With the (fairly) recent releases from publishers like Subterranean Press and Gauntlet Press a number of previously unpublished short stories (and uncollected short stories) are now available. Unfortunately one must pay $750.00 to get a copy of "Where Everything Ends" or $300.00 to get the unpublished short stories in the new Martian Chronicles. "Wind-up World" in Subterranean Press's Marionettes, Inc. is another example (although more affordable).

Also, 18 - 20 dollar chapbooks might highlight a story that was previously unknown or uncollected.

I understand these small specialty publishers are catering to the collectors. Collectors who might drop 300 - 750 dollars to obtain these uncommon gems. But it would be nice to see these stories appear in a more common edition.

Any thoughts? Where is the value in these books? The limited quantity itself? The scarcity of the material?

What is the difference between being a collector and being a fan? I consider myself both and realize that my impetus for collecting is the fact that I just want to read the story! I keep a small list of stories that I have never read by Bradbury. I save these stories for when I need them. They are very valuable to me.

I am sure some of you can relate to this...

Thanks for reading.

quote:

I understand these small specialty publishers are catering to the collectors. Collectors who might drop 300 - 750 dollars to obtain these uncommon gems.

A collector who can afford that, or would do it even if they couldn't, is an uncommon gem.

I tend to stay away from the really expensive editions. Sometimes the "extras" they contain are not that great anyway - I have often been disappointed to find that a "never before published script" turns out to be a three page fragment, and nobody even bothers to provide any context or explanation of what the fragment is from or how it came into existence.

Complete stories that surface in these special editions often turn up soon after in Ray's regular books. I don't have time to check, but I seem to recall that THE CAT'S PAJAMAS contained at least one story that had previously been published only in a limited edition.

My top tip for the desperate is to make friends with your local librarian - better still, a UNIVERSITY librarian!

quote:

My top tip for the desperate is to make friends with your local librarian - better still, a UNIVERSITY librarian!

Hey, I am IN! (Now, what do I do?)

Persuade them of the importance of these special books, and how their library will gain in stature by stocking them!

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:
Persuade them...

So salepersonship comes into play!

This is interesting, I never thought of doing this. The thought of a rare item like this being leafed through for a highschool project on Ray Bradbury is an interesting image.