On June 7 the Hugo Award given to Forrest J Ackerman by Isaac Asimov at the 1953 Worldcon will be up for auction – the first ever presented. Also on the block is the honorary Hugo Award given to Hugo Gernsback in 1960 as “The Father of Science Fiction.” These two pieces of Hugo Awards history are part of Hindman Auctions’ “Fine Books and Manuscripts, including Worlds of Tomorrow, and Americana”. The complete auction catalog is online.
Here’s their entry for Ackerman’s Hugo.
THE VERY FIRST HUGO EVER AWARDED.
Overall dimensions 15 x 6 1/4 x 6 1/4″. Metal award on wooden base with engraved plaque (slight separation in wood at base, some scratches and gouges, one rocket flap missing). Engraved on plaque: “11th / World / Science-Fiction / Convention / Award / 1953.” Later mounted onto elevated wooden platform. Provenance: Forrest J. Ackerman (1916-2008), American editor, magazine publisher, and science fiction author; acquired by the present owner directly from Ackerman.
The 11th World Science Fiction Convention (WorldCon) took place at the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia on 5-7 September 1953. Though the Hugo Awards were originally conceived as a one-off event, they proved so popular that organizers, having skipped handing them out during the 12th WorldCon, reinstated them in 1955 and thereafter made them a tradition. This award was issued to Forrest J. Ackerman for being the #1 Fan Personality. Accompanied by photograph of Ackerman receiving award.
Incidentally, history records that immediately after he was handed the very first Hugo Award as #1 Fan Personality at the 1953 Worldcon, Ackerman declined it in favor of Ken Slater and abandoned the little rocket-shaped trophy on stage to be forwarded to Britain. This was acknowledged a magnificent gesture by everyone. Decades later, Ackerman secured the return of the trophy so it could be added to his collection, having asked Slater whether he had plans for the award when he passed on. Thus, it became part of Ackerman’s estate when Forry died in 2009.
The catalog says Gernsback’s Hugo was also formerly owned by Ackerman.
HONORARY HUGO AWARDED TO THE “FATHER OF SCIENCE FICTION”, HUGO GERNSBACK.
Overall dimensions 21 1/2 x 6 1/4 x 6″ .Metal award on wooden base with engraved plaque (scratches, nicks and dents, green spot on back of model). Engraved on plaque: “To Hugo Gernsback / The Father of Magazine Science Fiction from Science Fiction Fandom 1960.” Provenance: Hugo Gernsback (1884-1967), American editor and magazine publisher; given by his wife, Mary Gernsback (1914-1985), to Forrest J. Ackerman (1916-2008), American editor, magazine publisher, and science fiction author; acquired by the present owner directly from Ackerman.
Widely considered to be the “Father of Science Fiction,” publisher and writer Hugo Gernsback’s best-known work, Amazing Stories, left an indelible mark on science fiction and on the American pop cultural landscape at large; as of 2024 the magazine has been in operation for nearly a hundred years. This award was presented to Hugo Gernsback as a special award which formally recognized him as the Father of Science Fiction. It was later gifted to Forrest J. Ackerman by Gernsback’s widow, Mary.
The auctioneers estimate each trophy may bring $5,000-$7,000.
[Thanks to Linda Deneroff for the story.]
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Tempting…but I think I’ll pass.
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These belong in a museum. Paul Allen, take note.
I suppose I ought to bid on the Gernsback — my father got a one-line mention in something he wrote. (I don’t remember where — Mike Resnick pointed it out to me back in the mid seventies.)
But . . . . I haven’t see my father since I was six, and Gernsback’s obsession with gadgetry didn’t interest me . . . Plus I’m currently broke and out of work (How’s that for fannish?) so I’ll pass.
It would be nice if it were possible for, say, a group to club together to buy these for the purpose of donating them to the permanent Worldcon History Exhibit. I’d be willing to donate $500 toward such an endeavor.
Agreed with Kevin. About the club part, I don’t think my finances can stretch right now.
Kevin, I’m not familiar with this exhibit, at least by name.
Does this mean the exhibit travels from Worldcon to Worldcon, and is what? In storage or traveling between other cons in between? To me, it sounds like too much risk and suboptimal access for unique items. Better in a stable (as opposed to underendowed and new) museum that would exhibit them (as opposed to a museum that would just stick them into storage), if such a thing can be found. Perhaps even a university library that would exhibit them and allow access by the general public.
foolishly considering selling off my Magic The Gathering moxes to fund a bid for this in order to make sure it ends up within the WSFS community.
FYI, Paul Allen’s been dead for years.
I’ll match Kevin.
I would contribute to that as well, along with Helen
I am guessing that these are from the estate of Kevin Burns, who was in charge of Ackerman’s literary estate and died in 2020. When Ackerman won Retro Hugos in 2019 and 2020 we sent them to Burns. (I suppose the same was done when Ackerman won them in 2014 and 2020. When he first won a Retro Hugo in 1996, he was still alive.)
