Let's Swap

A fanzine by Leslie A. Croutch. This is a bit of a conundrum. The 1944 Fanzine Yearbook lists it as a "mimeographed irregular," while issue #49 of Light (Jan 1952) has an article listing books for trade or sale under the title 'LET'S SWAP' with the following statement: "This is the 123rd listing to appear --- older than LIGHT!"

It seems likely that Let's Swap was an irregular insert in Croutch's Light and earlier zines like The Croutch Market News, and was possibly sometimes pubbed separately by itself. Given that Croutch Magazine Mart's function was to offer books and magazines for sale or swap, perhaps the earliest CMMNs were actually titled Let's Swap? Since not even Croutch himself preserved copies of the first 85 issues of CMMN, the accurate history of Let's Swap is likely lost forever.

To read a contemporary adzine is to drool over items not yet in your collection. To read a 50-year-old adzine increases the rate of drool exponentially. Sample from #123 of Let's Swap: "Mint condition pocketbook Shadows Over Innsmouth And Other Stories by H. P. Lovecraft for 35¢ or swap!" Arrgh!

The Evans-Pavlat Fanzine Index lists the following:

Issue	Date	Pages	Notes
1	1943
2	1943
3	Sep 1943
4	Nov 1943
5	Dec 1943
6	Jan 1944
7	Feb 1944
8	Mar 1944
9	May 1944
10	1944
11	Dec 1944
12	Mar 1944		This issue was titled Swap Shop

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Publication

1943—

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