Difference between revisions of "Science Fiction League"
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Enthusiastic readers poured like [[The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out|gnurrs from the voodvork out]] to join up, and SFL chapters popped up wherever ''[[Wonder Stories]]'' was distributed – [[New York Science Fiction League|New York]], [[Chicago Clubs#Chicago Science Fiction League|Chicago]], [[LASFS|Los Angeles]], [[PSFS|Philadelphia]], [[Lincoln SFL|Lincoln]], [[Lewiston SFL|Lewiston, Maine]], even [[Leeds SFL|Leeds]] in [[England]]. | Enthusiastic readers poured like [[The Gnurrs Come from the Voodvork Out|gnurrs from the voodvork out]] to join up, and SFL chapters popped up wherever ''[[Wonder Stories]]'' was distributed – [[New York Science Fiction League|New York]], [[Chicago Clubs#Chicago Science Fiction League|Chicago]], [[LASFS|Los Angeles]], [[PSFS|Philadelphia]], [[Lincoln SFL|Lincoln]], [[Lewiston SFL|Lewiston, Maine]], even [[Leeds SFL|Leeds]] in [[England]]. | ||
| − | + | After the [[ISA-SFL Clash]], [[Gernsback]] suffered one of his periodic financial crises in 1936, and sold ''[[Wonder Stories]]'', passing control of the SFL to [[Standard Publications]], which let it die of neglect. Many chapters severed all ties with the SFL, some collapsed entirely, but two (after renaming themselves) continue to meet regularly to the present day — the ones in [[Los Angeles]] (now [[LASFS]]) and [[Philadelphia]] (now [[PSFS]]). In any event, by that point the League was no longer needed — [[fandom]] was up and running, self-perpetuating and a thing alive. | |
The [[Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society]] (LASFS) started out as the Los Angeles Science Fiction League (LASFL), one of the chartered clubs under the Gernsback SFL umbrella. Arguably the oldest regularly meeting [[sf club]] in the U.S., it was chapter 4 of the League, while the [[Philadelphia SFL]] (its only possible rival) was chapter 11. The [[Philadelphia]] club withdrew from the League in the 1930s and substituted "Society" for "League" in their name, becoming [[PSFS]]. The LASFL substituted "Society" for "League" when the Science Fiction League ceased to be a sponsoring [[organization]] and "[[Fantasy]]" for "Fiction" to expand their area of appeal. | The [[Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society]] (LASFS) started out as the Los Angeles Science Fiction League (LASFL), one of the chartered clubs under the Gernsback SFL umbrella. Arguably the oldest regularly meeting [[sf club]] in the U.S., it was chapter 4 of the League, while the [[Philadelphia SFL]] (its only possible rival) was chapter 11. The [[Philadelphia]] club withdrew from the League in the 1930s and substituted "Society" for "League" in their name, becoming [[PSFS]]. The LASFL substituted "Society" for "League" when the Science Fiction League ceased to be a sponsoring [[organization]] and "[[Fantasy]]" for "Fiction" to expand their area of appeal. | ||
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No. || Chapter || Director||Est.||Notes | No. || Chapter || Director||Est.||Notes | ||
1 || [[Brooklyn SFL]]||[[George Gordon Clark|George Gordon Clark]]||January 1935|| | 1 || [[Brooklyn SFL]]||[[George Gordon Clark|George Gordon Clark]]||January 1935|| | ||
| − | 2 || Lewiston | + | 2 || Lewiston (ID) SFL|| [[Stuart Ayres]]|| "|| |
3 || Erie (PA) SFL ||[[Jack Schaller]]||February 1935|| | 3 || Erie (PA) SFL ||[[Jack Schaller]]||February 1935|| | ||
4 || [[LASFL]] || [[E. C. Reynolds]]||"|| Later, [[LASFS]]. | 4 || [[LASFL]] || [[E. C. Reynolds]]||"|| Later, [[LASFS]]. | ||
| − | 5 || | + | 5 || Monticello (NY) SFL || [[William Rothelder]]|| "|| [[Dave Kyle]], [[secretary]]. Founded by Rothleder, Kyle and high-school friends [[Walter Scheible]], [[Charles Kaufman]], [[Israel Ellenberg]] and [[Abraham Wolf]]. They [[published]] a few issues of a [[clubzine]] using [[carbon copies]] but, Kyle said, "the [[amateur]]ish efforts quickly vanished without a trace." |
