This year sees the 100th anniversary of A. Merritt’s fantasy classic, The Ship of Ishtar. The novel first appeared as a six-part serial in the pages of the venerable pulp, Argosy All-Story Weekly (running from November 8, 2024 through December 13, 2024), before appearing in hardcover two years later published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons. My own personal favorite appearances of the story are in the March 1948 issue of Fantastic Novels and the Memorial Edition published in 1949 by Borden Publishing Company, both of which featured great – but different – interior illustrations by the incomparable Virgil Finlay.

In 1938, when the editors of Argosy took a survey of their readers to determine the most popular story they’d ever published, The Ship of Ishtar took first place, relegating Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan of the Apes to the runner-up position. It’s fitting that the 100th anniversary of this classic will be marked by not one, but two new editions seeing print.

The French publisher, Callidor, has in recent years published two gorgeous trade paperback editions of Merritt classics, translated into French – Dwellers in the Mirage (as “Les Habitants du Mirage” in 2022, as a 90th anniversary edition) and The Face in the Abyss (as “Le Visage dans L’Abime” in 2023, as a Centenary edition). Even if (like me) you can’t read French, these editions are well worth picking up, particularly for the wealth of their illustrations, drawn not just from prior U.S. appearances but also from several foreign editions. They’re readily available in the U.S. through Amazon. Later this year, Callidor will be giving the same treatment to The Ship of Ishtar, which will appear as “La Nef D’Ishtar.”

A new English language edition of The Ship of Ishtar will also make its appearance in 2024, under the imprint of Dave Ritzlin’s DMR Books. This will also be in trade paperback format and will utilize the text from the Borden Memorial Edition. When my company, Adventure Pulp LLC, acquired the rights to Merritt’s works, I also received the remaining Merritt files, which contain a host of correspondence and other ephemera relating to Merritt’s works. The DMR Books edition will feature previously unpublished material relating to The Ship of Ishtar, including correspondence among Borden Publishing Company, Eleanor Merritt and Virgil Finlay.

Centipede Press is a small press publisher which typically publishes deluxe hardcovers aimed at the collector’s market. In 2022, they published their first Merritt book, Burn, Witch, Burn! in an edition of 300 copies. It proved so successful that in 2023 they went back for a second printing of 300 copies, now also sold out. 2024 marks the 90th anniversary of Merritt’s Creep, Shadow!, and to celebrate, Centipede will be publishing a deluxe hardcover edition of this classic novel. In addition to the usual great work they do with illustrations, the edition will also feature previously unseen material from the Merritt archives.

While he’s remembered primarily as one of the leading fantasy artists of the mid-20th Century, Hannes Bok was also an accomplished fantasy author. Back in 2020, Bob Garcia’s American Fantasy Press published The Fantastic Fiction of Hannes Bok, a small press hardcover collecting three novels by Bok. In 2024, American Fantasy Press will be publishing the two Merritt novels that were later finished by Bok – The Fox Woman and The Black Wheel – as an omnibus hardcover. I’m not certain, but in keeping with prior American Fantasy Press books, I suspect that there will be two editions of this book; a trade as well as a limited. The Merritt archives contain a variety of previously unpublished material relating to these books, including correspondence between Bok and Eleanor Merritt, which will be published here for the first time.

For Merritt fans, 2024 should prove to be a very good year!

Doug Ellis is a collector of pulps, as well as of pulp, science fiction and fantasy art. He co-founded and co-organizes the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention. For many years his Tattered Pages Press published the pulp fanzine Pulp Vault, as well as other books on the pulps. He was one of the authors of The Adventure House Guide to Pulps, and has edited several pulp anthologies, including the Best of Adventure series. His book, Uncovered: The Hidden Art Of The Girlie Pulps, an in-depth study of the spicy pulps and their art, was named ForeWord Magazine‘s 2003 Popular Culture Book of the Year. In 2013, Bob Weinberg, Bob Garcia and he collaborated on The Collectors’ Book of Virgil Finlay, a collection of Finlay’s gorgeous art. The Art of the Pulps, which he co-edited with Bob Weinberg and Ed Hulse, won the 2018 Locus Award for Best Art Book. At the Worldcon in 2022, Doug and his wife, Deb Fulton, were presented with the Sam Moskowitz Archive Award from First Fandom.