There are two fantasy related birthdays, today (July 23) as well as one each in the science fiction (C. M. Kornbluth) and mystery (Raymond Chandler) fields.
First, there’s Alden H. Norton. He was born in 1903 and passed away in 1987. Norton edited Astonishing Stories and Super Science Stories in the early to middle 1940s. They aren’t remembered as being among the best of the pulps. Probably because they were among the lowest paying markets of the time.
What Norton is best remembered for were paperback anthologies which brought together a number of stories that had not been collected in book form up until that time.
Writers like Ray Bradbury, Henry Kuttner, Robert Bloch. Names of writers who became giants in the field.
I came across one (don’t remember which now) when I was middle school or early high school. I immediately began to search for more. This wasn’t so easy to do in the days before the internet. The one advantage I had was that I had been fortunate to live where there was always at least one good used book store.
I do remember reading W. C. Morrow’s “His Unconquerable Enemy” sitting in the middle of a dirt road while I waited for a crop duster to return. It was a pretty isolated area, and I was working as a flagger, meaning I walked in a line with some other guys so the pilot could fly a straight line and spray the mesquite in the adjacent pasture. The only vehicle I saw for several hours was my boss’s wife when she dropped me off and picked me up. If any other vehicle had come along while I had been reading, I’m not sure I would have moved out of the way in time.
Norton introduced me to a number of stories that are considered minor classics that even now are not always easy to come by. He’s worth checking out. Fortunately, there are a number of copies of his books for quite reasonable prices online.
The other birthday today is Virgil Finlay (1914-1971). Finlay was one of the greatest artists of the middle of the previous centuries. I’m going to let his work speak for itself. There is a calendar of Finlay’s work for those who are interested.
Illustration from A. Merritt’s The Ship of Ishtar
Illustration from A. Merritt’s The Ship of Ishtar