Nicholas Whyte: Hard to say. There was a huge auction of items in Ackerman’s estate in 2009 — brought in over a quarter million dollars — and one of his Retro Hugos from 1996 (he won two) was sold for $1500. My report doesn’t say whether the other Hugos he owned were held back or sold in that auction — the question didn’t occur to me at the time.
I would donate to a fund to buy this as well.
Mike: The 2009 auction would not have included the later Retros for sure. Not a big deal, just interesting to know.
Patrick McGuire on May 26, 2024 at 9:12 am said:
The Worldcon History Organization (a non-profit organization) manages many of the historical exhibits seen at most recent Worldcons. This includes many Hugo Award trophies. They have invested in high-quality storage cases that can be transported to different conventions (mostly Worldcons).
For an example of one of the displays at a Worldcon, see this photo taken at Denvention 3. It’s not hard to search for many other photos of such displays.
It comes down to what you think is better: An exhibit in one place, where people who aren’t going to be able to travel to that one place are ever going to have a chance to see it, or an exhibit that is shown in different places annually, wherever Worldcon is.
This is similar to a conundrum at the heart of Worldcon: Worldcon is by no means the largest SF genre convention. The fact it moves from place to place, organized by a different group every year, makes it unlikely to grow all that much larger than it is now. If all that matters is size, we could lock it down to hold it in one and only one place, held by one permanent organization that would focus on getting Big Big Big and trying to challenge the other genre conventions for dominance. Of course, by doing so, it means that only people who can come to that one Big Big Big place will ever be able to see it, and that means, for example, that people who can’t travel to Country X (whichever country that is) where Big Big Big Con is held will never have an opportunity to do so.
Worldcon will never be Big Big Big, but by moving around, it can be shared with people who can’t travel to those other places. I don’t even mean travel based on cost or personal resources; I mean not permitted to go to those other places for reasons like “Country Z won’t allow them to enter their country.”
Which would be better? Move around and share it with fans in multiple locations, or keep it in one single place?
I don’t see that a permanent exhibit in one place and exhibits at each Worldcon need be mutually exclusive.
Having a permanent exhibit would enable it to be available year round. A curated selection of items could be sent to each Worldcon. These could be selected to have particular relevance to the site that year and be displayed with more extensive background material than that used for the permanent exhibits.
Might be worth a Kickstarter if someone feels organized. Rewards could be participation notes/certificates, maybe inclusion in a published book about the acquisition, with the final disposition of the award to be decided on perhaps at the first available WorldCon business meeting. Excess funds could go to a relevant charity or something fannish.
Hello everyone. I am Kent Bloom, the President of the Worldcon Heritage Organization. We curate the Worldcon History Exhibits, including many Hugo Trophies. We would be delighted to acquire the Hugo Trophies mentioned here, but we don’t have the money to effectively bid on them. Our budget extends to climate controlled storage, and some maintenance and repairs. We work with Worldcon committees to create displays of Worldcon history that we think will be interesting to fans. We have over a dozen, mostly recent, Hugo and Retro-Hugo trophies which we display when it is practical. If someone organizes a bid, please let us know how we can help.
Kent, would WH have funds to contribute to it, even if partially? I’ve seen about $1,500 committed so far (Keven, Linda D, and myself) in this thread alone. A File770 thread isn’t ideal to coordinate for budgeting, but it’d be nice to know if it’s possible at all. If they go for the estimated bids (which feels optimistic to me) the two would come out to ~16,000, which is a fair amount more than I’ve seen talked about here.
(This is directed to Kevin and Linda, as well) If there’s a place where funding / bidding is being coordinated, please reach out to me.
I’m in for a similar amount.
Keven, I’m on social security (well, unless my current novel, Becoming Terran, hits the NYT best seller list), but I am willing to contribute $100.
Jack McKnight, who machined that Hugo, was a long time personal friend.
Worldcon Heritage has limited funds. Climate controlled storage for the exhibits costs $2500 per year, and we have some other expenses. We have about $13K in funds, and have been soliciting and receiving $5K per year from the surplus of most Worldcons. That covers our expenses and a reserve for those years where Worldcon does not have a surplus. We are a 501(c)3 charity, so contributions are tax deductible in the US. All this said, we don’t have money, at the moment, to invest more than a few hundred dollars. Certainly we don’t have $5,000 or more to spend on a trophy if they sell for what the Bradbury trophy sold for. I’m assuming that’s what the estimates are based on.
Kent et al, it seems to me that we already have about $2,000 committed. Even if Worldcon Heritage can’t make a financial contribution perhaps it can use its name to bid. And we can use social media to promote further contributions, so we’re not limited to File 770 (sorry Mike).
Just glad to help kick things off.
