TAFF DOOR #5

This is TAFF DOOR No. 5, published for the Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund in February 1992 by the outgoing North American Administrator, Robert Lichtman, P.O. Box 30, Glen Ellen, CA 95442 USA. This issue is going to voters in the 1992 election and the usual assortment of fanzine editors, TAFF founders, former administrators and friends. The new North American TAFF administrator is Jeanne Bowman, P.O. Box 982, Glen Ellen, CA 95442 USA. Send TAFF mail, donations, old fanzines, etc., to her now. [Art by Grant Canfield]

JEANNE BOWMAN WINS!

Alert colophon readers will already be aware of this, but for the rest of you let it be noted that, in what anyone would characterize as a very close election, Jeanne edged by Richard Brandt with 51.1% of the overall vote. Here's a complete voting breakdown.

Candidate N.A. Eur. Down
Under
Totals
Jeanne Bowman:
1st Place 56 27 4 87
2nd Place 44 20 1 65
3rd Place 5 2 0 7
Richard Brandt:
1st Place 57 23 1 81
2nd Place 44 21 4 69
3rd Place 4 1 0 5
4th Place 0 1 0 1
Hold Over Funds:
1st Place 2 0 0 2
2nd Place 7 4 0 11
3rd Place 57 30 2 89
4th Place 3 0 0 3

There were numerous write-ins this time. In first place, Gary Deindorfer, Bill Levy and Kirby Puckett got one vote apiece, while "No Preference" was more popular with four choosing not to choose. "Abstain" won one second place vote. Third place votes went to Karen Atness, Loren Macgregor and Joe Wesson (one vote each), while a fourth place vote was cast for Doug Faunt, Pee Wee Herman, Manuel Noriega and the ever-popular Space Turkey. A total of 125 valid, timely ballots were received by the North American administrator, while the European Administrator (aka Pam) counted 53 ballots.

The following fans voted (in order of receipt): Doug Faunt, Gregg Rickman, Bryan Barrett, Peggy Rae Pavlat, Tom Whitmore, Ellen Leverenz (these first six at a party for Pam Wells in Oakland), Dave Rike, Don Herron, Tom Becker, Kent Johnson, Rich McAllister, Martha Beck, John F. Moore, Elizabeth Osborne, David M. Axler, Ben Indick, Lucy Huntzinger, William M. Breiding, Tom Perry, Janice Murray, Don Fitch, Cy Chauvin, Michael W. Waite, Andy Porter, Craig Smith, Ned Brooks, Lynn Hickman, Alexis Gilliland, Donald Franson, Taras Wolansky, Martin Morse Wooster, Charlene Taylor, Cathy Doyle, Jay Kinney, Ben Yalow, Berni Phillips, Roy Tackett, Sarah Prince, Don Glover the Younger, Vicki Glover, Bruce Townley, Vicki Rosenzweig, Jean Young, Amy Thomson, Patty Peters, Gary Mattingly, Mike Christie, Joyce Scrivner, Lisa Goldstein, Allyn Cadogan, Bill Bodden, Roger Weddall, David L. Russell, Suzanne Tompkins, Jerry Kaufman, Ian K. Hagemann, Kim Huett, Richard Gilliam, Donna Nassar, Paul Williams, June Moffatt, Len Moffatt, Harold Bob, Justin Ackroyd, Neil Kaden, George Flynn, Dick Lynch, Nicki Lynch, Earle S. Cooley III, Jeanne Gomoll, Pat Mueller, jan howard finder, Scott Custis, Michele Armstrong, Mark Manning, Brad Westervelt, Joe Wesson, Art Widner, Laurie Mann, Bill Bowers, Trina King, John D. Berry, Sheryl Birkhead, Harry O. Morris Jr., Christine Morris, Russ Chauvenet, Dennis Rickard, David A. McClintock, Donald Sidney-Fryer, D. Potter, Gary K. Louie, Frank Denton, Joseph A. West, Chris Bates, Dennis Lien, Pat Ellington, David C. Smith, R'ykandar Korra'ti, Spike Parsons, David Clark, Andi Schechter, Stu Shiffman, Kate Schaefer, Pam Davis & Terry Floyd, Tom Feller, Hal Davis, R. Laurraine Tutihasi, Roy Marc Anthony, Geri Sullivan, Debbie Notkin, Alan Bostick, Linda Gerstein, Eli Cohen, Roger Sims, Michael Warner, Peter Larsen, Gregg Trend, Mike Glicksohn, Michelle Lyons, Barnaby Rapoport, Jeff Schalles, Janice Eisen, Nigel Rowe, Kim Winz and Jeanne Bowman (at 7:30 p.m. on the last day ["Oh, I forgot!"]). Late votes received from David Bratman, Rusty Burke, William Kostura, Dave Kyle, Ruth Kyle, Arthur Kyle, Kerry Kyle, Loren Macgregor, Ariel Shattan, Dick Smith, Leah Zeldes Smith, Thomas Hanlon, Alexander Yudenitsch.

