James Parkhill Rathbone
(October 11, 1919 - 1999)
James Parkhill Rathbone, also known as James Parkhill-Rathbone, was a fan and author originally from Edinburgh, Scotland first active in the 1930s. He was a member of the British Fantasy Society (BFS).
He was a scientific instrument salesman and described himself as 'extremely interested in mysticism and occultism, aspiring poet and writer, enthusiastic disciple of Algernon Blackwood'. He had a letter published in Amazing Stories in June 1937 and a fanzine, Macabre, appeared in August 1939.
Rathbone was a pacifist, and sought Conscientious Objector status in December 1939 but this was denied and he ended up in the Royal Army Medical Corps stationed just outside London. He later moved to Worcester and joined the BFS in 1945.
An essay 'The Real Thing' appeared in Vector #19 (1963) and he was associate editor of Science Fantasy for issues #70-80, contributing a guest editorial to #77 in 1965. He attended Loncon II in 1965 and in 1966 be produced the Idler, a tabloid format miscellany printed on newsprint that wasn't a fannish or science fiction publication but did include work by Josephine Saxton. Checkpoint #28 (1972) reported him inviting fans to meet at his London home. He contributed two articles to Peter Roberts's Egg in the 1970s.
He died in Camden in London around February 1999.
A note on his name: this is given in both hyphenated and non-hyphenated forms and the 'Parkhill' is sometimes absent entirely. ISFDB favours the hyphenated version but what appears to be a death notice doesn't and in Macabre he styled himself James P. Rathbone.
Links:[edit]
- More details on the Idler at JOT101
- James Parkhill Rathbone in Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Dawn Shadows [1940-41] (distributed with Futurian War Digest)
- Macabre [1939] (likely the first fanzine produced in Scotland)
| Person | 1919—1999 |
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