Infinity and beyond

The avid collector Ron Graham (1908-1979) donated his vast Science Fiction collection of around 90,000 items to the Library. It was the second largest collection in the world at that time, focused on printed aspects of science fiction and fantasy: books, serials, comics, fanzines, as well as select cinema publicity material, original artwork and ephemera. His definition of fantasy was broad, notably including horror, particularly the Arkham House school and many scarce original or limited edition H.P. Lovecraft items.

In the 1970s, the Library decided to collect science fiction (SF) and detective fiction (DF), based on an increased interest in genre studies and the lack of a wide range of representative material in Australian libraries. In those days, this involved use of bookseller catalogues, specialist indexes and bibliographies, phone calls, frequent letter writing on the typewriter and attendance at science fiction fairs. Through this, we met Ron Graham.

Graham ran a successful engineering company, and his science fiction interests – which began in childhood – grew and grew, extending to speaking at and supporting science fiction fairs and publishing a magazine, Vision of tomorrow. He somehow found time to also keep cross referenced card indexes of the collection, and even added a purpose built, climate-controlled library onto his suburban house.

The main areas of the collection are:

Graham SF

First editions and comprehensive paperbacks (including reprints where the cover art differed), and pulps or series. The pulps– quickly written stories to a strict page count – are of interest for the old school space adventure illustrations on their covers.

Graham Serial

The Graham serial collection holds magazines or journals. It is a comprehensive collection of American and English publications up until to 1979, many short lived. There are also select publications in other languages.

Graham Comics

Graham appears to have started collecting comics as a digression in the 1960s. Along with many obscure titles, there are some desirable comics – the 1960s saw the new Marvel titles such as Spiderman, Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer, as well as the growth of American underground comics and graphic novels of the Heavy Metal school.

Graham Fanzines 

The fanzines are mostly collected in boxes, not catalogued individually. These are often scrappily typed, roneoed (duplicated) or photocopied sheets from enthusiasts. The early examples from the 1930s are cheerfully quaint with their coloured pencil illustrations. Some fanzines featured contributors who later became well known novelists, while other titles became increasingly polished, resembling magazines. The fanzines reveal the growth of the subculture of fandom and conventions. The Los Angeles subculture sometimes crossed over into the underground film and occult scenes, with the collection including the rare music piece, Hymn to Satan, by Tigrina. These rarer items are catalogued within Graham reference, along with the more informative, interview style fanzines.

Graham Reference

Illustrated histories and studies, along with biographies and bibliographies or specialised research. Includes journals, select fanzines, and various film related materials, such as the publicity for the 1927 cinema release of MetropolisThe Library also has an extensive collection of science fiction separate to the Graham collection.

The Graham collection includes:

• The Apex treasury of underground comics (1974) compiled by Susan Goodrick, and Don Donahue. Graham comics 1646.
• Vengeur: bandes dessinées pour adultes (1972-1988). Graham comics 1446.
• Silver Surfer no. 1 (1968) by Stan Lee (author) and John Buscema (artist). Graham comics 1051.
• The Horror from the hills (1963) by Frank Belknap Long. Graham SF 08871.
• The wild boys: a book of the dead (1972) by William Burroughs. Graham SF 02635.
• The Left Hand of Darkness (1969) by Ursula Le Guin. Graham SF 04232.
• Hymn to Satan (1941) by Lisa Ben (Tigrina). Graham reference 0423.
• Metropolis: le film le plus fantastique (1927). Graham reference 0152.

Group of pulps published by Curtis Warren

• Asteroid forma (1953) by Rand Le Page. Graham SF 00766.
• Purple islands (1953) by Dee Carter. Graham SF 00762.
• House of many changes (1952) by Van Reed. Graham SF 00768.
• Overlord New York (1953) by Lee Elliot (Pseudonym). Graham SF 00748