cover and soft cover book.
Saalfield Litle Big Book #1043
Movie Poster
7
In 1935, the serial was edited down
from 208 minutes to 65 minutes and
released under the title Chandu on the
Magic Island. The story is essentially
the same as the serial with Bela Lugosi
playing the part of Chandu.
HELP! I’M BEING
HELD PRISONER
IN THE CASTLE
Saalfield’s Little Big Book about
Chandu is hard to get. It is one of
Saalfield’s most collectible titles. All
three movies are available on YouTube
or through Amazon.
by
SOL M. DAVIDSON (Member #1279)
Until now in my travels, I have treated Serendipity as a prankish
companion, sometimes making me pay for the good fortune it bestows, so
I good-naturedly put up with its mischievous takeaways and turnabouts.
But in this chapter I discovered how demonical it can become.
Movie Poster
The chop-chop of the helicopter’s blades added sound to the all-tooapt metaphor in my mind: I was being sucked into the vortex of a great
mix master and my fate would be quicker but no less sure than Edgar
Allen Poe’s in The Pit and the Pendulum. I was flat on my back, arms and
legs wrapped like a mummy, buckled to an uncomfortable stretcher. I
could not move. I wouldn’t have been able to scratch if an itch had come.
I was alone among strangers, two paramedics and a pilot, flying eastward
over the flat Texas prairie toward a town I had never been in, Lubbock. I
knew no one in Lubbock.
I tried to remember: My wife, Penny was driving in the same direction,
down below, on unfamiliar wintry roads. I recalled the administration
of unknown potions, needles, IVs, the dizziness, the nausea, the pain of
deliberate shock to my heaving chest. What awaited me at our
destination?
Miscellaneous Movie Stills and Posters
The chopper landed below a ceiling of snow-laden clouds. The side doors
opened and a bitter breeze bit at my exposed face and head. My stretcher
was slid out into a waiting vehicle…a hearse? No, an ambulance.
It moved out quickly and cruised through strangely empty thoroughfares—no need for a siren—and pulled up at a sterile-looking building.
As I was being wheeled through the automatic double doors, I caught
sight of a phrase on a blank side wall: Covenant H--. Rich, old word, full
of legends, promises, streaking lights and darks. With this start, I feared
the covenant was with the Devil. Rolling through the cold, silent, empty
corridors, a scene from my childhood came to me. The first Big Little
Book I had encountered, Mickey Mouse in Blaggard Castle, where Mickey
was held prisoner by three mad scientists, Professor Ecks, Doublex and
Triplex and subjected to trap doors, crocodile pits, strap-down chairs and
insane experiments.
8
9
The surreal atmosphere around me was multiplied with the first flurry of
activity. Two doctors, serious-faced cardiologists, shortly joined by a third,
surrounded me in a small examination room, examined, probed, questioned,
hooked me up to various machines, studied the screens. I didn’t get their
names then, but later learned that the first was a Dr. Kurdi, and he looked
like Jimmy Stewart of the movies. The second was Dr. Muhammed Ali, a
specialist in electrophysiology, who resembled actor Omar Sherif without
the mustache. And the third, Dr. Kefer, was shorter than his fellow scientists,
a soft-spoken Peter Lorre. Each had a slight Arabic accent.
The third morning they wanted me to get up and try to walk. I obeyed
and shuffled down the corridor leaning on a walker with squeaky
wheels, while I tried to be alert for trap doors and crocodile pits. I was
surprisingly adept for a post-op patient and I made it safely back to my
cell…where Dr. Ali was waiting for me. What new fiendish experiment
had he devised?
