Crowd source question: Does your copy of Holmes' 1981 book, Fantasy Role-Playing Games, have this photo on the back of the dust jacket? If so, is it the US printing by Hippocrene Books? This may be a previously unrecognized difference in the the UK and US versions. I have the UK printing by Arms & Armour Press, which shows the Basic Set cover art on the back of the dust jacket. (It has a smaller version of this photo inside the back of the dust jacket, but the minis in the foreground are cropped out - so I never knew they were there.). This photo is from a recently ended Ebay auction for the Hippocrene printing, hence my guess at the difference being based on the publisher.
Mine has the picture, and it is the US Hippocrene Books version.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have the same photo on the back of the dust jacket. USA Hippocrene Books printing.
ReplyDeleteMine's the UK version, Arms & Armour Press with the basic set on the back.
ReplyDeleteWell, that's two of each type. Small sample size, but it looks like it is a difference between the US/UK printings. I wonder if there are any other differences. Perhaps the interior flaps of the dust jacket. Does the US version have this same picture, but cropped, on the back interior flap of the dust jacket?
ReplyDeleteNo photos inside the dust jacket flap front or back.
ReplyDeleteAh, that's another difference. Does the back flap have an author bio?
ReplyDeleteYes, author bio on inside back flap. I bet the "two more fantasy novels" mentioned are Red Axe of Pellucidar and The Maze of Peril. Note the misspelling of Alarums and Excursions.
ReplyDeleteFull text:
J. ERIC HOLMES is a physician who teaches in the Department of Neurology of the University of Southern California School of Medicine. The author of numerous scientific articles, he also writes science fiction: two of his novels, Mahars of Pellucidar and Mordred, have appeared in paperback editions. He is now at work upon two more fantasy novels.
Dr. Holmes is the editor of the "Basic Set" of Dungeons & Dragons rules, and he has been playing the game since 1974--as he puts it, "practically since its inception." He has conducted beginner's games at GenCon, the annual gaming convention, and he has written articles for the gaming publications, The Dragon and Alarms and Excursions.
Thanks, Tony. That text is identical to the blurb in the UK printing, including the missing of 'Alarums'. I suspect the text of the two printings is the same, with just a difference in the back cover/back flap pics.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone with a US printing could make a high-res scan of the photo on the back cover, I (and other Holmes fans) would appreciate it - I'll post it on the blog.
ReplyDeleteOn it, though mine has a library sticker on the back.
ReplyDelete