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The Conan Swordbook

1969

Material type

Publication date: 1969

Introduction

The Conan Swordbook is a 1969 collection of essays edited by L. Sprague de Camp and George H. Scithers, published in hardcover by Mirage Press. The essays were originally published as articles in Scithers' fanzine Amra. The book is a companion to Mirage’s other two volumes of material from Amra, The Conan Reader (1968) and The Conan Grimoire (1972). Most of the material in the three volumes, together with some additional material, was later reprinted in two de Camp-edited paperback anthologies from Ace Books; The Blade of Conan (1979) and The Spell of Conan (1980).

Notes

Limited to 1500 numbered copies. Publishers by Jack L. Chalker and Mark Owings indicates that 1519 copies were printed.
A collection of essays on Robert E. Howard and his colleages.
Edited by L. Sprague de Camp and George H. Scithers
The Voyager Series V-104

Numbered.
Only the first illustration per artist for a given essay has been noted in the contents.

Edition and production details

Edition: 1st
Format: Hardcover with dust jacket
Publication date: 1969
Pages: xiii plus 255
Publisher / imprint: Mirage Press
Cover art: George Barr
Illustrations: George Barr, Frazetta, Roy G. Krenkel

99 contents entries

To Harold Preece, ca. October or early November 1930, "Well, Harold, I’m sorry to hear your nose …"
The Conan Swordbook • interior artwork by Dian Girard [as by Dian Pelz] artwork
To August Derleth, ca. January 1933, "I was much interested in your accounts … "
The Conan Swordbook • interior artwork by Gray Morrow artwork
Non-REH Content
The Conan Swordbook (frontispiece) • interior artwork by Larry Ivie (variant of cover art for Amra V2n9, January 1960 1960) ii · artwork
"Swords and Sorcery" by Richard H. Eney
Swords and Sorcery • essay by Dick Eney [as by Richard H. Eney] ix · essay
"The Art of Robert Ervin Howard" by Poul Anderson
Swords and Sorcery • interior artwork by Roy G. Krenkel [as by Roy Krenkel] ix · artwork
"A Gent from Cross Plains" by Glenn Lord
Letter to Harold Preece, no date ("Well, Harold, I'm sorry to hear your nose...") • [Letters to Harold Preece] • (1964) • essay by Robert E. Howard 3 · essay
"Who Were the AEsir?" by Poul Anderson
Letter to Harold Preece • interior artwork by Roy G. Krenkel [as by Roy Krenkel] 3 · artwork
"Who Was Crom?" by Albert E. Gechter
Letter to August Derleth ("Dear Mr. Derleth: I was much interested...") • [Letters to August Derleth] • essay by Robert E. Howard (variant of Letter to August Derleth, ca. January 1933 ("Dear Mr. Derleth: / I was much interested in your accounts...") 1964) 11 · essay
"Lord of the Black Throne" by P. Schuyler Miller
Letter to August Derleth • interior artwork by James Cawthorn [as by Jim Cawthorn] 11 · artwork
"Conan of the Khyber Rifles" by Chuck Hansen and Norman Metcalf
Letter to August Derleth • interior artwork by Roy G. Krenkel [as by Roy Krenkel] 18 · artwork
"Howard’s Detective Stories" by Glenn Lord
The Art of Robert Ervin Howard • (1959) • essay by Poul Anderson 21 · essay
"Conan on Crusade" by Allan Howard
The Art of Robert Ervin Howard • interior artwork by Roy G. Krenkel [as by Roy Krenkel] 21 · artwork
"Howard’s Cthuloid Tales" by Ben Solon
A Gent from Cross Plains • (1959) • essay by Glenn Lord 27 · essay
"Editing Conan" by L. Sprague de Camp
A Gent from Cross Plains • interior artwork by Roy G. Krenkel [as by Roy Krenkel] 27 · artwork
"The Novels of Eric Rücker Eddison" by John Boardman
Who Were the Æsir? • (1959) • essay by Poul Anderson 33 · essay
"John Carter: Sword of Theosophy" by Fritz Leiber
Who Were the Æsir? • (1959) • interior artwork by Dan Adkins 33 · artwork
"Hyborians, Be Seated [(The Fantasy of A. Merritt]" by Ray Capella
Who Were the Æsir? • interior artwork by Roy G. Krenkel [as by Roy Krenkel] 36 · artwork
"Titivated Romance" by Fritz Leiber
Who Was Crom? • (1960) • essay by Albert E. Gechter 43 · essay
"Controlled Anachronism" by Fritz Leiber
Who Was Crom? • interior artwork by James Cawthorn [as by Jim Cawthorn] 43 · artwork
"…And Strange-Sounding Names" by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Lord of the Black Throne • (1961) • essay by P. Schuyler Miller 49 · essay
"Weapons of Choice [I]" by W. H. Griffey
Lord of the Black Throne • interior artwork by Dan Adkins 49 · artwork
"Weapons of Choice [II]" by Albert E. Gechter
Lord of the Black Throne • interior artwork by Raul Garcia Capella [as by Ray Garcia-Capella] 52 · artwork
"Weapons of Choice and/or Necessity" by Jerry E. Pournelle
Conan of the Khyber Rifles • (1961) • essay by Chuck Hansen and Norm Metcalf [as by Chuck Hansen and Norman Metcalf] 57 · essay
"Range" by L. Sprague de Camp
Conan of the Khyber Rifles • (1961) • interior artwork by Robert Sheridan 57 · artwork
