Here’s a treasure I’d forgotten I had. I attended the 34th World Science Fiction Convention in September 1976, where the guest of honor was Robert Heinlein, one of my favorite writers. I’ve written a bit about that HERE. For years I’ve been telling friends not only about that, but also that I met Mark Hamill there doing promotional work for the upcoming first Star Wars film. I don’t know if they really believe me, but here’s proof on the autograph page of this fine hardcover souvenir convention book.
At top left, “thanks, Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker)”. This was about a year before the film was released, and the studio had rented a small conference room to promote it. As I recall, there were a few models used in the film, and design sketches by Ralph McQuarrie. Hamill was one of several people on hand to talk about the film, and he was quite enthusiastic. I enjoyed talking to him.
The rest of this page is equally remarkable, and includes autographs from some people I remember meeting, and some I don’t. Here are fan artist/writer Phil Foglio, veteran writer Jack Williamson, another, “Hal Clement” (Harry L. Stubbs), writers Spider and Jeanne Robinson, fanzine publisher Andrew Offutt, artist George Barr, writer Jerry Pournelle, writer Marion Zimmer Bradley, writer Alfred Bester, who writes, “We used to condemn drivers by calling them Jersey drivers!”, a remark that must have been sparked by my telling him where I lived, writer R. Faraday (Ray) Nelson, fanzine publisher Bob Rhoem, writer Thomas R. Montoleone, fan artist Bill Rotsler, writer Frank Herbert, and writer/editor Ben Bova.
On the opposite page, the back of the endpaper, are artist Tim Kirk with a great smiling dragon, artist Bonnie Dalzell with her unicorn, artist Michael Whelan, writer L. Sprague de Camp, writer R.A. Lafferty, editor Lin Carter, artist Rick Sternbach with some kind of creature, an artist whose name I don’t recall with a self-portrait signed Joe, and artist Alicia Austin. At the time I was doing a little art for fanzines, so that explains my interest in those folks, and there are plenty of people here whose work I admire that I don’t really remember meeting. There are a few other fan artist signatures on their work elsewhere.
This turned up when I was going through books I plan to put on eBay, as I’ve been doing for the last few years. It will probably go up there in December. If you’re interested, let me know and I will send you a link when it does.
