thank-you for your excessively generous implicit offer to provide, free-of-charge, with a scanner, so that yr hmbl srppnt. might be able to scan magazine - and p/b, and h/cvr, and cd, and lp, and dvd, and audio cassette - covers;
however, this potentially extremely helpful offer does not affect the fact that the publisher's name - john spencer & co. - and the imprint name upon most of (not all of) the issues of this magazine are not what define its identity as a magazine:
it is a periodical (mostly bi-monthly) magazine complete with issue numbers, magazine title, (pseudonymous) editor(s) who just happened to be the (pseudonymous) publishers, the ''john spencer'' of ''john spencer & co., ltd. publishers''.
i have provided elsewhere a (non-exhaustive) list of magazines published in digest format p/b - so being published in this format clearly does not exclude a magazine from being a magazine.
the different - and differently-numbered - issues of this magazines are absolutely not different editions of one single digest format p/b, as they were beginning to be entered in ''bookcat'';
nor are they different editions of a few digest format p/bs by a single author, as some of them were being entered in ''bookcat'', even though the contents of some issues of the magazine do happen to be all by a single author - under various house names and pseudonyms, and perhaps a form of their real name;
as the contents of the different - and differently-numbered - issues of this magazine are different, from one issue to the next, as is typical of different issues of a magazine - and most definitely not characteristic of the various h/cvr & p/b editions and printings of any one novel, nor of any one single-author collection, nor of any one anthology.
digest, mmpb and uk p/b format magazines include - but are by no means limited to:
amazing stories - many issues of, though this was also started off as, and long published as, a bedsheet format pulp magazine;
analog - nearly all issues of, 1960 to present, digest format magazines, though some issues were published 1963-5 as a semi-slick large format magazine; analog started off and was long entitled:
astounding - astounding stories of super science its early title in full, betraying its pulp magazine roots - its later issues were published as digest format magazines from 11/1943 until its title was changed to analog;
authentic science fiction - published by hamilton & co. (stafford) - uk p/b format magazine 1/1951-2/1957, then 3/1957-10/1957 issues digest format magazines;
beyond - early sister magazine to galaxy - all issues digest format magazines;
destinies - the completely new magazine james baen was offered as a sweetener by tom doherty as part of the deal for jim baen to move from his position as editor of galaxy, to help sort out ace books: imprint ace books - all issues mmpb format magazines;
the magazine of fantasy & science fiction - commonly abbreviated to f&sf - all issues digest format magazines;
future - many issues (all from the re-launch in the fifties, iirc) digest format magazines;
galaxy - all but the final issue digest format magazines;
galaxy - british edition, from 1953 through 1962, published by strato publications, again in 1967 by gold star publications, again from 1972 through end of separate british edition - imprint tandem books, so the publisher/imprint including ''book'' or ''books'' in its name does not mean the publication is not a magazine - all issues digest format magazines;
if - all issues digest format magazines;
if - british edition, 1953-4, 1959-62 both published by strato publications, again in 1967 by gold star publications, again 1972-10/1974, imprint tandem books, so the publisher/imprint including ''book'' or ''books'' in its name does not mean the publication is not a magazine - all issues digest format magazines;
imagination - iirc (yr hmbl srppnt. never collected this) - all issues digest format magazines;
impulse (sometimes sf impulse) - all issues uk p/b format magazines;
isaac asimov's science fiction magazine / isaac asimov's magazine of science fiction - all issues digest format magazines;
new worlds - sister magazine to science fantasy - 1949 through 4/1964 all issues digest format magazines, then converted to uk p/b format magazine, many issues through 3/1967, converted to large format (quarto, then a4) magazine, through 4/1970, converted back to uk p/b format magazine, ten issues 1971-1976 primarily as as original anthologies, though also accounted as issues of the magazine; then 1978-1979 as large format (a4?) magazine - yr hmbl srppnt. got lost around then iirc, with the changes in format;
original science fiction - started off without the ''original'' - all issues digest format magazines;
science fantasy - sister magazine to new worlds - started off and many issues digest format magazines, converted to uk p/b format magazine, quite a few issues thus;
venture science fiction - sister magazine to f&sf - all issues digest format magazines;
worlds of fantasy - the sister magazine of galaxy & if, etc. - all issues digest format magazines, twice(!);
worlds of tomorrow - a longer-running sister magazine of galaxy & if, etc. - all issues digest format magazines, also twice(!);
it's an issue of supernatural stories, a mostly bi-monthly magazine, and declared as such, with issue number, (pseudonymous collaborative) editor, who was/were also the pseudonymous publisher, ''john spencer''.
magazines could and can be digest format - even the reader's digest, after which the format is named - is a magazine - *shock*, *horror* news!
magazines could and can also be mmpb / a-format p/b format, quarto format, a4 format, a5 format, bedsheet format, foolscap format, there've even been some issues of at least one magazine that were h/cvr format...
definitely a digest format magazine, declared by john spencer & co. ltd., its publishers with advice of bimonthly schedule, and magazine issue number, and magazine title.
some magazines were digest format - some are still digest format: they are still magazines;
some magazines were mmpb format and/or a-format p/b: these, too, are magazines;
some magazines were bedsheet format: these, too, were magazines;
ditto quarto format, ditto a4 format, ditto a5 format, ditto foolscap format (etc.) magazines.