Linda. I will ask the board of WHO to allocate some money, and open a bidding account. I doubt that we can come up with enough, even if we add $2K in new contributions, but we can try. I’ll let you know what we decide. Kent
I’ve put a quick warning on the Facebook “Fanhistory” group to watch for rapid updates.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Fanhistory
I’ll contribute toward this. To avoid tipping off the seller or other potential bidders about how much we can afford to bid, I suggest that WHS create a fund to collect contributions earmarked for this purpose. If attempts to buy the Hugo fall short, donors to the fund could be offered the choice of receiving their money back or contributing it to WHS. (Note that contributions will not be eligible for a charitable contribution tax deduction until the donor has no further chance of receiving the funds back.) WHS will have to say whether it’s willing to do this, decide how the funds should be sent, and figure out who will be bidding on behalf of WHS before people start sending contributions, so hold tight, everyone. Kent, I’ll be in touch about this and the unrelated question you recently asked.
I would absolutely buy this, if I had the cash, and set-up a touring display of it with other Hugo-type artifacts to libraries around the world.
If I had the kind of money to buy it, I’d have enough to tour it!
Chris
For what it’s worth, Forry’s papers are at the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming along with the papers of Stan Lee and John Jakes. The collection also includes some memorabilia, so the Hugo wouldn’t be too out of place. The Center’s collection is open for examination and for researchers.
The Seattle SF Museum also has some of his collection.
Just like to tell everyone that WHO has decided to bid on the two trophies. Our funds are limited, so if anyone bids against us we may not succeed. I don’t know how to set up a fund to collect donations, but anyone who wants to donate can send money to Worldcon Heritage Association, c/o Kent Bloom, 1245 Allegheny Drive, Colorado Springs, CO 80919. If you want this considered as a contingent donation, please let us know and if we don’t succeed in acquiring the trophies we can return your contributions. Thanks. Kent
Posted to Fanhistory on facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Fanhistory/
Thanks, Kent. I just sent you an email in which I’ve made a contribution the Worldcon Heritage Association. For the rest of you who want to make sure that the WHA has enough to buy the Hugo trophies awarded to Forry and Hugo Gernsback, send your checks as Kent has indicated above, but you should also make WHA aware of your gift ASAP. Here’s some suitable language that other donors are welcome to use: “I hereby pledge to contribute $[INSERT AMOUNT] to the the Worldcon Heritage Association. Although my hope is that these funds will help the Worldcon Heritage Association bid enough to acquire the Hugo Award trophies that are being auctioned, Worldcon Heritage Association may keep my contribution whether or not the organization’s bids for the Hugo Award trophies are successful.”
And, as a reminder, let’s not publicize how much we’re giving. No need to tip off the other bidders how high WHA might be able to go.
Are the “Worldcon Heritage Association” and “Worldcon Heritage Organization” the same thing, or two separate entities? Is there a way for those of us outside the U.S. or who lack paper cheques a way to support? Perhaps and email or phone number somewhere for Interac transfers?
Kent Pollard. Sorry. I mistyped. It is the Worldcon Heritage Organization (www.worldconheritage.org), which should be the name on any checks for contributions. Unless we are told otherwise, we will return any checks we receive if we are not successful in bidding on the trophies. We do not have any online accounts. I can ask our treasurer how we can receive funds if you will send me an email with your contact information.
You can send email to [email protected] or directly to me at kent.bloom.rialto.org
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I think an online account is being set up by other people, the usual folks stepping up to the plate when things need to be done. I’ve also may two appeals on my own Facebook page and people can pledge money via messenger there until it is set up. But the bidding starts first thing tomorrow morning.
People complain that ‘Worldcon Folks’ are doing everything wrong, this is your chance to step up to the plate to help us do things well.
Hi Kent Bloom, I replied to you and Ted a few days ago, but haven’t had a response so don’t know if it reached him. I’m happy to e-transfer 150US to someone who can get it where it needs to be with the money staying in the normal maintenance fund if bids don’t succeed.
I have been receiving PayPal donations intended for WHO and will accumulate them until they’re called upon. One of them was in Euros and was converted to USD in my PayPal account, so we know that works. If anyone wants to use this method, my email is at Gmail and is my first and middle initials (for Kevin Allen) and my last name, no internal punctuation.
Some partial good news. Apparently we managed to lock up the Forry Ackerman trophy for the org, but not the Ackerman.
WHO successfully bid on the Forry Hugo Trophy, but did not get the Gernsback Trophy. The Forry Trophy sold for $12,065 inclusive of Buyer’s Premium. The Gernsback Trophy sold for $6,985 inclusive of Buyer’s Premium (without WHO bids). WHO received pledges of $12,350. We still have to arrange to pay for and pick up the trophy, but I think we have that in hand.
@Kent: Do you mean “but not the Gernsback”?
Yes, sorry. too many names this morning. We did not get the Gernsback
@Kent Bloom: Wonderful news, still. Thanks for clarifying the other Kent’s comment.
Edited to add:
“Yes, sorry. too many names this morning. We did not get the Gernsback”
No problem!
That’s great news about the First Hugo — congratulations!
Mike, thank you for spurring us on!