Bama, Bantam, and Mitchell's Mad Moon of Delta Vega

[TrickyDickie]

The other day I was searching through hundreds of ebay listings for Trek book lots, which I often do for fun. I came across this really odd thing and I bought the lot just for the heck of it. It's on the way via media mail, but before I receive it I thought I would post what I see so far and seek some input.

This is a Bantam Books H5629 edition, and I'm guessing it might be a 6th printing, from September of 1967. But, as you can see, it has a weird addition. It looks like a bizarre anthropomorphic moon trying to gobble the Enterprise:

I have noticed that on this book there is no gap between the dot and shaft of the 'i' in Blish as on other copies of the book. It's just solid:

There are also differences with the smoke trail coming from the shuttle bay. Here is the normal version, for comparison:

I have been considering the idea that the 'moon' could be residue from a removed decal. Here is an example of that, which makes the explanation seem a bit unlikely:

I'll know significantly more when the lot of books arrives in the mail, and I will post more at that time, but I figured there was nothing wrong with a little speculation ahead of time.

Thoughts?

This is not some modern photoshop or reimagining of James Bama's artwork. It's a book from 1967. It's very odd and as of right now I'm stumped.

 

[Christopher]

I don't see anything "anthropomorphic" about that "moon," but I think you're right that it's actually sticker adhesive residue that coincidentally looks like a moon.

 

[1001001]

Moving to Trek Lit

 

[Therin of Andor]

Wacky!

The cover title of this Bantam instalment eventually become "Star Trek 1" and the image was shrunk down, with more white background showing. Lincoln Enterprises used to sell the art as a small poster and it was a display ad in "TV Guide" to promote the beginning of the TV series.

My first second hand copy (similar to the one at right), was bought in 1980 and contained a colour insert of Filmation cels from TAS. Then I bought a "Star Trek 1" (middle) to match my other Blish books. I was thrilled to finally find a mint-condition copy with no numeral "1" on it (left) - and it was a first edition, first printing!


Three covers of Star Trek 1 by Ian McLean, on Flickr

 

[TrickyDickie]

Arrived today, which was fast for media mail. It is, in fact, residue from a removed sticker....just turned out a bit differently than the other example that I posted. I think the thing that surprises me is that the other details are completely normal. Normal gap in the 'i' and the smoke trail also looks the same as on any other copy of the book. I just never happened to encounter a situation where a camera distorted fine details to such a level....the enhancing of some things and the obscuring of others.

Christopher, "anthropomorphic" is rather subjective. I have seen artists claim it for a lot less than what appeared on this. When there is the possibility of intention in something's origin, pareidolia is replaced by the thought of impressionism. That's my feeling, anyway.

I am going to keep the book as is, without removing the residue. It looks quite a lot like a moon, even without the camera's effects. Incidentally, it is a 6th printing.

Therin, thanks for sharing those. I have some more books coming that may hit the mailbox tomorrow and they include some really nice copies of 1 through 11. We'll see how many are 1st prints. Several weeks ago, I was shocked to get a set of all 16 Bantam novels (including New Voyages 1 and 2) with each and every one being 1st prints and all looking like they just came from the factory. Unread, crisp, sharp, no blemishes, tanning, or foxing whatsoever. They have all of their interior ads in place, including Mudd's Angels with the upside-down Enterprise in the ad at the back of the book. The cost, even after including tax and shipping, was $2.36 per book!

 

[Christopher]

Christopher, "anthropomorphic" is rather subjective. I have seen artists claim it for a lot less than what appeared on this. When there is the possibility of intention in something's origin, pareidolia is replaced by the thought of impressionism. That's my feeling, anyway.

I wasn't judging, just saying I couldn't see what you saw. I was hoping you could be more specific about what aspects of it were anthropomorphic, give me a hint so maybe I could spot it too.

 

[TrickyDickie]

I wasn't judging, just saying I couldn't see what you saw. I was hoping you could be more specific about what aspects of it were anthropomorphic, give me a hint so maybe I could spot it too.

Ah, okay....maybe this will help: I highlighted the dark spots of the "eyes". They are in line with each other, within asymmetrical eye sockets outlined in black, the whites of the "eyes", and the suggestion of an eyebrow for the "eye" on the right side of the image.

The other lot of books did arrive today, and out of 19 books 12 of them are 1st prints: 4, 8, 9, 10, 11, Foster 1, 2, 3, 4, Spock Must Die!, Star Trek Lives!, The Trouble with Tribbles. All in like-new condition. Final cost for the 19 was $1.36 per book! I am amazed.

I am really scratching my head over what Bantam did with Star Trek 1. My copy with the sticker residue is an H5629, 6th printing. The one I received today is an F3459, but is also a 6th printing. I have searched and found this to be the case with other F3459 and H5629 versions. Both 6th printing, yet significantly different:

Bantam kept the H5629 version for a while, but changed the number when they increased the price. The 75 cent carries the number SP7869 and the 95 cent is N8589. Those were before they reduced the size of the artwork and added the 1.