6|| Mayfield (PA) SFL||[[John Tomccyzk]]||"|| | 6|| Mayfield (PA) SFL||[[John Tomccyzk]]||"|| | ||
| − | 10 || | + | 10 || New York SFL] / Manhattan SFL ||[[William S. Sykora]]|||| |
11 || [[Philadelphia SFL]] |||| ||Later, [[PSFS]]. | 11 || [[Philadelphia SFL]] |||| ||Later, [[PSFS]]. | ||
14|| [[Chicago Clubs#Chicago Science Fiction League|Chicago SFL]] ||[[Edward E. Chappelow]]|| ||Highest membership of all chapters. | 14|| [[Chicago Clubs#Chicago Science Fiction League|Chicago SFL]] ||[[Edward E. Chappelow]]|| ||Highest membership of all chapters. | ||
| − | 17 || [[Leeds SFL]] |||||| | + | 17 || [[Leeds SFL]] ||[[Douglas W. F. Mayer]]|||| |
20 || Belfast SFL ||[[Hugh Carswell]]||1935|| In 1951, [[James White]] happened on a reference to it in a 1935 issue of ''[[Wonder Stories]]'' and immediately went to the address given. [[Harry Warner]] reported in ''[[A Wealth of Fable]]'', "He encountered there a frightening woman and a grisly discovery. The woman said that Carswell was away and added that she had just thrown out all his [[prozines]]." | 20 || Belfast SFL ||[[Hugh Carswell]]||1935|| In 1951, [[James White]] happened on a reference to it in a 1935 issue of ''[[Wonder Stories]]'' and immediately went to the address given. [[Harry Warner]] reported in ''[[A Wealth of Fable]]'', "He encountered there a frightening woman and a grisly discovery. The woman said that Carswell was away and added that she had just thrown out all his [[prozines]]." | ||
| − | 22 | | + | 22 ||Nuneaton (UK) SFL|| [[Maurice K. Hanson]]|||| Located in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, [[UK]]. Its [[clubzine]] was ''[[Novae Terrae]]'' and members includes [[Dennis Jacques]] and [[Maurice T. Crowley]]. |
| − | 27 || | + | 27 || Sydney SFL ||||August 1935|| It held its first official meeting on August 15, 1935. Members included: [[Charles La Costez]], [[William E. Hewitt]], [[Thomas M. Mallett]], [[Wallace J. J. Osland]]. |
34 ||[[Glasgow SFL]] |||||| | 34 ||[[Glasgow SFL]] |||||| | ||
37 ||[[Barnsley SFL]] |||||| | 37 ||[[Barnsley SFL]] |||||| | ||
| + | || [[Newark SFL]] || [[Robert Bahr]] |||| | ||
| + | || Lincoln (IL) SFL || [[P. H. Thompson]]||1934 || It published the ''[[Lincoln SFL Doings]]'', but soon faded away. | ||
|| [[Lebanon SFL|Lebanon (PA) SFL]]||||March 1935|| | || [[Lebanon SFL|Lebanon (PA) SFL]]||||March 1935|| | ||
|| [[Jersey City SFL]]||||"|| | || [[Jersey City SFL]]||||"|| | ||
|| [[Darien SFL|Darien (CT) SFL]]||[[Doc Lowndes]]||||Short-lived. | || [[Darien SFL|Darien (CT) SFL]]||[[Doc Lowndes]]||||Short-lived. | ||
|| ENYSFL ||||1935|| The Eastern New York SFL began as a sub-chapter of the [[Brooklyn SFL]], it eventually grew larger and independent. Fl. 1935–38. It published ''[[Arcturus]]'' as a [[clubzine]] and members included [[Fred Pohl]], [[Harold W. Kirshenblit]], [[Irving L. Kosow]] and [[R. Henry Drucker]]. | || ENYSFL ||||1935|| The Eastern New York SFL began as a sub-chapter of the [[Brooklyn SFL]], it eventually grew larger and independent. Fl. 1935–38. It published ''[[Arcturus]]'' as a [[clubzine]] and members included [[Fred Pohl]], [[Harold W. Kirshenblit]], [[Irving L. Kosow]] and [[R. Henry Drucker]]. | ||
| + | || Muskogee (OK) SFL ||||1935|| | ||
| + | || Stamford (CT) SFL ||[[Doc Lowndes]]|| June 1935|| | ||
| + | || Minneapolis SFL ||[[Oliver Saari]]||1936|| Saari and [[Douglas Blakely]], founders. [[Authors]] [[Donald Wandrei]] and [[Carl Jacobi]] attended the first meeting and presented talks at meetings, but the formal [[organization]] collapsed almost immediately. Some members — Saari, Blakely, [[John L. Chapman]], [[Arden Benson]] and [[Robert Madsen]] — became friends and continued to meet informally over the next several years. When [[Clifford Simak]] arrived in town, this group formed the [[Minneapolis Fantasy Society]]. | ||