What are the odds, I asked myself, of three Arab cardiologists ending
up in an out-of-the-way small West Texas town like Lubbock? Not likely
coincidence. Obviously a conspiratorial plot. Humanity’s well-being was
at stake. And even if not all of humanity’s, certainly my own well-being
was. Subsequent events seemed to magnify my concerns. Confinement
to a small cell-like room. When I was being transferred to my own bed, I
caught sight of the outdoors through the window. I looked for the dunes,
the doctors’ camels. But the landscape was flat everywhere. I was given the
silent treatment; no one answered my lights or buzzers. Before they left, the
doctors talked of an Angiogram in the morning. Misnomer. Devilogram
in my mind. Interrogators came in periodically. “Name? Date of birth?”
Each asked in the same monotone. I had prepared myself to give them
more—name, rank, serial number, but no one asked. Left alone, I listened
for tapping from other cells on the pipes that run throughout structures
like this. Nothing. They tried the sleep-deprivation gambit. At 3 a.m., they
came to wheel me down to the X-ray room, where the supposed technician
was not even available yet.
“That’s strange,” Ali said with his slight Arabic accent, “I thought I detected a bit of a New Jersey accent in your speech.”
What was I guilty of? I had never faced an accuser. I tried to remember
a trial…but drew a blank. A sleepless night was followed by a day of
activity—theirs. I just lay there helpless. The angiogram, (Dr. Kurdi). The
installation of an ICD unit in the left side of my chest (Dr. Ali). The EKGs
and the post-op review (Dr. Kefer.)
“No. Don’t turn on your left side. That’s
where the implant is.”
“No. Don’t turn on your right side.
The gout we caused in your knee will
make you scream with pain.”
“Good advice, Dr. Kefer. But we just ran out of sides for me to turn.” I lay
on my aching back without turning, but I fooled them. I moved my eyes
from side to side.
10
Turned out, he just wanted to talk. “You’re from Iowa?” he asked.
“Yes. We lived there for 40 years. We’re heading back to Florida now.”
I smiled. “Yes, I spent my childhood there. And how would you recognize that? Have you lived in New Jersey?”
“Yes. I still have family there. Jersey City.”
“Well, I have friends, Arab friends, who live in Jersey City. It’s a big city
but perhaps you know the Haddad family? They’re originally from Lebanon. Leila Haddad.”
Muhammed Ali’s eyes opened wide. “She has a daughter named
Mona?”
“And a sister named Muna. And nephews named Selim, Farid and Akim.
And a grandnephew named Khalil who I dandled on my knees when he
was a toddler.”
“In Iowa?”
“Yes. In Des Moines. They lived there for several years. We were
especially close with their aunt, Fareedeh.”
And with that conversation began a short but beautiful friendship. I was
ready to go home in another two days, but each day Dr. Ali would come
and talk for about an hour when he had completed his rounds of other
patients.
Back in Florida, I have just inscribed and
mailed a copy of one of my children’s books
for his wife, Sofia, and his grammar school
daughter. Swiftly, the connections with Mickey Mouse’s Blaggard Castle and its unsavory
implications have faded. I realize it wasn’t a
very apt metaphor.
(You just read part of my forthcoming book, Travel Happens)
11
COLLECTOR’S CORNER
I recently reread news commentator Andy Rooney’s book titled My War.
In that book he describes Big Little Books as having “the shape of four
inches cut off the end of a two-by-four.” He also told about a journalist he
met named Bud Hutton. I’ve never heard of Bud Hutton in relationship
to Big Little Books, but Rooney states that:
“Hutton had . . . written a lot of what were called Little Big Books.
The Little Big Books were about 10,000 words long and I remember
being impressed when Bud told me he could write one in day. He was
easily the fastest four-finger typist I ever knew and by sticking at it
he could write 1,000 words in fifty minutes. He’d start writing at 8
a.m. At the end of fifty minutes, he’d sit back and take precisely ten
minutes drinking a cup of coffee and smoking a cigarette. By noon,
he’d have 4,000 words written and he’d stop work for lunch and a
brief nap. At one o’clock he’d resume writing, smoking, and drinking coffee until 5 p.m., at which time, with 8,000 words completed,
he’d stop working until 8 p.m. At exactly 8 p.m. after several drinks
and dinner, he’d go back to work and by 10 p.m. he’d have the book
written and go to bed.”
