Norman Syms

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Harold Norman Syms, usually known as Norman Syms, was a fan and collector from Beckenham on the edge of London active from the 1940s until at least 1960. He attended the Whitcon in 1948 where he got into a bidding war in the auction with G. Ken Chapman and Ted Carnell over a copy of John Taine's The Time Stream.

Syms is mentioned in Futurian War Digest from 1941 where he's at least once referred to as Harry Syms. The flyer advertising Joe Kennedy's Fantasy Review for 1946-7 said it would be 'including a special section on new fantasy volumes from England, written by British collector Norman Syms'. After the Whitcon he also attended the Loncon Eastercon in 1949 but doesn't seem to have attended any conventions after that. He was however still listed in Ron Bennett's Directory of Science Fiction Fandom for 1960.

Note: a report of the Whitcon in Fantasy Times #69 refers to an attendee called 'Graham Syms'. This is almost certainly Norman and is presumably a mistake. There are many errors in that report.

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Person

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