Shelfies #27: Steven H. Silver

In many ways, this is one of my least typical bookcases. Most of the book cases I have are devoted to a specific type of work. The shelves depicted, however, contain overflow books from several of those collections. The top shelf has books by Mark Twain, the next two shelves down have books from my Medieval history collection. Three of the four bottom shelves include books on astronomy and space exploration (and you can see the telescope that lives next to the shelf), and the remaining shelf holds a variety of large format books.

Starting at the top on the left is a hardcover copy of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that I acquired when my family visited Hannibal, Missouri when I was a child. A few volumes over is a run of six of Twain’s novels. These are first editions of A Tramp Abroad, The Prince and the Pauper, A Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (sic), The American Claimant, Pudd’nhead Wilson, and Following the Equator. 

On the third shelf from the top are two small books, more or less sandwiched between the end of the history collection and the start of the astronomy collection. There is no logical reason for them to be on this shelf rather than with fiction, except that I generally want to be able to lay hands on them quickly. The two books are a copy of Mr Blettsworthy on Rampole Island by H.G. Wells and a copy of Saki’s The Unbearable Bassington. These small hardcovers were published in the late 1920s. Pasted inside the front cover of each volume is a small bookplate that shows a picture of a curly-haired man twisting his head off. The bookplates also bear the words “The Library of Harpo and Susan Marx.” I’ll admit that I prize these books more for the associational value than for the actual texts of the books.

On the large format shelf, barely visible, is a copy of the music for Gilbert and Sullivan’s later and lesser operetta, Utopia, Ltd. When I was living in England in 1987, I wandered into a used bookstore and came across this book. Flipping through it, it didn’t have a price listed. I asked the owner and he told me I could have it for £5 (about $8.20).  I bought the book, which was also signed by Sir Arthur Sullivan. At the time I bought it, I had only seen the first act of the show (bad weather led to us leaving during intermission). I have subsequently seen the second act.

Hiding on the bottom shelf is a copy of Clyde Tombaugh’s Out of the Darkness: The Search for Pluto. Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930 and from 1978-1983 I maintained a correspondence with him that included meeting him in person once and an invitation to join him for lunch at his home in New Mexico. When I had to cancel our lunch meeting, he invited me to send my copy of his book for autographing. When he returned it, he had not only autographed it, but he went through and hand-corrected all the typos that were in the book.

Finally, If you look to the far left of the picture, you’ll see a ladder than can roll across the four central bookcases.  When we first bought these book cases, they exactly fit the width of our living room and ended a little over a foot from the ceiling, meaning the top shelf could be used for more books, but was also quite high. Before I could say anything, my wife looked at me and said, “We really should get the ladder, shouldn’t we?” Who was I to say “no” to her when she so obviously understood me.

Steven H Silver is a twenty-time Hugo Award nominee and was the editor and publisher of ISFiC Press for 8 years.  He has also edited books for DAW, NESFA Press, and ZNB Books.  He began publishing short fiction in 2008, his most recently published story is "Initial Engagement," his most recent anthology is Alternate Peace.  His debut novel, After Hastings, was published in 2020. In 1995, he created the Sidewise Award for Alternate History. Steven chaired the first Midwest Construction, Windycon three times, and the SFWA Nebula Conference several times as well as serving as the Event Coordinator for SFWA.  He was programming chair for Chicon 2000 and Vice Chair of Chicon 7. Steven has maintained In Memoriam lists for Worldcon, the Nebula Conference, and the World Fantasy Con for several years.

Shelfies is edited by Lavie Tidhar and Jared Shurin. If you are interested in sharing a shelfie, please let us know.