Amazing Stories/Volume 01/Number 02

2655879Amazing Stories — Number 2

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cover


Black and white illustration of Jules Verne's tombstone, in the shape of a bearded man's torso rising diagonally from the ground, with right arm stretched out to the sky and a flat tombstone on his back.
JULES VERNE'S TOMBSTONE AT AMIENS PORTRAYING HIS IMMORTALITY

AMAZING STORIES
Vol. 1 No. 2
May, 1926

EDITORIAL & GENERAL OFFICES: 53 Park Place, New York City
Published by Experimenter Publishing Company, Inc.

H. Gernsback, Pres.; S. Gernsback, Treas.; R. W. DeMott, Sec'y
Publishers of Science & Invention, Radio News, Amazing Stories, Radio Review, Radio International.




CONTENTS

Contents For May

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100
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124
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126
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136
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140
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148

OUR COVER

Illustrates this month's story, "The Crystal Egg", by H. G. Wells. This is a supposed view of the planet Mars, as viewed by Mr. Cave through the Crystal Egg, from the earth.

COPYRIGHT ACKNOWLEDGMENT

"Off on a Comet", and "A Trip to the Center of the Earth" by Jules Verne, copyright 1911, by Vincent Parke & Co., (Parke, Austin & Lipscomb Co.)

In Our Next Issue:

"DOCTOR HACKENSAW'S SECRETS", by Clement Fezandié, by popular requests. A new and hitherto unpublished story of the great and illustrious Dr. Hackensaw, which can not fail to hold your interest from start to finish.

"THE RUNAWAY SKYSCRAPER", by Murray Leinster, a story of the Fourth Dimension, in which the great Metropolitan Life skyscraper in New York vanishes into the Fourth Dimension. One of the most surprising tales we have ever read. (This story was scheduled for the May issue, but had to make room for the Jules Verne story).

"THE SCIENTIFIC ADVENTURES OF MR. FOSDICK", by Jack Morgan. Perhaps you did not know it, but there can be excellent humor in scientifiction. One, of the most excruciatingly funny stories, which at same time is an excellent piece of scientifiction, is entitled "Mr. Fosdick Invents the Seidlitzmobile."

"A TRIP TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH", by Jules Verne, (second installment), wherein our heroes have now penetrated to subterranean depths and find a tremendous number of surprises.

"WHISPERING ETHER", by Charles S. Wolfe, a radio story that holds your interest and injects quite a few new thoughts into a well-known subject. One of the greatest short stories we have ever seen. (This story also was due for publication in May, and was crowded out by the conclusion of the Jules Verne story, "Off On a Comet").

Another weird story by Edgar Allan Poe, which we are sure you will like.

HOW TO SUBSCRIBE FOR "AMAZING STORIES." Send your name, address and remittance to Experimenter Publishing Co., 53 Park Place, New York City. Checks and money orders should be made payable to Experimenter Publishing Co., Inc. Mention the name of the magazine you are ordering inasmuch as we also publish RADIO NEWS, SCIENCE & INVENTION, RADIO REVIEW and RADIO INTERNACIONAL. Subscriptions may be made in combination with the other publications just mentioned at special reduced club rates. Send postal for club rate card. Subscriptions start with the current issue unless otherwise ordered. ON EXPIRATION of your subscription we enclose a renewal blank in our last number to you, and notify you by mail. Then, unless we receive your order and remittance for a renewal, delivery of the magazine is stopped. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Notify us as far in advance as possible, giving your old address as well as the new one to which future magazines are to go. It takes several weeks to make an address change in our records.
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AMAZING STORIES. Monthly. Application for second class matter at the Post Office at New York, N.Y. pending. Title Registered U. S. Patent Office. Copyright 1925, by E. P. Co. Inc., New York. The text and illustrations of this magazine are copyrighted and must not be reproduced without giving full credit to the publication. AMAZING STORIES is for sale at all newstands in the United States and Canada. European Agents, S. J. Wise Et Cle, 40 Place Verte, Antwerp, Belgium. Printed in the U.S.A.
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VOLUME
1
MAY, 1926
NO. 2
AMAZING STORIES

THE
MAGAZINE
OF
SCIENTIFICTION

HUGO GERNSBACK, F.R.S., Editor

DR. T. O'CONOR SLOANE, M. A., Ph.D.; Associate Editor

Editorial and General Offices---53 Park Place, New York, N. Y.



