Fantasy Press

Fantasy Press was an American publishing house specialising in fantasy and science fiction titles. Established in 1946 by Lloyd Arthur Eshbachcite book | last=Clute | first=John | authorlink=John Clute |coauthors=Peter Nicholls| title=The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction | location=New York| publisher=St. Martin's Griffin | pages=411 | date=1995|id=ISBN 0-312-13486-X] in Reading, Pennsylvania, it was most notable for publishing the works of authors such as Robert A. Heinlein and E. E. Smith. One of its more notable offerings was the Lensman series.

Among its books was "" (1947)cite book | last=Chalker | first=Jack L. | authorlink=Jack L. Chalker | coauthors=Mark Owings | title=The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998 | location=Westminster, MD and Baltimore | publisher=Mirage Press, Ltd.| date=1998 | pages=235] , which was the first book about modern SF and contained essays by John W. Campbell, Jr., Robert A. Heinlein, A. E. van Vogt and others.

History

Lloyd Arthur Eshbach ordered a copy of "Skylark of Space" from its publisher, the Buffalo Book Company, in 1945 or 1946. Like many of Buffalo's customers, Eshbach was frustrated by Buffalo's delays in publishing and lack of marketing, an area that Eschbach had some expertise in, from his job as a copywriter for Glidden. He wrote to the Buffalo Book Company offering suggestions as to how they could better market their books. Thus started a correspondence between Eshbach and Tom Hadley, of Buffalo and later of the Hadley Publishing Company. While never an employee of Hadley, Eshbach helped him with his marketing efforts and as a result ended up with a copy of the mailing list of Haley's customerscite book | last=Chalker | first=Jack L. | authorlink=Jack L. Chalker | coauthors=Mark Owings | title=The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998 | location=Westminster, MD and Baltimore | publisher=Mirage Press, Ltd.| date=1998 | pages=342] . With two of his co-workers from Glidden and one other friend of theirs, Eshbach used the mailing list to start Fantasy Press. He approached E. E. Smith to obtain the rights to "Spacehounds of IPC". Smith was entheusiastic and "Spacehounds of IPC" became the first title published by the new press. Eshbach eventually bought out his partners and operated the press for several years on his own. Ultimately, Fantasy Press was under capitalized and sales declined in the face of competition from the mainstream publishers. Eshbach wrote his authors and reverted the rights to their books while he took a job with a religious publishing house in Myerstown, Pennsylvania.

Imprints

Polaris Press was a subsidiary imprint of Fantasy Press that was created in 1952cite book | last=Eshbach | first=Lloyd Arthur | authorlink=Lloyd Arthur Eshbach | title=Over My Shoulder: Reflections on a Science Fiction Era | location=Philadelphia| publisher=Oswald Train | pages=109-138 | date=1983|oclc=10489084] . Eschbach created the imprint in order to publish books he felt didn't quite fit under the Fantasy Press imprintcite book | last=Chalker | first=Jack L. | authorlink=Jack L. Chalker | coauthors=Mark Owings | title=The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998 | location=Westminster, MD and Baltimore | publisher=Mirage Press, Ltd.| date=1998 | pages=524] . Ultimately, only two titles were ever issued under the Polaris Press imprint.

Works published by Fantasy Press

* "Spacehounds of IPC", by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. (1947)
* "The Legion of Space", by Jack Williamson (1947)
* "The Forbidden Garden", by John Taine (1947)
* "Of Worlds Beyond", edited by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach (1947)
* "The Book of Ptath", by A. E. van Vogt (1947)
* "The Black Flame", by Stanley G. Weinbaum (1948)
* "Triplanetary", by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. (1948)
* "Beyond This Horizon", by Robert A. Heinlein (1948)
* "Sinister Barrier", by Eric Frank Russell (1948)
* "Skylark Three", by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. (1948)
* "Divide and Rule & The Stolen Dormouse", by L. Sprague de Camp (1948)
* "Darker Than You Think", by Jack Williamson (1949)
* "Skylark of Valeron", by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. (1949)
* "A Martian Odyssey and Others", by Stanley G. Weinbaum (1949)
* "Seven Out of Time", by Arthur Leo Zagat (1949)
* "The Incredible Planet", by John W. Campbell, Jr. (1949)
* "First Lensman", by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. (1950)
* "Masters of Time", by A. E. van Vogt (1950)
* "The Bridge of Light", by A. Hyatt Verrill (1950)
* "Genus Homo", by L. Sprague de Camp and P. Schuyler Miller (1950)
* "The Cometeers", by Jack Williamson (1950)
* "Galactic Patrol", by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. (1950)
* "The Moon is Hell", by John W. Campbell, Jr. (1950)
* "Dreadful Sanctuary", by Eric Frank Russell (1951)
* "Beyond Infinity", by Robert Spencer Carr (1951)
* "Seeds of Life", by John Taine (1951)
* "Gray Lensman", by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. (1951)
* "The Crystal Horde", by John Taine (1952)
* "The Red Peri", by Stanley G. Weinbaum (1952)
* "The Legion of Time", by Jack Williamson (1952)
* "The Titan", by P. Schuyler Miller (1952)
* "Second Stage Lensmen", by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. (1953)
* "The Black Star Passes", by John W. Campbell, Jr. (1953)
* "Man of Many Minds", by E. Everett Evans (1953)
* "Assignment in Eternity", by Robert A. Heinlein (1953)
* "Deep Space", by Eric Frank Russell (1954)
* "Three Thousand Years", by Thomas Calvert McClary (1954)
* "Children of the Lens", by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. (1954)
* "", by Murray Leinster (1954)
* "G.O.G. 666", by John Taine (1954)
* "The Tyrant of Time", by Lloyd Arthur Eshbach (1955)
* "Under the Triple Suns", by Stanton A. Coblentz (1955)
* "Alien Minds", by E. Everett Evans (1955)
* "Islands of Space", by John W. Campbell, Jr. (1957)
* "The Vortex Blaster", by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. (1960)
* "Invaders from the Infinite", by John W. Campbell, Jr. (1961)
* "The History of Civilization", by Edward E. Smith, Ph.D. (1961)

Works published by Polaris Press

* "The Heads of Cerberus", by Francis Stevens (1952)
* "The Abyss of Wonders", by Perley Poore Sheehan (1953)

Notes

References

*cite book | last=Chalker | first=Jack L. | authorlink=Jack L. Chalker | coauthors=Mark Owings | title=The Science-Fantasy Publishers: A Bibliographic History, 1923-1998 | location=Westminster, MD and Baltimore | publisher=Mirage Press, Ltd.| date=1998 | pages=232-242, 524