FINANCIAL REPORT

The TAFF kitty is in pretty decent shape. Here's a balance sheet as of February 1, 1992. These figures do not reflect printing and postage costs for this final newsletter, as well as any income and expenses which occur after this goes to press.

INCOME

Received from Jeanne Gomoll in 1989 $3,523.34
Donations 1,376.54
Voting donations 1,331.71
Sales & auctions 1,844.60
Bonds 40.00
Total income $8,116,19

EXPENSES

Trip expenses -- Lichtman1 $1,379.90
Trip expenses -- Wells2 840.00
Postage -- general 61.63
Postage -- sales & auctions 154.81
Postage -- publications/publicity 509.70
Phone charges 38.93
Office supplies 42.82
Total expenses $3,440.25
Balance on hand $4,675.94

Footnotes: 1. My trip expenses do not include approximately £300 which Christina Lake provided me for spending cash while in the U.K. from the European fund. 2. Pam's expenses are for her stay in the U.S. only, and do not include travel, etc., covered by the European fund.

RESULTS OF MAIL AUCTIONS

Here are the winners of all outstanding auctions:

H. The Roots of Fantasy: Myth, Folklore & Archetype, two copies available. The shrink-wrapped one goes to Don Fitch for a $30 bid, while Richard Brandt gets the unwrapped copy for $25.

I. Nearly complete run of GRANFALLOON attracted a lot of attention after I lowered the minimum bid from $25 to $20; Alexander Yudenitsch, a fan living in Brazil, topped a field of nine bidders with his $36 offer received on the last day.

J. WHlMSEY's first issue also attracted a lot of attention; Kim Winz gets it for $21.

K. The second WHlMSEY also goes to Kim Winz for $11.00.

L. HARLOT No. 3 was won by Richard Brandt, who made a $10.00 offer.

M. HOLIER THAN THOU No. 20 goes to Barnaby Rapoport, who offered $10.00.

N. Barnaby Rapoport also gets HTT No. 21 for $10.00 more.

O. HTT No. 22 goes to winning bidder Dave Rike for $11.00.

P. Dave Rike was also top bidder for HTT No. 23 at $6.00.

R. That collection of five pieces of color copies of hand-colored ATOM Artwork has been won by Don Fitch for $30.

S. The reprinted HYPHEN No. 2 goes to Craig Smith for $12.00.

T. Craig Smith also gets the HYPHEN No. 4 reprint for his $12.00 bid.

U. Making it a clean sweep, Craig also won the facsimile HYPHEN No. 5, also for $12.00.

Congratulations to the winners. Thanks to all the others who also made bids; TAFF appreciates your support.

NEW AUCTION

Got a few new items here. Send bids to new North American administrator, Jeanne Bowman (P. O. Box 982, Glen Ellen, CA 95442). Deadline for first round of bids to reach her: May 1, 1992. Include an SASE or postcard if you want to be informed if someone tops your bid.

A. A complete run of PONG, all 40 issues (all original copies except for No. 4, which is photocopied on the same color of paper as the original): published from October 1980 through August 1982 by Dan Steffan and Ted White, this fanzine was the focal point of its time: a humorous, faanish, frequent fanzine that did much to revive contact between North American and British fandom. All issues contain numerous spot cartoons by Dan, often pointedly illustrating the adjacent article. One issue is a small comic book entirely by Dan. Aside from Dan and Ted, many leading fans of the day from both sides of the Atlantic appeared in these pages. This set is in excellent condition. Minimum bid: $25.00.

B. COVER No. 9, March 1978, 10 pages. Jeff Schalles' perzine, the first issue since 1974. This issue is largely taken up with Zen and the Art of Walking (Without Tripping Over Cracks in the Sidewalk), subtitled How I Celebrated the Bicentennial." It's an account of hiking, camping, scenic vistas, inconvenience, discomfort, bluegrass music and boredom. Great reading! Minimum bid: $2.00.

C. COVER No. 10, November 1981, 21 pages. Jeff s next issue, in which he writes about the joys of leaving Pittsburg and other matters. Rob Jackson writes a harrowing saga of driving from Suncon to Ohio with Brad Balfour. Jack Hennigan presents an ex-fan's confessions in "Interview with a Gafiate." There's a short but good lettercol. Minimum bid: $3.00.