"Sublimated Bloodthirstiness" by Poul Anderson
Conan of the Khyber Rifles • interior artwork by Roy G. Krenkel [as by Roy Krenkel] 59 · artwork
"And as for the Admixture of Cultures on Imaginary Worlds" by Leigh Brackett
Howard's Detective Stories • (1961) • essay by Glenn Lord 61 · essay
"Response" by E. Hoffmann Price
Howard's Detective Stories • interior artwork by Doug Brown 61 · artwork
"Ranging Afterthoughts" by L. Sprague de Camp
Conan on Crusade • (1963) • essay by Allan Howard 65 · essay
"Ocean Trade in the Hyborian Age" by John Boardman
Conan on Crusade • interior artwork by Raul Garcia Capella [as by Ray Garcia-Capella] 65 · artwork
"An Informal Biography of Conan the Cimmerian" by John D. Clark, P. Schuyler Miller and L. Sprague de Camp
Howard's Cthuloid Tales • (1966) • essay by Ben Solon 75 · essay
Howard's Cthuloid Tales • interior artwork by B. B. Sams 75 · artwork
Editing Conan • (1968) • essay by L. Sprague de Camp 81 · essay
Editing Conan • interior artwork by Roy G. Krenkel [as by Roy Krenkel] 81 · artwork
The Novels of Eric Rücker Eddison • (1959) • essay by John Boardman 95 · essay
The Novels of Eric Rücker Eddison • interior artwork by Roy G. Krenkel [as by Roy Krenkel] 95 · artwork
John Carter: Sword of Theosophy • (1959) • essay by Fritz Leiber 101 · essay
John Carter: Sword of Theosophy • (1959) • interior artwork by James Cawthorn [as by Jim Cawthorn] 101 · artwork
Hyborians, Be Seated • essay by Raul Garcia Capella (variant of Hyborians Be Seated 1962) [as by Ray Capella] 111 · essay
Hyborians, Be Seated • interior artwork by Roy G. Krenkel [as by Roy Krenkel] 111 · artwork
Titivated Romance • (1966) • essay by Fritz Leiber 117 · essay
Titivated Romance • interior artwork by Robert Sheridan 125 · artwork
Controlled Anachronism • (1966) • essay by Fritz Leiber 131 · essay
Controlled Anachronism • interior artwork by James Cawthorn [as by Jim Cawthorn] 131 · artwork
... And Strange Sounding Names • (1960) • essay by Marion Zimmer Bradley 151 · essay
...And Strange Sounding Names • interior artwork by Raul Garcia Capella [as by Ray Garcia-Capella] 153 · artwork
Weapons of Choice • (1962) • essay by W. H. Griffey 159 · essay
Weapons of Choice • interior artwork by Roy G. Krenkel [as by Roy Krenkel] 159 · artwork
Weapons of Choice • (1962) • essay by Albert E. Gechter 165 · essay
Weapons of Choice • interior artwork by James Cawthorn [as by Jim Cawthorn] 165 · artwork
On Weapons of Choice &/or Necessity • essay by Jerry Pournelle (variant of On Weapons of Choice and/or Necessity 1963) 169 · essay
On Weapons of Choice &/or Necessity • interior artwork by Frank Frazetta 169 · artwork
Son of Weapons of Choice and/or Necessity • (1965) • essay by Jerry Pournelle (variant of Son of Weapons of Choice &/or Necessity) 175 · essay
Son of Weapons of Choice and/or Necessity • interior artwork by James Cawthorn [as by Jim Cawthorn] 175 · artwork
Range • (1965) • essay by L. Sprague de Camp 185 · essay
Range • interior artwork by Roy G. Krenkel [as by Roy Krenkel] 185 · artwork
Sublimated Bloodthirstiness • (1965) • essay by Poul Anderson 193 · essay
Sublimated Bloodthirstiness • interior artwork by Raul Garcia Capella [as by Ray Garcia-Capella] 193 · artwork
... And as for the Admixture of Cultures on Imaginary Worlds • (1965) • essay by Leigh Brackett (variant of And As to the Admixture of Cultures on Imaginary Worlds ....) 197 · essay
... And as for the Admixture of Cultures on Imaginary Worlds • interior artwork by Roy G. Krenkel (variant of And As to the Admixture of Cultures on Imaginary Worlds .... 1965) [as by Roy Krenkel] 197 · artwork
Response • essay by E. Hoffmann Price [as by E. Hoffman Price] 207 · essay
Response • interior artwork by James Cawthorn [as by Jim Cawthorn] 207 · artwork
Ranging Afterthoughts • (1965) • essay by L. Sprague de Camp 213 · essay
Ranging Afterthoughts • interior artwork by Roy G. Krenkel [as by Roy Krenkel] 213 · artwork
Ocean Trade in the Hyborian Age • (1960) • essay by John Boardman 221 · essay
Ocean Trade in the Hyborian Age • interior artwork by Harry Douthwaite 221 · artwork
An Informal Biography of Conan the Cimmerian • (1959) • essay by John D. Clark, Ph.D. and L. Sprague de Camp and P. Schuyler Miller [as by John D. Clark and L. Sprague de Camp and P. Schuyler Miller] 227 · essay
An Informal Biography of Conan the Cimmerian • interior artwork by James Cawthorn [as by Jim Cawthorn] 227 · artwork
Art Work • interior artwork by Dian Girard and Linda Stahoski [as by Dian Pelz and Linda Stahoski] 257 · artwork
Robert E. Howard • interior artwork by George Barr bc · artwork

Contributors

George Barr: Cover artist
George Barr, Frazetta, Roy G. Krenkel: Illustrator

Additional related terms

Preserved from the former REH World tagging system; these terms have not yet been assigned as contributors, characters or subjects.