The Enchanted Duplicator copyright © Walter A. Willis and Bob Shaw, February 1954.
Preface to the HTML Edition
It seemed a good idea to convert the UK SF Archives copy of The Enchanted Duplicator into HTML and split it into chapters for easier reading on the web. All the hard work had already been done by others, listed below.
David Langford
December 1997 - January 1998Preface to the Computer-Readable Edition
This computer-readable edition of The Enchanted Duplicator is copied from the 8th printed edition. Sadly, ASCII terminals cannot show Dan Steffan's excellent illustrations. A very few typos have been corrected; I have doubtless introduced more of my own. The only typographic peculiarity present is that words bracketed by asterisks like *this* should be regarded as underlined. [Italics now substituted in HTML text. – DL]
Peter Trei
oc.trei@cu20b.arpa
1 April 1985Preface to the Eighth Edition
This is the eighth edition of The Enchanted Duplicator. Walt Willis and George Charters published the first edition, with illustrations by Bob Shaw, in 1954. Ted Johnstone and George Fields produced a version with Eddie Jones art in 1962. Arnie Katz and Rich Brown published the third edition, illustrated by C. Ross Chamberlain, in 1971. In 1972, The Enchanted Duplicator was serialized (as installments of "The Clubhouse", normally a fanzine-review column) in Amazing Science Fiction. In 1979, the British worldcon, SeaCon '79, also produced an edition [illustrated by Carol Gregory]. In 1980, this fannish allegory was published in the 600-page Warhoon 28 as part of a Collected Works of Willis. And in 1981, Gary Farber did a 300-copy replica of the third edition. Obviously this is a durable work.
Some of the allusions in The Enchanted Duplicator will be clearer if one knows a bit of fanhistory. For example, it is useful to know that Mari Wolff, during her stint as a fanzine reviewer in the prozine Imagination, doled out egoboo with heedless abandon, or that many fans used Swift Printers in the early 1950s. Still, the spirit of the work is just as strong today as when it was first published, and a failure to understand a few random bits of esoterica won't lessen your enjoyment.
Jophan
Credits for the Eighth Edition
The 1983 edition of The Enchanted Duplicator by Walt Willis and Bob Shaw, and illustrated by Dan Steffan is jointly produced by Editions Dante and Constellation, the 1983 World Science Fiction Convention.
Credits: Design and Layout: Dan Steffan; Typing: Lynn Steffan; Map: C. Ross Chamberlain; Vile Instigator: Gary Farber; Boss Ladies: Avedon Carol and Peggy Rae Pavlat; Inspiration: The Spirit of Fandom.
This 1983 edition is dedicated to the memory of BOB PAVLAT, A Trufan.