| + | ||Flushing SFL ||[[James V. Taurasi]]|| July 1937 || Early members included [[Richard Wilson]], [[Robert G. Thompson]], [[Abraham Oshinsky]], and [[Jack Gillespie]]. | ||
|| [[QSFL]] / [[GNYSFL]] || [[James V. Taurasi]] || ||The [[Queens SFL]] expanded into the [[Greater New York SFL]] in 1938 but then retracted again in the [[Wollheimist]]-[[Triumvirs]] [[feuds]]. | || [[QSFL]] / [[GNYSFL]] || [[James V. Taurasi]] || ||The [[Queens SFL]] expanded into the [[Greater New York SFL]] in 1938 but then retracted again in the [[Wollheimist]]-[[Triumvirs]] [[feuds]]. | ||
|| Kings SFL |||||| A proposed off-shoot of the [[Queens SFL]], this group was officially in [[Brooklyn]] (Kings County, NY). It failed to become a chapter of the [[SFL]], so it became ...[[The Futurians]]. | || Kings SFL |||||| A proposed off-shoot of the [[Queens SFL]], this group was officially in [[Brooklyn]] (Kings County, NY). It failed to become a chapter of the [[SFL]], so it became ...[[The Futurians]]. | ||
|| [[Bloomington SFL|Bloomington (IL) SFL]]||[[Bob Tucker]]|||| | || [[Bloomington SFL|Bloomington (IL) SFL]]||[[Bob Tucker]]|||| | ||
| − | || | + | ||Adelaide SFL || [[John Devern]] || 1938|| Devern [[published]] the [[hektographed]] ''[[Science Fiction Review#(2) Early (1939) Australian Fanzine|Science Fiction Review]]'', a 16-page [[fanzine]], which was the first [[duplicator|duplicated]] [[fanzine]] in [[Australia]]. The Adelaide SFL did not last long, vanishing with its founder. |
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
| − | |||
|| [[Washington Heights SFL]] |||||| | || [[Washington Heights SFL]] |||||| | ||
|| [[Bronx SFL]]|| [[Herbert E. Goudket]]|||| | || [[Bronx SFL]]|| [[Herbert E. Goudket]]|||| | ||
| − | |||
|| [[Liverpool SFL]] |||||| | || [[Liverpool SFL]] |||||| | ||
|| [[Tri-Cities SFL]] |||||| | || [[Tri-Cities SFL]] |||||| | ||
|| [[Oklahoma City SFL]] |||||| | || [[Oklahoma City SFL]] |||||| | ||
| − | || | + | || Baltimore SFL |||||| It was still going in the early 1940s, with monthly meetings at the home of [[Frederic Arnold Kummer, Jr.]], and upwards of 10 members. Members included [[Virginia Kidd]], [[Henry Andrew Ackermann]], and [[George Wetzel]]. |
| − | || | + | || Glendale (CA) SFL ||||1936|| It did not last long and appears to have withered and been absorbed by [[LASFS]]. |
| − | + | || Melbourne (Australia) SFL |||||| | |
| − | |||
| − | || | ||
||[[Millheim SFL]] |||||| | ||[[Millheim SFL]] |||||| | ||
|| Cincinnati SFL|||||| [[Dale Tarr]] was one of its charter members and quite active. Fl. late ’30s. | || Cincinnati SFL|||||| [[Dale Tarr]] was one of its charter members and quite active. Fl. late ’30s. | ||
|| [[Albany SFL]]||[[Arthur L. Selikowitz]]|||| | || [[Albany SFL]]||[[Arthur L. Selikowitz]]|||| | ||
| − | || [[Detroit SFL]] ||[[George Young]]|| ca. 1950||The [[Detroit Science Fantasy League]], not | + | || [[Detroit SFL]] ||[[George Young]]|| ca. 1950||The [[Detroit Science Fantasy League]], not part of the SFL at all. |
</tab> | </tab> | ||
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{{fancy2|text= | {{fancy2|text= | ||
from '''SFL''' [[Fancyclopedia 2]] ca. 1959 | from '''SFL''' [[Fancyclopedia 2]] ca. 1959 | ||
| − | The Science Fiction League, launched in 1934 by [[Gernsback]] and [[Hornig]], sponsored by ''[[Wonder Stories]]''. An imposing (but powerless) board of directors included prominent [[fen]] like [[Ackerman]]. Members got insignia and stationery 'n stuff blazoned with the group's emblem (illustrated on the [[Fan-Dango Award]]); they were supposed to propagandize [[stf]] (little stickers were planned for the purpose) and promote it by "personal solicitation" (i.e. a peptalk) whenever they could buttonhole a victim. The SFL department of ''[[Wonder Stories]]'' reported activities of [[locals]] and of [[fandom]] in general, announced proposed new [[locals]], listed new members and addresses, and carried the [[Science-Fiction Tests]]. Under [[TWS]] the League was continued, but more commercialized, and the department was often used to blurb future issues. | + | The Science Fiction League, launched in 1934 by [[Gernsback]] and [[Hornig]], sponsored by ''[[Wonder Stories]]''. An imposing (but powerless) [[board]] of [[directors]] included prominent [[fen]] like [[Ackerman]]. Members got insignia and stationery 'n stuff blazoned with the group's [[emblem]] (illustrated on the [[Fan-Dango Award]]); they were supposed to propagandize [[stf]] (little [[stickers]] were planned for the purpose) and promote it by "personal solicitation" (i.e. a peptalk) whenever they could buttonhole a victim. The SFL department of ''[[Wonder Stories]]'' reported activities of [[locals]] and of [[fandom]] in general, announced proposed new [[locals]], listed new members and addresses, and carried the [[Science-Fiction Tests]]. Under [[TWS]] the League was continued, but more commercialized, and the department was often used to blurb future issues. |
| − | In the course of time the League enrolled several thousand readers, tho most of these never did anything more than send in their names, and some were duplicate enrollments or [[pen-names]]. It was hoped that the SFL could become the | + | In the course of time the League enrolled several thousand [[readers]], tho most of these never did anything more than send in their names, and some were duplicate enrollments or [[pen-names]]. It was hoped that the SFL could become the [[general fan organization]], but this was dashed when non-payment of young [[authors]] (the fault of a department of the company not under [[Hornig]]'s control) and natural rivalry brought on the [[ISA-SFL war]] and the expulsion of [[Wollheim]], [[Sykora]], and [[Michel]]. |
| − | The chief importance of the SFL in [[fandom]] was in the chapters that were set up, of which the most important were [[LASFL]], [[QSFL]], [[GNYSFL]], [[Leeds SFL]] and other [[locals]] with different names, like the [[PSFS]]. In these titles by "SFL" we understand "chapter of the SFL". By the rules only one chapter could be established in a city, except in cities over 1,000,000. Three members were required for setting up a chapter; most such three-man chapters were short-lived. A rule which soon lapsed made the chapter-member with the lowest serial number Director. | + | The chief importance of the SFL in [[fandom]] was in the chapters that were set up, of which the most important were [[LASFL]], [[QSFL]], [[GNYSFL]], [[Leeds SFL]] and other [[locals]] with different names, like the [[PSFS]]. In these titles by "SFL" we understand "chapter of the SFL". By the rules only one chapter could be established in a city, except in cities over 1,000,000. Three members were required for setting up a chapter; most such three-man chapters were short-lived. A rule which soon lapsed made the chapter-member with the lowest serial number [[Director]]. |
| − | Of other rules there were few; one was that members promise to answer with reasonable promptness all (non-commercial) correspondence addressed to them as members. The organization was moribund before the end of 1941. | + | Of other rules there were few; one was that members promise to answer with reasonable promptness all (non-commercial) [[correspondence]] addressed to them as members. The organization was moribund before the end of 1941. |
}} | }} | ||
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[[File:SFL Logo from F1.png|thumb]] | [[File:SFL Logo from F1.png|thumb]] | ||
from '''SFL''' [[Fancyclopedia 1]] ca. 1944 | from '''SFL''' [[Fancyclopedia 1]] ca. 1944 | ||
