Vortex Magazine, was published by Specific Fiction Corp in 1953 at 145 W 57th St. It was a crudzine that came into being during the explosion of Science Fiction publications that took place in the early 1950’s. Mercifully it lasted for only two issues. The editor was Chester Whitehorn, a former editor of Planet Stories in the 1940s. Unless it has gotten a facelift, the building that now stands at 145 W 57th St looks too modern to be the original building.
Infinity and Science Fiction Adventures magazines were published by Royal Publications at 11 W 42 St. The editor was Larry Shaw. The magazines died around 1958. Probably as a result of the collapse of distributor ANC. Many other magazines died as a result of this collapse. Editor Bob Lowndes of Columbia Publications complained about the difficulty of getting adequate distribution following the collapse of ANC. Columbia Publications held on for another two years and then died. The building housing the former Royal Publications was flattened to make way for Conde-Nast’s current headquarters.
Space Publications published Space Science Fiction, Rocket Stories, Science Fiction Adventures and Fantasy Fiction. The editor was Lester del Rey. Lester complained about what a slimy bastard the publisher was. In 1952 the magazines were published from the Flatiron Building at 175 5th Ave. In 1953 the operations were moved downtown to 80 5th Ave at 14th St.
Health Knowledge Publications. The editor was the great Bob Lowndes, who secured a berth here following the collapse of Columbia Publications. Bob had a talent for publishing magazines with a budget that was virtually non-existent. Initially he edited Exploring the Unknown, a magazine aimed at believers in the occult. Rather like Fate Magazine. Then he began putting out a string of magazines that largely republished stories from the pulp magazines from long ago. Magazines like The Magazine of Horror, Famous Science Fiction, Startling Mystery, Bizarre Fantasy, Weird Terror Tales, World Wide Adventure Magazine, Thrilling Western Magazine. Surprisingly, he found many great stories in the old pulps that had never been republished. He also published some new fiction. For example, Steven King’sfirst story was published in Startling Mystery Magazine. To me though, the most outstanding part of his efforts were his editorials, which were more like long essays on various subjects. Great letter columns too.
The Health Knowledge magazines lasted until 1971 when the publisher suffered a financial collapse. According to an article I read on the web, Health Knowledge was also a magazine distributor. They won a contract to distribute Rolling Stone Magazine, invested heavily in equipment, only to lose the contract and consequently being forced to liquidate the business. The magazines were initially published at 140 5th Ave and then moved across the street to 119 5th Ave.
In 1959, Great American Publications took over Fantastic Universe from King Size Publications, retaining Hans Stefan Santesson as editor. The magazine folded in 1960. Great American was located at 270 Madison Ave.
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