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J. Eric Holmes collection
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Post Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 1:09 pm 
 

I kinda let the cat out of the bag over in the appraisal forum...
I recently purchased Dr. Holmes RPG collection from his family.
The collection is obviously amazing and includes some truly historic manuscripts and correspondence. (one of my favorites is a folder full of correspondence and work on the Lovecraft mythos for Deities & Demigods)
He was a huge fan of all types of role playing material and had a fantastic collection of early fanzines, all manner of games and over 200 lbs of miniatures.
Being an avid collector of this stuff myself I am holding onto the lions share, but there is still some great stuff that I will bring to market soon.
But fear not fellow adventurers as the collection will not remain unseen in my dragons hoard, rather I will endeavor to share this fantastic find with the community through my own site (which has remained dormant for too long and this is the perfect excuse to relaunch) as well as through the Zenopus Archives and various forums (it will be a blast settling some age old debates and questions with cold hard proof).
Here is a portion of the minis being sorted last month in my basement.
Image

PS: Can anyone recommend a nice, fast flatbed scanner - preferably capable of 11"x17"?
thanks

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Post Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 1:14 pm 
 

Oh, and sorry if I am out of line posting here, I thought about adding this to the fun finds thread, but thought it probably merited a thread of its own.
I have lurked here for years, but only begun posting recently and am unfamiliar with local customs.


Last edited by billygalaxy on Sun May 05, 2013 2:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 1:58 pm 
 

billygalaxy wrote in J. Eric Holmes collection:Oh, and sorry if I am out of line posting here, I though about adding this to the fun finds thread, but thought it probably merited a thread of its own.
I have lurked here for years, but only begun posting recently and am unfamiliar with local customs.


In my opinion, this is worthy of its own thread, and we look forward to photos of your discoveries. 8)


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Post Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 7:14 pm 
 

you had me at Fanzines..

Brette:)


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Post Posted: Sun May 05, 2013 11:31 pm 
 

For a scanner you should look at the Epson 11000XL.  It has replaced the Epson 10000XL which has been the gold standard workhorse for most archives.  If you need help or have questions on the whole digitization/metadata/etc. process I would be happy to help, just send me a PM.

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Post Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 5:40 am 
 

Jumping Jehoshaphat! As if the manuscripts weren't enough!
Fantastic.



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Post Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 10:03 am 
 

Fantastic! So, perhaps we will finally learn what has been speculated on for many years: How much of the (then) developing AD&D was worked into the manuscript? Were there any Holmes innovations that were axed by the editors? This is exciting stuff. Thanks for sharing! :)


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Post Posted: Mon May 06, 2013 10:51 am 
 

billygalaxy wrote in J. Eric Holmes collection:(it will be a blast settling some age old debates and questions with cold hard proof).

The first question I hope to see resolved is the dagger rule (also known as the light/medium/heavy weapons rule). Did Eric Holmes put half-a-rule in his book, did TSR, or did TSR edit half-a-rule out of the book? And what's the other half?  :?



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Post Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 10:27 am 
 

8O  Wow. Thank you for posting here and keep us all updated!

  


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Post Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 11:21 am 
 

Here's a picture of Holmes with some of his minis from a 1979 article, "Fantasy Life in a Game Without End", in the L.A. Times:

Image

Holmes was interviewed as part of the article, which is about the phenomena of D&D, and relates that he "has invested a fair amount of time and money amassing and painting thousands of fantasy miniatures used in the game. 'I'm lucky I don't have any other hobbies,' he says". His 1981 book Fantasy Role-Playing Games, has an entire chapter, Little Metal People, dedicated to the topic of collecting, painting and using miniatures in D&D.

(This info also posted on the blog today)


Zenopus Archives website & blog: Exploring the Underworld of Holmes Basic D&D. Holmes Ref: Reference Sheets for Holmes Basic Referees, also compatible with OD&D plus the Greyhawk supplement

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Post Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 5:46 pm 
 

Image

Here is a little nicer version of that pic...

