John V. Baltadonis
(February 7, 1921 – July 19, 1998)
John V. "Jack" Baltadonis (aka JVB and Balty) was a founding member of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society (PSFS) (and thus one of the Phillies) and of the Fantasy Amateur Press Association (FAPA) in the 1930s. He attended the First Convention.
He was described by Ossie Train as “A hulking brute of 6'2".”
One of the most active fans of the 1930s, he was an fanartist and served as art editor for the PSFS clubzine Imaginative Fiction. He also contributed art to other fanzines. At one time, he was known as the "Paul of the fan artists."
With others, he co-edited the second version of the Science Fiction Collector, beginning in 1937. He published Fantasy Fiction Pictorial and Fantasy Fiction Telegram. He was the last member of Comet Publications and invented Cosmic Monopoly. He attended the 1938 Philadelphia Conference, the Second Eastern States Science Fiction Convention, and Nycon (the first Worldcon).
Baltadonis was elected to the First Fandom Hall of Fame in 1998 along with two of his fellow PSFS members: Jack Agnew and Milton Rothman.
He died of lung cancer on July 19, 1998, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
- Phoxphyre on the First Convention.
- John Baltadonis' Nycon 1 Reminiscence.
- Early short biography in Who's Who in Fandom 1940, page 3.
- FindAGrave.
- Fantasy Fiction Pictorial
- Fantasy Fiction Telegram
- Science Fiction Collector [1937–] (with others)
- Third Science Fiction Convention Booklet [1941] (with Milton Rothman and Ozzie Train)
Awards, Honors and GoHships:
- 1998 — First Fandom Hall of Fame
| Person | 1921—1998 |
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