Pre-Publication Letter to Harry Morris in Reference to SOADD

[Dr. Bantham]

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In this note to Harry Morris, written prior to the publication of the original Silver Scarab edition of SONGS OF A DEAD DREAMER, it is evident that "Flowers from the Abyss" was pulled from the collection and replaced by a mysterious "substitute story" which was not referred to by name. Anyone care to guess as to which story was the replacement?

Notice the marked difference in handwriting style compared to later years, as well as the absence of his highly stylized signature. I feared fakery upon close examination, as it was not purchased directly from Tom or Harry, but upon sending Tom a scanned image he confirmed it to be authentic. The wicked glee which I reveled in after acquiring this letter was nearly eclipsed by the nagging reality of not instead being able to obtain the "more elaborate notes" referred to by Tom therein. Drat!

 

[barrywood]

Re: Pre-Publication Letter to Harry Morris in Reference to S

Dr. Bantham: The letter itself is a masterpiece. I like it a lot.

Barry

 

[bendk]

Re: Pre-Publication Letter to Harry Morris in Reference to S

Interesting question, Dr. B. Of the stories that were published in the original SOADD, only four had not been published previously: Alice's Last Adventure, The Troubles of Dr. Thoss, The Greater Festival of Masks, and Professor Nobody's Little Lectures on Supernatural Horror. If I had to guess, I would go with Prof. Nobody. (Not that this automatically rules out a story that had already seen print, but that TL did not want selected for his first book. The Chymist, for example, had already been published in Nyctalops #16, in 1981, but was not included in the Silver Scarab edition of SOADD.) Just a guess. This is a great piece. (My reasoning is long and convoluted, and I will spare you. I feel like screaming that line from the movie GLADIATOR, "Am I not merciful!" Rough day).

For those interested in text variations, here is the table of contents page for the Silver Scarab edition of SOADD:
(Although not listed on the contents page, Ramsey Campbell did write an introduction to this volume.)


Contents

HERE AND THERE

The Frolic
Les Fleurs
Aunt Elise: A Tale of Possession in Old Grosse Pointe
Drink to Me Only with Labyrinthine Eyes
Alice's Last Adventure
The Troubles of Dr. Thoss

ELSEWHERE

Dr. Voke and Mr. Veech
The Greater Festival of Masks

TALES RETOLD

Three Scientists
Two Immortals
Leading Men

NOWHERE

Professor Nobody's Little Lectures on Supernatural Horror
Notes on the Writing of Horror: A Story


As compared to the Table of Contents pages of the Carroll & Graf edition:


Contents

Introduction by Ramsey Campbell

DREAMS FOR SLEEPWALKERS

The Frolic
Les Fleurs
Alice's Last Adventure
Dream of a Mannikin
The Nyctalops Trilogy: The Chymist
Drink to Me Only with Labyrinthine Eyes
Eye of the Lynx
Notes on the Writing of Horror

DREAMS FOR INSOMNIACS

The Christmas Eves of Aunt Elise
The Lost Art of Twilight
The Troubles of Dr. Thoss
Masquerade of a Dead Sword
Dr. Voke and Mr. Veech
Professor Nobody's Little Lectures on Supernatural Horror

DREAMS FOR THE DEAD

Dr. Locrian's Asylum
The Sect of the Idiot
The Greater Festival of Masks
The Music of the Moon
The Journal of J.P. Drapeau
Vasterian


Only 57 shopping days till Halloween,
bendk

 

[The New Nonsense]

I also own a Pre-publication letter to Harry Morris from Ligotti along with the envelope it was sent in. I've owned it for about 12 years (long before his books began to sell for astronomical sums). Thus I doubt it is a forgery. The handwriting matches other samples I've seen.

 

[Dr. Bantham]

I also own a Pre-publication letter to Harry Morris from Ligotti along with the envelope it was sent in. I've owned it for about 12 years (long before his books began to sell for astronomical sums). Thus I doubt it is a forgery. The handwriting matches other samples I've seen.

Well, tell us what it says, good man! A scan, perhaps? Incidentally, I just fixed the image reference above. The link had had been corrupted by an upgrade somewhere along the way.

 

[The New Nonsense]

Upon re-reading this letter, I'm not sure what time period it's from. The post mark on the envelope is illegible.

A bit on the provenance: This letter was purchased in the mid 90s from David Wynn, Proprietor of Mythos Books, LLC. I purchased SONGS OF A DEAD DREAMER "Silver Scarab Edition", and the letter came with it, along with a promotional postcard for said book.