Collecting Clark Ashton Smith
“I have seldom been able to resist the allurement of a bookstore…”
January 13, 1893 seems like a long time ago. And relatively speaking, it was. It has been 128 years since Clark Ashton Smith—whom I consider one of the world’s foremost fantasists—was born. If I took my own birthday and added 128 years to it, that would put us in the year 2097 which sounds an awful lot like the setting for a dystopian science fiction novel. Smith might have felt the same if he’d had any inkling that the world would still be discussing him and his writings more than a century and a quarter later.
Discovering Clark Ashton Smith
Before you can collect the works of an author, you must discover them. And nearly everyone has a story of how they discovered an author that really made an impact on them. When it comes to H. P. Lovecraft, Robert E. Howard, and Clark Ashton Smith, I have a single anthology to thank for introducing me to them… The Macabre Reader. One of the stories in that grim-looking and extremely cool volume is “The Hunters from Beyond,” by Smith (which begins with that quotation above). That story, my own introduction to Smith, modified my leanings in regard to literature in ways I couldn’t begin to guess at the time I first read it.
The Macabre Reader, Ace Books (1959)
Sometime after obtaining a copy of The Macabre Reader, I was rummaging in a used bookstore in my hometown and stumbled upon a paperback titled Poseidonis. I was intrigued by Atlantis at the time, so the caption, “Tales of Lost Atlantis” certainly caught my eye. The book was in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series—I’d never heard of that. But it was written by the same author who wrote that story I loved so much in that old Ace. I paid my $1 gladly… and went home and devoured it.
Smith didn’t just write stories
That copy of Poseidonis, my friends, pretty much settled it; I became a Smith devotee from that point. Now, it wasn’t until later that I discovered how diverse Smith’s talents were. The man was, in his mind, first and foremost a bard. He was an acolyte of George Sterling, and his first published book was a book of poetry, The Star-Treader and Others, (1912). I haven’t splurged on an original Star-Treader yet, so this copy keeps a spot warm on the shelf for now.
The Star-Treader and Others, Franklin Classics (2018)
But Smith also created art using pretty much every medium ever utilized by an artist, from oils to crayons. And he carved many of the ghoulish gods and beasts that his fertile mind invented in stone, a commodity which he could pick up off the ground for free on his frequent walks (he also carved in clay and marble).
Grotesques and Fantastiques is an economical addition (in softcover, the hardcover is a bit pricier, naturally) to a growing Smith collection and features sketches such as that which appears on the cover. I like its simple, center-stapled ‘chapbook’ style and the heavily grained cardstock is just killer.
Grotesques and Fantastiques, Gerry de la Ree, (1973)
Phoenix of the Ashes – The Ballantines
My copy of Poseidonis was lost to me when my house burned, together with the rest of my book collection and pretty much everything else I owned but for a Fender Katana electric guitar and a Marshall JCM800 amplifier. But I didn’t forget that book—it had left an impression. Instead, I determined that I would run down another copy. And not only Poseidonis, but the other titles in the series… Hyperborea, Xiccarph, Zothique.
As an aside, were you aware that Lin Carter, editor of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series, intended at least two further Smith titles in his famous series, those being Averoigne and Malneant? That would have been wonderful. They’re mentioned on the Wikipedia page for the series.
Timescape
It wasn’t long, while scouring for the additional BAF titles, before my delvings exposed another series that had published some Smith titles—the Timescape series, by Pocket Books. This series consisted of three titles, one of which I ran to ground in a bookstore where my opportunistic questing brought it to the light of day, while the remaining companion volumes I later ordered from, I believe, Grant Thiessen of Pandora Books, from whom I made many a purchase while rebuilding my original ashes-to-ashes collection. It was always a pleasure to hear Grant announce his name on the phone in his pleasant tone.
The City of the Singing Flame, Timescape (1981)
The Last Incantation, Timescape (1982)
The Monster of the Prophecy, Timescape (1983)
Necronomicon Press
About the time that I discovered the Timescape editions I also discovered Necronomicon Press. From their “list”, I began ordering Smith titles. When they introduced their Hyperborea and Zothique editions, I jumped all over them, although I already owned them in the Ballantine editions.
<Note that The Book of Hyperborea and Tales of Zothique were edited by ERB, Inc. author, Will Murray, who wrote Tarzan: Conqueror of Mars, and Tarzan: Return to Pal-ul-don.>
Arkham House
By this point I’m in full-blown Smith collecting mode. Lord knows what came on the heels of those Necronomicons, but quite possibly my two Arkham House editions of CAS (the only Smith Arkhams I have at present), which I purchased close together.