| − | The [[Science Fiction League]], launched in 1934 by [[Gernsback]] and [[Hornig]], sponsored by ''[[Wonder Stories]]''. An imposing Board of Directors included [[Ackerman]] and [[Darrow]], but they had no power. The SFL department of ''[[Wonder Stories]]'' reported activities of [[locals]] and of [[fandom]] in general, announced proposed new [[locals]], listed new members and addresses, and carried the [[B Stf]] test and results. Under ''[[TWS]]'' the League was continued, but more commercialized, the department often being used to blurb future issues. | + | The [[Science Fiction League]], launched in 1934 by [[Gernsback]] and [[Hornig]], sponsored by ''[[Wonder Stories]]''. An imposing [[Board]] of [[Directors]] included [[Ackerman]] and [[Darrow]], but they had no power. The SFL department of ''[[Wonder Stories]]'' reported activities of [[locals]] and of [[fandom]] in general, announced proposed new [[locals]], listed new members and addresses, and carried the [[B Stf]] test and results. Under ''[[TWS]]'' the League was continued, but more commercialized, the department often being used to blurb future issues. |
| − | In course of time the League enrolled several thousand members, tho most of these never did anything more than send in their names, and some of the memberships are duplicate enrollments or things like [[Peggy Gillespie]]. It was hoped that the SFL could become the general fan organization, but this was dashed when non-payment of young authors (it should be added that this was up to a department of the company not under [[Hornig]]'s control) and natural rivalry brot on the [[ISA-SFL war]] and the expulsion of [[Wollheim]], [[Sykora]], and [[Michel]]. | + | In course of time the League enrolled several thousand members, tho most of these never did anything more than send in their names, and some of the memberships are duplicate enrollments or things like [[Peggy Gillespie]]. It was hoped that the SFL could become the [[general fan organization]], but this was dashed when non-payment of young [[authors]] (it should be added that this was up to a department of the company not under [[Hornig]]'s control) and natural rivalry brot on the [[ISA-SFL war]] and the expulsion of [[Wollheim]], [[Sykora]], and [[Michel]]. |
| − | In those cases, "SFL means "chapter of the SFL". Only one chapter can be established in the same city, except in cities over 1,000,000. Three members are required for setting up a chapter; most such three-man organizations are quite short-lived. There is an old rule, no longer observed, that the member with the lowest serial number shall be director. | + | In those cases, "SFL means "chapter of the SFL". Only one chapter can be established in the same city, except in cities over 1,000,000. Three members are required for setting up a chapter; most such three-man organizations are quite short-lived. There is an old rule, no longer observed, that the member with the lowest serial number shall be [[director]]. |
| − | Of other rules there were few; one was that members promise to answer with reasonable promptness all (non-commercial) correspondence addressed to them as members. The emblem was reproduced on lapel buttons and stationery which were for sale. | + | Of other rules there were few; one was that members promise to answer with reasonable promptness all (non-commercial) [[correspondence]] addressed to them as members. The [[emblem]] was reproduced on lapel buttons and stationery which were for sale. |
}} | }} | ||
| − | {{club}} | + | |
| + | {{club|start=1934|end=1941}} | ||
[[Category:Fancy1]] | [[Category:Fancy1]] | ||
[[Category:Fancy2]] | [[Category:Fancy2]] | ||
[[Category:world]] | [[Category:world]] | ||
Revision as of 23:56, 3 September 2021
The community of fandom arguably began with the Science Fiction League, probably the single most important fan organization of the 1930s. The SFL was a commercially sponsored club for stf readers, but through it, the first protofans met each other and came into a sense of group self awareness.
