Chicon II
“Chicon II,” the 10thWorldcon andsecond in Chicago, was held at theHotel Morrison inChicago,Illinois, from August 30–September 1, 1952.GoH:Hugo Gernsback.
Thecommittee attempted to call theconvention the “TASFiC” (for "TenthAnnualScienceFictionConvention"), but this was ignored byfandom.
Chaired byJulian C. May, the first femalechairman of aWorldcon, who took four months off work to focus on it. The convention was run by a "Committee of Seven," consisting of May,Mark Reinsberg,Erle Korshak,William Lawrence Hamling,Ted Dikty,Oliver Saari andBea Mahaffey. It was criticized for being largely acommittee ofprofessionals and there were concerns that thepros had taken overWorldcon.
The con was officially sponsored by theChicon II Society, also known as theChicago Science Fiction Society.
In the1952 Worldcon Site Selection atNolacon in 1951, there were sixbids to host it:Chicago in 1952,San Francisco in 1952,Niagara Falls in 1952,New York in 1952,Atlanta in 1952, andDetroit in 1952.
Other notable points[edit]
GoHHugo Gernsback received long ovations before and after hisGoH speech.Walt Willis was aspecial guest, courtesy ofWAW With the Crew in '52, the firstfan fund; he wrote about it inThe Harp Stateside.
The third night featuredfans andpros performing music, skits,plays and other entertainment, including the first science-fiction ballet, “Asteroid,” the story of one spaceman meeting his fate in outer space, with original music composed especially for it, danced by the University of Chicago Knights of the Ballet, under the direction of Guy Bassett. Costumes, designed byPerdita Nelson, were fluorescent, and the ballet was danced under ultraviolet light.
The con issuedMoon Deeds on the back of itsmembership cards.
Attendance[edit]
There was significant criticism ofregistration, which apparently took several hours. Attendance was an all-time high of over 1,100.
Erle Korshak has questioned the attendance figure. 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 bySam Moskowitz inFantasy 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 inA Wealth of Fable that registration approached 900 and an estimated 175 personscrashed the gates. (Regardless, this was by far the largest convention to date even without the numerousghosts.)
Moon Deeds[edit]
| FromFancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959 |
 Moon Deeds On the back of yourmembership card in theChiCon II Society was a deed reading like this: "The Chicago Science Fiction Society assigns you exclusive colonization right to the property on the Moon encompassed by the crater Herschel, which is located in the Second Quadrant of said body. Valid in perpetuity." [This wasLee Hoffman's.] The deed was not really valid, despite the last sentence, tho George Washington University once gave out Moon Deeds that were legally effective. Quitclaims, they were. |
Hotel Morrison[edit]
Located at 15 S. Clark Street inChicago and built in 1925, this was the first building outsideNew York City to have 40 floors and was the tallest hotel at the time. At the time of its demolition in 1965, it was the tallest building ever destroyed.
It was located next to theHotel Chicagoan, which hostedChicon I and was built as an addition to the Hotel Morrison. The site of both hotels is now taken up by the Chase Tower.
More reading[edit]
- TASFIC Program
- Chicon II publications and photos on fanac.org
- Juanita Coulson's Reminiscence of Fandom in 1953: comments on thesite selection vote at Chicon II.
- Lloyd Eshbach's Chicon II Reminiscence
- Science Fiction Newsletter #27: extensivecon report
- Con report in SF Times
- “Remembrances of Chicon II” byRoger Sims
- The Harp Stateside byWalt Willis
- Tasfic in Retrospect byBill Venable
| FromFancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959 |
| TASFIC The ChiCon II (1952). Thecommittee wanted to call it this --initialese fromTenth Annual Science Fiction International Convention -- butfen wouldn't have it, since the tradition of naming thecon for the town was strong; and anyway, theWorldcon notion began with theNYCon I in 1939, not in 1942 when the plannedPacificon was canceled, so "Tenth Annual" was incorrect. |
| FromFancyclopedia 2, ca. 1959 |
| fromConvention ChiCon II went to the other extreme, being the largest since thewar with over 1100 attendees.Walt Willis was brought over byShelby Vick'sWAW With the Crew in '52 campaign and theLittle Men held a fabulous penthouseparty (which, however, didn't get the con forFrisco in '53);John Pomeroy told everyone How To Be An Expert Without Actually Knowing Anything, andGernsback introduced the peculiar idea that writers should claim a sort of patent or copyright on ideas they introduced instfyarns. |
| Nolacon I | Worldcon - Bidding - Hugos | Philcon II |
| Chicon I | Chicago Worldcons | Chicon III |
| 1952 |
| This is aconvention page. Please extend it by adding information about the convention, including dates,GoHs, conventionchairman,locale, sponsoringorganization, external links to convention pages,awards given, theprogram, notable events, anecdotes, pictures, scans of publications, pictures ofT-shirts,con reports, etc. |
