"The Screen Game" in Fantastic Stories V10 Number 10 October 1963

Ziff-Davis. GOLDSMITH, Cele, [Ed.]; BALLARD, J.G. [Signed].   Fantastic Stories of Imagination Volume 12 Number 10. October 1963 New York: Ziff-Davis, 1963 The first appearance in print of Vermillion Sands short story "The Screen Game" 8vo., publisher's stapled wrappers, featuring fantastic artwork on the front cover about Ballard's story by Ed Ermshwiller; with a black and white illustration from A Night with Hecate to the lower with the line "....[if it} weren't for a woman, I wouldn't be drunk."; pp. [cover], i, 3-130, i, [cover]; as issued; colour front cover with black and white pages throughout; containing an additional 8 illustrations; some light handling wear; lightly rubbed and browned, in accordance with age. This copy made it over to the UK and a bookseller from the 1960's has added a price of 3/6 in biro on the front cover. On page 3 the same bookseller has again written 3/6 and added their bookstamp. Overall a very good copy of this fragile production.   This is a scarce copy because J.G. Ballard has signed boldly on the editorial page, a page before his story starts. Ballard wrote a loosely held together series of short stories between 1956-1970, set in a fictional vacation resort called Vermillion Sands. His nine short stories would first appear in science fiction pulp magazines like Amazing and this one in Fantastic, under the editorial direction of Cele Goldsmith.  The Screen Game, a story about a barrier maze of screens, is given centre stage in the magazine and assigned its talented illustrator Ed Ermshwiller to design the cover about the story and also another at the start of the narrative.  This is the first appearance of The Screen Game, made a scarce magazine with J.G. Ballard's signature on the contents page.  . Very Good. Soft cover. 1st Edition. 1st Printing. 1963.