Hugo Gernsback promoted the international club as a way to drum up readership for his second pulp prozine, Wonder Stories, and fill its pages without having to pay writers. He who announced the club in the May 1934 issue. The idea seems to have come from Charles D. Hornig who had been picked from the readership ranks to become the 17-year-old editor of Wonder Stories.
The club offered fans, via Wonder Stories' pages, chartered membership certificates for SFL local branches, lapel buttons and club stationery, and, ultimately, letter columns in the magazine printed the letter writers’ names and addresses, allowing them to get in contact with each other and create fandom. (The first local club, the Scienceers, got together as a result.)
Interestingly, Gernsback announced the SFL as "a non-commercial membership organization for the furtherance and betterment of the art of science fiction." It was not noticed at the time, but by founding a club devoted to stf, he effectively gave up his idea that sf existed to promote science.
An imposing (but powerless) list of “Executive Directors,” prominent fen (meaning, at the time, prolific writers to the prozine letter columns) and pros: Forrest J. Ackerman, Eando Binder, Jack Darrow, Edmond Hamilton, David H. Keller, M.D., P. Schuyler Miller, Clark Ashton Smith, and R. F. Starzl. Hugo Gernsback himself was Executive Secretary, Charles D. Hornig, Assistant Secretary. Members were supposed to propagandize stf and promote it by "personal solicitation" (i.e. a peptalk) whenever they could buttonhole a victim. The SFL department of Wonder Stories reported activities of locals and of fandom in general, announced proposed new locals, listed new members and addresses. George Gordon Clark of Brooklyn was member #1.
Enthusiastic readers poured like gnurrs from the voodvork out to join up, and SFL chapters popped up wherever Wonder Stories was distributed – New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Lincoln, Lewiston, Maine, even Leeds in England.
After the ISA-SFL Clash, Gernsback suffered one of his periodic financial crises in 1936, and sold Wonder Stories, passing control of the SFL to Standard Publications, which let it die of neglect. Many chapters severed all ties with the SFL, some collapsed entirely, but two (after renaming themselves) continue to meet regularly to the present day — the ones in Los Angeles (now LASFS) and Philadelphia (now PSFS). In any event, by that point the League was no longer needed — fandom was up and running, self-perpetuating and a thing alive.
The Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society (LASFS) started out as the Los Angeles Science Fiction League (LASFL), one of the chartered clubs under the Gernsback SFL umbrella. Arguably the oldest regularly meeting sf club in the U.S., it was chapter 4 of the League, while the Philadelphia SFL (its only possible rival) was chapter 11. The Philadelphia club withdrew from the League in the 1930s and substituted "Society" for "League" in their name, becoming PSFS. The LASFL substituted "Society" for "League" when the Science Fiction League ceased to be a sponsoring organization and "Fantasy" for "Fiction" to expand their area of appeal.
In an amusing hoax, George Scithers fooled LASFS in 1980 over a refounded SFL. See Scithers SFL Hoax.
- Science Fiction League history by Doc Lowndes in Outworlds 49 (April 1987, p. 1620).