D. GENRE PLAT No. 2, Summer 1977, 42 pages. Edited by Allyn Cadogan and the Norfolk Howard People's Co-operative Press, a loose collective that seemed also to include William Gibson and Susan Wood. The front cover artwork is by Gibson, who also contributes a number of interior illos. Back cover by Grant Canfield. This issue leads off with Allyn's editorial, followed by doug barbour's review of two then-new Michael Bishop novels. Bill Beard reviews the first Star Wars movie and "Rabid," an early Michael Cronenberg film starring Marilyn Chambers of "Deep Throat" fame. Marta Randall has a brief commentary on a modern music festival. Susan Wood writes about how much she likes the writing of Australian fan John Bangsund, and Bangsund himself is present with his intriguing article, "John W. Campbell and the Meat Market." There's also a good lettercol. Minimum bid: $5.00.

E. HITCHHIKE No. 26, May 1976, 46 pages. One of the many semi-legendary John D. Berry fanzines. This is an excellent extended perzine, leading off with a 13-page series of short personal essays by John on a wide range of subjects. Will Straw follows with "Scenes de Ia Vie de Boheme," about living and working in the Northwest Territories of Canada Jeff Schalles writes of his cross-Canadian bicycle trip, a real adventure. The second half of the issue is a long, well-edited, interesting, wide- ranging and entertaining letter column. Minimum bid: $5.00.

That's it for this round. It should be noted that European Administrator Pam Wells (24-A Beech Road, Bowes Park, London N11 2DA, U. K.) is also conducting a mail auction of old fanzines, mostly British. Drop her a note if you want to see the list.

COMING SOON! THE TAFF T-SHIRT!

Advance orders now being taken. Shipping in March. Specify size. A rainbow of print colors. 100% cotton. $15 each postpaid. Send to Jeanne Bowman, address above.

ALSO AVAILABLE FROM TAFF

NEW! A Fans' Christmas in Ireland, by Walt Willis and other members of Irish Fandom. A 40-page collection of the Christmas cards issued annually from 1951 to 1966. Nice to have them all in one place. New illustrations by Stu Shiffman, introduction by Nancy Atherton, produced and donated by Tom Whitmore. [$5 postpaid ($6 non-U.S.)]

The Transatlantic Hearing Aid, Dave Langford's 80-page account of his 1980 TAFF trip.

Platen Stories, a 64-page collection of Dave Langford's articles from '80s fanzines.

The Enchantment, Walt Willis' 36-page account of his 1988 trip to America with his wife Madeleine, where they were FGoHs at Tropicon.

[Above 3 items are $4 each postpaid ($5 non-U.S.)]

Two-Pound Fanzine Sampler: Assortment of zines from '70s onward. No two bundles the same. $5 postpaid ($6 non-U.S.).

FINAL THOUGHTS

It's interesting to note that the largest donations TAFF received during my tenure were from conventions: the 1986 Atlanta worldcon, the Minneapolis Corflu auction, the 1989 Seattle World Fantasy Con, the Chicon V fanroom. A number of individuals also made substantial donations, but I don't want to risk embarrassing them by naming them here. The anonymous lot of them have TAFF's thanks and blessings. Also, many voters added generous sums to the basic $2 voting donation. And of course, many thanks is due those who've made donations of old fanzines and other items to fuel the ongoing mail auction and sales effort I mounted throughout my tenure. Ditto those who've supported the auction and direct sale of old fanzines with their bids and bucks which, as you can see above, were the largest single source of income for TAFF.

As I said in an earlier issue, TAFF exists because we will it to exist. The bottom line of the financial report above, aside from over a $1,000 increase in the fund's net worth from when it was passed to me, is that fandom at large (not just fanzine fans) still wishes TAFF to remain healthy and viable, and demonstrates this by its collective continued support. After nearly forty years, it is still one of the strongest links binding North American and European fandom. Long may it carry on!

My own TAFF trip was one of the high points of my life and sort of a culmination of over thirty years in fandom. Finally getting to meet so many fans who'd been favorite personalities in print for so long was a truly incredible experience. (It was also the first time I'd traveled out of the U.S.) thanks to all those who made it possible for me to go. Following one's trip with two (in my case, three) years of administration tends to put the brakes on certain other fan activities, such as report writing. I hope soon (after a suitable decompression period) to open up the time capsule of my taped notes (which I've purposely never played), photos, etc., and start on mine. 'Til then, cheers! [--RL, 2/1/92]