Emblems

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959

Many fan organizations have adopted emblems. The earliest one, for stf in general, was Gernsback's "Scientifiction" coat-of-arms, arrived at after a prize contest. By permission the ISA modified and used this. According to Dan McPhail the only generally accepted symbol for SF is the rocket -- the SFL button, for instance, which is Paul's drawing of the Geryon from Otto Willi Gail's The Shot Into Infinity. The emblems of FAPA and the WSFS are typical of this in that they symbolize SF rather than fan activities; on the other hand, the Hyphen lighthouse is symbolic of fandom (to which H is a guiding Light) and that of the Morgan Botts foundation also expresses fan interests. Emblems have been reproduced on mastheads, letterheads, and similar places, and some have been made into flags or lapel buttons. The editors of Nova (II) offered to work up coats of arms for local groups, guaranteed heraldically correct. (Heraldry is trickier than you probably think; unless you are practiced in it, better stay away from the shield-shape for your emblem.) A few publishing houses, like ASP, have also had emblems; that shown for Cosmic also served for Taurasi Publications, United, and Taurasi-Thompson Publications.

From Fancyclopedia 1, ca. 1944

Many fan organizations have adopted emblems. The earliest one, for stf in general, was Gernsback's "Scientifiction" coat-of-arms, arrived at after a prize contest. By permission, the ISA modified and used this. According to McPhail, however, the only generally accepted symbol for science-fiction is the rocket; the SFL button is Paul's drawing of the Geryon from "The Shot into Infinity". The emblem of the FAPA is typical in that it symbolizes s-f rather than fandom or fanzines. Emblems may be reproduced on mastheads, letterheads, and similar places, and a few have been made into flags or lapel buttons. The editors of Nova (II) offered to work up coats of arms for local groups, at a price, guaranteed heraldically correct. Heraldry, we mite say, should not be undertaken by the uneducated; if you aren't thoroly versed in it, stay away from the shield shape for your emblem. A few publishing houses have had emblems; that shown for Cosmic also served for Taurasi publications, United, and Taurasi-Thompson Publications.