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SPECIAL NOTE: If you find any of this stuff on auction, DO
NOT BID ON IT. There is a real danger that 2 people or more trying
to help HE will get in a bidding war. Contact me at the e-mail address
up there or contact Harlan if you are a friend of his. DO NOT
BID ON STUFF. CONTACT US INSTEAD!
A NOTE TO FANS FROM SUSAN ELLISON
Fans, readers, and good-hearted souls keep sending Harlan little gifts,
"tokens of their esteem". The thoughts are usually very nice and much
appreciated, but usually it's nothing he can use, or has room for. HE
thanks you, but says he'd rather you didn't. From time to time we (and
Rick Wyatt on the website) ask for youse guys to look for something
special HE needs; but otherwise, if you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT restrain yourself,
here's a tip from the RABBIT HOLE editor: he loves historical miniatures.
(What we laypersons call "toy soldiers")
IHNMAIMS Computer Game Foreign Editions
Harlan has discovered that there was at least one foreign edition (in
German) of the Cyberdreams computer game I HAVE NO MOUTH, AND I MUST
SCREAM. The cover of the game said it was also available in French,
Italian and Dutch. Harlan would like a mint copy of each edition in
the box, and he promises to make it worth the while of anyone who finds
one. E-mail me, webmaster@harlanellison.com.
Thanks!
URANIA Magazines
Harlan is also looking for two copies of the italian SF magazine URANIA
- specifically, the "Autunno" 1996 issue featuring HE's story "Pulling
Hard Time" (under the name "Dura Da Scontare").
 Marvel
Mirrors
These mirrors were produced by Mirage Design (Brooklyn, NY) in 1976.
Harlan had quite a few but many were broken in the earthquake - he still
has mirrors of Captain America and Dr. Strange and has reacquired the
Incredible Hulk Mirror but is missing all the others (including the
Fantastic Four and Spider Man). If you've got one of these lying around
the house, Harlan will make it worth your while to send it to him. The
mirrors are approximately 8" by 10".
Kersh Books
I am often asked what books by Gerald Kersh Harlan is looking for. Kersh
is HE's favorite author and he has an extensive collection of his work.
(Harlan has been accorded the singular honor of being named Guest of Honor
at the prestigious Readercon in 1999. A special privilege of the Readercon
GoH every year is his or her's selection of an "honorary" Guest
of Honor--a writer from the past, now deceased, but deserving of attention
and respect. In years past, such authors as Cordwainer Smith and James
Tiptree, Jr. have been so honored. Of all the choices Harlan had, of all
the great writers Harlan has known personally...he picked Gerald Kersh.
That's in what awe and admiration Harlan holds Kersh!) Harlan wants
the actual books for his collection, in "good" or better
condition (the books themselves, too, he is not interested borrowing a
copy or receiving a photocopy).
Of the several dozen books by Kersh, these are the only titles Harlan
does not have and would desperately love to find:
Jews Without Jehovah - this is the most rare, copies in any condition
would be great.
Battle of the Singing Men - this is a paperback (actually it was
printed on pulp and saddle-stitched in a small comic book format) printed
during WWII, 64 pages with 9 stories. There *may* be a more durable paperback
or hardcover version.
Mugs Mugs Mugs
Harlan wants to pass on his thanks to Joseph J. Finn for sending him a
James Baldwin mug to replace his broken one!
The "Explorer" Mugs
(the pronouns are not in error - Harlan wrote this one)
Between the (inclusive) years 1978 and 1983, the Copenhagen-based porcelain
artisans Bing & Grondahl issued a set of six "Explorer"
mugs. The mugs measure nearly 5" in height and hold one full pint.
They are each fired in various shades of blue and are emblazoned in 24-karat
gold with the images of famous sailing ships. The 1978 mug (with the year
1978 on the reverse face) depicts Christopher Columbus's Santa Maria,
1492. The 1979 mug was Vasco da Gama's Gabriel, 1498. The 1980
mug was Magellan's Victoria, 1520. The 1981 mug was the Endeavour
of James Cook, 1778. The 1983 mug, the last one in the annual set, was
The Roosevelt, commanded by Admiral Robert Peary, in 1909.
The ugly reality that during the earthquake that hit us three years ago,
the 1982 mug was broken and two of the other mugs were chipped in minor
fashion. They are the 1979 and 1980 (Gabriel and Victoria) mugs. The 1982
and 1979 mugs have since been replaced. The chips in the 1980 mug aren't
crippling, but...well...if you spot the ug, I'd be not disinterested to
get backup pieces. So. Please ask your Granny if she has any Bing &
Grondahl porcelainware...and then pilfer it.
View a very bad photo of the backs of
two mugs.
The World Series Mug
Harlan is also looking for a mug commemorating the 1995 world series featuring
the Cleveland Indians. The mugs were made in China and widely distributed...they
are about 5" tall and are off-white with a large handle. We can tell
you little more, but if you come across any World Series mugs please contact
me and I'll let you know if it's the right type. You can also view
pictures of the front and back
of a similar mug featuring the Yankees.
Block-Langenthal Collectors Plates
Three of Harlan's museum collector's plates have been damaged in an earthquake,
and he needs replacements. One plates is missing from a set of four Picasso
plates and two are missing from a set of Dinosaur plates. All three plates
were issued by Block-Langenthal in Switzerland as special items in limited
edition for the museums listed below and were sold exclusively at those
museums. If you have any information about where the Ellisons can replace
these plates, please contact
me (webmaster@harlanellison.com)
immediately.
The Picasso plates are reproductions from the Pablo Picasso Drawings,
Paris 1905, from the (Claribel and Etta) Cone collection at the Baltimore
Museum of Art. Click on the text to see a picture of all
four plates, the two damaged
plates (the one with the woman standing on the back of the horse has been replaced now, so we just need the one of the man sitting sidesaddle), and the two undamaged
plates
The Dinosaur plates are from the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. The
first plate damaged was a drawing of a triceratops and the second was
a drawing of a diplodocus. Click on the text to see a picture of the
triceratops plate and the diplodocus
plate. Sorry for the quality, these are from photocopies made before
the plates were damaged.
Selected Charities
If you don't have dinosaur plates or Kersh books, but would still like
to help out, Harlan has recommended the following charities:
The
Dictionary of American Regional English
DARE is attempting to document english as spoken in various US regions.
This is an effort to preserve our cultural variety and heritage which
HE is much in favor of. The folks at DARE have this to pass on:
Harlan would like you to make a contribution to a project which he
supports - the Dictionary of American Regional English, or DARE, as it
is familiarly known. DARE is a one-of-a -kind literary effort which provides
a comprehensive and historical treatment of the English language as actually
spoken throughout the United States. It is an authoritative and invaluable
source of objective information on the ways that people express their
experiences and cultural circumstances through language. Harlan likes
DARE very much and encourages all of you to contribute to it. Checks should
be made out to DARE/UW Foundation and sent to DARE, 6131 Helen C. White
Hall, 600 North Park Street, Madison, WI, 53706. All contributions are
tax deductible. More information regarding DARE can be found at http://polyglot.lss.wisc.edu/dare/dare.html.
Your help is needed to make sure that the DARE project is completed. All
gifts, large and small, will be very much appreciated by DARE and by Harlan.
Contribute to DARE today!
The Comic Book Legal Defense
Fund
The CBLDF (sorry, no snappy acronym this time) fights against censorship
and for First Amendment Rights for comic writers, artists, and publishers.
As a huge fan of the medium, Harlan uses every opportunity to promote
the CBLDF possible. |
