Typed Note, signed ("L. Sprague de Camp"), to Coupling [John R. Pierce], an invitation to the next meeting of the New York Authors Club, with related Correspondence and Ephemera

(Science Fiction) De Camp, L. Sprague

Published by Lansdowne, Penna, 1949

Penny postcard, 8 lines (75 words), typed, signed in black ink. Material connected with John Pierce's membership in the New York Authors Club. Physicist John R. Pierce (1910-2002) coined the word "transistor" and was the father of the communications satellite: his duties as director of research at AT&T Bell Labs included supervision of the Telstar project. From 1930, he published numerous science fiction stories and articles in Astounding under the pseudonym J.J. Coupling. L. Sprague de Camp was his sponsor for membership in the New York Authors Club. The March 1950 Bulletin includes an account of the February meeting, which marked the end of Fletcher Pratt's long presidency of the Club. It was also the meeting devoted to science fiction, and the incoming president turned the gathering over to L. Sprague de Camp (a prolific science fiction and fantasy author and collaborator with Pratt). Judy Merrill asked for a definition of science fiction (as lively a topic then as now); one of the members observed "that you could not define Science Fiction without leaving out a good part of the field." Other guests that evening included the young Ray Bradbury, Groff Conklin, and Martin Greenberg. Pierce defined science fiction as "Telling one good lie at the beginning of the story and then taking no more liberties with facts." The role of science fiction and fantasy in "getting across new philosophies or ideas without running afoul of common prejudices or censorship" was noted. "Miss Merrill amplified this by saying that SF was one of the few fields in which a non-caucasian could be the hero of a story, and Sprague de Camp footnoted that a SF story was published in 1940 in which the President of the World State was a Negro." 'Telling one good lie at the beginning of the story'. With carbon copies of two typed letters from Pierce to de Camp, 1949, and six issues of the Bulletin of the New York Authors Club (1949-1951) Penny postcard, 8 lines (75 words), typed, signed in black ink. Seller Inventory # 262780

Bibliographic Details

Title: Typed Note, signed ("L. Sprague de Camp"), ...
Publisher: Lansdowne, Penna
Publication Date: 1949
Signed: Signed