One of the aspects of collecting anything is the perceived assumption that the thing being collected should be in some type of pristine condition to make it more attractive. Though this is true to some degree, I do not always hold true to that ideal. In fact one of the things I enjoy about my collection of Sci Fi books and a few magazines is imagining what they were like in their new condition as they sat on a shelf somewhere waiting to be purchased. I imagine the kid many decades ago looking at the ads in the magazine or comic and wondering about if those things for sale were really as cool as depicted and wonder how many times someone may have decided to part with their money and take a chance. So I was pleasently surprised to find some handwritten notes in the margin of a November 1959 edition of Astounding Science Fiction that I bought this weekend at the Fort Langley antiques mall. It also ties into being a long time fan of the Canadian Football League. These notes were written on the exact date of November 26, 1983 and for some reason the author decided to jot down that he had made a $25.00 bet on the BC Lions to win the Grey Cup the next day. I thought it was strange that the person would choose a 1959 copy of Astounding Science Fiction to make this note. Further to this revelation the author also revealed that they had never placed a bet on the Lions before. Of course my interest was piqued so I immediately looked up the results and saw that BC had actually lost the 1983 Grey Cup to the Toronto Argonauts. However as I was flipping again through the magazine I saw the person had made notes the next day that they had lost the money.
So what would make a person right a note to self in a magazine I wonder? Was it a note to future readers? A moment caught in time inspired by the fact they were reading a science fiction magazine? Do you have any opinions or perhaps you were the one who made the note!