WOW! Hutton could write a BLB a day! Little Big Book was the trademark of the Saalfield Publishing Company of Akron, Ohio. I wrote to Mr.
Rooney to see if I could learn more about Bud Hutton and which books he
might have authored - his name is not listed in any of the Saalfield titles.
I’ve not heard back from Mr. Rooney, but I don’t doubt that Mr. Hutton
wrote some BLBs. It is interesting to know how he did his writing. I will
add information if I hear back from Mr. Rooney.
•
•
•
Recently, I was attracted by the covers of two comic books on eBay. The
covers were copies of Whitman’s BLBs titled Mickey Mouse and the Bat Bandit
and Mickey Mouse the Mail Pilot. Looking closely at the covers, it was clear
that the comics were underground publications called Air Pirates Funnies.
In checking them out, I found that the first book was published in July of
1971 and the second a month later. Both were published by Hell Comics
- and today they are highly collectible. In very nice condition, each was
listed for over $500.00.
The comics were created by a group of cartoonists who called themselves
Air Pirates. Founded by Dan O’Neil the group also included Shary
Fleniggan, Bobby London, Gary Hallgren and Ted Richards.
12
13
The Air Pirates shared a common interest in the styles of past masters
of comic strips. In the Air Pirates Funnies, Shary Flenniken emulated
Clare Briggs’ family comic strips in her Trots and Bonnie feature, Bobby
London’s piece called Dirty Duck paid homage to the styles of E.C. Segar’s
Thimble Theater and George Herriman’s Krazy Kat, Richards’ Dopin’ Dan
was similar to Mort Walker’s Beetle Bailey and Gary Hallgren did homage
to Cliff Sterett’s Polly and Her Pals. The lead stories in both issues, were
created by O’Neill and focused on Disney characters, most notably from
Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey Mouse newspaper strip, O’Neill insisted
it would dilute the parody to change the names of the characters, so his
adventurous mouse character was called “Mickey”.
If you look carefully at the covers of the Air Pirates Funnies, you will
notice that the sack held by the Bat Bandit and the ones roped to Mickey’s
airplane indicate that they contain “dope.” The stories in these comics
involve the Disney characters with drugs and sex.
The publications led to a law suit by the Walt Disney Corporation, alleging,
among other things, copyright infringement and trademark infringement.
The Air Pirates, in turn, claimed that the parodies were fair use.
The initial decision by Judge Wollenberg in the California District Court,
delivered on July 7, 1972, went against the Air Pirates, and O’Neill’s
lawyers appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit.
During the legal proceedings and in violation of a temporary restraining
order, the Air Pirates published some of the material intended for the third
issue of Air Pirates Funnies which featured The Tortoise and the Hare, of
which nearly 10,000 issues were soon confiscated under a court order.
In 1975, Disney won a $200,000 preliminary judgement and another
restraining order, which O’Neill defied by continuing to draw Disney
parodies. O’Neill regarded Mickey Mouse as a symbol of conformist
hypocrisy in American culture, and therefore a ripe target for satire.
The case dragged on for several
years. Finally, in 1978, the Ninth
Circuit ruled against the Air
Pirates three to zero for copyright infringement, although
they dismissed the trademark
infringement claims. In 1979 the
Supreme Court refused to hear
an appeal.
14
15
The following are details derived from various websites.
O’Neill later claimed that his plan in the Disney lawsuit was to lose,
appeal, lose again, while continuing to draw his parodies and eventually to
force the courts to either allow him to continue or send him to jail. (“Doing
something stupid once,” he said, “is just plain stupid. Doing something
stupid twice is a philosophy.”)
O’Neill’s four-page Mickey Mouse story Communiqué #1 from the M.L.F.
