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Science Fiction

Favorite Magazine Covers (from my collection)

I’ve been collecting Science Fiction and fantasy magazines (print) since the mid-1970s when I was fortunate to be “infected” with the collecting bug by none other than Robert Madle, one of the first science fiction fans and a collector of note.  In fact, Bob sourced and sold me my copy of the first issue of Amazing Stories.

Ever since I’ve been fascinated by the history and evolution of the magazines.  Realizing early on that I would never earn enough money to acquire “every single issue of every single F&SF magazine ever published”, I focused my acquisitions on the very first issue of new titles, and have been collecting with that focus ever since.  I’ve now acquired somewhere between 60 and 70 percent of all such titles.

More recently, I’ve been featuring various magazine covers on Facebook, and those posts have proven to be fairly popular.  I’ve now been invited to replicate those posts here.  Forthwith, today’s entry:  Satellite Science Fiction:

Satellite Science Fiction 1956 – 1959.
This is the very first magazine I ever bought as a (near) complete set. Don’t remember what convention it was, but some vendor (huckster*) had all of the digest-sized issues going for sale. Many years later, I was able to pick up the four published “pulp” issues at the San Jose Worldcon (where we debuted the new print edition of Amazing Stories).
I don’t know why “runs” (a collection of issues in sequential order) are such a thing for collectors unless its the often-associated lowered cost. Yes, it gives a collector an opportunity to “fill in holes”, and also a chance to improve the quality of their existent holdings (presumably selling off the surplus to fund further purchases), but its not as if these were animation cells or encyclopedia volumes. Other than serializations, things change slowly with magazines issue to issue. It’s not like you need a “full set” to reveal the giant poster you can create by sticking all of the back covers together.
Regardless, with the exception of the one or possibly two final, unpublished issues of the magazine, I’ve got every one of this particular title.
The magazine was edited by Leo Marguiles, joined by both Sam Merwin and Frank Belknap Long (12/56 and 2/59- 5/59 respectively).
For name recognition, the magazine stands out: covers routinely by Emshwiller, Freas, Schomburg, Hunter, Paul and even Lehr (the last one), as well as stories or novels by names like Asimov, Dick, Silverberg, Clarke, De Camp, Budrys, Dickson, Clement, Knight, Bloch.
Moskowitz wrote a history column about early science fiction, much of which would be compiled into his book Explorers of the Infinite.
It was also the home for long-missing pages from Wells The Time Machine, which had been omitted in all printings save the original magazine one, with it being published in the 8/58 issue.
This was another magazine that attempted to serve as a promotional vehicle for a line of novels. However, the change in format and other factors demonstrated that it was non-viable and the magazine shut down while leaving the contents for two future issues unhomed.
The magazine also appeared and attempted to flourish as the 1950s “boom” in interest was fading.
Despite all of that, it remains one of my faves.
I don’t include “format” changes in my definition of V1N1s, though a title change often accompanies a format change, as it does here, so I guess this does qualify as another “V1N1”, with the sub-title changing from “Science Fiction” to “The Best in Science Fiction”, so I’ve included the cover image for the first “pulp” format issue as well here.
(Also note that various web sources refer to the magazine’s larger format by a number of different names – “pulp”, “letter”, “bedsheet”.)
You can read more about this and other magazines on the Galactic Central website, the Database and the SF Encylcopedia, and even, in some cases, on Wikipedia.  Many scanned issues of a variety of historical SF magazines are also readable on the Archive.org website, although Satellite is apparently not among them.)

*Loving yet pejorative fanspeak for a dealer

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Steve Davidson

Steve Davidson is the publisher of Amazing Stories.

Steve has been a passionate fan of science fiction since the mid-60s, before he even knew what it was called.

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