Arkham House Books

Book excerpt: This reference work covers the supernatural and speculative fiction published by Arkham House Publishers, Inc., of Sauk City, Wisconsin. In 1937, promising Wisconsin writer August Derleth decided to publish a collection of the stories of his recently deceased friend, H. P. Lovecraft. After two years of failed attempts, Derleth and another Lovecraft fan, Donald Wandrei, published the collection themselves under the name of Arkham. In the years that followed, Arkham House published the works of many of the foremost American and British writers of weird fiction, including Basil Copper, Lord Dunsany, Robert E. Howard, and Robert Bloch. Arkham published Ray Bradbury's first book, Dark Carnival, in 1947. The work begins with a history of the house and biography of August Derleth; it also includes a chapter on H. P. Lovecraft's connection to Arkham. The main body of the text consists of chronologically listed descriptions and current values of the more than 230 titles published by Arkham House and its two imprints, Mycroft & Moran and Stanton & Lee. These entries detail editions, reprints, special points, restoration, care, buying and selling, investment, and future trends. Other features include alphabetical indeces of titles and authors, lists of scarcity and value ranking, a list of annual stock lists and catalogs, and a bibliography of reference literature. The book is illustrated throughout with dust jacket reproductions and photographs.