Difference between revisions of "Chicon II"

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(listed under TASFIC in ''Fancy 2'')
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'''TASFIC''' The ChiCon II (1952). The [[committee]] wanted to call it this -- [[initialese]] from ''Tenth Annual Science Fiction International Convention'' -- but [[fen]] wouldn't have it, since the tradition of naming the [[con]] for the town was strong; and anyway, the [[Worldcon]] notion began with the [[NYCon I]] in 1939, not in 1942 when the planned [[Pacificon]] was canceled, so "Tenth Annual" was incorrect.
The ChiCon II (1952). The committee wanted to call it this -- initialese from ''Tenth Annual Science Fiction International Convention'' -- but [[fen]] wouldn't have it, since the tradition of naming the con for the town was strong; and anyway, the [[Worldcon]] notion began with the [[NYCon I]] in 1939, not in 1942 when the planned [[Pacificon]] was canceled, so "Tenth Annual" was incorrect.  
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from '''[[Convention]]''' ChiCon II went to the other extreme, being the largest since the [[war]] with over 1100 attendees.  [[Walt Willis]] was brought over by [[Shelby Vick]]'s [[WAW With the Crew in '52]] campaign and the [[Little Men]] held a fabulous penthouse [[party]] (which, however, didn't get the con for [[San Francisco in '53|Frisco in '53]]); [[John Pomeroy]] told everyone How To Be An Expert Without Actually Knowing Anything, and [[Gernsback]] introduced the peculiar idea that writers should claim a sort of patent or copyright on ideas they introduced in [[stf]]yarns.
 
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Revision as of 12:45, 29 September 2020

Chicon2banquet.jpeg

Chicon II,” the 1952 Worldcon and second in Chicago, was held at the Hotel Morrison in Chicago, Ill. from August 30-September 1. GoH: Hugo Gernsback. Chaired by Julian C. May. The committee attempted to call the convention the “TASFiC” (for "Tenth Annual Science FIction Convention"), but this was ignored by fandom.

The convention was run by a "Committee of Seven," consisting of Julian May, Mark Reinsberg, Erle Korshak, William Lawrence Hamling, Ted Dikty, Oliver Saari and Bea Mahaffey. It was criticized for being largely a committee of professionals and there were concerns that the pros had taken over Worldcon. Julian May was the first female chairman of a Worldcon and took four months off work to focus on it.

Other notable points[edit]

There was significant criticism of registration which apparently took several hours. GoH Hugo Gernsback received long ovations before and after his GoH speech.

The third night featured fans and pros performing music, skits plays and other entertainment. Walt Willis was a special guest, courtesy of WAW With the Crew in '52, the first fan fund; he wrote about it in The Harp Stateside.

Erle Korshak has questioned the attendance figure of 870 attending members. His recollection is that 1,350 members were present, a figure that would not be equaled or surpassed until the 1970s. In a contemporary report by Sam Moskowitz in Fantasy Times, (V7 #17, First September 1952), Moskowitz estimates that "over 1,000 [pre-]registered, 1,050 attended, and over 1,500 members had been enrolled." Harry Warner reports in A Wealth of Fable that registration approached 900 and an estimated 175 persons crashed the gates. (Regardless, this was by far the largest convention to date even without the numerous ghosts.)

More reading

From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959
TASFIC The ChiCon II (1952). The committee wanted to call it this -- initialese from Tenth Annual Science Fiction International Convention -- but fen wouldn't have it, since the tradition of naming the con for the town was strong; and anyway, the Worldcon notion began with the NYCon I in 1939, not in 1942 when the planned Pacificon was canceled, so "Tenth Annual" was incorrect.
From Fancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959
from Convention ChiCon II went to the other extreme, being the largest since the war with over 1100 attendees. Walt Willis was brought over by Shelby Vick's WAW With the Crew in '52 campaign and the Little Men held a fabulous penthouse party (which, however, didn't get the con for Frisco in '53); John Pomeroy told everyone How To Be An Expert Without Actually Knowing Anything, and Gernsback introduced the peculiar idea that writers should claim a sort of patent or copyright on ideas they introduced in stfyarns.

Nolacon I Worldcon - Bidding - Hugos 11th Worldcon
1952
This is a convention page. Please extend it by adding information about the convention, including dates, GoHs, convention chairman, locale, sponsoring organization, external links to convention pages, awards given, the program, notable events, anecdotes, pictures, scans of publications, pictures of T-shirts, con reports, etc.