My Collection: The Foundation Trilogy

I have been a fan of Science Fiction for many years reading a good amount of it as I was growing up. Not sure where this came from but I suspect it could be at least partly due to my mother liking it as well with books around the house for me to read. I started reading the big names from the early to mid 20th century: Isaac Asimov (easy to read, “classic” Science Fiction), Ray Bradbury (easy to read), Frank Herbert (of “Dune” fame) and Robert Heinlein (very quirky) but have, over the years, started reading a more diverse set of authors and reading more fantasy as well. Of course, I read a lot of general fiction and non-fiction but Science Fiction has always been a bit of a favourite - Escaping our mundane world into a world of (mostly) futuristic imagination and unusual situations. I was also always a fan of the physics and astronomy which these books often featured but taking them in interesting, new directions.

For a long time my fascination with Science Fiction was limited to reading and watching what few Science Fiction films were distributed at the time (now it seems every other film is Science Fiction or Fantasy) but when the World Science Fiction Convention (“WorldCon”) took place in my, then, hometown of Winnipeg, Canada in 1994 (“Conadian”) I decided to buy a membership and check it out. Of course I was aware of local conventions in the province but it never really appealed to me with local fans generally just meeting and talking about the field. WorldCon was a completely different affair with attendees including major authors, publishers, artists, directors, astronauts and scientists. Yes, that is right, it was much more than simply the people that produce Science Fiction but members of the scientific community as well. Not only could you hear them talk on various panels held over five days you could actually meet and talk to them, often signing your books. In addition to all that there was a huge “dealers room” selling all sorts of things (my interest primarily being books), an “art show” featuring works from both professionals and amateurs alike (and generally for sale), the “masquerade” which was a show featuring costumes also created by both professionals and amateurs (to be fair, this seemed like a step too far for me initially but over time I have begun to appreciate this and now always attend), and a film program where we could see films that were not readily available at the time (this day of streaming and Internet has pretty much killed this) with my being particularly interested in Japanese Animation (anime) which often featured Science Fictional elements.

I continued to attend WorldCons in the years that followed often using it as an excuse to visit places I had never been before. For the most part they are in the United States where the fan and professional communities are much larger with the fan's themselves often having more disposable income to spend on them. Beyond the US, it has taken me as far as Australia (1999), Glasgow (1995, 2005, 2024), Japan (2007) and Dublin (2019). I had all of my travel arranged for New Zealand in 2020 but COVID put paid to that visit though the convention quickly pivoted and I attended virtually at very early hours of the morning.

Over the years I have managed to put together quite an impressive collection of Science Fiction books. So much so that now I only keep books that are SIGNED by the authors otherwise I would need another house for all of them. I often go even further to ensure that those I keep are SIGNED FIRST editions to keep the volume down even more. In 1998 I attended “Buconeer” in Baltimore, the 56th World Science Fiction Convention which was held in the convention centre on the harbour. As always I browsed the dealer's rooms to see what was available and what might be of interest. At the stall operated by “Henderson's Books” (Petersburg, Virginia) I will never forget they had a tall, narrow wooden bookcase with their “special” books that, of course, meant “more expensive”. On one shelf two books caught my eye: “Heretics of Dune” by Frank Herbert, in slipcase and “The Foundation Trilogy” by Isaac Asimov, in a handsome leather binding. If you are familiar with Asimov you will know that the Foundation Trilogy is widely considered his best work. Both of these were, unbelievably given that both authors were deceased, signed and they were not terribly cheap: $100 and $200 respectively, as I recall. This was a lot of money at the time and, I suppose, even now it is not “cheap” but I bought them anyway.

This, perhaps, is where it gets a bit more interesting. Buconeer, as with all conventions, had “Guests of Honour” from different fields - author, fan, editor, artist and a toastmaster. In this case the artist guest of honour was Michael Whelan which just so happened to be the artist that created covers for the three books in the “The Foundation Trilogy” which just so happened to be reproduced in full colour in the book that I had just purchased. He was in the programme to be signing in a few days so I had to act quickly. You can't sign a full colour print with a standard pen or pencil so I found a local store selling stationary and picked up a pen that basically used metallic paint as ink. A disadvantage with this was that it was paint so it would take some time to fully dry, however, it would work well. I was all set.

When I met Whelan he was impressed with the book that I brought for him to sign. He was also quite nervous knowing that it was an expensive book so he did not want to mess up. I was all ready for him with my newly purchased pen.

He first signed the title page then it was the tricky bit – the full colour cover inserts that appeared before each of the three stories in the book.

I messed this up. Soon after he signed the first cover illustration I let the opposite page touch and some of the paint was left on the page. He was apologetic about this but I assured him it was my fault and that he should continue with the rest of the illustrations.

The final two illustrations were signed without any problem as I carefully made sure to put my fingers between the pages to carefully ensure the wet autograph would not touch the opposite page. Success!

To this date, this is probably the most valuable book in my collection with my finding copies ranging in price from $500 to $1500, none of which have the signature of the artist so likely this is worth much more. Research has shown that this is quite a rare book in the Easton Press “Masterpieces of Science Fiction” series featuring leather-bound Science Fiction classics which were available on a subscription basis. These volumes also featured: Gilt edges, archival paper (meaning it will last a very long time and is “acid-free”), ribbon marker and “frontispiece art”. Most were not signed but this, being one of the first volumes produced in the series, was specially signed for the publisher (generally even Asimov's signature does not feature in this book).

So, a special book indeed.

I continue to attend conventions as often as I can. I have even taken my mother and my wife along with me to several despite their not being massive fans of the genre they find lots of interest given the huge scale of these conventions. The convention in Japan, for example, had sessions on the tea ceremony, flower arranging and tying a kimono. I would suggest that there is something for everyone at these events and would encourage anyone to visit – you might be surprised.