Fantasyland/Aggieland
FANTASYLAND/AGGIELAND: A Bibliographic History of Science Fiction and Fantasy at Texas A&M University and in Brazos County, Texas, 1913-1985. compiled by Bill Page College Station, TX 2007 Page 1 of 134 INTRODUCTION Bill Page None of the local activites before 1967 were part of any fannish organizations -- at least not as far as I can determine. There's really no way to pick an exact beginning date for the history of science fiction and fantasy in Brazos County. For example, Bryan had a book store by 1870. It probably sold an occasional fantasy or science fiction novel, such as The Tempest or Frankenstein. After the end of the Civil War, newspapers, including the Galveston News, could be purchased in the county, as were magazines such as Godey's Ladies Book and Leslies Illustrated Weekly. These carried an occasional sf/f story. Persons wanting to know more about the early history of newspapers, magazines, libraries, and literary societies in Brazos County should read the chapters "Libraries," "Lodges and Civic Organizations," and "Cultural History: The Arts and Recreation in the Nineteenth Century" in Brazos County History: Rich Past -- Bright Future. I'm not sure when the first fantasy or science fiction film was shown in the county. Movies came to Bryan at least as early as January 1897, when "the magniscope, Edison's latest and greatest invention in the way of vitascopes" appeared in the Grand Opera House. (See the Bryan Daily Eagle, January 28, 1897, p. 4, cols. 2, 6). Page 2 of 134 Additional Sources: Additional material on the fantastic at Texas A&M University after 1985 can be found in several sources.
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