Chapters:[edit]
| No. | Chapter | Director | Est. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brooklyn SFL | George Gordon Clark | January 1935 | |
| 2 | Lewiston (ID) SFL | Stuart Ayres | " | |
| 3 | Erie (PA) SFL | Jack Schaller | February 1935 | |
| 4 | LASFL | E. C. Reynolds | " | Later, LASFS. |
| 5 | Monticello (NY) SFL | William Rothelder | " | Dave Kyle, secretary. Founded by Rothleder, Kyle and high-school friends Walter Scheible, Charles Kaufman, Israel Ellenberg and Abraham Wolf. They published a few issues of a clubzine using carbon copies but, Kyle said, "the amateurish efforts quickly vanished without a trace." |
| 6 | Mayfield (PA) SFL | John Tomccyzk | " | |
| 10 | New York SFL] / Manhattan SFL | William S. Sykora | ||
| 11 | Philadelphia SFL | Later, PSFS. | ||
| 14 | Chicago SFL | Edward E. Chappelow | Highest membership of all chapters. | |
| 17 | Leeds SFL | Douglas W. F. Mayer | ||
| 20 | Belfast SFL | Hugh Carswell | 1935 | In 1951, James White happened on a reference to it in a 1935 issue of Wonder Stories and immediately went to the address given. Harry Warner reported in A Wealth of Fable, "He encountered there a frightening woman and a grisly discovery. The woman said that Carswell was away and added that she had just thrown out all his prozines." |
| 22 | Nuneaton (UK) SFL | Maurice K. Hanson | Located in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, UK. Its clubzine was Novae Terrae and members includes Dennis Jacques and Maurice T. Crowley. | |
| 27 | Sydney SFL | August 1935 | It held its first official meeting on August 15, 1935. Members included: Charles La Costez, William E. Hewitt, Thomas M. Mallett, Wallace J. J. Osland. | |
| 34 | Glasgow SFL | |||
| 37 | Barnsley SFL | |||
| Newark SFL | Robert Bahr | |||
| Lincoln (IL) SFL | P. H. Thompson | 1934 | It published the Lincoln SFL Doings, but soon faded away. | |
| Lebanon (PA) SFL | March 1935 | |||
| Jersey City SFL | " | |||
| Darien (CT) SFL | Doc Lowndes | Short-lived. | ||
| ENYSFL | 1935 | The Eastern New York SFL began as a sub-chapter of the Brooklyn SFL, it eventually grew larger and independent. Fl. 1935–38. It published Arcturus as a clubzine and members included Fred Pohl, Harold W. Kirshenblit, Irving L. Kosow and R. Henry Drucker. | ||
| Muskogee (OK) SFL | 1935 | |||
| Stamford (CT) SFL | Doc Lowndes | June 1935 | ||
| Minneapolis SFL | Oliver Saari | 1936 | Saari and Douglas Blakely, founders. Authors Donald Wandrei and Carl Jacobi attended the first meeting and presented talks at meetings, but the formal organization collapsed almost immediately. Some members — Saari, Blakely, John L. Chapman, Arden Benson and Robert Madsen — became friends and continued to meet informally over the next several years. When Clifford Simak arrived in town, this group formed the Minneapolis Fantasy Society. | |
| Flushing SFL | James V. Taurasi | July 1937 | Early members included Richard Wilson, Robert G. Thompson, Abraham Oshinsky, and Jack Gillespie. | |
| QSFL / GNYSFL | James V. Taurasi | The Queens SFL expanded into the Greater New York SFL in 1938 but then retracted again in the Wollheimist-Triumvirs feuds. | ||
| Kings SFL | A proposed off-shoot of the Queens SFL, this group was officially in Brooklyn (Kings County, NY). It failed to become a chapter of the SFL, so it became ...The Futurians. | |||
| Bloomington (IL) SFL | Bob Tucker | |||
| Adelaide SFL | John Devern | 1938 | Devern published the hektographed Science Fiction Review, a 16-page fanzine, which was the first duplicated fanzine in Australia. The Adelaide SFL did not last long, vanishing with its founder. | |
| Washington Heights SFL | ||||
| Bronx SFL | Herbert E. Goudket | |||
| Liverpool SFL | ||||
| Tri-Cities SFL | ||||
| Oklahoma City SFL | ||||
| Baltimore SFL | It was still going in the early 1940s, with monthly meetings at the home of Frederic Arnold Kummer, Jr., and upwards of 10 members. Members included Virginia Kidd, Henry Andrew Ackermann, and George Wetzel. | |||
| Glendale (CA) SFL | 1936 | It did not last long and appears to have withered and been absorbed by LASFS. | ||
| Melbourne (Australia) SFL | ||||
| Millheim SFL | ||||
| Cincinnati SFL | Dale Tarr was one of its charter members and quite active. Fl. late ’30s. | |||
| Albany SFL | Arthur L. Selikowitz | |||
| Detroit SFL | George Young | ca. 1950 | The Detroit Science Fantasy League, not part of the SFL at all. |