(Mouse Liberation Front) appeared in the magazine CoEvolution Quarterly
#21 in 1979. Disney asked the court to hold O’Neill in contempt of court
and have him prosecuted criminally, along with Stewart Brand, publisher
of CoEvolution Quarterly.
By mid-1979, O’Neill recruited diverse artists for a “secret” artist’s
organization, The Mouse Liberation Front. An M.L.F. art show was
displayed in New York, Philadelphia and San Diego. With the
help of sympathetic Disney employees, O’Neill delivered M.L.F.
Communiqué #2 in person to the Disney studios, where he drew Mickey
Mouse at an animation table.
In 1980, weighing the unrecoverable $190,000 in damages and $2,000,000
in legal fees against O’Neill’s continuing disregard for the court’s
decisions, the Walt Disney Company settled the case, dropping the
contempt charges and promising not to enforce the judgment as long as
the Pirates no longer infringed Disney’s copyrights.
In Bob Levin’s 2003 book The Pirates and The Mouse: Disney’s War Against
the Counterculture, New York Law School professor Edward Samuels said,
“I was flabbergasted. {Dan} told me he had won the case. ‘No, Dan,’ I told
him, ‘You lost.’ ‘No, I won.’ ‘No, you lost.’” To Dan O’Neill, not going to
jail constituted victory. However, Samuels said of the Air Pirates, “They
set parody back twenty years.”
The case remains controversial among comic critics and free-speech
advocates.
Example from
AIR PIRATE FUNNIES #2
•
•
Club Member Robert D. Siedle,
Member #1265, just published an
interesting spiral bound book on
BLBs. Titled Saving A Piece of Americana, the book covers the Whitman
titles from 1932 through 1949. It
aptly describes the joy of having a
book, then describes in detail the
factors that hurt books and tells
ways to keep them healthy.
Side bits are fun to read: the
depression era and its relationship
to BLBs; the printing procedures
used in the 30s; the history of
flip it techniques for viewing
“movies.”
A very nice feature of the book is a
complete listing of the flip it feature
BLBs, each one described in detail
and evaluated for its art and action.
The flip it books are pictured in full
color, however, the quality of the
pictures are not very good.
I also wish that our Club was
mentioned in the book. Our
Club can use all the publicity and
support it can get.
I recommend that Saving A Piece
of Americana be checked out.
I’ve added it to my collection of
BLB reference books. It can be a
useful reference book in a BLB
collection.
Example of a flip it page
This book is available from:
16
•
17
LETTERS
I’m sorry to hear that so many of our members have passed away. But thank
you for all you have done for the members of The Big Little Book Club.
Like other members I was saddened to learn that the BLB Club along with the
BL Times would pass into the Great Beyond at the end of 2011. Yet while our
ranks are thinning because of advanced age and its subsequent consequence,
there are still a large number of people out there who possess a potential
interest in big little books. Comic collectors, for example, have increased in
number, and many are quite youthful. As they expand in their knowledge
as well as collections, it seems logical that they would have an appreciative
interest in big little books .
Would you consider extending your time as President and Editor if we,
as current members, would each recruit at least one new member for
our club? We all know people who are collectors of nostalgia related
material and would welcome a big little book connection. Besides comic book
collectors, think of those people who collect Disney, Tarzan, Dick Tracy, Lone
Ranger, pulp, etc. items. The list goes on and on. As a start, we might even
gift these people with a trial membership in the Big Little Book Club. Maybe
we could honor those members who encourage 5 new people or more to
join to become honorary members of a special Lowery Club. Recruiting a
lesser number could be members of the Tarzan club, the Disney club, details
to be worked out.
Everyone should try to recruit at least one new member so as to insure our
numbers. Will put a check in the mail for several new members today.
Yours in Missionary Spirit,
WALT NEEDHAM
Member #1102
Several Club Members have made the same suggestion that Walt has made. And
surprisingly, the Club has picked up 20 new members from Walt and the others
making this suggestion. If anyone else thinks this is a good idea and gets new
members for the Club, I’ll seriously think about continuing the Club. One aspect
in my decision to bring the Club to an end is the cost of producing the BLT. The
fewer copies printed, the most costly the printing. If we lose another 100 members in the next two years, publishing the BLT will not be cost effective income
would drop below the “break even” point - and for me, raising the price of Club
memberships is not an option.