Then there is this animal. The "special edition". Seems to have been somewhere between F3459 and H5629. It does not have a 5-digit letter/number combination, nor is there a price on it. There is only 014 on the spine:

I will have to get a copy of that in the near future to see what printing is listed inside.

All in all, the long printing history of Star Trek 1 seems to be quite complicated.

 

[Daddy Todd]

I have examples of every printing where the catalog number and/or price changed. But I’m on vacay, and the books are at home.
I’m pretty sure the “special edition” is the Scholastic Book Club edition, sold at middle school book fairs or the Weekly Reader back in the day. I’ll check the printing when I can.

 

[TrickyDickie]

I have examples of every printing where the catalog number and/or price changed. But I’m on vacay, and the books are at home.
I’m pretty sure the “special edition” is the Scholastic Book Club edition, sold at middle school book fairs or the Weekly Reader back in the day. I’ll check the printing when I can.

Hmm....today I received a "special edition" of number 3, which I was not expecting because the photos of the lot of books were not that detailed. This has 068 on the spine as the only number. Inside, it only lists the first printing, of April 1969. The page ends are white, like the first print of number 9 in 1973 and Star Trek Lives! in 1975. There is no mention of Scholastic, or anything else:

Back in 1979, I bought a copy of the novel Time After Time (the Malcolm McDowell---David Warner movie) from Scholastic. The publisher was Dell. It was abridged. Years later, I found out why, when I found a regular Dell copy. The original had included a scene of Jack The Ripper having sex with his sister. So, the murders were okay for kids to read about, but that wasn't. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Why have a Scholastic version at all, if there was so much concern that it was going to adversely affect kids?

 

[Daddy Todd]

Hmm....today I received a "special edition" of number 3, which I was not expecting because the photos of the lot of books were not that detailed. This has 068 on the spine as the only number. Inside, it only lists the first printing, of April 1969. The page ends are white, like the first print of number 9 in 1973 and Star Trek Lives! in 1975. There is no mention of Scholastic, or anything else

There is no branding anywhere on the book to indicate Scholastic or the Weekly Reader Book Club. Just "Special Edition" (later "Special Book Club Edition") on the cover. I'm pretty sure these were distributed by Scholastic, but am looking for corroboration. Later on, they added Scholastic branding to some covers, but not to these.

What I know about these Special Book Club Editions comes from examining the books themselves. I've looked for resources online to maybe pin down when they were released, but I've yet to find anything.

Star Trek (later retitled Star Trek 1) was done twice (1967 & 1975); Star Trek 3 and Star Trek Log One were also both done twice (1969 & 1975 for ST3; Log One in 1974 & 1975). Later in the decade, there was an abridged edition of Star Trek Puzzle Manual with the Scholastic logo on the cover, the Bantam logo on the title page, and the Bantam ISBN on the copyright page. I know this edition of the Puzzle Manual was distributed by Scholastic in March, 1978, because I have a poster listing it as one of the March, 1978 titles.

But I can't pin down the distribution dates of the other three (the other six, really, since they went out twice each.)

I'm open to any help pining these down!

 

[TrickyDickie]

Later in the decade, there was an abridged edition of Star Trek Puzzle Manual with the Scholastic logo on the cover, the Bantam logo on the title page, and the Bantam ISBN on the copyright page. I know this edition of the Puzzle Manual was distributed by Scholastic in March, 1978, because I have a poster listing it as one of the March, 1978 titles.

Would that poster by any chance be the one that had the Lou Feck art, as on Blish 4 and the puzzle manual? I had that one back at that time. It was from Scholastic and advertised other Scholastic books on the back. All I can recall right now is the illustration of a mushroom or a toadstool from one of the books. I was 11 in 1978. I would love to find another copy of that poster sometime. Love that art, even though Feck had NCC- 1710 on the Enterprise. Here is my old poster back in the day, just partly visible, where I have added the arrow to the image:

Edit: I have not found an image of the back of the poster, but this is what the front looked like....much nicer without the limitations of reducing the image for the book covers:

 

[Daddy Todd]

Would that poster by any chance be the one that had the Lou Feck art, as on Blish 4 and the puzzle manual? I had that one back at that time. It was from Scholastic and advertised other Scholastic books on the back. All I can recall right now is the illustration of a mushroom or a toadstool from one of the books. I was 11 in 1978. I would love to find another copy of that poster sometime. Love that art, even though Feck had NCC- 1710 on the Enterprise.

That's the one. The books on the back are "The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet", "Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet", "The Missing Person's League" and "Revolt on Alpha C" in addition to the Puzzle Manual. I picked it up on eBay a year or two ago, before the eBay prices of Trek "collectibles" went crazy in 2021.

 

[TrickyDickie]

That's the one. The books on the back are "The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet", "Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet", "The Missing Person's League" and "Revolt on Alpha C" in addition to the Puzzle Manual. I picked it up on eBay a year or two ago, before the eBay prices of Trek "collectibles" went crazy in 2021.

Cool!

