Re: RARA-AVIS: RARA AVIS Proprietor Bill Denton and the Pulp Show encounter

From: William Denton ( buff@pobox.com)
Date: 01 May 2000


On 1 May 2000, Michael Chong wrote:

: While perusing one such pocket, I found The Machine in Ward Eleven by
: Charles Willeford. Under closer inspection, it was way over my means
: at $65 Canadian. A voice over my shoulder asked "Is that Willeford?"
: I looked up to see a bearded man in fedora and trenchcoat.

I think I asked how much they were charging for it, actually, and checking my records I see got my copy at the first Toronto pulp con for $35. Demand for Willeford's stuff must be going up. That same dealer had a never-reprinted PBO David Goodis title for $150! (I was wearing a tweed jacket, too.)

It was nice to run into a rare bird. I met Doug Levin and Michael Sharp
(who seems to have dropped off the list, or into lurk mode) a couple of years ago at the MLA when it was here. If anyone pulls through Toronto, let me know and perhaps we can have a drink. I'm not ogreish in real life. I should add that Michael's very knowledgeable and well-read, and maybe he'd join us.

The hardboiled pulps at the show could get pretty expensive, with the interesting BLACK MASKS costing the most--far beyond what I could every pay, especially if I wanted a collection of more than a miniscule size. I picked up half a dozen copies of ARGOSY from the '20s and '30s. Did they published much hardboiled stuff, or did HB writers publish in it? I took a quick look through some biblio on the web site and turned up a story by Ross Macdonald and one by Woolrich, but that was about it.

Michael and I both had a gander at some copies of MANHUNT but the guy wanted $20 or more, which seemed pretty steep, even if they did contain original stories by W.R. Burnett.

Bill

-- 
William Denton : Toronto, Canada : http://www.miskatonic.org/ : Caveat lector.

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