Extravagant Fiction Today
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Cold Fact Tomorrow



THANK YOU!

By HUGO GERNSBACK, F.R.S.


The first issue of AMAZING STORIES has been on the newsstands only about a week, as we go to press with this, the second issue of the magazine; yet, even during this short time, we have been deluged with an avalanche of letters of approval and constructive criticism from practically every section of the country, except the West—as we have not yet had time to hear from it.

We hereby take this medium to thank all our friends for their kind wishes and willingness to cooperate with us. We sincerely regret that we cannot answer each and every letter individually. There are simply too many letters—and we feel that our readers would rather we utilize our efforts in the improvement of the magazine.

After all, it is your paper, and we are striving hard to please you. Judging from the various comments, the first issue of AMAZING STORIES was just about right—the stories pleased and the length of the shorter stories and the division of the long ones seemed satisfactory.

And it was with a feeling of gratification that we noted the almost unanimous condemnation of the so-called "sex-appeal" type of story that seems so much in vogue in this country now. Most of our correspondents seemed to heave a great sigh of relief in at last finding a literature that appeals to the imagination, rather than carrying a sensational appeal to the emotions. It is that which justifies our new venture—our expenditure of time and money.

The letters, extracts from which are printed below, seem to best express the general trend of opinion.

Mr. George W. Anderson, of Fairmount, W. Va., in addition to giving us a good suggestion, says:

"Print all scientific facts as related in the stories, in italics. This will serve to more forcefully drive home the idea upon which you have established your magazine. Personally, when I have some such system blazing forth before my eyes I am inclined to stop and consider what I have learned, for future reference."

A. Lee Gladwin, of Ames, Iowa, writes: "‥‥Amazing Stories is entertaining and has food for thought that no other fiction work could begin to compete with."

Raymond E. Dickens, Air Mail Radio Station, Iowa City, Iowa, says:

"I can read these stories over several times and each time get something new from them."

Michael H. Kay, Brooklyn, N, Y., says: "You will generally find that when one has read your magazine he will become so enthusiastic, so elated over his discovery, that he will deem it a pleasure to extol its virtues to his friends. Even now my wife is anxiously waiting for me to finish this first issue, so that she may read it herself."

Lack of space precludes adding to the list indefinitely.

As to the future: Some very valuable suggestions were made—upon which we have acted. There was quite a demand for "Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets." Acting upon this demand, we will, beginning with our next issue, print new and hitherto unpublished Dr. Hackensaw stories. We have a good many of these famous stories by Clement Fezandié. Again, a good many of our readers want some of the stories of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Accordingly, we have contracted for some, to be published in the future. Among the newer works of which we have acquired the publication rights are: "Die Macht der Drei" (The Might of the Three), one of the greatest—and perhaps the greatest—recent scientifiction story; and "Feuer am Nordpol" (The North Pole Fire). Both these works were published in Germany.

We also obtained the rights to an excellent radio story—one of the finest that has ever been written—"Station X", by G. MacLeod Winsor.

"The Messiah of the Cylinder", by Victor Rousseau is another tremendous story, and then, of course, there is H. G. Wells, with his "The War in the Air."

There is only one thing that troubles us now: we have more good stories to publish than we have space in which to publish them. And here is where you can help. During the next three or four months it is our intention to enlarge the magazine, but only an increased circulation can make this possible. You can do your share by making the magazine known among your friends. If you like AMAZING STORIES, your friends will probably like it too.

If each one of you who reads this could get one friend to buy the next issue of AMAZING STORIES, we would immediately be able to increase the size of the magazine fifty per cent, and thereby give you more material.

The success of AMAZING STORIES is entirely in your hands. We shall do our part—we pledge ourselves to do everything to merit your confidence.