18
How about printing up a list of the remaining members including their special
BLB collecting interests so that we can continue to communicate with each
other after you no longer are publishing our bimonthly magazine. Also,
it would be nice to see a book written about the history of the Whitman
Publishing Company as it pertains to the BLBs. I’m sure our members would
be happy to provide you with the reference materials you might need to do
a definitive job.
MICHAEL A. SANTELL
Member #162
I’ve tried to put listings together from time to time, asking members who are
interested to provide a way to contact them, but I’ve gotten very few responses - not
enough to fill half a page of names. I’ve been told by some members that they are
careful about giving out addresses - and some members who are celebrities never
give out such information. But I’ll try one more time:
Anyone interested in a compilation of BLB Club members names and addresses
(mailing addresses or e-mail addresses), please send that information to this
Club. I will compile an alphabetical listing and included it with one of the
upcoming issues of the BLT. Michael’s request for additional information
about your BLB collecting interests is optional.
I’ve spent some time on the BLB Club’s website looking at all the pictures
you’ve put up about fellow members and past events. They might have been
online for awhile, but I just saw them a couple of weeks ago.
I refuse to even acknowledge or think about the Big Little Times days being
numbered. I faithfully wait at the mailbox on the first of every other month,
and will become like Charlie Brown waiting for his Valentine’s Day cards
that never come, after the last BLTimes is published. My plan is to start over
with Issue #1 and enjoy them all over again.
JIM BLACKLEDGE
Member #565
DON’T DO IT! PLEASE DON’T BRING THE CLUB AND THE BLT TO
AN END!
DUFFY PERDUE
Member #26
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BIG LITTLE BOOKS
FOR SALE
CLASSIFIED ADS
FOR SALE
FOR SALE
I have ACE Doubles
paperback with dust cover
My entire collection of 440 BLBs.
Catalogue value = $14,000.00
Send for listing
Will sacrifice the total collection for
$9,000.00 or best offer.
old “Little Black Sambo books
BLBs (over 200)
DON ZUMBIEL (Member #171)
614 East Ranch Road
Sacramento, CA 95825
(916) 481-0491
If interested, please phone so I can
explain details.
BOB POPWELL (Member #941)
925 38th Ave. Space 24
Santa Cruz, CA 95062-4452
831-476-9520
FOR SALE
Over 150 BLBs and related items.
Most are FN to MT. Many rare, very
rare, and scarce books. Pictures upon
request.
For list send SASE to:
FOR SALE
Fast Action Books
BRYAN CAMPBELL (Member #977)
709 Brookside Place
Colwich, KS 67030
or call 1-316-796-0650 evenings please
or by internet:
[email protected]
SD2 Dan Dunn
Zep of Doom (Set 2) VG $35.00
SD3 King of Ryl Mtd
Police Frzn North (Set 8) G+ $35.00
SD13 Gene Autry
Gun Smoke (Set 4) VG $30.00
SD14 Little Orphan Annie
Rags to Riches (Set 4) VG+ $45.00
FOR SALE
Over 10,000 comic books 1930-1990
SD16 Tailspin Tommy
Airline Mystery (Set 4) VG+ $40.00
Disney items
Cocomalt Book
Carl Barks lithographs wholesale
GWp4 Buck Rogers in 25th Century
VG-F $45.00
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All 6 books for $175.00
Still have some Chronicle books
and 1400 series BLBs
in FINE to NEAR MINT.
PAUL MORRIS (Member #856)
149 Forest Road
Wallkill, New York 12589
(845) 564-2007
JERRY JURMAN (Member #362)
75 Parkway Drive
Syosset, NY 11791
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