After a bit of research, I've found that the "special edition" of Blish 2 has 039 on the spine and shows 4th printing on the copyright page.

 

[Daddy Todd]

Here's what I know about the Special Editions from the 60's and 70s (omitting the Star Trek Puzzle Manual, because I don't want to dig that one out again...
Star Trek: "Special Edition." Code 014 on the spine. 5th printing, June, 1967 (date taken from a later printing -- there's no printing date in this book)
Star Trek 1: "Special Book Club Edition." Code 9857 on the spine. Stated 31st printing on the copyright page, but that's simply impossible, and here's why: There was a 31st printing in September, 1981, using the third iteration of the cover design. 9857 uses the cover format of the second state, which was introduced with the 21st printing in May, 1975. So, I'm guessing this was actually the 21st (May 1975) or 22nd (August 1975) printing. Why it says it was the 31st is anyone's guess.
Star Trek 3: "Special Edition." Code 068 on the spine. 1st printing, April, 1969.
Star Trek 3: "Special Edition." Code 068 on the spine. 2nd printing, May, 1969.(date taken from a later printing)
Star Trek 3: "Special Edition." Code 9068 on the spine. 4th printing, September, 1969.(date taken from a later printing)
Star Trek 3: "Special Book Club Edition." Code 9068 on the spine. 16th printing, November, 1975.(date taken from a later printing)
Star Trek Log One: Cover identical to the standard early printings, including the 95¢ price. The copyright page lists it as "First Special Printing: November, 1974" following a Third Printing in September, 1974. I call this a "Fourth Printing", because there was a $1.25 mass market Fifth Printing, also dated November, 1974.
Star Trek Log One: "Special Book Club Edition." The copyright page lists it as "Second Special Printing: March, 1975" following a Fifth Printing in November, 1974. So I call this a Sixth Printing, as there was a mass market Seventh Printing, also dated March, 1975.

I also have Canadian printings of the first three Bantam titles (Ballantine also did Canadian printings, but I'm far enough in the weeds as it is).
Star Trek: On the cover: "A Bantam Fifty * F3459 *50¢" On the copyright page: "A Bantam Book / Published January 1967" "Printed in Canada - Bantam Books of Canada Ltd. - 156 Front Street West, Toronto 1, Canada". Identical to the standard first printing, with the exception of the "Bantam of Canada" information on the copyright page.
Star Trek 2: On the cover: "F3439 *50¢ * A Bantam Book" On the copyright page: "A Bantam Book / Published February 1968" "Printed in Canada - Bantam Books of Canada Ltd. - 156 Front Street West, Toronto 1, Canada". Identical to the standard first printing, with the exception of the "Bantam of Canada" information on the copyright page.
Star Trek 3: On the cover: "F4371 *50¢ * A Bantam Book" On the copyright page: "A Bantam Book / Published April 1969" "Printed in Canada - Bantam Books of Canada Ltd. - 156 Front Street West, Toronto 1, Canada". Identical to the standard first printing, with the exception of the "Bantam of Canada" information on the copyright page.

If you happen upon anything different, like the "Special Edition" of Star Trek 2, which you refer to above, please let me know, and I'll add it to my database.

 

[DonIago]

That's the one. The books on the back are "The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet", "Stowaway to the Mushroom Planet", "The Missing Person's League" and "Revolt on Alpha C" in addition to the Puzzle Manual. I picked it up on eBay a year or two ago, before the eBay prices of Trek "collectibles" went crazy in 2021.

Hey, I had a copy of "Revolt on Alpha C" when I was a young lad.

 

[Daddy Todd]

Hey, I had a copy of "Revolt on Alpha C" when I was a young lad.

Scholastic offered Robert Silverberg’s Revolt on Alpha C (his first published book) multiple times between 1959 & 1978. I also had a copy when I was a wee lad, but it's gone somewhere. Probably hanging out with my long-lost copy of Stranger from the Depths.

 

[Avro Arrow]

Why it says it was the 31st is anyone's guess.

Section 31 propaganda.

But seriously, based on this:

9857 uses the cover format of the second state, which was introduced with the 21st printing in May, 1975. So, I'm guessing this was actually the 21st (May 1975)

wouldn't "simple typo" be the most likely explanation? (Or whatever the equivalent was for how they printed books in the 70s? Incorrect letter set on the printing press?)

 

[Daddy Todd]

But seriously, wouldn't "simple typo" be the most likely explanation? (Or whatever the equivalent was for how they printed books in the 70s? Incorrect letter set on the printing press?)

No, because they had undated “22nd printing” through “31st printing” listed out. It seems pretty clear it was intentional.

 

[TrickyDickie]

If you happen upon anything different, like the "Special Edition" of Star Trek 2, which you refer to above, please let me know, and I'll add it to my database.

Here are some images that I turned up for the "special edition" of number 2:

 

[Daddy Todd]

Here are some images that I turned up for the "special edition" of number 2

I didn’t know about that one! Thanks!

Do you have it, or is it from an eBay listing?