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Post Posted: Tue May 07, 2013 10:50 pm 
 

Wonderful stuff.  Please keep us posted.  8)

  


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Post Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 12:01 am 
 

Fantastic! The minis are actually identifiable. There are three Pumpkinhead Bugbears (Archive, 1976) near his left hand.


Zenopus Archives website & blog: Exploring the Underworld of Holmes Basic D&D. Holmes Ref: Reference Sheets for Holmes Basic Referees, also compatible with OD&D plus the Greyhawk supplement

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Post Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 12:10 am 
 

The lizard right in front of him is what the drawing on the Zenopus archives is based on (when the rider is mounted).
The ones to the left of the lizard are from the same Dragontooth Saurians series.
The guys creeping in at the far right of the photo are some Minifigs gnolls.

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Post Posted: Wed May 08, 2013 7:35 am 
 

billygalaxy wrote in J. Eric Holmes collection:The lizard right in front of him is what the drawing on the Zenopus archives is based on (when the rider is mounted).
The ones to the left of the lizard are from the same Dragontooth Saurians series.
The guys creeping in at the far right of the photo are some Minifigs gnolls.


I had the same thought about that lizard! I spent some time searching last night for Giant Lizard minis, but couldn't find it. Thanks for the info.

SMC1 Champion Mounted on Giant Lizard

Question is which came first - the David C. Sutherland artwork (first published in mid-1977), or the miniature. The page above doesn't have an exact year for the minis, but Dragontooth started releasing figures in 1975 -> Category:Dragontooth - Lost Minis Wiki


Zenopus Archives website & blog: Exploring the Underworld of Holmes Basic D&D. Holmes Ref: Reference Sheets for Holmes Basic Referees, also compatible with OD&D plus the Greyhawk supplement

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Post Posted: Thu May 09, 2013 12:28 am 
 

I found an ad for the Dragontooth Saurians in Dragon #9, the Sep 1977 issue. Coincidentally, this is the first issue with an ad for Holmes Basic. Doesn't help with determining which came first. I didn't see any ads for the Saurians in earlier issues.

Holmes was clearly a fan of the Dragontooth figures. Here's what he had to say about them in his FRPG book (1981), Chapter 11, "Little Metal People":

Dragontooth Miniatures makes a line of utterly delightful fantasy armies. These little fellows are intelligent lizards and frogs and come dressed in a variety of armor, carrying a variety of weapons. There are lizard armies, alligator armies and frogman armies. With the varied figures of the armies come an array of imaginative mounts and vehicles. Bird drawn chariots, beautifully detailed dinosaur and iguana mounts, howda-equipped giant chameleons, and a huge triceratops, a veritable prehistoric tank ready to carry his handful of screaming lizard men to victory or death


The "iguana mounts" may refer to SMC1 figure, and the triceratops is also from the Saurians line. The alligator and frogman armies, bird drawn chariot and giant chameleon are from the Amphibeans line.


Zenopus Archives website & blog: Exploring the Underworld of Holmes Basic D&D. Holmes Ref: Reference Sheets for Holmes Basic Referees, also compatible with OD&D plus the Greyhawk supplement

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Post Posted: Wed May 15, 2013 10:43 am 
 

billygalaxy wrote in J. Eric Holmes collection:[ Image ]

Here is a little nicer version of that pic...


Truly wonderful! May I use the photo for a column of our amateur retro gaming magazine, DM Magazine? We have a feature showcasing vintage photos and this is really spot on!

  


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Post Posted: Thu May 16, 2013 7:27 am 
 

Alexander: FYI, the cropped version of that photo of Holmes in the L.A. Times is captioned "Holmes with a few of his D&D Figures", and is credited as "Times photo by Tony Bernard". It was part of the article "Fantasy Life in a Game Without End" by Beth Ann Krier in the Los Angeles Times on July 11, 1979 (page H1). A scan of the article was originally posted on the Acaeum but a slightly cleaned up version can be read here.


Zenopus Archives website & blog: Exploring the Underworld of Holmes Basic D&D. Holmes Ref: Reference Sheets for Holmes Basic Referees, also compatible with OD&D plus the Greyhawk supplement

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