A. Merritt’s Fantasy Magazine Vol.1 No.4 July 1950

📖 A. Merritt’s Fantasy Magazine, Volume 1, Number 4 (July 1950) — the fourth of only five issues ever published of this short-lived pulp reprint magazine. This issue features the complete text of The Face in the Abyss, A. Merritt’s celebrated novel of haunted treasure in the Peruvian Andes, along with Eric North’s The Green Flame. Illustrated by Virgil Finlay and Paul Callé, with cover art by Norman Saunders.

QUICK FACTS

• Editor: Possibly Mary Gnaedinger (unconfirmed; she edited companion titles Famous Fantastic Mysteries and Fantastic Novels)
• Publisher: Recreational Reading, Inc. (affiliate of Popular Publications, Inc.), New York
• Year: 1950 (July issue; first printing of this reprint)
• Format: Pulp magazine, staple-bound, 132 pages
• Price: Original 25 cents
• ISBN: None (pre-ISBN era)
• Condition: Good (G) — full report below

THIS ISSUE

The Face in the Abyss was first serialized in The Magic Carpet Magazine in 1931 and remains one of A. Merritt’s most beloved works. Nicholas Graydon ventures into the treacherous Cordillera de Carabaya in Peru, seeking ancient riches — and encounters a living, malevolent force buried in the mountains. The novel blends lost-civilization adventure with cosmic horror in a way that influenced decades of fantasy fiction. This issue also contains The Green Flame by Eric North, a weird novelette of sinister power originally copyrighted in 1939.

COVER ART / ILLUSTRATIONS

The cover by Norman Saunders depicts a dramatic pulp scene: a monstrous green-faced creature with glowing eyes looms behind a man in a white shirt and brown pants struggling to pull a woman in a seashell-like outfit from danger. The color palette is rich — deep blues and blacks for the background, vibrant yellow and red for the masthead, and intense greens for the creature’s face. The interior features Virgil Finlay’s signature cross-hatching illustrations for The Face in the Abyss, including a serpentine creature entwined with a grotesque face and a haunting dissolving-face image. Paul Callé provides the illustrations for The Green Flame, rendered in high-contrast dramatic pulp style.

WHY IT MATTERS

• One of only five issues ever published — this magazine ran from December 1949 to October 1950 before being cancelled
• Named for Abraham Merritt (1884-1943), one of the most popular fantasy authors of the pulp era, whose works influenced H.P. Lovecraft, Ray Bradbury, and Frank Herbert
• Virgil Finlay (1914-1971), who illustrated the lead novel, is widely regarded as one of the greatest pulp illustrators in history, known for his intricate pen-and-ink technique
• Norman Saunders (1907-1989) was one of the most prolific and sought-after pulp cover artists, working across Popular Publications’ entire line
• Published by Popular Publications, one of the Big Three pulp publishers alongside Street & Smith and Standard Magazines

FREQUENTLY ASKED

What edition is this? First printing of the July 1950 issue (Volume 1, Number 4). A Canadian edition also existed, identical except for the back cover ad and a half-inch longer format.

What condition is it in? Good (G). Cover is colorful but chipped along edges, typical of the pulp binding style. Spine is sound. Pages are clean and stable with no brittleness. Full report below.

Is this a first edition? This is the first (and only) printing of this issue. The stories inside are reprints — The Face in the Abyss first appeared in 1931 and The Green Flame in 1939.

FOR COLLECTORS

A. Merritt’s Fantasy Magazine is a short-run collector’s magazine — only five issues exist, making complete runs uncommon. This issue is especially desirable for the Virgil Finlay illustrations and the Merritt novel. The magazine was positioned as a companion to Famous Fantastic Mysteries, reprinting classic fantasy and science fiction from earlier decades.

Book Details

Author: A. Merritt, Eric North
Illustrator: Cover art by Norman Saunders. Interior illustrations by Virgil Finlay and Paul Callé.
Publisher: Recreational Reading, Inc. (an affiliate of Popular Publications, Inc.)
Binding: Paperback (Pulp Magazine)
Edition Points: Volume 1, Number 4 (July 1950). First printing with original 25¢ cover price.

Condition Report

Overall Grade: Good (G)
Cover & Spine: Front cover remains very colorful, but significantly chipped all around, front and back, as is typical with the style of binding. A faint distributor stamp (“Dahlgren-Massey”) on the bottom right corner. The spine displays minimal wear at the head and tail, remaining sound and complete.
Dust Jacket: None (as issued).
Text Block & Pages: Lightly age-toned throughout; pages are clean, uniform, and stable with no brittleness.
Binding: Staple-bound pulp binding is square, firm, and fully secure.

See accompanying images for full condition details. Will ship promptly, carefully packaged.

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