An aside on this copy of The Black Book of Clark Ashton Smith: I was in Dayton with my mom visiting my grandmother, and she took me on a book hunting excursion shortly after our home burned where I found paperback editions of A. Merritt by the grocery bag full (I literally came home with two of the old-school paper grocery bags full to their brims with Merritt and some ERB). I was a college student at the time, with hardly a penny to my name and she was extremely generous to do this. However, not even her purse was deep enough when we entered The Dragon Bookstore.
There I saw two bookshelves side by side, each approximately 8’ tall, 4’ wide, one filled to the ceiling with Arkham House editions, the other filled with Donald M. Grants. It was an astonishing sight; but then, so were the prices. I came away with the Black Book, and I’ll go ahead and include a photo of the lone Grant I also grabbed. I wish I could have photographed those shelves, as they were epic.
The Black Book of Clark Ashton Smith, Arkham House (1979)
The Hawks of Outremer, Donald M. Grant (1979) <Not a CAS, but scored simultaneously>
I can’t recall if I purchased the Black Book first (which is a softcover version, not a hardback) or A Rendezvous in Averoigne. But at some point, I wrote Arkham House and received one of their catalogs. Inside was listed a Smith they had recently published… This book comprised my first AH order.
A Rendezvous in Averoigne, Arkham House (1988)
Night Shade
It’s fast coming to the point where I begin forgetting exactly when and where I obtained everything, so let’s just jump in here and see what all remains on this shelf of Clark Ashton Smith.
Incidentally, as with other DMR articles I’ve written on collecting (I wrote a couple on A. Merritt), I only include images from my own collection (and let me pause and apologize for any glare or out-of-focus images, as I’m not a professional photographer). I always find it of interest to see a collection that some individual has built over years of collecting. So, what you see is what I have sitting on my shelf.
The story Red World of Polaris was thought lost by Smith fans and scholars. When it was discovered, it was bundled with Smith’s other tales of Captain Volmar and his crew. Besides the title story, the book includes “Marooned in Andromeda,” “A Captivity in Serpens” and “The Ocean-World of Alioth.” I ordered this from Night Shade when it appeared and opted for the signed edition (signed by the editors, that is). No CAS collection is complete without this, and it’s relatively economical. I loved all the stories in this one, but one was particularly Lovecraftian in style, where Volmar et al are fleeing insectoid aliens through their city, as I recall. Very dark.
The Red World of Polaris. Night Shade Books (2005)
I bought these Collected Fantasies of Clark Ashton Smith Night Shade editions as they were released by pre-ordering. Initially these came in the mail like clockwork. But as it went on, there were times I honestly feared NSB might go under before they finished getting them all out. But I hung in there and, although there were delays where I had to confirm an order multiple times, they all arrived… eventually.
The End of the Story (Vol. 1), Night Shade Books (2007)
The Door to Saturn (Vol. 2), Night Shade Books (2007)
A Vintage from Atlantis (Vol. 3), Night Shade Books (2007)
The Maze of the Enchanter (Vol. 4), Night Shade Books (2008)
The Last Hieroglyph (Vol. 5), Night Shade Books (2010)
The Miscellaneous Writings of Clark Ashton Smith, Night Shade Books (2011)
Greenwood
This Greenwood Press Strange Shadows I ordered straight from Greenwood shortly after it appeared. This is as-issued without a dust jacket (which is a shame, because it’s a really plain Jane book and I’d love a wicked cover for it).
Strange Shadows: The Uncollected Fiction and Essays of Clark Ashton Smith, Greenwood Press (1989)
Hippocampus Press
I’ve yet to read these two titles which hail from Smith’s youth. One can see in the titles and cover art the influence of the Arabian tales and medieval adventure of which Smith was fond. Both of these are from Hippocampus Press and contain material that Smith wrote when he was an adolescent. No doubt, these are for the completist, and do not represent his best works which came about much later in life.
The Black Diamonds, Hippocampus Press (2002)
The Sword of Zagan, Hippocampus Press (2004)
Come on, if you collect Smith and don’t yet have this title, what in the world are you waiting for? It’s all of $15 and comes signed with a book and a CD narration of the poem. It also makes it handy when you’re just dying to read those opening lines:
“Bow down: I am the emperor of dreams;
I crown me with the million-colored sun
Of secret worlds incredible…”
The Annotated Hashish Eater (aka The Apocalypse of Evil), Hippocampus Press (2010), Signed and Narrated by Donald Sydney Fryer
According to Amazon, “The Freedom of Fantastic Things represents the most substantial volume of criticism of Smith’s work ever published and includes both original and previously published work by the leading scholars on Smith...”