cover art by henry fox
cover price 2'6
160pp. including titles, indica etc.
contents:
moon wolf (novelette) r. l. fanthorpe
the zombie (ntte) erle barton (a pseudonym of lionel fanthorpe)
the walker (ntte) bron fane (a pseudonym of lionel fanthorpe)
old man of the snow (ntte) neil thanet (a pseudonym of lionel fanthorpe)
blurred horizon (short story) phil nobel (house name, here disguising lionel fanthorpe)
the grip of time unending (ntte) leo brett (house name, here disguising harry o. mansfield)
the tragedians (ss) deutero spartacus (pseudonym of lionel fanthorpe)
cover art by henry fox
cover price 2'6
160pp. including titles, indica etc.
contents:
the return of albertus (novelette) lee barton (pseudonym: lionel fanthorpe)
the golem (novelette) leo brett (house name: harry o. mansfield)
dragon's blood mountain (novelette) trebor thorpe (house name: lionel fanthorpe)
grimoire (novelette) thornton bell (house name: lionel fanthorpe)
spring fever (novelette) robin tate (house name: harry o. mansfield)
bitter reflection (short story) r. l. fanthorpe (lionel fanthorpe)
editor: unnoted
publisher: john spencer & company, 131 brackenbury road, hammersmith, london
imprint: badger books
cat# SN95
edited by gordon holmes landsborough (as l. g. holmes)
cover art (not as-yet reliably attributed)
cover price 1/6
128pp. (from contento; may include covers - needs checking)
contents:
introducing 4sj (nf) editorial
''space warp'' (novella/short novel) ''roy sheldon'' (a hamilton house name, used in this case by herbert j. campbell)
this is issue #76 of the magazine science fantasy over-all: the volume numbers of this, and its stablemates, new worlds, and sf impulse/impulse, have almost no significance.
last-but-two line in notes should of course read science fantasy, not new worlds. correction submitted.
chrisb: thanks for the thrills... - er, maybe i should rephrase that slightly. . . ;-)
- i'm not sure who was buying street life after they'd tried the first couple of issues, checking it out: someone was, but the people i knew were relying upon rolling stone, melody maker, for rock & the albums side, nme for the singles & pop end of music, time out & city limits for live music listings amongst the different entertainments sections they were looking out for - and i suspect the newsagents' shelves catered for those mainly after the flimsy, but very brightly-coloured pictures of, and gossip/scandal about, their heart-throbs together with agony aunts/teenage problems lettercols, on the one hand, and similar-but-different for those as wanted pages of colour pictures of heavy metal bands, with not too many words - no?
(& fwiw. - thrills' columnist, dick tracy, or his sub committed a literal in their obituary's third sentence: s/stable/staple/ for sense. ...)
image of the cover is currently^W no longer gracing a mistake in bookcat, a chimera attributing the whole of this issue to roger zelazny as a book - a novel? - entitled "love is an imaginary number".
the said cover image should^W has been transferred hither, together with image of contents page
after #81 (2/1966) the monthly magazine's title was changed to "impulse", and the numbering restarted at volume 1, no.1 (3/1966), and then "sf impulse" with volume 1, no.8 (10/1966); but the magazine only lasted 'til 2/1967's volume 1, no.12: publishers roberts and vinter ltd. were forced to retrench by the bankruptcy of leicester distributors thorpe and porter in july 1966, owing them for about three months' worth of sales of their two sf magazines (t'other being "new worlds", q.v.) and compact paperbacks, etc.
contains neither science fiction nor fantasy stories, nor is it about these - and as it rather presumes that ufos are aliens' spaceships, etc: should better be reclassified under "supernatural and paranormal".
unless any more iss. turn up in yr hmbl srppint.'s stax-o-boxen, that's it from my collection.
a thank-you or three is owed to the semi-divine being who removed N multiple copies that somehow hiccupped (?hiccoughed ?) their way into magazinecat whilst declarations that naught'd been sent were all as were seen on tablettything's display from 45worlds.com: such thank-yous may be of an edible & chocolatey nature, but are only collectable in person.
no, these are the issue number and date printed on the item in question:
which leads to a couple of queries yr hmbl srppint.'s unable to sort out, given the absence of any copy of #607 or #609 in (the remains of) the ppint.ish collection of "the new singles"°:
was/is there another issue numbered #608, dated february 6th, 1976 - hopefully with spot colour other than green?
which (of the presumed accidental twins) should have been numberered #607, and dated january 23rd, 1976 ?
- or, should one (of the alternative presumed accidental twins) have been numbered #609, and dated february 6th, 1976 ?
° #610 is definitely dated february 13, 1976, #611 february 20, 1976, and its spot colour, orange - and thenceforward in good numerical and (mostly) weekly date progression, and the orange - blue - yellow - red - green - orange. . . five spot colours strict rotational sequence. which suggests, but does not conclusively prove, that this green spot colour #608 dated february 6, 1976, should have been numbered #609 and dated february 6, 1976.
yr hmbl srppint. may have muddled date & issue number here & must check vs. the real thnig.°
° - otoh it's not impossible it's one of the (really, pretty few) errors made in sequencing/dating the first 600-odd issues of "the new singles"; we shall see. . .