John V. Baltadonis (February 7, 1921 – July 19, 1998)
Social Security Death Index
/ref> was elected to First Fandom
First Fandom is an informal association of early, active and well-known science fiction fans.
In 1958 a number of fans at Midwestcon realized amid table-talk that they all had been active in fandom for more than 20 years. This inspired the creat ...
's Hall of Fame in 1998 for his early contributions to science fiction, including being a founding member of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society
Philadelphia Science Fiction Society (PSFS) is a science fiction club in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Established in 1936, PSFS is the second oldest extant group in science fiction fandom, and hosted what is considered by some to be the first scie ...
.
Career
John V. Baltadonis was a founding member of the Philadelphia Science Fiction Society (PSFS) and of the Fantasy Amateur Press Association (FAPA) in the 1930s.
As a 15 year old, he wrote, art directed, and published the first science fiction fan magazine in Philadelphia in October 1936 "Fantasy Fiction Telegram", using a process
called hectography
The hectograph, gelatin duplicator or jellygraph is a printing process that involves transfer of an original, prepared with special inks, to a pan of gelatin or a gelatin pad pulled tight on a metal frame.
While the original use of the technolo ...
.
One of the most active fans of the 1930s, he was an amateur artist and served as art editor for the PSFS fanzine 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 Nylon.
He edited the "Science Fiction Collector" for 17 issues through 1941.
He fought in World War II in the Seventh Air Force and then taught art at Haverford High School
Haverford Senior High School is the public high school of Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, United States, operated by the School District of Haverford Township. It is at 200 Mill Road in Havertown.
The school serves the entirety of Haverford To ...
in Pennsylvania for 35 years
He was elected to First Fandom Hall of Fame in 1998 and died the same year at the age of 77.
Family
lived in Upper Darby, PA with his wife Patricia and sons, John and Steven.
footnote: his middle name stood for Vytautus, the name of a King from the 14th Century in Lithuania which is still a common male given name in Lithuania.
References
External links
My Pal Johnny by Robert Madle
in Mimosa 29, pg 60-63, publ: 2003
1921 births
1998 deaths
American science fiction writers
United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II
{{US-sf-writer-stub