A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine, April 1950 — page 6: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

CALLING ALL FANTASY FANS (A riNss to all you Fantasy Fans. We are very happy to find that A. MERRITT’S FANTASY is flourishing, and growing by leaps and bounds in pop- ularity. Your enthusiasm is limitless, and we want to keep you in this bueyant spirit. In this issue we are introducing you to Theodore Roscoe and Jack Mann, two superb fantasy authors. However, we have run into some difficulty in tracing Jack Mann, whose mysterious narrative of “The Ninth Life” is found in this issue. Pen names are never unusual, so you will not be surprised to learn that Jack Mann is none other than that very famous author of fantasy, E. Charles Vivian. Among his best known works are “City of Wonder” and “Maker of Shadows.”’ And speaking of shadows—here is a job for all you fantasy enthusiasts! What has become of Mr. Vivian? He’s an English- man who during the last war lived in Chelsea, London. But since 1947 we have been unable to locate him! Fortunately Theodore Roscoe is not quite as illustve as Jack Mann. Born in Rochester in 1906, Mr. Roscoe has always been greatly imterested in history. This natural propensity has helped his story- telling immensely. He not only knows the history of far-off and desolate places but he has learned the legends that have been handed down by word of mouth for cen- turies. Much of this information is gath- ered first hand, for he is an indefatigable traveller. This wanderlust is inherited from both sides of the family. His grandfather was a missionary in India, and it was there that his mother was ‘born, high in the Himalayan Mountains. She spoke Hindu before English and had the distinction of being one of the first white women to cross the borders of Tibet. Mr. Roscoe’s father also spent a great deal of time travelling about the Orient. 6 He taught at the business college in Luck- now. While sick with scarlet fever at the age of seven, Theodore Roscoe wrote, bound, printed, and illustrated his first story “The Devul and the Knight.” Even with the years of writing, his spelling technique is most distressing. He admits that he likes to write about Mohammedans, Hindus and Frenchmen best. He has lived in all the lands he writes about ; he spent six months in Haiti before writing “The Little Doll Died.” And now let’s turn to the June issue of A. MERRITT’S FANTASY. You will be thrilled to learn that we will be bring- ing you A. Merritt’s unforgetable “The Face in the Abyss.” Many have requested this classic of fantasy—so it’s on its way. There seems to be little need of prefac- ing this unusual story which takes place in the unexplored regions of Peruvia. Graydon and three other Americans set off on the trail of a lost ransom treasure, said to be buried in the evil-infested Cordillera de Carabaya. Countless millions in gold and jewels were reputed in the hidden ‘ransom of Atahualpa the Inca! But it was guarded by fierce Aymaras in a land where no man dared to tread .. . because he never returned. Here is a story rich in imagination and personal insight, This is A. Merritt at his best. Also in the June issue ig Eric North’s threatening story of “The Green Flame.” A man called Toad, a brilliant but warped scientist, wished to make the world sub- ject to him. The sinister tentacles of science reached out to ensnarl the world, while men in all capacities fought madly against the time limit Toad had given them. His diabolical invention enabled water to burn. The June issue of A. MERRITT’S . FANTASY will be published May 3rd. —THE EDITOR Gomicbooks.com