| From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959 |
| from SFL Fancyclopedia 2 ca. 1959
The Science Fiction League, launched in 1934 by Gernsback and Hornig, sponsored by Wonder Stories. An imposing (but powerless) board of directors included prominent fen like Ackerman. Members got insignia and stationery 'n stuff blazoned with the group's emblem (illustrated on the Fan-Dango Award); they were supposed to propagandize stf (little stickers were planned for the purpose) and promote it by "personal solicitation" (i.e. a peptalk) whenever they could buttonhole a victim. The SFL department of Wonder Stories reported activities of locals and of fandom in general, announced proposed new locals, listed new members and addresses, and carried the Science-Fiction Tests. Under TWS the League was continued, but more commercialized, and the department was often used to blurb future issues. In the course of time the League enrolled several thousand readers, tho most of these never did anything more than send in their names, and some were duplicate enrollments or pen-names. It was hoped that the SFL could become the general fan organization, but this was dashed when non-payment of young authors (the fault of a department of the company not under Hornig's control) and natural rivalry brought on the ISA-SFL war and the expulsion of Wollheim, Sykora, and Michel. The chief importance of the SFL in fandom was in the chapters that were set up, of which the most important were LASFL, QSFL, GNYSFL, Leeds SFL and other locals with different names, like the PSFS. In these titles by "SFL" we understand "chapter of the SFL". By the rules only one chapter could be established in a city, except in cities over 1,000,000. Three members were required for setting up a chapter; most such three-man chapters were short-lived. A rule which soon lapsed made the chapter-member with the lowest serial number Director. Of other rules there were few; one was that members promise to answer with reasonable promptness all (non-commercial) correspondence addressed to them as members. The organization was moribund before the end of 1941. |
| From Fancyclopedia 1, ca. 1944 |
|
from SFL Fancyclopedia 1 ca. 1944 The Science Fiction League, launched in 1934 by Gernsback and Hornig, sponsored by Wonder Stories. An imposing Board of Directors included Ackerman and Darrow, but they had no power. The SFL department of Wonder Stories reported activities of locals and of fandom in general, announced proposed new locals, listed new members and addresses, and carried the B Stf test and results. Under TWS the League was continued, but more commercialized, the department often being used to blurb future issues. In course of time the League enrolled several thousand members, tho most of these never did anything more than send in their names, and some of the memberships are duplicate enrollments or things like Peggy Gillespie. It was hoped that the SFL could become the general fan organization, but this was dashed when non-payment of young authors (it should be added that this was up to a department of the company not under Hornig's control) and natural rivalry brot on the ISA-SFL war and the expulsion of Wollheim, Sykora, and Michel. In those cases, "SFL means "chapter of the SFL". Only one chapter can be established in the same city, except in cities over 1,000,000. Three members are required for setting up a chapter; most such three-man organizations are quite short-lived. There is an old rule, no longer observed, that the member with the lowest serial number shall be director. Of other rules there were few; one was that members promise to answer with reasonable promptness all (non-commercial) correspondence addressed to them as members. The emblem was reproduced on lapel buttons and stationery which were for sale. |
| Club | 1934—1941 |
| This is a club page. Please extend it by adding information about when and where the club met, when and by whom it was founded, how long it was active, notable accomplishments, well-known members, clubzines, any conventions it ran, external links to the club's website, other club pages, etc.
When there's a floreat (Fl.), this indicates the time or times for which we have found evidence that the club existed. This is probably not going to represent the club's full lifetime, so please update it if you can! |