The Freedom of Fantastic Things, Hippocampus Press (2006)
Smith’s Poetry & Translations – More Hippocampus
This is an awe-inspiring set, comprising all of Smith’s poetry and translations. It still amazes me that the man taught himself French and Spanish and went on to create such quality, lasting translations that they are still read today. Which is partially why I purchased this set. His translations are one of the stories you always read about Smith (right up there with him reading the Encyclopedia through multiple times) so I had to have it. Now when I read about Smith translating French poems, I know I can hold those in my hands.
The Complete Poetry and Translations of Clark Ashton Smith--3 Volume Set, Hippocampus Press (2012)
Epigrams and Apothegms – Starmont House
This 1990 Starmont House paperback, The Devil’s Notebook, is interesting in title, cover treatment, and content. Smith was certainly witty. As an example of the content of this book, I reference these from The Eldritch Dark site, the best and foremost Clark Ashton Smith site on the web which I’ve visited for years:
Explanations are neither necessary, desirable, nor possible.
Philosophy: a sort of intellectual gymnastics.
Sophistication is the daughter of knowledge but not of wisdom.
Let us deal gently with our dead illusions, in the hope that they will also deal gently with us.
Miscellaneous Collections
This is a real tome, encompassing everything from Averoigne to Zothique between its purple covers.
The Emperor of Dreams, Orion Pub Co (2002)
Below is a random assortment of relatively new titles. I sometimes pick up new offerings if they’re interesting enough.
The Klarkash-ton Cycle is a collection of Smith’s Lovecraftian Cthulhu Mythos stories, published by Chaosium. Be warned, however. The reviews I’ve read claim rampant typos abound. Also, some versions of the stories are not the best versions, there seeming to be a great amount of inconsistency regarding whether to go with early drafts or the polished magazine as-printed version.
The Dark Eidolon and Other Fantasies is by Penguin Classics.
This Averoigne collection seems to have been a rushed effort to beat Hippocampus Press to the punch who is rumored (for quite some time now) to be coming out with their own Averoigne collection which I still anxiously await. I learned from a DMR Books article that this Inpatient Press collection might be a copyright violation. I haven’t yet learned if the question of legality regarding this publication was resolved or not. It appears to be an effort to resemble the old Ballantine Adult Fantasies, perhaps an attempt to publish the missing collection that Carter never released?
Lost Worlds. Neville Spearman, UK: (1971). This is a reprint of the original Arkham House contents by the same title, but does not replicate the original cover art. I paid $10 for this, but these have seen a surge in value in recent years. In addition to Lost Worlds, Neville Spearman also released (1971-1972): Out of Space and Time, The Abominations of Yondo and Genius Loci.
Anno Klarkash-ton, Rainfall Books (2017)
“A collection of poetry, fiction, articles and artwork inspired by the writings of Clark Ashton Smith…”
One of the oddities I’ve picked up that I’m saving for when the mood strikes.
Criticisms and Essays
Everybody’s got an opinion, so it should come as no surprise that some even have opinions on Smith and his works. As with The Freedom of Fantastic Things, Hippocampus Press (2006) mentioned above, this book is “…a substantial examination of his life and works, his artistic evolution and literary heritage…”
Clark Ashton Smith: A Critical Guide to the Man and His Work, Borgo Press (2013)
Old Panthers & an Avon
Fellow CAS fiends, I’ve come to the end of the line. I still buy Smith, and there are definitely titles remaining that I’ll invest in one day. I’d particularly love a copy of Genius Loci, by Arkham House.
For now, I’ll close with this complete set of Panthers which took me years to assemble, and end with a Smith Avon Fantasy Reader. By the way, it took me much longer to find Other Dimensions Vol. 1 and 2 than it did any other Panther Smith title. (Same here—DMR) They seem to be the scarcest.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this pictorial tour de force of my rather infinitesimal Smith collection as much as I’ve enjoyed sharing it with you as we celebrate the birthday of one fine fantasist…
… Clark Ashton Smith.
About Chris L Adams
Chris spent years playing guitar in various bands and during that time was more of a voracious reader than writer. After that last band collapsed, he turned from writing songs to writing stories, eventually turning out a Barsoom series as a tribute to Edgar Rice Burroughs which is currently under contract with ERB Inc.
In addition, he has also written a host of short stories and poems. Together with writing stories and the odd poem, Chris also dabbles in painting. As a matter of fact, the cover for his novel, The Hunter and the Sorcerer is one of his.
More information about Chris and his works can be found on his site where one will find links, information on available stories, and other things of interest.
Chris resides in southern WV with his wife and two children.